[mamabear]

in reply to: What to make of my levels…. new to graves and prego! #1062534

There has already been some great advice given!
I was diagnosed before getting pregnant but was on PTU when pregnant and was taken off of it when I was 3 months because my levels were leveling off and the pregnancy was taking over and the dr. feared that if my TSH level went over 4.0 there was a chance it would go even higher and could miscarry. I went off the PTU and was fine the rest of the pregnancy BUT I was tested every 4 weeks to make sure.

PTU is best taken with a mouth full of milk first then put the pill in and swallow quickly. That stuff tastes like crap!
DO NOT take your renatal with your PTU, it will make you wanna puke!

It was already said to ask the dr. what you can do while on bedrest, if you crochet or knit this would be a great time to work on something for the baby.
Maybe a good book OR start a journal for the next two weeks so you have a keepsake for yourself and the baby!

I taught myself the basics of crochet while trying to get pregnant and it was a bit frustrating at the time but I am happy I did it. If you get upset easily do not attempt learning something new right now.
Maybe you can organize paperwork you have not been able to get to. Ask dh to set up a table for you so you can have him bring some in and you can access it easily and work while in bed or the couch.

Symptoms for me for Graves and pregnancy were kind of similar so when in doubt speak to the OB and ask them. I remember at 4months pregnant while riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle, we had stopped and I was very very dizzy. We weren’t sure if it was Graves because I had not gotten my test results back (it was my 4 week testing time) so I called the dr. and he said it wasn’t the TSH level, and it wasn’t from being in the sidecar. He said it might be that I am low on sugar(i have no sugar issues), and said to drink a soda and sit down and see what happens. So i did and it worked. I did that my entire pregnancy and my Graves was in check the entire time.
I have had 4 pregnancies and 4 babies, 3 of which I had after being diagnosed, so if your thinking in your head you can’t get pregnant after this one and are afraid, trust me yes you can! I also went to a reproductive Endo as well for help.

good luck and keep us posted!
Congrats on the baby!!!!

[mamabear]

in reply to: GD is controlling my life… #1063490

I literally had a pen and paper at the ready for me, so when I knew I had to do something I wrote it down. I started to wear a lanyard around my neck with pad and pen in a little bag so I would always have something to write on. My cell isn’t always handy but when I do have it I do use it to jot down notes as well then at home I put everythign down on one big piece of paper that is always in site.

I have a google calendar and I set reminders for twice a day to help me look at my to do list and my immediate list.

If I dont write it down I will forget. So i write it down and when I forget I know where to look!

You WILL get your life back…. it will take time to heal be patient with your body. I know it is hard to say but even if the labs show that you are getting better, you still have antibodies in you and that will make you feel all icky. It takes time to heal, give your body the rest it needs and try to do your best at work. It’s the only thing we can ask of our bodies, we can’t do better than that when we are sick. It might be better to tell your boss what is going on.

[mamabear]

in reply to: How to Choose / Tapazole/Thyroidectomy/RAI #1063569

I am in a rush but wanted to comment ….

You were on Tapazole(Methimozole) and were good for a while. Got off of it and was fine for a good long time! Congrats to you on that!
You even had a serious surgery as well, sorry to hear that! But good that levels were ok.
So late 08′ to this summer of 10′ is about 1 1/2 years… That’s pretty darn good to be in remission without meds!

Did you have a cold in the winter or spring of this year? That might have triggered you go to out of remission.

I think that if you did Tapzole before and it worked out well for you, why not try it again? Of course do as previous posters suggested and take the bloodwork and make sure you’re levels are ok and Liver functions are ok as well. IT’s good to take blood work for liver,kidney and stuff like that before you start to get a base line.

If your dr. says no tell him you want to try, if he refuses then seek another dr. he can’t force you to do anything you dont want to do.

