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in reply to: 13 years later and now eye problems????? #1072008
At one of our conferences, we had an eye doctor speak to us. He said that there is the possibility of an eye problem at any time in our lives after diagnosis of Graves’ disease. It is by far more commone at the onset or during the first few years.
That is why it is important to keep diligent on keeping tabs with ourselves and know when things go from normal to wonky. I agree with Ski, get to your endo for a check up and blood tests to see if it is Graves’ or age related issues.
We are only a click away.
in reply to: High T3 Levels #1072200Block and replace treatment was kind of popular many years back. It was hoped that by giving the thyriod time to rest with the blocking of the thyriod production and then replacing it with thyriod hormone that the thyroid would have a chance to rest and start working again.
It has been pretty much proven not to work well in adults and had some moderate success in children. Make sure you doctor watchs your levels to make sure you do not too far out of normal ranges while they try to treat you.
in reply to: sunshine and TED #1072169Ski is right the wrap around sunglasses are a blessing to us. I even had a pair of clear ones that I wore at night and in windy places to help keep my eyes from getting dry.
They work great and when used with eye drops they help to keep the eyes moist and really cut down on dry eyes.
in reply to: Decompression Surgery April 15th #1072147Hay TC,
I was worried crazy prior to my orbital decompressions. I didn’t know what to expect. Recovery times, pain levels, etc.
When all was said and done the surgery went off with no problems, pain was minimal (in my case) and recovery was fast. I was back to work in two weeks, but probably could have gone back in one. If people didn’t mind seeing me with two slightly black eyes.
There are a number of ways they can do the decompression. Did your doctor tell you "how" they would do the decompressions? My doctor went in through my lower eye lids and a really small incision on the side of my nose. I woke up with my face numb and that lasted for about six months. Each month the feeling came back about an inch a month. I was numb to my upper teeth and just about to my ear. By the end of the first month I could feel my front teeth and upper lip. By the second month I could feel my nostrels and the tip of my nose.
Each day got better and I got more feeling back. The results were immediate and dramatic. I looked like my old self again and my dry eyes were almost only a bad memory.
Bottom line is you can expect to feel much better and look better. Let us know how things go and please post if you have any questions.
in reply to: What’s the difference between……. #1072215The differences between an overactive thyroid and thyroid storm are considerable.
An overactive thyroid is usually displayed by an increase in heart rate, rapid loss of weight (or in some cases unexplained rapid weight gain), Fatigue, loss of muscle mass, anxiety, sweats, short term memory loss, among other things. Please visit our home page at http://www.ngdf.org and we have a brochure you can download that gives a full list of symptoms.
Thyroid storm is a serious medical condition that causes a spike in heart rate and metabolism that needs to be treated immediately at a hospital. It is potentially life threatening. A heart rate in excess of 200 is common. We also have a brochure that tells the difference. Use our search feature for “thyroid storm” to see previous posts on what it is and how it manifests itself.
Overactive thyroid happens usually over a course of months to years. Thyroid storm happens suddenly and the patient usually can tell they are having major heart palpitations and rapid heartbeats. They also usually are accompanied by major anxiety.
Feel free to ask any questions. We are only a click away.
in reply to: Graves and B-12 Malabsorbtion? #1072632I went right to shots. My b-12 was so low by time they found it that shots were the only options for me at the time. It is easy. Once a week a quick shot in my leg. The needle is less than a quarter long and very thin.
Piece of cake.
in reply to: Graves and B-12 Malabsorbtion? #1072630Many of us with Graves have low B-12. I have been on the shots for about two years now. It is a small needle and is given in the leg or belly, in my case.
It has helped quite a bit. It is also known as pernicious anemia.
in reply to: Graves Opthalmopathy #1072651In my case swelling started first followed by double vision. Steroids helped a great deal and let my eyes settle down during numerious hot phases.
Most people notice lid retraction first. It is the ever so subtle widening of the white space people can see. A normal eye will have the upper and lower lids touching the iris. With lid retraction we will some some or a lot of white showing above and below the iris. That leads to dry eyes and possible cornia dryness.
