[mom2pups]

in reply to: HIGH TSI–normal for Graves? #1061422

Oh, thank u for responding. I obviously was picking the wrong posts to read abt high TSI’s. Definitely never saw the one over 5,000!

I feel MUCH better now, thank u. Now I can def wait until my appt.

I am thankfully lucky and have no signs of TED. I am lucky though that I already have a relationship with an opthamologist since I have High Intraocular pressure. I had a recent appt and she saw no signs of TED. She did several measurements though so she has a baseline if I start having issues.

I read something that I’m not sure if I processed it correctly (my processor is on pause most of the time anymore!)at one point related to TSI – that with high TSI’s it can be a measure of whether ATD’s will be effective?

Thanks!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Itching #1061519

Hi Bobbie, what a great idea with the plastic wrap. I will have to try that during winter months when my skin is so dry. My itching the last couple weeks is oddly for the most part from the waist up. I am finding that moisturizing isn’t really taking the itch away (even the itch before I started the Methimazole).

I spoke with the endo Tuesday eve. That night before I didn’t sleep from 2AM-6:30AM-I felt like I had a severe sunburn and from the waist up I was on fire. The itching and heat brought me to tears several times.
We decided to stop the Methimazole for 48 hours, and I am to call in the AM and let him know if I am still having intense feeling of heat and itching.

I had a little itching today when I was out in the sun-but any itching the past 2 nights has been what I have had since becoming hyperthyroid-definitely not what I experienced while on the Methimazole.

So, I guess I will start the PTU tmw. I am praying I don’t have any side effects with it. Not sure what I will do if I can’t take it. I know RAI would be the next step, but my mom is in hospice and this past week we had a scare. So…I am scared something will happen to my mom and I couldn’t be near her (I realize exposing her at that point wouldn’t matter-but maybe it would expose the staff, family or other patients). Also God forbid if there was a funeral…
So please send up some positive thoughts I can handle the PTU.

We have to redo the ACTH stim test for Addison’s in 4-6 months. He said to continue to increase the Prednisone if I am sick or stressed-so he is still treating me as someone with Adrenal Insufficiency.

Hi Krisann, oh, my, that really isn’t a smart move not getting levels checked when it is needed. Hopefully she gets a kick in the butt to get her to take care of herself!! LOL.

Hi Susan, yes! I have itched starting before I became hyper-T. For the most part the only thing that helped was Benadryl. That’s why when the itching became even worse after starting the Methimazole, I just thought it was a progression of the itching i have had since before the GD began.

It doesn’t seem that the itching is due to dry skin-my skin looks fine-my hands aren’t even dry looking like happens in the winter. I think the moisturizing is a little soothing, but doesn’t actually stop the itching.

my doc’s nurse practitioner said I can take Claritan in the AM, and Benadryl at night. I know what u mean with that drugged feeling in the AM after the Benadryl. I’ll have to see if Allegra would be OK for me.

At least now since off the Methimazole I am back to my "regular" itching and not the drug side effect itching too!
I’m truly sorry u have dealt with the same symptom- but it’s also nice to know I’m not alone-so thanks for telling me.
take care, Glad u got so much better with RAI!

Thanks everyone!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Itching #1061515

Krisann79 wrote:My friend had a nodule on her thyroid in the past and had the surgery to partially remove her thyroid. She has mentioned that she takes Benadryl every night because she breaks out in hives without it and itches. I now wonder if these two are linked. She said she didn’t know why it happened but never really looked into it either……..

Interesting Krisann. Hmm I wonder what her doc would say-related to thyroid-or something else.

Thanks for the reply!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Itching #1061514

Hi Bobbi, thanks so much for the reply. I am doing as u said, and it does seem to help during the day, but dang if it doesn’t get between 10PM-11PM and I suddenly feel a very hot flush and get extremely itchy. I’m taking Benadryl now right before 10PM.
No worries I will ask the doc abt it.

I wondered if any others with GD suddenly get a hot flush with intense itching-esp in the evening?