I’m in remission and was on PTU(I was trying for a baby and pregnant on and off from 02′-06′,so PTU was choice at the time)

If I go out of remission again I would gladly try Tap/PTU again. If I was unable to control the Graves on the ATD’s I would have opted for something else but I was lucky and I feel so were you so maybe it can happen again!

Good luck and keep us posted.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Help! Problems with my finger nails! #1063523

Teamchris wrote:Thanks for all the response!No one in my life seems to understand how bad I really feel because they cant see anything wrong with me, I look the same, after all, so what is my problem?
Unless you are going through it yourself no one will understand. BUT you can educate them, let them come here or ask them to read up on Graves. The more information you provide to them the easier it will be for them to look and read and learn.
Well, it seems to me that everything is wrong, and it doesn’t help that I just recently had a baby and was diagnosed with Postpartum Depression. I was diagnosed in April of this year with Hyperthyroid and it seems the issue started during my pregnancy. I have an 11 year old that due to a bad first marriage with a lazy husband I was only able to nurse her for 3 months and I know it sounds crazy but, I have been sore about it ever since.
You might not want to hear this but I will say it anyway… You might be thinking it but never really did it. During something like this is when we tend to look at ourselves and realize that no one is perfect and forgiveness is something that doesn’t help the other person get off the hook, forgiveness helps US to heal. I would try to think about your bitterness towards your ex when it comes to the nursing and forgive him for it. He isn’t perfect and could very well be a jerk or the nicest person in the world either way we all have faults. I wasn’t a great wife to my ex either, I was young and stupid. My 2nd marriage is different.
I really just wanted to nurse this one and I didn’t want to be told that I couldn’t.
Having hind sight with my mastitis and knowing I had no choice but to stop or I would become very toxic I was upset as well that I had no choice. UNTIL I REALIZED I DID HAVE A CHOICE!!!! I CHOSE to stop, I truly didn’t have to, the nurse said I could go toxic and hurt myself and go on antibiotics and see if that would help. I chose to stop! Even though it was due to making a choice I still was the one who made it.
Like you said, You will make the right choice. But you are forgetting, that it IS your choice!!! No one can force you to do anything, there is a bump in the road of motherhood and you must choose! You choosing to no longer nurse if your choice and believe me I know the pain and anger that comes with stopping. That baby’s face looking up at you and smiling while nursing is the most wonderful feeling in the world. YES you are right, it will stink and you will miss, but will be able to keep that bond as long as you continue to bottle feed the same way. Very close to your body and with love! I can’t think of a better way, that way there is no loosing that bonding time.
Sorry that I am rambling on, my thoughts are so spontaneous and erratic! I was always so independent and now I feel like I have to have someone hold my hand for everything, especially decisions, and then I get suspicious of the person that I wanted help from in the first place, what a nightmare. So now I’m driving people away and making people crazy!!

No reason to be sorry, you have Graves and PPD. WOW!! that is something isn’t it! I need you to speak with your daughter who is 11 and explain to her that you are "sick" BUT you are ok and will be fine. Remember to explain that tehre is an illness but that it will be fixed and for her not to worry. She is 11 and isn’t a fool, she knows something is wrong and you need her to be honest with you about how you might be treating her. BUT dont’ let her sucker you either.

Continue to vent here, you’re doing great!

[mamabear]

in reply to: kind of excited #1063554

I am one of the lucky ones!!! Of course you can be excited! If it doesn’t happen so be it but at least you are looking forward to it if it does. Its better than sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Been there done that, happy to hear you have a good endo who also looks at the good as well and doesn’t mind saying that if that doesn’t happen what the other options might be.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hello Again #1063514

Oh sarah, this is truly from the disease!!!! High then low, crying yet happy. Crazy yet crazy… ummm wait no, umm feeling crazy but not crazy..Yeah no never mind in my case its feeling crazy but still crazy. I deserve to say that since I have 4 kids! LOL
Everything you are feeling is normal!!!! It stinks, but it is still normal. So glad you went to the Cardio and kudos to him because he said you should stop in to see your endo!! Good dr. for suggesting it, most wouldn’t.

