[Kimberly]

in reply to: H.R. 2084, Women’s Autoimmune Diseases Act #1068548

I don’t believe that H.R. 2084 is specific to women…although it is certainly true that women suffer from autoimmune conditions in far greater numbers than men do.

If you search this forum for "legislation", I posted a link a while back to a sample letter that you can send to your congressperson in support of H.R. 2084. With all of the other stuff going on in Washington right now, this bill won’t even get out of committee unless each and every one of us with an interest in this issue tell our legislators that this is IMPORTANT!

I have also had some contact with Nancy offline as to how we can use the conference this October to help generate some support. Any ideas are welcome!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weigh-in (just for fun) #1068696

"ewmb":3vse4xfo wrote:

Kimberly- I’ve forgotten; are you on ATDs or have you had RAI or TT?

ewmb[/quote:3vse4xfo]

Hi ewmb – I’m approaching the 2-year mark on ATDs. I had stabilized on a low dose of Methimazole, but went hyper again this summer and am trying to get my levels back down. I had blood drawn last week and have an appointment on 9/2, so we will see what happens!

The "conventional wisdom" is that we are supposed to LOSE weight while hyper. I really wish that someone would do some research on weight issues and Graves…as that is NOT the case for many of us!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weigh-in (just for fun) #1068694

"runlacie":2stf278z wrote:

Weighed in at 138.5 today which I think is half a pound down. [/quote:2stf278z]

YAY!!! Hopefully, I will have better results to report next week as well. My gain is making me depressed…which makes me want to consume a bag of Double-Stuff Oreos. Yeah, *that* will fix the problem.

Hope you get good news on the labs!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weigh-in (just for fun) #1068692

runlacie wrote:SORRY for that RANT !!!

I think I’ll just go drown my sorrows in some peanut butter now.

This reminded me of one of the funniest lines in the movie Paul Blart, Mall Cop: “Peanut Butter fills the cracks in the heart.” (Spoken as the lead character was spreading PB on top of a piece of pie). I’ve never gone *quite* that far, but I understand the sentiment.

I actually did very well on meeting my goals from last week: (1) eating only for physical hunger, as opposed to stress, (2) doing 10-30 minute sessions of gentle yoga and Tai Chi morning and night, and (3) focusing on adding some anti-inflammatory foods into my diet.

I ate very healthy throughout the week except for a couple of “treats” (frozen yogurt and a chocolate chip cookie), felt pretty good, and managed to NOT obsess about food every 5 minutes, which is quite a milestone for me.

Then I did my weekly weigh-in today, and was UP 1.2 for a total of 139. GAAAAA! I’m hoping it’s water weight, or perhaps a “carry over” from the week before last, when I had some serious stress eating issues!

It would be really frustrating to think that I will need to be hungry all the time in order to be at the weight I maintained for 3 years before all this started. ” title=”Sad” /> (And I know that I wasn’t hyper during that time, as I have a set of labs from an annual physical, where my TSH was over 4).

I still think that the more I restrict, the hungrier I get — and the more obsessive I get about food. So I’m going to try and do another week with the same goals, plus 3 new ones:

1) Slow down. A pack of wild coyotes is NOT going to break into my house and steal the rest of the food on my plate if I set my utensil down between bites.

2) With meals and snacks, really focus on the point where I start to feel satisfied and step AWAY from the plate. This one is hard for me, as I hate to waste food! I’ll have to think of some meals and snacks that will keep well if I put them away for later.

3) Add 5 min./day of light strength training to my Yoga/Tai Chi routine.

Here’s hoping for a better result next week. Everybody hang in there!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Sleep #1068613

Hello – If you click on the "search this forum" box at the top of the listing of posts and do a search for "sleep", you will find quite a few posts on the subject.

There was a thread a while back called "help me sleep" that had some good info. I’m not sure if it would be faster to use the search function or to go back through all of the threads for the last few months.

Best of luck!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: At a crossroad, want your opinion, please. #1068621

Hi Ciona – I have given some thought to these issues as well, as I am coming up on the 2-year mark with ATDs, which is the point where some endos will push for a "permanent" solution.

My understanding is that more endos now are supporting long-term maintenance with ATDs, as long as the maintenance dose is fairly low — and you don’t have any liver or WBC issues.

I understand your frustration with fluctuations…I’m trying to pull out of a hyper phase now. However, going through RAI or TT would cause different stabilization issues while you try to pull out of HypO. Would I get through it in a couple of months and then not think about it for the rest of my life — except for taking a daily pill? Or would I be one of those that has a hard time getting stabilized? My take for now is that the devil I know is better than the devil I don’t. ” title=”Wink” />

The bottom line is that you need to make a choice you are 100% comfortable with.

Good luck!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weigh-in (just for fun) #1068671

I’m OK with either weight or pounds to lose…here’s my info:

Current weight: 137.8
Goal weight: 130

I am still counting Weight Watchers POINTS, but I recently read a book called “Intuitive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch and am incorporating some of the concepts from that book.