My thyroid tests came back today, but my ACTH stim test to diagnose Addisons wasn’t back- so hopefully it will be back tmw-then the doc calls with the results and I have a list of questions/concerns.

Thanks again for the help!

Cindy

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061584

mamabear wrote:If I may ask… do you have Allergies that trigger asthma? What other meds are you on for your asthma?

I know I don’t have to say this but I can’t help it… Please make sure you bring a rescue inhaler where ever you go, keep one in the car and keep one on yourself at all times.

I wasn’t sure where you are from but anyone with or without asthma is having a real hard time with spring/late spring with allergies. Even people who are not allergic are getting breathing problems due to the amount of pollen. I do not have "asthma" but my allergies cause me have post nasal drip and thus goes into my lungs and poof asthma! It is only during allergy season and I dont take anything when it’s not allergy season.

Make SURE your pharmacy knows all of the medicines that you are on. Only use one pharmacy so that if there is an issue they will flag it. Also any information you need to know about your meds current or old, speak to your pharmacist about it, they are the most up to date people for that information. If something changes they will know.

4 kids…. I can’t be tired..not allowed till I have grandkids which wont be for a long time. But my promise is that I will spoil them all rotten…rotten to the core I say!!

Hi mamabear!

I am in Ohio. Last week u could literally see clouds of pollen blowing off trees, and then suddenly the wind would stop and there were clouds of pollen stagnant in the air.
My asthma does come from my allergies. I am allergic to many environmental things. I have been on allergy shots for years-but they are on hold for now since I am on a beta blocker.
I do use QVAR (a steroid inhaler) as well as a rescue inhaler-Albuterol. I also take Claritan.

Really u shouldn’t use a beta blocker (propranolol) with asthma-the same reason my allergy shots are on hold while I am on it. If u have a reaction, the drugs used in an emergency don’t work so well. But after talking with the pharmacist this weekend, I found that if I use more albuteral it is working fine. The allergist said I can do that–but use caution. If my asthma gets worse, or isn’t just bothering me in the AM–I need to wean off the Propranolol.

My tremors were really helped by the Propranolol. But I’m not taking the dose in the AM (doc knows) since that’s when I was wheezing. The albuteral worked just fine to help my asthma.

The bad thing abt it this AM-I had an opthamologist appt. Good heavens I was tremoring (hands and head) like crazy. I’m surprised she got all the tests done. LOL.
Thankfully I have no signs of the Graves eye issues.

I hope u do spoil the grandkids! It will be awesome when u have them!!!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061583

snelsen wrote:Hi,
I think the biggest thing for you to know is that you are changing every day, and reporting symptoms and changes to your endo are critical right so endo can regulate dose of both meds. The propanolol slows the heart rate, that is the purpose of this drug, so that your heart is protected from beating too fast. You still have already produced thyroid hormone circulating, so the ADTs help you gradually. When that residual is gone, I am hoping more of your Graves’ symptoms disappear. Keep in close touch with your endo re the heart palps. He will need to know where your are with your heart rate, he might want to reduce the prolanolol a little bit. It is all a balancing act, and a lot of it is you reporting all symptom changes to the endo so he can know how to regulate your dose of both meds.
Shirley

Hi Shirley, Thanks so much. I called the endo’s office this afternoon and spoke to the nurse. I let her know abt my asthma kicking up and what the pharmacist said to do this weekend with the dosing for the Propranolol, and that the heart palps are gone. So now they have all the info.

I was glad I called becuz she let me know I need to repeat my ACTH Stim test (endo thinks I have Addisons too) becuz the lab ran the wrong tests. <sigh> I live over an hour away and am a really tough stick (for the stim test they take blood 3 times). But at least next week I should know if I have Addison’s too. I prefer to see horses though rather then zebra’s!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061580

Hi mamabear,

Thanks for the warning abt the puppers watching TV. I learned early on that we can’t have blinking lights on a Christmas tree, and no one can use a camera flash-Tuck immediately goes into a seizure. The boyz make life interesting, that’s for sure-but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
Hugs delivered to the boyz, and much appreciated.

