[mamabear]

in reply to: Iodine and no thryoid #1065760

This is odd… I use to use Iodized salt a lot as a kid into my adult life until I found out I had Graves’ disease. I use to eat a lot of salt mind you…. I know not good either way but just being honest.

I stopped using iodized salt completely when I found out I had Graves’ disease and although I use in on occasion I don’t cook with it, i use kosher or sea salt.

So should I be using iodized salt since I do have my thyroid even though I’m in remission?

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hope not going hyper again:( #1065890

i agree get tested asap!
glad to see you back!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Decisions, TT or RAI #1065880

no advice as I didn’t have either but wanted to say welcome and good luck either way and let us know, keep us posted!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Newly Diagnosed GD — Sad and Scared #1065850

Haute you will find many of us with different stories… But the bottom line to each story is that your health is more important than loosing or gaining weight.

as much as you are upset about reading about gaining weight…I begged for that many years ago! What I would have given to be "not skinny". My muscles were gone, I had no energy and now power to do a damn thing because I was so weak. My labs showed I was within limits so to dr’s I was "normal". After the birth of my 1st child at age 21 I was so sick and didn’t know why, long story short I was very skinny, I could fit into a size 3 stretch jeans and I’m 5’8" and NOT petite. I’m a big girl and I don’t mean overweight, I mean the German side I surely take after. Mom is very petite but not her little girl!!!! I cried at night thinking that I was wasting away and I would never gain it back. And that was in 95′ it wasn’t until 2001 that I was diagnosed finally with labwork that proved it.

I am sure you are a wonderful person….don’t sell yourself short…you have a good life to lead and many people I am sure love you. SO please don’t hurt yourself any further by not taking the medicine. It will help you regain your self back and take control of this disease and kicks it’s butt!If you dont’ take the meds you will not give yourself the chance to lead a normal and healthy life. This is not about being vain or conceited, we are both of those things at any given point in our lives. This is about your health and your future. The medicine will stabalize you and will be able to continue to do the things you wish to do. Once you are stable your dr. will tell you when it’s ok to work out.

I am in remission without any medicine for 3 years now. I am still 5’8" and although I am thin, i am not skinny. Not bad for a mom of 4 that is for sure. But I wouldn’t have been a mom of the last 3 if I didn’t take the meds and get better and healthy.

This is a journey that you have no choice making. You can adjust properly and go with it and it will take you far and bring you back to health or you can go a route that will bring you sorrow and the feeling of guilt because you didn’t take the meds and learn to eat properly and gain your self back. WE don’t want that for you, WE want you to be as great as you can be……………..so be a good person to yourself and take the medicine and see if it works and be kind to yourself. YOu are worth it! WE are all worth treating ourselves with respect and kindness and the best possible care we can give or get for ourselves.

I hope this helps you…stay on board here and ask what ever questions you wish!!

[mamabear]

in reply to: MRSA #1065903

do you currently have MRSA now?
Something as simple as wiping your nose with your hand and have a cut on your hand can introduce staph into the wound. Have you been tested to see if you have staph on your skin(colonized)?

good hand washing habits are always a plus.
stay away from hospital if you can avoid it.
stay away from public bathrooms but if you must then wash hands BEFORE you go potty, line seat with toilet paper, after potty then wash hands away and try to use a paper towel to open door.
Always wash hands before and after you get home from ANYWHERE.
Wipe down ALL things in the house that are touched by everyone(light switches, toilet handles, toilet seats, door knobs, car steering wheel (if just by you still do it) ). All of these things we do everyday but the kids could be bringing in stuff and we all know everyone as a habit wipes their nose with their hand. That can still carry staph so try not to do it but also know the kids do it so what you touch is something they have touched too!(icky!)

Take meds and do exactly what dr. says.

Healing from anything Graves’ or not is up to our body and how strong we are to fight it. Keeping germs at bay by hand washing will help build your immune system to something that might be able to fight off the next illness.

Glad to see you here again!

