[smtucker]

in reply to: Eyes not bulging but eye problems nonetheless #1175900

I was diagnosed with the eye disease about 8 months ago. My eye doctor specializes in people with TED. My initial eye exam lasted 90 minutes. First I spent 30 minutes with a tech who did the dilation, did the letter tests, color-blindness, etc. Then I had a resident who did lots of measurement with medieval looking tools. There was a teardrop test, and then even more measurements. By the end of this comprehensive exam, I had a full eye chart mapping all my eye’s characteristics. [Teaching hospital, so then an intern repeated all of the tests while I let him know if the measuring devices felt the same as when the doctor did it.]

Her conclusion was the I did have mild bulging, something I don’t see and a lack of tears. She recommends that I do drops whenever my eyes feel itchy or dry. I haven’t been as good about this as I should be. I hate forcing things into my eyes.

I felt well cared for and have been back to see this doctor once. I will continue to see her every 6 months so that she can re-measure and we can keep track of whatever bulging might be occurring.

p.s. no mention of the whites of my eyes as a determining factor.

[smtucker]

in reply to: An Introduction #1175626

I am now on day 8 of the meds and haven’t noticed much difference in how I am feeling. I am on a Phase II study for something else which ends tomorrow, so I will be eliminating that med. Maybe that will help me assess how my body is responding. I do like the Atenalol. It seems to take the edge off of life, which isn’t such a bad thing. I have been on that for 14 days. The nausea from the Methmazole is helped with infusions of DanActive and I believe that my body is learning how to cope. My stomach only reels for a short time after taking now.

Is it helpful to post our numbers? I still don’t truly understand how they correspond to how I feel, or how our Endo’s determine what is right for us.

I get another set of bloodwork on Thursday which could be interesting.

[smtucker]

in reply to: Tremors, what to do? #1175761

Well this may be the first good thing to come from my Grave’s DX; I can be angry and swear and blame it on the Grave’s!

But seriously, how common are tremors and what you call Rage?

Just baffled by all of this.

[smtucker]

in reply to: Graves’ and anxiety. husband making me sick? #1175703

I have no idea how to answer any of your questions. Just wanted to say that I am sorry you are having such a bad day.

[smtucker]

in reply to: Well, I’m getting hyper again… #1175673

Amy,

I am way too new at this to have a clue how to support you, but I do hope that you are stabilized before your big trip.

[smtucker]

in reply to: An Introduction #1175624

Cat,

Thank you for the welcome. I did speak with the Endo yesterday and she was surprised that I was having such strong nausea. We agreed that I will split the pill and take it will lunch and dinner. She says if I continue to have nausea on Monday, we will reduce the dose.

I have had a bunch of tests and will post the results. My hospital website seems to be down and that is where all of my records are kept. (Love this portal. Hasn’t been down since 2005 so something weird is going on.) I had an anti-body test that was positive, Free4 and Free3, TSH. Maybe more.

I am still trying to figure out all the shorthand acronyms on this site. Need to create a cheat sheet! Have no idea what PTU or TT is yet. But I will!

Your thoughts are interesting, and I promise to post back some numbers when I can get to them.

[smtucker]

in reply to: Remission #1175654

Thank you Kimberly.

Clearly I have gone through the rabbit hole and need to learn a whole new vocabulary.

Endo called and approved splitting my pill in half to take twice a day. She indicated that she rarely has a patient with nausea so she is “intrigued.”

[smtucker]

in reply to: Remission #1175649

What does remission mean in regards to Graves Disease? Does this mean no drug management or something else?

[Yea, a dumb newbie question.]

[smtucker]

in reply to: An Introduction #1175620

Gator,

Thank you very much for the welcome.

I have read all of the symptom lists for both hyper and hypo conditions. I fit the hypo far more readily. I am fairly familiar with Graves since my sister has it. I can almost see your eyes light up. My endo’s certainly did. But she had all the symptoms. She has had two eye surgeries, and though technically her thyroid is now in the “normal” range, she once again can’t close her eyes when she sleeps.

The anti-estrogen drugs cause side effects that actually mirror some of the Graves disease symptoms. I feel my body rather acutely, hence my surprise at this diagnosis. I did weigh my physical metabolism too highly. I have always gained weight very easily. After menopause at age 38, all efforts to loose weight were hopeless. Then with the cancer, 7 years of steroids, and the removal of all estrogen, it only got worse.

So, I am here. I have this disease. I’m not happy about it. I will be compliant. If my endo had even a smidgen of humor, it might be a bit easier.

Again, thank you for the welcome.

[smtucker]

in reply to: An Introduction #1175618

A question. Is there any reason the dose is 10mg a day instead of 5mg twice a day? Would that help with my nausea?

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