I am so glad u have been lucky with the ATD’s.

Four kids…makes me tired just thinking abt it!! LOL.

I have a question for everyone. Now I am definitely not complaining abt this, but I don’t understand. I spoke with the endo last Wed eve when he called to tell me I have GD. I started Methimazole last Thursday-just 5 days ago. When I spoke with the endo that Wed. eve I told him the heart palps were coming back 6 hours after taking the propranolol-so he increased the frequency of it.
The heart palps have been pretty bad for weeks…they seem to be gone now. It’s too soon for the ATD to make a difference like that-isn’t it?
I didn’t wake up this AM with heart palps (don’t think I did yesterday either). My asthma has been acting up the past couple days (I was well controlled before I started the Propranolol a few weeks ago) and I was wheezing (asthma) so I skipped the AM dose so I could use the inhaler. I just took the 3pm dose, but I still haven’t had heart palps.
I still have itching and the other symptoms, but this is confusing-would the ATD help in 5 days??

This came on so fast…can it leave fast too?

Thanks!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Probably Lyme… #1061568

I’m so sorry. Will a round of Doxycycline work, or is it only effective when Lyme’s is first diagnosed?

You are one strong woman handling GD, Lymes and 4 kids!!

Good luck with the MRI’s.

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061578

Bobbi wrote:Just a note: Kimberly, when I was immensely hyper, I also had some (minor) head tremors along with the hand tremors. It was pre-diagnosis for Graves, and I was sent to a neurologist who diagnosed the same thing — essential tremors. They both went away with the successful treatment of the hyperthyroidism. That said, I know it is completely possible for someone to have essential tremors AND hyperthyroidism. But in cases like mine, the cause was Graves.

Hi Bobbi, thanks for letting me know. Who knows, the head tremors may be from both-but now I know there is at least a chance it may improve!!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061577

mamabear wrote:I am sorry to hear about this. My graves was also triggered by a virus.

This might seem odd but I’d like to talk about your dogs. You say they have seizures and that you have meds for them. My concern is, have you found the root cause to their seizures?
Are they the same litter? If not it is odd they both have seizures.
Have the dr. given you a clear diagnosis for BOTH dogs as to why this is happening?
Is the medicine they are on proper for their types of seizures?

I ask because a dog on an anti seizure medicine should not be having issues of seizures. Anti meds help prevent them so I am unclear as to why they might still be having them.

Sorry, I’m an old vet tech..cant help wanting to know. ” title=”Very Happy” />

Hi,

I have to say I will be a bit worried when I get another virus since it caused all this! Were u worried?

My puppers are mini schnauzers and both have Idiopathic epilepsy -so no known specific reason was found after loads of testing. We do think my 10 yo’s epilepsy may have been brought on by something that happened during the birthing process, but no one is sure (my friends have his littermate sister and she has a head/body tilt-but it doesn’t bother her),
He started having seizures at age 5 months.
He is on Phenobarbital and Keppra ( he couldn’t handle Bromide).

My 8 yo little guy started having seizures at age 3yo. He is well controlled right now becuz his IBD is well controlled. His seizures seem to happen when he is sick (IBD or UTI, etc) or has some discomfort. He is on Keppra and Felbatol (he can’t handle phenobarb or Potassium Bromide).

Both boyz see a neurologist becuz they have been refractory to medications. They have been on phenobarb, Potassium Bromide, Keppra, Felbatol, Topamax, Zonisimide and I may be missing a couple. We have found the best combo for them right now.
They not only have grand mals, but also complex partial seizures as well as partial seizures. When they have CP’s or partials they need a drug that goes under their tongues. When they have grand mals they need rectal valium in order to not cluster.
They have both been hospitalized several times several years ago and put under general anesthesia to stop status.

They did come from different breeders, but from posts on an epilepsy site it does happen that a few have more then 1 epi in the household-not related. Odd, but it happens.

They are controlled better then they have been for years-but they still break thru, especially with CP’s. If I don’t ‘catch" a CP it can occasionally go into a grand mal.