[mamabear]

in reply to: How often to have TSH checked after normal. #1065927

Peggy, thank you. I wanted to let you know that during my 2nd pregnancy is when I was on PTU (meds to control the hyper) and while pregnant I was taken off of it because pregnancy took over control and I was fine. During those years of being pregnant there were only a couple of times (one being the worst) that I was in need of taking the meds again. I am VERY lucky in how it worked out for me thus far.
I am for if it happens again I’ll try meds again, i am very much in the thinking of "I can’t kick it’s butt if I don’t know what it is, so knowing is everything to me….because then I can decide the ammo" If the ammo happens to be medicine well then so be it…if they say do RAI, at this point in my life depending on how bad I was I would probably do it. But it’s all about knowing what it is in order to sort out what to do next. Our maggie isn’t yet afraid to be called Margaret…she’s 3 and when called by her name she looks at you with hands on hips saying "yeah wadda ya want" with this smile that goes on and on and of course she looks just like me so I have to laugh. And she knows shes funny!!!! LOL

[mamabear]

in reply to: How often to have TSH checked after normal. #1065924

Peggy it’s very enlightening! Is peggy short for Margaret? I ask because I named my youngest daughter margaret after my Great Grandmother and it is also the name of the Nun who gave my husband his dog when he was a child many years ago. We call her maggie but I do love peggy ! The names society uses now a days seems so untraditional.

Glad you have reached this far in your journey. I still have my thyroid as the drugs that I used were able to help me and then of course I was pregnant from 2002-2006 at any given time during those years I was pregnant and had 3 of 4 children. (1st one was 95′). Its funny what life can throw at us and we just keep on tickin’

My mom is trying to become stable on her meds as well (she is hypo and also post menopausal at 55). It’s a long road!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Symptoms of too much replacement #1066337

Please make sure you speak to the dr. about his replacement for his retirement and or he recommends you should go to. I would at least have 2-3 office visits with the new endo well in advance of the current one retiring so if you have questions or doubts you can talk to your current one and if need be go with another different endo. If of course your ins. will allow for this, I know my old ins. use to as long as we paid the co pays it didn’t matter who we went to.
Make sure your general dr. also knows the endo will be retiring because if you dont have a new endo by then the general dr. will have to keep up with the thyroid in the meantime.

Get a copy of all of your labs, ask the receptionist for a copy of them for your own records. Don’t let them say oh we’ll send them to another dr.’s office for you. Just get a copy for you to always have so you dont have to worry that you dont have any, if you decide to change dr’s more than once then at least they are in your hands. You can always bring them with you and have the dr’s make copies for themselves or just have them write down what they need. I personally used an excel spreadsheet and gave them it.

good luck, we’re here for ya!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hair Loss #1066016

Tips and tricks for hair/skin and mental health Click that link and it will take you there to read.

I’m in a rush but wanted to comment for those of you who are going through this. Please make sure that you aren’t doing anything to damage your hair further. I have very long, just recently cut about 5 inches of it and it’s now in the middle of my back. as of right now I would say it’s not very healthy, I’m going through a rough period right now with kids and illnesses and just a lot of stuff so not taking care of hair the best that I could be. I dyed it for about a year from 2008-2009 and it’s growing out. I was in a pool and it burned my hair from a certain point down and well I have no idea how because my dh has even longer hair than I do but his is healthier so that might be it.

Combing it out helps get the dead ones out and although you are taking them out and feeling that all of it is coming out, your hair will look better after getting all of the dead ones out. But combing is better than brushing, so knots out with a comb then a good boar bristle brush is best for our hair. it takes time but really we need to pamper ourselves!

Personally I am of the mind that if my hair is falling out (which it was at one point) to cut it off and play with short hair. I am a very very simple person though and if someone told me I had breast cancer I would be of the mind to say well take them out and put big ones in. It is just that simple for me, I know a woman who had breast cancer and bought a few wigs and was having fun playing with them. I’d shave my head if I needed to and have fun with that as well. It’s just my nature, i’ve always been this way. BUT not all of us are so keeping what we have means taking care of it.
You may want to get a sateen pillow case for your pillows. Sateen sheets help keep the hair from getting tangled at night time. You can also use a night cap to bed. I did this with my dd3 because the back of her head was getting so horrible with her tossing and turning at night that it literally ripped hair out as she slept.

when putting your hair in a bun Don’t do it too tightly, you will break off pieces where you have it tight. Like SKI said, no coloring or perms…it’s just not worth it. No matter how Gentle it says it is when you have graves’ it just isn’t that way on the hair.