Tell your dad that this is normal and try to keep him in the loop as much as possible, even have him come on here to learn more if need be. It will help him understand that this isn’t "you". You might even get angry with him and lash out, again this isn’t you and it will get better.

I will suggest that you DO NOT make any other serious discussions until your levels are under control. I am hoping the dealership didn’t take advantage of you, if they didn’t you never know who might if you have to buy something else. It was just something I learned when not feeling myself. NEver make or do anything that might end up badly in the future.

Keep us posted, don’t worry about venting…that is why we are here!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Help! Problems with my finger nails! #1063521

You WILL get through this, but it takes time and it takes medicine to help you. As for your feet, please discuss it with your Endo BUT also see a Podiatrist. You might have to shop around for a good one. I went through 3-4 before finding one I love. If you dont love your Podiatrist then dont go back. Thats that type of dr. in my book that I truly have to love because my feet are very important to me. I went to him one day for a recheck on my feet (i had ingrown toenail) and I had cut my thumb the day before and had a bandage on it. He looked and said what did you do? I said I hurt it and dont want to see my general dr. He laughed, made me take off bandage and he cleaned it and butterfly stitched it for me! ” title=”Very Happy” />
I know a pod dr. looks at feet so not sure if he will take care of hands as well or a dermatologist might be better to see but I know the pod dr. will be able to tell you if it’s a true fungus or just the graves.

Good luck and I’m sorry this was long but I can’t help it! ” title=”Wink” /> ” title=”Wink” />

[mamabear]

in reply to: Help! Problems with my finger nails! #1063520

Hello and welcome…
Bobbi, that was a very very kind and gentle way of putting that Chris’ health is the most important thing to the baby right now! Chris and Bobbi is right, if you can not take medicine while breastfeeding then the best thing for your baby is to stop breastfeeding. There is no getting around it, YOU are the most important thing in that baby’s life and if you are in trouble with illness it wont do a dang bit of good to continue to be sick just because you feel that breastfeeding is the better choice. YES breastfeeding is the greatest gift a woman can give to her baby…ummm besides loves and attention and all the other good stuff ” title=”Wink” /> .

I didn’t have the support with my ds15 to breastfeed, I had no clue what to do and was told to stick a bottle in his mouth. 8 Years later with my 2nd(i was remarried) I had all the support from my husband and family. I was able to go 5months and I had two breast infections. It was rough but i did it.
18months later I had my 3rd child and was only able to nurse her 3 months due to the mastitis (breast infection)
and 2 years later with my last I was only able to nurse her 6 weeks. I was devastated, I cried so much but my health was more important than trying to nurse through the pain and the fevers and such.

I am all for it when you say that you want to nurse your baby! Kudos to you! But the fact is, is that you are sick and not taking medicine isn’t hurting you and your heart and muscles and everything inside of you. HyperThyroid also causes us to not think properly even though we think we are fine.

From your post it seems that it has been just about a year since your first diagnosis, that’s a long time to have this without any help. I would never tell a healthy woman to stop breastfeeding, I feel it is our choice. I wont tell you to stop either but I strongly suggest you do and know that you are doing the right thing for your baby.
I also have to mention that if you have a support group that you go to for breastfeeding, they might not understand why you must stop and will say that you shouldn’t stop. Please do not let that be the reason you continue to nurse. If you truly can only take the medicine without nursing then that is what has to be done.

I know what Graves does and I know what having a baby does with our moods and post pardum depression. You might not even know you have it until you say "wow wait I think I have PPD". I remember when my 4th was born in July… by October I was crying all the time and I finally said to my dh "oh I think I have PPD, I don’t know what to do". He laughed at me and said well lets get it figured out together, I was wondering when you were going to realize it!" It was his playful and thoughtful manner that helped me and talking about it with him was really what helped and I was over it fast. That doesn’t happen to everything but you can speak to someone you trust or see your dr about it. I’m not saying you have PPD but you should speak to someone even if it is just your dh about the possibility. Lack of sleep doesn’t help either!

