[Maria]

in reply to: Graves Disease 27 years ago and questions #1073194

As far as I knows RAI and replacement does not affect your liver. Are you taking any other meds or do you drink (even a little) because that can raise your liver enzymes. Your doctor is the best one to determine what is going on here. Replacement hormone acts in the same way as natural so no I do not think it is Graves related. Now if you were on PTU or similar to repress your thyroid I would say yes it is a possibility.

You really need to see your doctor to figure this out though.

[Maria]

in reply to: Tips for eye strain ??? #1073271

Have you tried a fresnel lens? It encompasses the entire page.

[Maria]

in reply to: Hello #1073265

DianneW wrote:Becky, I hope you will consider joining us next October at the Graves’ Disease Foundation Patient and Family Conference, the weekend of October 16-18 on the east coast, location soon to be announced. It’s the greatest support group ever for getting together with others who are going through the same emotions, and for receiving encouragement from those who have come out the other side. You’ll be able to see people like Maria who’ve had the surgeries and look like themselves again. I went to my first conference about a year after my diagnosis, and seeing people who’d had the eye surgeries and receiving encouragement from them was one of the best parts for me. I also enjoyed being in a room full of people who looked just like I did.

Maria, I hope you will come too! You sound like someone who can be of encouragement to others. I’m glad you’re doing so well now.

Dianne I wish I had before and after pictures. I refused or tore up every pic of my eyes that I saw. The surgeon asked if it was OK to take before pics if he promised to make me look normal again and I remember crying and agreeing. I know he put them in his before and after album. Today no one would ever guess that that I had TED.

Sometimes I forget how to spell a simple word for a minute or I need a moment to find a word but our brain learns to adapt and compensate. Aside from the fact that I take a pill 3 times a day I pretty much forget I have a disease. Graves is just something I take a pill for and does not define me.

eta I forgot a word LOL

[Maria]

in reply to: Been missing for awhile but will try harder #1073387

Jake,

You don’t remember me and I do not remember what my user name was on the old board way back when but you helped me immeasurably. There were times I would read your posts and think to myself why can’t I just fast forward to wellness because the process seemed so overwhelming. I realize now that I am well that I don’t even realize the point that I became well…one day I just was.

[Maria]

in reply to: Hello #1073263

Becky, the buggy eyes were the worst. I totally get how you feel because my self esteem plummeted. I am so grateful of for my 2 eye surgeries (my eyes measured 22 and 24). I have heard terrible stories of multiple surgeries but I really only needed one. The second was more a vanity thing.

[Maria]

in reply to: Hello #1073260

Take a deep breath Burksr.

You will feel better but it is baby steps. I left this board quite a few years ago once I got my Graves legs but decided to come back to let people know that this is not the gateway to hell (though it may feel that way at times) YOU WILL FEEL BETTER with correct treatment.

[Maria]

in reply to: Anyone that tried natural methods/diet? #1073661

One thing I would like to add to ski’s comments is that if your levels fall smack in the middle of normal and you still feel like crap then smack in the middle is not working for you. Your personal normal may lean more on the hypo side or more on the hyper side. Oh and learn to read your test results and make note of how well or poorly you felt when you have your bloods drawn.

[Maria]

in reply to: Treatments for Eyes #1073499

I had the eye thing both hyper and hypo. Nothing worked, not even prednisone. Eventually I just had to have the eye surgeries.

[Maria]

in reply to: Graves Disease Options #1073477

Ski I damaged my heart and now am on heart pills. I developed Printz metal angina (spelling) and actually died twice. I am doing so much better now but I still need my heart meds and my nitro for emergency attacks.

[Maria]

in reply to: 5 weeks in and gaining weight fast!!!!! #1073615

I did Atkins after I was stable and it made me kind of loopy for a couple of weeks. I am not recommending it and always check with your doctor but it did work for me and I am back down to 125 lbs.

[Maria]

in reply to: Thyroid pain anyone? #1073409

Thankfully I never experienced thyroid pain..

[Maria]

in reply to: Decompression for CLA4SAM #1073406

One thing I will say is that quitting smoking drastically improved my eyes…even post surgery.

[Maria]

in reply to: Having Surgery in two weeks, and am nervous!! #1073417

DianneW wrote:Ski’s suggestion to ask the surgeon about complication rates (in order to get an idea of risk of death) is a good one. I too am quite sure it will be zero. I have read that on a national level, death rates for this surgery are next to zero these days. You are simply being warned of the risks that exist in ANY procedure.

I do understand the fears of leaving your children without a mother, since I let those unreasonable fears color my decision when I made it 13 years ago, choosing RAI entirely on that basis rather than on what might be best for ME. In all these years I’ve never known anyone to die of ATD treatment or thyroid surgery. In hindsight I’d have chosen both of those before RAI.

Maria, I bet you didn’t have young children at home when your doctor gave you lax post-RAI advice. They like to spend long periods cuddling, with their little thyroids right next to Mommy’s thyroid, and there isn’t a way to explain to them that it’s dangerous to their developing gland. It hurts their feelings to be rejected by Mommy, so it’s better if Mommy simply stays away until the radiation has a chance to decay.

I hope you weren’t on a long flight.

I had a half hour flight and a 9 month old. I did have a huge house and a nanny though.

[Maria]

in reply to: Wow this board has changed! #1073436

CLA4SAM wrote:Hi THERE I JUST WONDER WHAT I NEED TO DO BEFORE THE EYE DOC WILL LETME HAVE DECOMPRSSION?

Have you been to an opthamologist (sp?)? In my case my optic nerve was being compromised.

[Maria]

in reply to: Anyone that tried natural methods/diet? #1073642

As a woman in her 40s, I was diagnosed with Grave’s in 2004. Several docs told me I would have to deal with this for the rest of my life. But today, I enjoy a life without meds, and with a thryroid that is intakt. And that is a fact! I have nothing to gain from sharing my experience, and I don’t care whether people out here believe me or not. But the fact is that I am healed, my eyes are pretty much back to normal, and my doctor is absolutely certain that thyroid problems will not be part of my future. But what is even more important is that I myself feel and know that my thyroid will be fine. Why? Because I addressed my auto immune dysfunction. And not a single day goes by that I don’t do something nice now for my body. I avoid stress, I relax more, I eat right and I keep toxins out of my life as much as I can, all while appreciating every single day of my life.

I have had this condition since 2001and have done a lot of research . Graves does not disappear.

We cannot avoid stress and we cannot relax more than life allows. What is eating right? Can you give me a sample menu for say a week?

[Author]

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