Deep conditioning helps too, take time for yourself and your hair. It doesn’t take but a few extra minutes in the shower. Wash hair really fast by putting shampoo on top of head, work in, then rinse out, while it’s rinsing out the rest will flow down your hair and wash that too, there is no need to put shampoo all over your head (just wastes shampoo). Then put a conditioner on hair starting at middle/bottom then work in and leave in for as long as it says. If you dont have a special treatment then leave your regular conditioner in for a few extra minutes. Rinse well, conditioner and or shampoo left in hair can also damage hair…so rinse well.

You can buy an anti frizz treatment and sparingly use it from bottom up to the middle of your hair(not top or it will look greasy). work it in and then style as usual then say "Cuz I’m worth it!!!" lol

Now I put on my shopping list to get another head hat for bedtime since I have not doing right by my hair either…. just been so busy and well I need to pamper my hair again. it needs a little TLC. lol

Have a great day!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Hyper symptoms #1066054

Kylar, where I live I am considered nuts for having 4, the norm is 3 or less. There are a few couples that have 5 and one has 7 kids. We giggle about having another, my oldest son (will be 15 ) says no more kids mom please! LOL DH and I agree that it’s not his life, he can have as many or little as he would like but we’ll have what we want. I’d love to have more but at times I feel we are done and should focus on the ones we have. I think my youngest daughter who is 3 wants me to have twin girls next lol. For now I’m fine with 4.

Carly, you are welcome.. Sleep can cause many problems even when we dont have graves’ disease. You wouldn’t deprive a child of food, so we shouldn’t deprive our bodies of at least 10 hours of rest. Try the best you can and retrain your body to get proper sleep. I know it’s hard when we are sitting there staring up at the ceiling but there is nothing we can’t accomplish even if its as simple as training our bodies to get the right amount of sleep.

Having a good bedtime routine is key…relaxing before hand is key! Getting in pj’s and getting into the bed is highly key. It helps your body know what time it is. You can do it!!!!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Am I Not Doing Enought For My Graves? #1065945

Ahhhh, you’re an IT guy! Well then you fix things, you are frustrated because you can’t "fix" this. Most of us that are "fixers" don’t like not be able to fix ourselves. We have to rely on others and sometimes those people just don’t have a clue either. lol

It is important for you to understand that even with the best of health, the best work out treatments and the best of intentions doesn’t mean you won’t get Graves’ Hyperthyroidism knocking at your door. It can mean that you might be fit enough that you wont look like you’ve lost 20 lbs here and there.
Here is a true example:
Female
Age: 53
Height: 5’2"
Weight: Thin
Petite but muscular due to her two hour a day work outs.
Diagnosed with Hypothyroidism the winter before and is on Thyroid Suppliments for it.

Spring time, winds up in hospital with a pocket of infection and her husband has no clue what could be wrong. Her dr.’s finally come to the conclusion that the infection is due to Crohn’s Disease (an auto immune disease). Long story short she went through surgery and then over the summer had a hard time again but is doing well and has been in remission (just means no other infections) for 2 years now. She still has to deal with the every day to day Crohn’s disease and what it does that makes you have to run to the bathroom and things like that but no more infections and she is grateful for that.

She lost so much weight during this time and all of her muscle mass. Has she not been as fit as she was her dr’s said she would have died. No joke! It was a hard thing to hear her tell me….she’s my mom. I use to laugh at her and say why oh why do you work out for that long every day? It’s unhealthy, she would laugh at me and say no it isn’t, i strength train then do cardio then muscle exercises then, then, then…. She said you never know when you’ll need to be fit! LOL boy she wasn’t kidding!

You can think to yourself "if I only did this" "if I only did that"…. At this point there is no reason to second guess yourself, you body is what it is and just make sure you eat well and exercise according to what your dr. says is ok to do. Now that you have said it out loud about your friend, you might be able to mend a little better. Put a smile on your face, you’re worth even if you don’t feel that you are. We are all worth it, graves’ disease takes it out of us so we dont’ feel we need to pamper ourselves. OH YES WE DO….. as often as we can, even if it’s just a cup of tea(herbal lol) or just hang out with some buddies that you haven’t seen in a while.

