[mamabear]

in reply to: Pregnancy and Medication #1066916

I dont have time to catch up on the posts that were already written so if I say something that someone else has already I am sorry.

I was on PTU right from the start, I didn’t do methimazole at all. It was PTU right off and a few months later was within proper levels (i have to add that that was very very rare), i was told to continue on meds and try for a baby. I started to try after being stable on meds (about 4-5months later). I fell pregnant and continued on PTU till I think I was about 3months, the pregnancy was taking over and I had to stop the PTU due to high levels and I was stable on my own while pregnant with my thyroid. I had more kids after that (i wasn’t on ptu during pregnancies with them). But the one that I was on PTU on for that short time is a healthy almost 7 year old boy who is smarter than most honor role students!!! No complications during pregnancy and non during delivery and non afterward.

If i had to go on PTU again I would. I did well on it and didn’t have side effects to badly, non that I would complain about.

adding this as well…. I was tested every 4 weeks to be sure my levels were stable during pregnancy, might have be every 3 weeks. but you get my point. lol

It is imperative that you do what is best for your baby in utero and that is to be checked for levels and do what dr. says when it comes to meds. Don’t medicate yourself on your own and don’t go off the meds unless your dr says to.
I also hope the switch goes well, remember that being hyperthyroid and levels aren’t within the normal range you will not get pregnant or can have a miscarriage if you do become pregnant.
Your tsh level need to be at a certain level in order for any woman to become pregnant (if levels aren’t in the range then you are wasting your time trying) so do yourself a favor and make sure you are on PTU and are stable and within range before trying if you try before you are switched properly and are stable and you dont get pregnant you’ll only get yourself angry and frustrated and well we all know that isn’t good either.

I have 4 kids ages are almost 15, almost 7(very soon), <—-those are boys and girls are 5 and 3.
1st and 2nd almost 8 years apart
2nd and 3rd are 18months apart
3rd and 4th are 23 months apart.
You might feel you are getting older or out of time but listen your health comes first, nothing is perfect but trying to do the right thing and the right switch will give you a better chance of having another baby. Taking is easy and enjoying the one you have now and smiling and looking forward to a bright future will help your body except the PTU and help your mindset for having another one.
You never know what can happen tomorrow so make do with what you have today. Today you have a dr. that is willing to help you and put on PTU and hopefully he will guide you through this and there will be no problems. BUT if there is a problem remember it can be tackled as long as you know what it is. Piece by piece you can do it!

[mamabear]

in reply to: New Here and Very Thankful #1067935

I’m not sure it is against the rules but please PM me the magazine. I would love to get it.

I’m sure one of the facilitator’s will let you know if you can post it or not. If they say yes you can always post it in your original link, just click on edit.

Good luck with your levels. Keep us posted! And we dont be mad at all if you decide to post a picture of the baby…… ” title=”Wink” /> ” title=”Wink” /> ” title=”Wink” /> ” title=”Wink” /> That is always welcome!

[mamabear]

in reply to: New here…TSH low & waiting on endo appt. #1067981

Graves’ Disease – Tips & Tricks for hair/skin/mental health
Here is a link to help with your hair. Just some tips, hoping it will help you.

[mamabear]

in reply to: New here…TSH low & waiting on endo appt. #1067980

Out of the mouth of my eye dr. NO contacts with Graves disease. Period, no excuses it isn’t worth it. You will only hurt your eyes and might create a situation that will cause your eyes to react and that is not what we want. Buy glasses and lets hope your eyes will be fine. I have astigmatism too and when I finally wanted to start wearing contacts my eye dr. said yeah sorry no way kid. Man i was peeved. I had that gritty feeling as well and he said to use the thick eye drops at night and thinner eye drops during the day. he said moisturize moisturize moisture hmmmm did i say moisturize? LOL

[mamabear]

in reply to: Sweaty, stinky feet #1067944

Funny you should say this!!! Here is a funny story… And I do hope you laugh when you read it, because honestly I do.

