[mamabear]

in reply to: Rapidly enlarged thyroid / thyroid bleed? #1072502

I will not be able to give any info on what you are asking, there will be people in here that will be able to help you with that. They aren’t here right now but once they see this they will post.

As for you Here is a ((((((big huge))))) for you.
Take a deep breathe, and than another.

I am sure it is hard to deal with your baby girl being sick and wondering where the heck it came from. It is never easy for our kids to be sick as we watch and feel helpless for not being able to fix it with a band aid or some milk and cookies.

Trust your gut.
When in doubt, take a hot bath and rethink about things and that feeling you get when your laying there thinking about it is what you should go with.

Please know that this can cause many different moods for her so bear with her for now. She wont know how to deal with this at first and wont know why she is acting the way she is acting. Stay strong and show her you are there for her no matter how she acts(and I mean angry,sad,crying for no reason,hyper,depressed all in one).
I wont assume you are a Mrs. Or a Ms. but I will say that if you do have a husband and he lives with you that the both of you should know that this is not something to fight over. Many people have fought over their child being sick and it wound up in divorce. The best thing you can do for your daughter is to be a good team as parents and if you have to argue don’t do it in front of her. Stress is not good for any thyroid issues.
Don’t let the stress consume you or your husband either, you both need to be strong for her and healthy.

Good luck, I hope you get your answers soon.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Having Surgery in two weeks, and am nervous!! #1073428

Thinking of you and hoping you are feeling better!!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Itchy skin #1072552

belldandy, have you tried the Johnson & Johnson Band Aid brand Anti itch gel? It’s great on hives, works fast and works on mosquito bites as well. Awesome stuff for a quick fix. Do you take allergy meds as well, that will help with your allergies, even if it’s just over the counter zyrtec(i use the generic).

[mamabear]

in reply to: skin problems? #1073200

I would also recommend a trip to Dermatologist asap. Make the appt. now because it takes a while to get in to see them, tell the receptionist that you have Graves’ disease and are in trouble with your skin NOW and that you would like to be put on the waiting list for cancelations. You can always say no thank you if they call and you can’t go but remember to keep your regular appt..

If you or a friend has a digital camera, take GOOD pictures of your skin as close as you can get without getting fuzziness. That will greatly help the Dermatologist if your skin is clear on the day you see her/him.

THis is a quesiton for an Online Facilitator:
Isn’t there a skin issue related to Graves’ disease? I thought it was on the shins but can be associated else where?

[mamabear]

in reply to: Understanding PTU and Lag Time #1072508

My Endo told me at the time, that when a dose is changed you should wait 4 weeks before testing again to give the meds and your body time to work. But they did do 2 weeks in between "just in case".
They even told me that you can have your tsh tested one day and be 0.01 and the next day be 0.03 and the next day be 0.20, they said it can fluctuate like that, that is why they wait 4 weeks to see if there is any improvement.
Not sure this was right but it seemed to be when I was on the meds.
Not sure if things have changed in the last two years OR Dr’s vary in what they say.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Bilateral Orbital Decompression #1072519

Hello and welcome!!!
I am sorry that you are going to have to undertake the surgery for any reason.

I am unable to respond to your question but I know the people who will respond will ask you this;
What type of surgery?
What is the reason for the surgery?
Do you have Graves’ Disease?
Do you have Thyroid Eye Disease?(Graves’ disease and Thyroid Eye are two separate issues although your eyes can protrude with Graves’, Thyroid Eye is a separate Disease although you can get both of them).
I am not sure about posting pictures as I am not a facilitator or moderator so I can’t answer yes or no to that one.
Do you currently have Graves’ and are being treated for it?

What ever your answers are either way, I’d like to say…
Has the dr. made sure you were ready for surgery (pre surgical testing)?
Are you aware of exactly what you are about to do and prepared for it? <—-not asking the question for you to answer me just saying that this is something your dr. should have made you comfortable with by now.

Prayers for a good out come and again welcome here!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Itchy skin #1072550

just to let everyone know, The best thing we have seen help with hives is the Johnson & Johnson Band Aid brand itch gel.
Wow it works great

[mamabear]

in reply to: Itchy skin #1072547

Hello again.
Unless you were treated with injections to gradually build up a resistance for your allergies you might still have them, or no longer have the same ones or have new ones to boot. I would retest if it has been more than 2 or more years of your last testing.

Allergies can come in many different forms. My daughter who is 4 going to be 5 this summer has eczema and we thought it was due to allergies. She was tested twice and she has none at all. I was shocked and mad because well I can fix eczema due to allergies.
My daughter’s eczema gets flared up due to contact dermatitis to things like detergents. I thought using a "baby detergent" would be great for her since it is supposed to be gently. Yeah NOT! Then my mother in law thought that using a "gentle" detergent on her would be better. Oh heck NO! So finally I decided to use Free and Clear. Any brand will due, i have used the expensive ones(Tide) and the cheap ones too (ALL) and they do the same and what is great is that they don’t bother her skin and mine(I have eczema too, i’ll get into that in a minute). Someone even makes a Free & Clear dryer sheet and I use that as well. I miss the great smell of detergents and fabric softeners but our bodies are worth it. I don’t even let someone use the washer with anything but what I use because that just gets into her clothes.( i have my own washer/dryer but I do use the wash and fold sometimes and they use the same as I do).

Just some notes for you on what we tried;

We were using Dove on her but that didn’t help her.

I started to Head and Shoulders as well and realized that using it on the parts that are flared up worked great for her eczema.(it depends on the day and if she is in a flare or not).

After she is out of the shower, pat dry and immediate cream on her entire body. Moisturizing is key even if you dont have any patches or redness.