Eye drops will help with the dryness a great deal. Remember what you do today will depend on how your eyes feel tomorrow. If you use cold packs and drops today they will feel better tomorrow. So use the cold packs and drops then or the next day you eyes will feel worse. That was the hardest for me to remember. When my eyes felt good I tended not to use the cold packs and drops and the next day the eyes were dry and hurt.
We are only a click away.
in reply to: newly diagnosed #1072817Hello and welcome to our group.
There are a number of links on our home page http://www.ngdf.org that will give you basic information on Graves’ Disease. While it can seem overwhelming at first, life will get back to normal once you get leveled out on anti-thyroid medications.
There are three proven treatment options.
Anti-thyroid drugs, which you have started on. The normal course of treatment is to stay on them for about 12 to 18 months, then back off the meds to see if your thyroid function returns to normal.
Radioactive Iodine RAI-131, is a pill or liquid that is taken and absorbed by the thyroid thus killing it off and you go on replacement hormone.
Thyroidectomy, surgical removal of the thyroid. Then you go on replacement hormone.
There a hundreds of posts for newly diagnosed. Use our search feature to find them and give them a read. We will answer what questions you have. We are only a click away.
in reply to: Dividing Doses? #1072883When I was on PTU for two years, my doctor had me take it three times a day. Reason was that it was short lived in our bodies and that taking it three times a day allowed for a more natural dose to be in our system over a longer period as opposed to all at once for about a four hour effective period.
I think it depends on what y our levels are, how the doctor reviews your tests and your lifestyle wether they give it to you once, twice or three times daily.
Ask your doctor the reason for a twice daily dose and ask if three times a day may suit you better. It never hurts to ask why.
in reply to: Family Education Material #1073149If our home page link is working (we are redoing the home page) there is a link to information about Graves’ disease.
I may also suggest you buy "Graves’ Disease In Our Own Words" as it has a few chapters on family and how to deal with us as well as easy to understand language on what Graves’ disease is and how it effects us.
Hello Susan,
I understand all too well the leg pain associated with both hyper and hypo thyroid. When we are hyper our bodies are using up all available resources faster than we can create them. When that happens we burn fat, then burn muscle to keep us alive and going.When we burn excess fat and muscle we release toxins into our systems in the form of keytones and makes our muscles ache and makes us feel run down.
Some people gain weight while being hyper because the body recognizes it is losing reserves fast so it pack on the fat and for some reason does not let the body use it and the person gains weight but they still lose muscle mass and run into the same pains and problems.
The best fix it so get your thyroid levels under control. Do not over exercise because this just makes the body think it needs to store fat and burn muscle and it becomes a bad cycle to get into.
You did not get sick overnight and recovery takes time. One thing Graves’ disease has taught me is patience. We need to learn to wait. It will not happen overnight. As someone just posted to me the other day, they realized one day that they didn’t feel bad. It was not a matter of waking up and feeling great. It was a realization that it did not suck to me today and yesterday was pretty good too.
Give it time and give yourself some time to rest.
in reply to: Life insurance and Graves #1073156Not that I am aware of. I do know that some medical insurance companies refused to cover it for awhile as a pre-existing condition when someone tried to get insurance.
How about it any folks here have any issues you can tell us about and why they refused to cover you?
Only your doctor can explain your lab levels to you. There are too, many variables with each person’s tests and other outlaying health issues that only your doctor can explain to you.
You may find a generalized notion of what is normal for the lab you used but without a full medical history that your doctor can use to see what may have caused your readings, any thing else is pure speculation.
Ask your doctor and let us know how you are doing. We are only a click away.
in reply to: Bad Thoughts #1073162Actually yes, what you may be experiencing is an excess of adrenalin and you need to tell your doctor about it right away. When we are hyper our bodies also produce adrenalin that makes the thyroid release more hormone. More thyroid hormone, more adrenalin is released.
We get to a point where we experience “Fight or flight” syndrome. We are looking out all the time as if we expect to be attacked by an extinct cave bear, or in modern times having to dodge traffic if you will.
Your doctor may prescribe a mild anti anxiety drug or beta blockers to keep your system on a more even keel until your thyroid levels stop fluctuating like mad. -
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