I have ALWAYS had stinky feet. My parents blamed it on being a jock, I played basketball from 8th-12th grade and volleyball from 11-12th grade. My sister says that my feet smelled waaaaay before then though.
Well when I was a senior I met the boy across the street. He was a dream, butterflies and everything ! One day when he was in the apartment, my sister told him, "you wont want to marry her, she has stinky feet!" He laughed and she said she was serious and she laughed as well. I knew it was true but I didn’t care.
Well to make a long story short, he and I werent’ meant to be at that time. That was a good thing because I just wasn’t mature enough yet and my dad was not…. well lets just say it wouldn’t have worked out.
Well I met someone else and he asked me to marry him(long story), so foolishly did. We had a baby and were separated shortly after that. Again living with my parents and small baby wasn’t the mature thing but had no choice.
I "re-met" the dream boy and we started dating again… my sister again laughed at me saying she has stinky feet! To wrap it up, I married him but he realized I DID and STILL DO have stinky feet. He laughs all the time because she warned him so long ago!

I have tried many things. It was because of my dh that I was able to come up with some things that might help. He is stickler for buying shoes/boots/sneakers. He has several pair. Me I only have sneakers and flipflops. I tend to wear flipflops due to ingrown toenails since I was about 10yrs old.

I soak my feet often and use tea in the water, basically "tanning" my feet.

While in the water i use a callus remover and one of those stones to get the dead skin off.

After that, i take them out and pat them dry and immediately put an emollient on them(vaseline/aquafore…anything but lotion. we are trying to keep the moisture in by using a thick barrier. Lotion is water based and doesn’t do as good a job, but if that’s all you have go for it!)

I then clean out all sides of my toes and clip them if they need it. Don’t clip past the skin, you dont’ want to create ingrown toenails.

Wear different shoes each day, that helps give the other pair time to air out.

If you wear stinky shoes, your feet will stink. So if you have a pair that really smell and you can’t wash them or nothing works to get rid of the smell..throw them out it isn’t worth keeping them.

Put odor eaters in your shoes, you might have to get a 1/2 shoe size bigger to accommodate that but bring an odor eater insert with you when you go buy any shoes/sneakers and see how they fit. Remember real leather shoes will stretch a little bit.

Talk to a podiatrist if your ins. is good. If you have a copay, check to see how much it is with copay and how much it is without it. I found out that by paying on my own was cheaper than my copay lol. DON’T be suckered in by a podiatrist though, they can make you spend so much. So just keep a good head on your shoulders and listen to what they have to say but don’t agree to antyhing just yet. You can always go back and do something or buy something later.

I think the thing that helped me the most was buying shoes that weren’t cheap and a few pairs so that I can switch them every day or every other day giving them time to air out.

I also use few different pairs of socks as well.

I stay at home so I don’t need to keep shoes/sneakers on all day. I tend to walk barefoot or flipflops in the house. I have found that airing out my feet when not in shoes/sneakers helps as well.

I’m not sure if this is Graves’ related because my 4 kids don’t have graves and all their feet smell too LOL and my two girls tend to wear sandals and their feet still stink every now and then.

It wasn’t so much a product I used on them,it was more how I treated my feet and the things I put them in (shoes/sneakers/boots).

Good luck

[mamabear]

in reply to: Any suggestions- Graves’ child behavior #1068045

Ski has many great points!

I have a question, could she be burnt out (not in the hypo sense) and just overly tired. Maybe too much outside time or not enough calming time. like a nice warm bath about 15 minutes after dinner so she has time to soak and play in the tub.

I know that dh and I when I researched what Graves was, put a list together of symptoms. I put it up on the mirror and when I had one I checked it off. I laughed at it and moved on. If i was an outraging maniac, afterward I would go and mark that off and laugh again about it. I’d put a new one up and again do the same thing. It was fun to see how many I actually had AND how long it took to get rid of them. We made it a game because I wanted to embrace Graves but at the same time laugh in it’s face when I tried to kick it’s butt. It was just a way of dealing with it for me.

