[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Trying to lose weight #1066199

Hi Kimberly!
Thanks for your response and sorry for the long delay in replying! I had my thyroid retestested and it turns out it was running a little bit slow! I’m back on the band wagon post surgery and have taken up regular exercise which I am loving! I’ll never be super skinny – don’t want to be – and I haven’t lost weight but I have lost inches. I’m wearing a pair of trousers that I haven’t been able to fit into for a year! I think I’ll just leave the scales gathering dust for another while and go by other measurements – like my clothes, how quickly I tire out when exercising etc.

Thanks again!
Sharon

[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Orbital decompression for ‘cosmetic’ reasons #1067495

Hi Jackie,

I really enjoyed reading your post and identified with so much of what you said! I was 19 when my Grave’s disease was diagnosed. The stupid thing is I now realise how obvious it was that I had a thyroid problem but I was too embarrassed to go and speak to a doctor!

It’s not nice being in your twenties with ‘wacky eyes’. I work in a school and I found that tough at first dealing with some of the comments some of the kids were making. (I had been quite sheltered, surrounding myself with good friends!) You might expect these comments from children and teenagers who don’t maybe understand the consequences of their comments, what I found much harder to deal with was some adults – a shop assistant I was buying make-up from, an optician’s assistant(shouldn’t they know better!). I think I was crazy to keep putting the surgery off now while I tried other options – eyelid surgery.

I also had RAI and it helped my condition although I am now left finding it difficult to lose weight! Still, it is a vast improvement on how I felt when the disease was still active in my body and with a little perserverance and exercise I am sure I will manage to lose weight eventually!

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Sharon

[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Orbital decompression for ‘cosmetic’ reasons #1067489

I’m with you there on the nose blowing! First day post surgery all I wanted to do was give my nose a good blow! I have been lucky though and haven’t had any sneezing fits or really runny noses. I did take a tickle in my throat this morning and that scared me a little. All in all I have been very lucky and am pleased with my recovery so far – this time last week I couldn’t stand, today I walked to the shops to pick up my prescription and really enjoyed the fresh air. ” title=”Very Happy” /> I feel like a bit of a fraud being off work but I think I will just use the time to really look after myself. and make sure that when I do go back I am well and truly fighting fit. (very self-indulgent!)

Sharon

[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Orbital decompression for ‘cosmetic’ reasons #1067487

Hiya!
This is day 5 post surgery and things are going really well. I have a follow up with an ophthalmologist on Wednesday and then then Max-facs surgeon in a couple of weeks time. I think the worst thing about the whole experience has been the pain relief they gave me – it made me feel really ill and out of it, but thankfully the pain has been minimal and the swelling has been very little – they gave me steroids while I was in hospital.

The surgeons (I had three!) said I could revisit this surgery in about three months time if I really wanted to as there is still some bulging. The operation was very straightforward with controlled fractures to the eye socket and part of my nose. They also removed some of the fat – in fact it oozed out by itself! There is an issue of excess eyelid but that can be fixed. I don’t have a squint and the vision is now clear in both my eyes. I have no external stitches and some bruising but you would never believe I had had just had quite serious surgery performed, thanks, I believe, to the skill of the surgeons involved,

I’m going to finish here because I am getting a little headachey now but this time last week I didn’t think I would be able to watch TV at this stage so I am very happy to report back on my progress!

Best wishes to everyone who has posted on this thread!

Sharon

[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Orbital Decompression Surgery #1074439

Hi,

I’m reading these messages with interest! I am due to have orbital decompression done in a couple of weeks, so you can imagine I am swinging between excitement and mild terror of the whole procedure! These messages, though, all seem to be pretty positive.

Do you think I will be able to wear swimming goggles, contact lenses and eye make up after? Seems silly, I know, but I am looking forward to holding my head up and looking people straight in the face for a long time! (And swimming!) Some people are just mean – like a lady at a make-up counter who made a ‘stage whisper’ comment about ‘that huge eyeball’ or a technician in the optician’s who played ‘Pop-Eye the Sailorman’ on his mobile phone when I thought I would attempt contact lenses…I’ve since discovered heavy framed glasses are good for hiding things.

Has anybody had any negative affects on their sinuses? I’m a bit concerned about that because I like singing – thankfully not for a living, but it is still a pleasure to me!

Oh well, I’d love to hear from someone!

Best wishes,

Sharon

[Shazzer1976]

in reply to: Effects of RAI #1067710

Hi!
I’m new to this board. I came across it while looking for information about orbital decompression surgery but I have also read some other posts with interest. It has been more than ten years since I was diagnosed with Grave’s disease and I too was treated with RAI.

I would like to reassure you that this treatment was successful for me and I have had no negative side effects from the treatment. My weight is stable although I can be prone to gaining weight – more due to my lack of exercise and large appetite! My energy levels are much better than when I was hyper – I am now slightly hypo, taking 50mc of thyroxine daily. This is much more preferable to having to take block and replace therapy and the other concoction of drugs I used to take along side that – beta blockers, iron tablets and so on.

From what I can remember of my treatment I had to flush the toilet twice after using it and stay away from public spaces for a while. I was allowed into public after about a week but was to stay away from pregnant ladies and not hug people! I was also told not to get pregnant for at least four months after the treatment, but as a 22 year old student, I really wasn’t interested in that! I can remember being a little weepy after the treatment but that went away and pretty soon as I feeling really well again! I continued to take the carbimazole treatment after the RAI – infact I think I took an even higher dose. I had quite a severe case and my doctor wanted my thyroid well and truly zapped into submission!

I was advised not to have surgery due to scarring, possible damage to my voice and I was also told that surgery is not as accurate as RAI. I have heard of people ending up being very hypo after surgery and I really would have to live with that long term. I raised issues about having radio-iodine as a young woman and possible longterm consequences. I was reassured that there really are no long term effects.

I hope your treatment goes well and you see the same improvements in your well-being that I have experienced.

Sharon

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