[mamabear]

in reply to: How often to have TSH checked after normal. #1065920

I agree with SKI. I too am in remission ! Congratulations to you! I am not sure if you are on medicine or not but I am 3 years in remission without meds and very grateful !
I get checked annually and anytime in between when dr. feels there is a need. I have 4 kids so being sick comes with having them, Dr. likes to make sure that I am feeling ok anywhere from 4-6 weeks after a cold/flu since we know it’s one of my triggers. Washing hands and having the kids and anyone in the family who come over wash hands has kept me fairly healthy for a while now. Kids have had strep throat, dh had the flu this past winter, sinus infections going around and just general colds and I have not once gotten sick or if I have it was just a short time. My immune system seems to be stronger than it use to be so again I’m grateful. (now if the rest of me would get better I’d be in great shape! LOL)

Congrat’s again to you, one thing I would like to remind you of is that IF you go out of remission…remember that you went into it and there is nothing saying you can’t do it again if you go out of remission! There were a few times I thought I was out and feeling icky again and there was one time when all of my levels were horrible but the meds worked and doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work again for me if I needed them.
Don’t worry every day if you will go out of remission, that will only stress you,
DO make sure to get into the habit of washing your hands before you leave your home and after you come back even if its from the store down the road.
Have others wash their hands, especially kids when they get home from anywhere. Mine do it out of habit now but there are the occasions that they say oh i did and they didn’t and I’m right there saying get in the bathroom and do it.
It just helps keep that nasty stuff away!
Eat well and listen to your body when it says stop and listen to me.

good luck and keep us posted!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Am I Not Doing Enought For My Graves? #1065941

I am sorry you are feeling icky….Just wanted to pop in and say hello and welcome and KUDOS to you for taking care of your mom and uncle. What a great person you must be to take on that responsibility. They take care of us and we then take care of them. I am sure it is quite draining and of course you work so that is draining….. Smile to yourself because you are worth it !

I don’t mean to pry….wait who am I kidding… I mean I am "mamabear" for a reason! I do mean to pry since you did bring it up… You say you are friends with an exgirlfriend. Do you still love her and the friendship isn’t all you want? That could put a huge strain on your body and mind. I’m just sayin’ in order to heal from a romance, we tend to not be near the person after a breakup. Since you are still friends with her you might not have had time to heal from the actual romance due to the continued friendship. It might just take you thinking to yourself that you do love her and you still need to move on even if it’s just as friends… point is, is that you have now thought through it and that might take a big brick off of your shoulder because you might not have realized it. You never know the things that we keep on those shoulders of ours!!!

I wouldn’t continue the wait and see if your levels are out of range. Talk to your general dr. and see what he/she says and go from there. Personally I like to figure it out and fix it (i did meds). So chat with the dr. and see what they think of the endo. You can always go for a 2nd opinion. You don’t always have to like your 1st endo….. (yep I ditched my first one! 2nd was great although he retired! 3rd I ditched too, and 4th well I ditched her due to her staff). Thank goodness I’m in remission for all this time! My general dr. keeps me in check though and there is a new endo on my ins. so if need be I can see her. lol Always have a back up plan!

Have a great day!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Great news…I’m pregnant..nervous though #1065982

Don’t you worry, check in when you can. Be safe and rest that is more important than trying to keep up with us. BUT do check in once in a while!!!

I was with a regular ob as well. did get checked often though!

[mamabear]

in reply to: Need Advice #1066060

Julie, sorry this is going to be very short and to the point… Forgive me I’m on meds to try to pass a kidney stone so i am not myself.
You need to stop for a few moments and let it all out. cry , scream, beat the hell out of the pillow, take a swig of water and spit it out of your mouth just for laughs… THEN realize that you are not super woman and no one excepts you to be except yourself and that is a no no. HEALING is key,if you are not well you can not proceed into becoming what you want to be. So sit back and smell the roses, do something for yourself. Those late hours wont help you heal.
Talk to your professor and see what he says. You never know, he might already know you were sick and just waiting for you to speak up.

[Author]

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