Maybe you and your dd can have a jar that she makes. (wide mouth bottle/jar, masking tape and shoe polish the color is her choice) Rip pieces of tape off and cover the jar with the masking tape. Sort of like a mosaic looking piece. Make sure to overlap the pieces too, two layers are just fine. Then take a cloth and put the shoe polish on the bottle. The tapes edges will be darker because of the tearing of the tape. It’s make a great gift too! You can use as much or as little as you like. I have one that is burgundy, black and brown. Those colors used created 3 different beautiful vases for my house!

So make a jar and the deal is if she can "Try" to calm down when she is feeling cranky, YOU put a penny in the jar. You can use any coin but I love pennies. lol
Tell her this is a game that you can play with Graves disease, she will litterally be laughing in it’s face. Kicking it’s butt by "trying" to calm down. It might take her a really long time the first time but then she can beat her record the next time and go from there. I say "trying" because it’s better than saying to her you better or you must do it. Trying is something an 8 year old can do, trying never hurt anyone so she might relate to that and laughing at Graves disease than getting mom and dad to beg her to be quiet because she is so unruly

You might even tell her that that jar is for her only and it’s to "Laugh at Graves’ disease".

I’d like to take a minute and say THANK YOU to your and your dh. If not for you and him, she might not be in the place she is in right now mentally. Two good parents that support her and are looking for answers and are willing to fight for what she needs and help her through this. You aren’t saying oh it’s just her and she is being bratty, you are really trying to sort it all out. KUDOS to you! You are her advocates and you are doing a damn good job of that. My hat is off to the both of you.

Also, I personally do well at my levels being 1.5-2.5, but my levels tend to stay below 1.5 and when they are under 1.0 you can tell for sure. My general dr. knows this and supports me but my old endo said if nothing else is changed and TSH is within normal range then i’m fine. I’m just happy that general dr. is a good woman.

prayers

[mamabear]

in reply to: Any suggestions- Graves’ child behavior #1068041

That is great that there are no issues at school.

I hate to imply anything but I really have to ask this… Please don’t get upset (i know i did when I was asked lol), but think of it for a second and see if this fits.
Are you sure that she isn’t struggling with homework because she simply can’t do it? She might not "remember her math facts" or doesn’t understand what she is reading. She wont be able to tell you that she is having problems. She wont know at all even how to tell you, she’ll only get angry that she can’t do it or she’ll fight with you or your dh so she wont have to do her work.

If it weren’t for the Graves disease, you would think what is wrong? So if it isn’t poor levels due to graves then that is what you have to think about.

My son who is 14 1/2 MUST have an Agenda book with him. It’s basically his homework notepad but the school provides it. I have it in his IEP (indivualized educational program) that they must check that he writes it down correctly. yes it seems silly but he has to write it properly or he wont understand it when he gets home.

Is your dd having problems with the other kids in the house? Is she tired and in need of a nap when she gets home and that might be the reason homework time is difficult? What about having a snack when she gets home instead of trying to work on homework first?
You can even tell her that when she gets home, she can have a snack and prepare to do homework and you will work with her on it if she needs help. Or just sit and talk while she has her snack, just chat about anything.

Maybe plan a day like friday to do your nails or trim your hair together. If there are other daughters include them as well but maybe the first time do it with just her. Or saturday tell your dh and boys if you have them to go out and leave you and your dd and other girls at home alone just to hang out. OR take her out and other girls just to get out for a while.

Maybe it’s stressful to be in the house right from school and they need some outside time. Make playdough and give them a rolling pin and cookie cutters and let her play in the kitchen. (playdough is easy to make ; flour,salt and water till it’s workable) I have a real recipe if you need it. I use it ALL the time. I dont mind the clean up because my kids will play at the table for an hour or more. we do alphabets and numbers and shapes and make all kind of crazy things just to unwind.

I’m sure that counseling will help her but for now I would not tell her about it, that might be to stressful for her.