So, they sleep in bed with me. I am also hard of hearing from my autoimmune inner ear disease, so I wouldn’t hear them if they were in another room having a seizure at night.

So, I have a feeling I won’t be able to do RAI. At least so far I’m not having side effects from Tapazole.

Oh, I think it’s important to say that the boyz are happy, joyful little guys. Tuck has even had 2 strokes (the first was diagnosed with a CT scan), but he is the energizer bunny and bounced right back. Tuck has some balance issues at times due to all the seizures and meds-but u all would really enjoy seeing these two play and cuddle.
They definitely don’t feel sorry for themselves, and are very brave and just keep going…a lesson they have been teaching me- and I try hard to be just as brave as they are…

I think it’s wonderful u were/are a vet tech!

[mom2pups]

in reply to: Virus and then Graves Disease #1061576

Kimberly wrote:Hello – and welcome to the boards! Wow, you have certainly had a lot to deal with lately. As you said, though, it’s good that you received a diagnosis pretty rapidly after the onset of your symptoms. Many patients struggle for years with symptoms, only to be told that they are stressed, depressed, have a heart issue, are hypochondricacs, etc., etc., etc.. Now that you can put a name to what is going on, you can start on the path to healing.

Unfortunately, once we get one autoimmune condition, we are statistically more likely than the rest of the general population to end up with one or more additional issues. There are several members here who, like yourself, seem to have ended up with a “cluster” of autoimmune conditions.

The latest guidelines from the American Thyroid Association on radiation safety state that pets will usually not receive enough radiation to cause harm. However, the guidelines specifically say not to sleep with pets. (The guidelines say to ask your doctor about the time period that you should refrain from this).

Anti-thyroid drugs do start working immediately to block the production of *new* thyroid hormone. But because it takes some time for the body to rid itself of its stores of *existing* thyroid hormone, it can take a few weeks before you really start to see some relief from your symptoms. The Inderal is a beta-blocker and can give you some temporary relief from the rapid heart rate until your thyroid hormone levels start to come down.

I haven’t heard of tremors – other than hand tremors – being associated with Graves’ . I’ve had times when I felt “shaky” in my quads or other parts of my body, which I figured was due to muscle weakness. This is definitely something that is worth checking out with your doctor.

I would also double-check with your doctor on the exercise issue. The biggest concern is that we not exercise while our levels are still hypER, as this can put extra stress on the heart.

Take care — and keep us posted!

Thanks so much Kimberly. It’s so sad so many have been misdiagnosed. I was lucky (well not so much with the intensity of all symptoms slamming me at the same time) that I was diagnosed in 7 weeks. Part of that was just taken up with the neuro and tests and finally getting the lab results. I was also lucky that I got into an endo so quickly. The 2 endo’s within an hour of me were not seeing patients until September. I asked for other referrals from them and eventually got to a Cleveland Clinic Satellite office.
This is the first place that had me actually speak with a nurse. All others I told I was very hyperT and it didn’t matter. I had been set up for the end of July at this CC office, but they wanted me to speak with a nurse. As I picked my jaw up off the floor she got on the line and asked if I knew my numbers…I had the lab results in front of me, and after hearing them she said I needed to get my doc to fax records in that day if possible, and she would be on the lookout for them so she could quickly show the endo.
It took my GP a few days , but then that Friday the CC nurse called me and said the endo I was going to see in July was at that moment on the phone with another endo. He was looking for someone who could see me soon since this was "urgent". That new office (also a Cleveland Clinic satellite office) called me Saturday and I was in on Tuesday.
It’s amazing that I have had tests and already the GD diagnosis and it’s 6 weeks before I was supposed to even be seen.

Please anyone, if u are having to wait for ur original appt to even get a diagnosis-ask to speak with a nurse and be sure to have lab results in front of u.

Thanks for the info ant pets sleeping with u after RAI. I will talk to he endo abt it, but it looks like RAI may not be an option. We’ll see-I’ll keep u informed.

I will speak to the endo abt exercise.

Thanks!

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