Do you know the people in your grocery store? If so, tell some of them about your Graves. I have been going to my store for 14 years. 8 years ago when I was pregnant with 2nd child, I was alone and walking around just a few months pregnant. I was passing the courtesy desk and didn’t feel well. I touched the counter and said where is "G", they looked at me and yelled to her, she saw me and ran over and said ok come with me, took me to the back where the food court was and sat me down, bought me an ice tea and stayed with me for 20 minutes till I was ok. No one said a word to her about staying with me! They have helped me through out the years as well with the rest of the kids. Trust me when I had 3 kids screaming and I needed help they came running with funny faces to shut them up!
You might want to get to know people in the store, say hello to them, read and use their name from their name-tag every time you go there. It helps, and if you have a problem there sit for a few minutes even if it’s just on the bench in the front of the store. Keep a water with you, I started donig that and it helped when I had to sit for a few. At least I had the water already and would just sit and sip on the water.
The people at my store know me and know how I am, I never felt embarrassed at all. I tend not to get that way or care if others look at me but I never ever had that feeling from anyone at this store. They were always willing to help, I remember one cashier said "You call me by name every time you see, so what is your name?" It was nice to hear.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hyperthyroidism: natural supplements or RI? #1063544

I have to reiterate this… Thyrophin has NOTHING to help thyroid issues. It has no Thyroid anything in it. In order to put in on the market it must have NO Bovine Thyroid at all in it.
You say you do not understand it just like you dont understand how tylonal works. There are many ways on the internet to learn about this "Thyrophin" and also how Tylonal works. Please please research any thing you put into your body. As kids we trusted out dr’s to give us Tylonal and we would be safe, well they said that about baby aspirin too and see what we have learned over time with that. It is up to US to learn not for us to take the word of a dr..
Please at least ask your dr. to give you at least 6 peoples names that HE/SHE given this too and it has worked. WHat I mean by worked is, remission while on it with no other medicines nor having other medicines before it.
Even if you have an ADT prior to getting off of it due to allergy or what ever other reason, it can help you go into remission. Yes it is rare but it does happen. I am proof!

The person that is on something other than the ADT that they went of could have gone into remission due to the ADT. Because we don’t give our bodies time to adjust to what we are currently on and switch to something knew we dont know what is working and what would have worked.

Also, TSH that is 0.03 is NOT in remission. I remember all of my numbers were just fine except my TSH which was 0.01-0.03 depending and the range was 0.3-5.5 (back in the day!) and i was confirmed Graves. There was only ONE time I had all of my levels out of range but other than that it was only always the TSH so I’m not a dr. but that doesn’t sound like you are confirmed NO graves. I’d get a 2nd opinion.
Please read up on Graves and ranges and just because the TSH is the only thing that is off doesn’t mean you are fine.

Research please.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hyperthyroidism: natural supplements or RI? #1063540

I looked up Thytrophin PMG, did you know that it doesn’t have ANY Thyroxine in it? This is simply a pill from dried Bovine (Bovine is an ungalate to include such animals as Cattle, Bison, Water Buffalo, African buffalo and Yak) thyroid tissue that has to be free of Thyroxine before being sold, so what good does it do you?
Oh it also says how Thyroxine from this "Thyrophine" helps but again there is to be NO trace of Thyroxine in this stuff before it goes to market. YOU MUST read the info that is out to see if this stuff is full of crap or not.

Unless your dr. has done a study with this medicine with patients that had no other help but this particular "suppliment" and the persons were doing just fine then I wouldn’t even consider it. Don’t mess with your thyroid it isnt worth it.

It is not FDA approved for any Thyroid purpose at all.
It can’t hurt you because it doesn’t have anything in it to harm you BUT it doesn’t have anything in it to help your thyroid either, so why bother.