Also if this isn’t poor levels, what about having her tested by the school. They can test her educational level to see if that might be a problem, at least you will be able to rule that out as well.

just some thoughts. Not sure if they will help but I had to get them down on here before I forgot again lol.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Howdy #1068021

Cathy, Congrats on "facilitator" I did notice that!!!!

SOrry about dd getting Lyme. My ds14 got it when he was 3 yrs old. 3 weeks of not feeling well on those antibiotics the poor the kid. That was prompted me to have him see a new Pediatrician. He got it and then a year later he was infested with nymphs (baby ticks) and I shaved his head and pulled 25 off of him. I called the dr.’s office and they said no need to test him again since there is no bullseye. I was Livid and demanded it and said that he could get something else from ticks as well. They said no. I said Ok I’ll find a dr.’s office that will comply and care about their patients. I went to a another pediatrician and they were great and I still use them for all the kids.

I wont say dont work hard because I see you all ready are doing that with everything that needs to be done and no one in the office to help. Hugs and prayers for some energy!!! Good vibes good vibes!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Any suggestions- Graves’ child behavior #1068036

how is she in school? Ski is right an IEP can be given to her for her issues even if they aren’t achedemic related. I have a boy in IEP he goes to ICS classes and is donig well. I had to fight to get where are for him but it was worth it. his goal is to not have an IEP by junior year so we’re working on it. he doesn’t have graves just some reading comprehension issues but again it’s catered to each child’s needs. The school can’t deny you that.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Weigh-in (just for fun) #1068756

I’m sticking my tongue out at ya! Saying neener neener neener… i’m 150 lbs and was trying to loose some weight but it didn’t happen so I’m sticking out my tongue and sticking my fingers in my ear saying la la la la and not listening to anyone say anything about loosing weight LOL LOL LOL

How is that for being a brat ! LOL

Dealing with something today so once i"m done with that I’m going to really try to loose some weight. Hoping tonight stops the stress of what I was waiting for. after this I can work on loosing weight.

Get er done!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Any suggestions- Graves’ child behavior #1068033

I am so sorry you and your dh are going through this!

First thing I would do is stop telling her about counseling. What 8 year old wants to see someone they don’t know to listen to what they would think is nonsense. If counselor or psychiatrist asks her why are you doing this? Her answer will be I have no clue and she will think she is "bad". If someone asks her why do you think you are feeling this way, her answer will be I dont know I just do it thus again she will feel bad. As much as you and your husband are at wits end, can you imagine the feelings inside of her brain and how she wants to figure out what is wrong and why she is doing what she is doing and why is mom and dad so upset and mad at me. This is HUGE for an 8 year old to handle. I would let up on talking to her about seeing someone right now. Even if you do send her to see someone eventually, it should never be while she is alone and it shoudl be in the comfort of her home not an office at first.

I am sure others will have info for you to get her the help she needs. The best thing you can do for her is get her levels checked which is what you are doing. make sure you get the ranges and let us know.

Remember this isn’t her and she doesn’t want to be this way either but she has no clue what is going on. Even if you tell her it’s her Graves disease she really has no clue that this is what is causing her ranges.
Do you have her on a schedule, does she need a nap when she gets home? Her levels might be all screwed up and she can’t sleep or she is over tired.

Hugs to you,dh and dd. continue to come on here so we can support you all. It can’t be easy at all….let us help!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Just an update from Lauren #1068047

Lauren,
If you aren’t feeling well clearly there is something wrong. YOU are your best advocate. Learn what you can, teach yourself about your body. Get the feeling of how you feel during certain times of the month and when you might be depressed or feeling great. Learning about your body and your symptoms and what triggers you to be upset thus making you even more depressed and adding to the whole I don’t feel well thing, will help you.

Make sure you are healthy too, go for your annual check up.
Make sure you get your papsmear and mammogram. Don’t skimp out on those, they are so important.
Make sure you keep up with your dental health. I know sometimes we can’t afford ins. or have not so great ins. and can’t go the dentist even for a check up but you can clean your teeth well and make sure you floss. FLossing is truly the best thing because it helps keep the stuff that causes cavities from in between your teeth.
Make sure you get an appt with the eye dr. as well.

