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Kimberly wrote:Hello and thanks for the update. So glad that you are feeling stronger these days!
Hopefully, others who have had RAI will jump in here with their experiences. Now that you are hypo, your doc made his/her best estimate at what your initial dosage of replacement hormone should be, based on factors such as weight and age. Then you should have a follow up set of labs done in 4-6 weeks to determine if that is the correct dose for you. It *does* take several weeks before you know if that is the right dose, because it takes some time for thyroid hormone levels to build up in your body. If the next set of labs reveals that you are hypER or hypO, the doc will make an adjustment, and you will follow up in another few weeks. Some patients are fortunate and dial into the correct dose fairly quickly, but it could potentially take several iterations before you find the exact dose that will keep your thyroid hormone levels in the normal range – and get you to feeling good again. Take care!
Thank you Kimberly for your response! Things seem to be looking up! Overall, Im super happy with my choice of finally following through with RAI. Having my tremors gone is amazing too
Makes all the difference when im choppin someones hair off 
haha! Cant wait until im all normal again so far, being hypo is a breeze compared to being all graved out lollinzyyyy wrote:Hi! I just wanted to say hello and that I understand everything you have written about on here and experienced them myself. Although I was just diagnosed in November, I can look back and see that I’ve had Graves’ for about 6 years. I also felt like I was just being lazy and couldn’t understand why I was so tired all the time. I would push myself but it didn’t help. I also just felt STUPID. Forgetful, and just couldn’t process thoughts like I used to. I was so smart and sharp. I thought that I had just been out of school too long and had been watching too much TV or something…I’m a stay at home mom now but I used to be a hair stylist too! I used to work for the Rusk Design Team. I completely understand the grueling 10 hours of no sitting or eating. All of that PLUS Graves’ sounds awful.
Anyway just wanted to say hi and let you know you’re not lazy or crazy or dumb. And I know you said you don’t want RAI but I did it, went hypo in 8 weeks, now I’m on Snythroid and feeling so much better! It’s been a journey, and I’m still not 100% “normal” yet (still figuring out the right synthroid dose, it’s only been like… 8 weeks) but oh my gosh, what a difference!!! My favorite part is that I can *think* again. And sleep. And exercise!
Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon!
LindsayHey Lindsay!
Just wanted you to know, that i am very thankful for your post! (I just figured out how to reply to a specific post) lol It really sounds like i can relate to everything you have had to say! i dont know if you read my most recent post, but i ended up doing RAI and after about 3 and a half months i am hypo! My body feels so much better still working on the emotional roller coaster lol but it is most certainly a work in progress!!
Thanks again for your insight!
mollyHey guys, just checking in again.
So the last time i wrote on here, was 6/21/13.. It is now 8/18/13. Man oh man, this radioactive roller coaster has not been kind to me emotionally. Overall, My body is feeling better. I have a lot more strength to get through my days, and I actually have gained a lot of muscle back. The emotional/ mental symptoms/side effects have been awful for me. Like i explained in my last post, I went through a period where i was quite anti- social, and had a large amount of anxiety. This has been very difficult for me to deal with. I went through another, much longer period of being withdrawn, and very high anxiety again very recently. This lasted 3 weeks. The first week was the worst, it was so bad that i really didnt know what to do with myself.
Luckily i came out of that funk, and i am slowly starting to come back out of my shell (phew!) Lets just say it was an extremely difficult task on a daily basis having to fake it all day long at work lol.Last week, I went and got my blood work done again, and the endo called saying I am hypo and they are going to start me on synthroid 100mcg. I am on about day 4 or 5? ive gained almost 16 pounds back from my skinniest point i was at. Now im at a healthy 138ish. Its so crazy when you start to gain muscle back, it was like the best feeling! I could actually lift things, and move things around without help! I used to just LOOK at an object and be like “yeahhh I cant get that on my own” lol people would be like “youre kidding right?” so the muscle gain has been huge! Total positive.
Also, Back when i was hyper I hadnt had my period in at least 7 months.. now its back, and i can actually get some cleavage goin on haha which i know is from gaining some weight, but I think also it has to do with my menstruation returning.
Before I had my blood work done, I noticed I was super cold all the time which i have read is a symptom of hypothyroidism. Ive also been super constipated too (tmi sorry) Im noticing how fast my weight can change too, i used to be able to drop up to 3 lbs literally over night if i had a normal sized lunch and just skipped dinner or something. So basically, Im learning to change my eating habits (so challenging)
My question is; does anyone know how long it takes to normalize everything once on synthroid? Im just soo excited to feel normal again
there was a point where i felt awesome. I could read some sort of article only one time super quickly and retain all the information! I felt so on top of everything, I wasnt losing things everywhere i went, and just living more responsibly i guess. Then that all kind of faded within a couple days.Any feed back would be awesome thank you!