As for me well I have allergies just like you do(outdoor and indoor) and unless i get hit with pollen and wind up with an attack , i usually only get contact dermatitis from it. It’s so weird.
I can be near the dogs and never have a problem at all but once they touch my skin I am done for. The skin reacts so fast.
Grass touches me and my legs are all hived up. Again I use the same stuff like Free and clear to make sure we dont have any issues with contact dermatitis.

Funny thing is, I am allergic to Ivory ROFL, I swear it I am. LOL
I have used dove and am currently using Dial soap because it’s antibacterial (long story) and I love the stuff although I wish it was so purfumy. But again teh key is to get out of the shower and pat dry and get a good cream all over the body. I use Cereve (lightly) because it works well and doesn’t have a strong smell to it. I notice that many products when I am red/inflamed burn so have a care if you do wind up breaking skin.(use vasaline petroleum jelly when/if that happens).

Good habit to start is (shower,rinse well,pat dry DONT wipe down hard, then moisturize asap).

[mamabear]

in reply to: Desperately need advice #1072706

Glad that he was willing to give you a months worth.

SKi, I have a question. Can PTU also cause that bone marrow supprestion or just Tapazole? If not then why don’t dr’s just put people on PTU?

[mamabear]

in reply to: Itchy skin #1072543

I have no medical degree so don’t quote me with anything I am about to say ok ” title=”Wink” />

Have you been tested for allergies?

Do you have eczema/psoriasis?

What kind of soap do you wash with?

Do you moisturize? I know I know men don’t but from what I have read about men and Graves’ is that itchy skin is a big part of it. ( I look at a lot of forums but of course this one is my home, and the little I hear about men and graves’ it still comes up that skin is a big part for them).

Do you dye your hair(just for men dye or anything like that), or do you use other treatments on your hair?

Do you take other medicines that might cause a reaction?

Click on

---

> Here For some tips on skin.
Drink plenty of water and stay away from caffiene in any form.

I have to go for now but will be back shortly after dinner to post more.

[mamabear]

in reply to: I’m a new member-with a new problem #1072576

I read when I researching to use Tapazole or PTU back in 2001 that;

Tapazole(methimazole) can cause bruising and bleeding in the literature that the drug companies provide. But my Pharmasist also said that not only can it cause that but it has been known in about less than 10% (could have been less than 5% though, forgive me I don’t remember) that it can cause discoloration of skin like on the gums.

I would call the the pharmaceutical company that makes that particular brand of Tapazole and ask them.

I hate to throw this out there without proof but I know I read it somewhere years ago and the pharmacist talked to me about it. It was when I was figuring out if tap was better than PTU. we went with PTU due to tryingn to get pregnant so I never did anything further with the Tapazole research.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Another new member #1072685

Not trying to seem silly but were you tested for Strep throat?
Do you have allergies, have you been tested for allergies? Not sure where you live but spring is almost here and trees are blooming and I’m in NJ and I am already with a sinus infection due to the Birch trees that love being in NJ and wreck havoc on me.
If you were tested and came out negative or were positive you might have new allergies or different ones than what you had before. (i didn’t think that could happen but it does and I am so not thrilled about allergies changing lol).

Washing your hands often and keeping away from people with colds can help you not get the cold bug that seems to like to settle itself nicely in your sinus’.
Washing your nose with a saline solution can also help(i do this at night time during the middle of spring due to pollen).

This is all I can think of for now, and the reason I say this is because I have pressure in my head and I feel like i’m going to explode and my nose and eyes are dying due to this pressure and it’s all about my cold and allergies so that is why I thought to say it to you.

Hugs and tissues

[mamabear]

in reply to: Graves after 23 years? #1072565

Welcome to all three of you newcomers!!!!

Willowbreeze I would speak with Endocrinologist or have your general dr. at least do a TSH,T4,T3,Thyroid antibodies test(if i’m wrong the others will correct me). Having those as a baseline will help determine if things are getting better for worse. If this is the same dr. they should know that you can become hypo, if this isn’t the same dr. make sure they know that you have RAI all those years ago.

Are you on medicine for your thyroid now, like thyroid supplement? If so many the dose is wrong and needs to be tweeked a bit.

Please see your eye dr. for any irritation at all that any of you have with your eyes.

Remember that Graves’ disease is different than Thyroid Eye. So even if you are doing ok on your meds or levels are ok and you are off meds and still fine that your eyes can have a different problem due to thyroid eye. If that makes any sense. again if i’m wrong I’ll be corrected.

My eye dr. wont even let me wear contacts at all, i have worn glasses my whole like and after I had the graves come out he said no way and even still that graves is in remission he still says no way. Poopy, but I trust him so I wont do it.

Sorry you are feeling icky, i do hope that you will get tested and find this out asap and get treatment if needed.
For now cotton tshirts, cotton underwear are a good way to help with the heat. Just putting your hands or feet into something cool/tepid will help reduce the symptoms. At least that helped me.

Also if you have gone through menopause or are going through it make sure that your body is getting enough of what it should be getting nutrition wise(calcium and other suppliments), talk it over with dr. to make sure.

You’ll get plenty of advice here, this is really the only advice I can offer.

[mamabear]

in reply to: GD Recurrence #1072580

GLadney, wow 4 years in remission without meds!!that is awesome to hear.
Yes get to dr. soon and check levels and if they come back normal then check it again soon after that just to be on the safe side. If you are out of range hopefully meds will bring you back into remission soon.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Mea culpa … I didn’t introduce myself. #1072593

Sorry for your loss in the sense of realizing what he was made of. But glad you did something about it and not live the way some do and not get a divorce.

[Author]

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