Keep your mental health in check by doing some little things that will cause your brain to stay on it’s toes. Like, when you brush your teeth or comb your hair, do it with the other hand.
Grab a list of 5 things and say them and then try to remember them right away then again a few minutes later, then again in a few more minutes.
Put some lipstick on and laugh at yourself in the mirror for putting on makeup without having to go out. I put on make up and perfume just because I want to. not because I have to go out.
Learn something knew or read a good romance book or horror book to get your brain thinking of new things.

have a good day!
I fixed my post to make sure it shows the correct ranges lol

[mamabear]

in reply to: My choice of treatment and a question about it #1068053

I agree with nancy. I was on PTU choice of ATD at the time. I was on it and stable and still felt "weird" in stressful situations.

fast forward to NOW and guess what.. I do not need medicine at all and I am perfectly within my TSH levels, I tend to be on the low side but there is nothing I can do about that. But in a stressful situation it’s fight or flight and I get all red and feel panicked and can’t think straight for a moment. Yep, two years in remission with no meds and doing GREAT and I hate situations that are stressful. I can’t imagine that what you had to do was a piece of cake. Find a good place inside your head and go there so that you feel better when it happens again, or if you have to fire someone else. (I would hate to have to do that)

Continue the treatment that best fits your needs right now. We’re here for ya!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart #1068082

Lauren,
Did your old endo give you a reason as to why he thinks you no longer needed to go to him?

Do you have your records from him ? If not please call them tomorrow and get them to send you a paper that you will have to sign and sign it and mail it back or go the office if it’s close and do it. Tell them you want ALL copies of your records not just of your labs. IF they say that you have to pay for them, tell them "do I have to pay for them if I request that they be sent to a different dr."? If they say no, then once you have established that this new dr. is ok, have them mail it there.

Personally I would start from scratch with this new dr. and not have him tainted by any nonsense the old one was giving you. A fresh start might be in order, a clean slate that doesn’t have anything about any mental issues, or depression issues. YOU can tell him what medicines you are on and tell him that your dr gave them to you. Tell him you feel strongly that your issues are related to your thyroid not be stable, even though it is within limits it fluctuates way to much.

Call the new dr’s office a few times to see if there is anyone who canceled. Yes there is a waiting list but you never know. Another good reason is so you get a feel for the receptionist. A GOOD receptionist is a huge key factor in a good dr’s office. If she is nasty and fast with you on the phone, that might indicate that the dr. is overbooking and she is at her wits end. A receptionist that is willing to be fast but talk to you like you are human and you can hear it in her voice that she is kind IS the kind of place you would want. If he has a good reputation and the front desk staff is fast and not so nice, you might want to try it anyway. Not many people talk highly of dr’s so when someone does it is a big something to me.

I have to admit that the front desk staff make it or break it in my book. But I am very very picky about who I see. I only surround myself with dr’s who know my name and smile when I ask how they are. Oh yes I make it a point to ask the front desk staff how they are doing and also ask the dr as well when I see them. You can judge a persons nature when they answer that.

You are on a road that we will help light the way for. It’ll be hard but it wont be impossible. ” title=”Very Happy” />

[mamabear]

in reply to: Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart #1068080

lauren wrote:Im having blood tests taken weekly and last week,

they were; FT4 = 15 (range: 10-20), tsh 1.6 (range: 0.3-4.0) and FT3 4.6 (range: 3.0-6.0)

this week: FT4 = 18(range: 10-20), tsh .90 (range: 0.3-4.0) and FT3 5.2 (range: 3.0-6.0)

I am posting this with the ranges from her other post just so people know what they are.

Lauren I am not sure of the test results but I can assure you that someone will be by with some insight. It seems that all of the levels are within the range but I’m not sure when it comes to hypo.

” title=”Smile” />

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