What can hurt you is ignoring the issue which is the Hyperthyroidism. I’m not saying that adding suppliments to your diet to help support good nutrician isn’t a good thing but eating the right foods rich in vitamins, iron, calcium and other things we needs is the better choice.

I have never met someone that was using "Natural" things to help their Graves/Hyperthyroidism be in good shape. They had to go the route of using the medicines out there that were approved for the help in this sort of problem and they were much better for doing so. I would never allow a dr. to tell me oh use this natural stuff without doing research on it, I googled that and there is no way I would use it.
BUT I also don’t believe that you should run and get RAI either. YOU have to do the leg work and research it and see what works for you.

You can’t have both a naturopath and an Endocrinologist working on this problem. Because one will say the other is full of poop and vise versa.

Your Endo is the one who has seen you face to face so I can’t say that he is making the wrong decisions about the RAI, he can only state his opinion. Have you asked him about how he feels about you going on an ADT, like Tapzole(methimazole) first to see if that helps before rushing into RAI?

There are other options that are out there besides the RAI, it is up to you to stand your ground with your Endo and tell him you want to try those options before doing the RAI. If he says no….guess what!? Yep you can seek another endo that will listen to you and do what is best for YOU not for him.

The first endo I saw said RAI, I said no, he didn’t like that… I didn’t go back to him!
2nd endo was a great dr. he said try the ADT (at the time was PTU), and I did and it worked for me. Some people have to use Tapazole but that is between the ENdo and you to determine what is best for you.

it is scary to think that you dont have control BUT YOU DO! You have a right to say no and do your own research but please just because you feel ok doesn’t mean the damage inside isn’t being done. Don’t wait to long. Continue to ask questions here with other thigns you come across and we’ll help!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Teenagers with graves disease? #1063627

So sorry to hear that you have Graves’. Being a teenager isn’t easy either. I have 4 kids, ages: 15 & 7 (boys) and the girls are 4 & 6. I’m 37 now but when I was a teen I can recall the feelings of being hyper even though I wasn’t tested till I was 18 and even then the tests showed I was "just fine" . I knew something was wrong and my mom did too. I couldn’t consentrate in school and well life was hard and it wasn’t easy not knowing so I just went on with life. I still didnt have a confirmed positive result till I was 27 years old, before that it was always fine/borderline. Looknig back I can tell there was something wrong but it just wasn’t "triggered" yet. OH well I wont complain!

It is hard and making sure you speak to your family about this and venting with them and on here can help get you through this. Having support with your parents will be key, as far as friends go…. I have learned that I have had many many friends but only one true friend I trust and rely on when I need her. SHe was someone from high school a few years younger than me and she is still my best friend after all this time. THere were a few years we didn’t speak because she was in the military and our lives were crazy but we are very close again and have been for years. Finding that is hard to find but once you have somenoe like that it’s wonderful. Being a teenager you wish to have many friends to chat with and share things with and you should have them, having graves disease makes it hard because they dont understand it. You might watn to get a few friends on here to talk about things as well and let us help explain what you are going through AND what THEY are going through with being your friends and have had to watch from you while you were hyper. It isn’t easy having a friend wtih Graves either, scary for most teenagers so maybe they need someone to say hey it’s ok and although it is scary your friend is still your friend. Teenagers need reassurance that all will be ok, I can imagine what it was like for them knowing you were getting RAI done or having to take ATD’s and them not working. Being all crazy with Thryoid storm in front of someone can scare them to death as well or even being nasty to a friend can scare them because they dont know if its you or the Graves.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Graves’ Disease – Tips & Tricks for hair/skin/mental health #1075259

Bumping this up

[mamabear]

in reply to: hair loss – any tips? #1063595

Oda, I am sorry you are going through this. I will check my post and make sure it is up to date. I like doing that every now and then to make sure I post/edit any new information on that Thread just in case.