One issue that really resonated with me from the book is that many of us who have been “professional dieters” over the years live in fear of being hungry – so when we are presented with the opportunity to eat, our survival mode kicks in and we are often prone to *overeating*. That really hit home for me.

I have three goals this week:

1. I do think the tracking of POINTS helps me make better choices, but I’m not going to get upset if I happen to go over during a particular day or week. I plan to focus this week on making sure I get something to eat when I am truly, physically hungry – and staying OUT of the fridge/freezer/pantry when I’m stressed.

2. Do 20 minutes of yoga or tai chi in the morning, and 10-30 minutes at night. I picked up a couple of DVDs that have workouts of varying length, which should make it easy. They are gearing up for a round of mass layoffs at my "day job", so hopefully this will help keep the stress under control!

3. I am doing some reading on anti-inflammatory foods, which are supposed to have a beneficial effect on our health, so I am trying to incorporate things like wild salmon, olive oil, onions, strawberries, and almonds into my food plan.

Good luck to us all! ” title=”Very Happy” />

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Newly diagnosed & have questions please #1069164

Rfayley wrote: But….one thing with that, I found there is a 60-70% relapse rate after a couple years off the thyroid meds. In the end, I will probably just end up doing the RAI anyways.

Hello – My understanding is that the 60-70% relapse rate could be significantly improved *if* doctors tested our autoantibody levels prior to taking us off the ATDs. If you remove the ATDs while our autoantibodies are still raging, it’s pretty much guaranteed that we will relapse sooner or later. I have also heard anecdotal evidence that weaning off the drugs slowly produces a better result than going "cold turkey".

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Newly diagnosed & have questions please #1069163

jroethlisberger wrote: My Endo decided to take me off the meds to see if the levels would even out, but 3 months later (now) they are still pretty low.

Hello – When you say your levels are "low" are you talking about TSH? Free T3 and Free T4 are actually more accurate benchmarks while we are being treated for hyperthyroidism…and these will be out of range *high* if we are hyper.

If you can, I would recommend pressing your doctor to check FT3 and FT4 as well.

Best of luck!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weight Gain – Oh NO!!! #1068883

hyperm wrote: Ok weigh- in starts MONDAY!

x

I’m in! Are we posting our actual weight…or the number of pounds we would like to lose? More people might be inclined to participate if it was the latter…but I’m OK either way. ” title=”Smile” />

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weight Gain – Oh NO!!! #1068882

Bobbi wrote: Some of your weight loss — if you lost weight with Graves — was lost muscle. This is BAD weight loss.

When we get stabilized to normal levels of hormone, muscle gradually comes back. It isn’t strong muscle unless we exercise it. But it comes back. And this can appear as weight gain. But, it is GOOD weight gain because it is raising your metabolic rate, and allowing you to eat more without gaining.

But I think the key here is "if you lost weight with Graves". For those of us who did *not* lose weight…and then started gaining during the treatment process…I don’t believe you can say there’s anything "good" about it.

In the grand scheme of things, the extra 8 pounds I am carrying might not seem like a serious issue. But I have a history of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in my family, which increases my risk for these conditions…and extra weight would increase that risk even further. If my 8 pounds turns into 18 and then 28 and then 88…then that *is* a serious issue. I really don’t want to add one of these conditions on top of my Graves!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Weight Gain – Oh NO!!! #1068873

hyperm wrote: Should we start a weekly weigh in? See how we are all getting on or would that be too depressing?

xxxx

Hey, I’d sign up for that! Or maybe a daily/weekly posting of our food plan. Back in June, I actually got back to my goal weight for the first time in a YEAR. Then packed on 6 pounds while on vacation…and have added another two since I got back. I’m a Weight Watchers lifetime member, and I’m expecting that this weekend’s weigh-in is going to be even worse.

I’ve really been having sweet cravings…and the stress I’m going through at work (major layoffs coming) is NOT helping. I bought some of those 100-calorie snacks…but when you have 8 servings in one sitting, sadly, it’s no longer a 100-calorie snack…

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Hyperthyroid due to Grave’s Disease or not? #1069109

Hello – Personally, I would get the additional testing done to confirm a diagnosis. You will probably want to see an ophthalmologist for the eye issues, and my guess is that you would get more appropriate treatment with a definitive diagnosis of Graves.

Your eye involvement would *seem* to indicate Graves, but I would want to know for sure.

Also, you mentioned a 15-month timetable for the ATDs…hopefully, you will be getting blood work done every few weeks to ensure that your dosage is correct. Many people find that their levels fall quickly on ATDs, and the dose need to be reduced to keep them out of hypO territory.

Good luck!

[Kimberly]

in reply to: Antihistimine & GD ?? #1069217

Hello – I’m not a facilitator, but my understanding is that it’s not so much antihistamines that are the problem. Instead, the stuff we have to be careful with while hyper are the "non-drowsy" / daytime cold medicines like Sudafed, because they contain ingredients that can potentially kick our heart rate up even higher. Someone else can jump in here, but I believe that benedryl is OK.

[Kimberly]

in reply to: FYI all, I’m going on vacation! #1069386

Enjoy your well-deserved vacation! See you in Charlotte!

Kimberly

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