Hey Everyone, sorry I am just now getting back to you all! But i figured i would update on whats new!
SOOOO… I decided to do the RAI. I had it done on May 7th, and today is June 21st,My birthday ironically :].
Anyyyways, Heres whats been going on.. I got my blood results back from my check up with my endoTSH: 0.013 reference range for females- 0.400-4.00
T4 Free: 4.19 reference range for females- 0.84-1.51
T3 Free: 15.5 referance range for females- 2.3-4.2
So theyre all quite outta whack still, i understand that this takes a while to all get regulated. My symptoms have gotten even worse though
I have been having HOT FLASHES like crazy haha!The real reason I wanted to check in, is because about 2 weeks ago, I was in a MAJOR funk. I have always been a very happy go lucky person, always been a HUGE people person as well. I can honestly say, for about 5-6 days I was legitimately depressed. All i wanted to do was go home and sleep, that was the highlight of my days. It was awful, i had never experienced such a thing. I would ignore all of my friends text messages, or phone calls for absolutely no reason, just for the fact that talking to ANYONE was the last thing i wanted to do. I dont want anyone to read this and get all feaked out when i say this, but it was so bad Thoughts had ran through my head “if i died right now i would be ok with it” IM FINE NOW PEOPLE lol so dont freak!! It wasnt like i was plotting my death, but i had never felt so incredibly low!! What is with that
Now im NO WHERE NEAR how I was feeling that one week, but im still not 100 percent yet. Close, but i dont feel back to the old me completely. Only because I have been still dodging social outtings for no apparent reason randomly. Usually I am a complete social butterfly, and it almost has me worried in the back of my mind that I wont go back to how i was
Im sure it has everything to do with how out of whack my thyroid is, but I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced something of this nature??Anywho, thanks for reading
Hey there!
Basically i am wondering what the benefit to RAI, or having your thyroid surgically removed is. Because the way I look at it, is that you are automatically going to go HYPO, therefore still going to have to take pills for the rest of your life either way, and what if I am constantly battling the hypo side of it too? Ive looked up hypothyroidism, and there seem to be many of the same effects as graves.. and on top of it all battling weight gain/ being over weight would be an added concern rather then just being normal/on the thinner side. Know what I mean? Can anyone educate me on this any further. That would be awesomeHey again guys!
You have no idea how nice it is to just hear there are people out there that really understand how im feeling, when people ask why im so tired all the time I try to explain, but ultimately they always shrug me off lol. Im so used to it, I just dont even try to explain the reasoning anymore. Thank you guys so much for the suggestions, it means a lot! I just had to vent really quickly though; I went to a different (not an endo) doctor on tuesday morning, because I was in so much pain that I wanted to go in and see if he had any suggestions to tide me over until I got my thyroid levels straightened out. I told him all of my symptoms, I had even came in with them all written down so I wouldnt forget anything (which i always do haha)… I literally told him everything, and he did a couple random balance tests, and pressed around on soome of my muscles etc. and came to the conclusion that “He thinks I worry too much..and that he knows I want a magic pill to fix everything but that wont solve anything” I was so hurt after he said that It made me feel like I was totally overreacting, and made me want to get out of his office asap. I dont know what he even meant by the magic pill comment, I asked him before he had made that comment if there were any VITAMINS he could suggest, or certain topical creams i.e. Biofreeze or icy hot… I got the feeling that he thought i was seeking narcotics lol I was so taken back by that.Just having you guys understand my symptoms makes me feel so good, makes me feel like im not overreacting for once. Even my parents dont really understand my pain, because my brother has graves as well, and hes fine… so its definitely hard for anyone to understand. When I was going through my apprenticeship I would find any point in the day to take 5 minutes and sit down just to relieve my pain for a few minutes, but I had gotten in trouble for it, because in their eyes i am being lazy, which is totally understandable but soo frustrating.. not towards them, but frustrated with ME! I hate being perceived as the “lazy one”
Anywhoooo, thank you guys sooo much for the support. Just being able to talk to fellow gravers is so comforting and to know other people have the same problems
Thank you again, and as soon as i get into my endo I shall update you on what they tell me! ))