I have a lot of hair, although I have cut it recently. My dh has over 3 ft of hair as well. We surely know about hair in this house! I am sure you know your head and how your hair grows but with Graves it can get kooky so don’t fret, things might change and the time that it use to take you might not be as fast as you thought it was. Our hair grows in spurts just like our nails. It looks like it’s growing fast then seems to slow down, in general that is the rule of thumb. We also shed our hair as well and it looks like a heck of a lot of hair but it really isn’t and add to that if you have very long hair it looks like even more hair loss when truly it isn’t.
Now I’ve had the chunks come out and wow it was scary back then. But teaching yourself to be kind to it will help you get through this.

I might add that if you truly feel your hair has stopped growing to do what my dermatologist said… FYI, I went to her with our dd4, at the time was 2 and said dd4’s hair isn’t growing, it’s stringing and patchy and I think something is wrong. I mean dd4 at 2 still had all of her baby hair, I hadn’t cut it yet and it was very thin. So Dermatologist said cut it, because cutting it will show me that it is growing. So I gave dd4 bangs and sure enough I noticed I was trimming those bangs a lot, so yes her hair was growing it just grew slowly.
Now she is 4(dd4) and her hair is so nice,except where she has bedhead. lol
You might want to trim a little piece and measure it to see where it is and check it in a month or two and see how much has grown.

Another FYI, I am living proof of thinking I had fast growing hair. I am a natural blond, I got darker as I got older so I decided to bleach my hair lighter in March of 2008. Oh what a mess that was, It was red and well lets just say after red, there was plantinum then not sure what color then after a year of this I said no more. So March 2009 I said this is the last coloring I am doing and I dyed it dark blond and although the color did wash out, i did see roots and I figured in a few months I would have a full head of natural color hair again…Well well well, it’s been 1 year and 7 months and I’ll go measure it right now..hold on….

ok measurement done. it’s about 10 inches in just over a year and a half. So half my head is natural then there is another 10 inches of bleach blond. So it’s proven that my hair didn’t grow as fast as I thought it was, i just had a lot of it that’s all.

It’s hard to have hair and want to keep it and have to deal with loosing it when we have graves. THe only thing I can say is it stinks when we are where you are right now but having hind sight I would have taken better care of it back then and played with a shorter cut because eventually it would grow back. Just a thought for you… Having no choice with your hair when it comes to graves isn’t fun, it’s different if we say yeah I’ll cut it. Try some of the things in that Thread and see if it helps.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Is this true? #1063761

Many years ago at a young age I was married, had a child and well leaving my ex caused a lot of stress, living with my parents again..even more stress! My job was stressful and I just didn’t want to do anything. I was quite ill after the birth of my first child, so ill that I lost a lot of weight and thought I have HyperT. I didn’t though.
The stress was hard and at the time I had a boyfriend who had to deal with these issues that I had as well. We wont get into all the details but lets just say I caused more stress by being 23 and not realizing he was "the one". I was raised in a not so great house so I had issues lol.
Still thyroid tests showed nothing wrong.

A few years later I wound up getting the Flu, never had it before at least to my knowledge and 3 months later was said to have Graves’ disease. The flu was my "trigger" the stress wasn’t. Everyone is different though. I do avoid stress and I do avoid getting sick at all costs… with 4kids that’s a bit hard but I do well with proper heigene and hand washing for everyone who comes into my home.

15 years later, I’m 37 married to that man I didn’t think would happen and have 4 great kids! It’s a long haul, fight for your life back… take baby steps it will happen…. When you feel you’ve hit rock bottom…vent on here and we’ll help you back up on your feet.

[mamabear]

in reply to: Possible recurrence 16 years post surgery? #1063720

I agree, looks like a trip to an Endo is in order.
With your sinus issues, coudl this be post nasal drip?
Did your General dr. do a Strep Test to see if this is just strep that is causing the throat problem?
do you have a rash anywhere on your body or very itchy-that is very typical of a Strep infection.

You know your body better than any lab work, so keep up the good work with knowing what is going on with you and keep a log of it. Keep your general dr. aware of what is going on.

[Author]

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