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in reply to: Deciding treatment-leaning towards TT #1176983

Sure. We ended up with three children. You are BUSY! I imagine the washer/dryer is humming all the time! Even if you probably don’t use cloth diapers as I did. I actually loved sitting on the couch and folding them. Go figure!
Shirley
I’m prepping for income tax right now, so I hop over to GDATF for a nice little break!

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in reply to: Deciding treatment-leaning towards TT #1176981

Hi and welcome!
Just to reflect Alexis, I also had a TT, many years ago, had an 8 month old, wanted to “get busy” and get pregnant, and this was the right decision for me.
I think I may have written about post op experiences recently, but briefly, it sure is nice to have help for a couple weeks, that is for sure. The cooking, laundry, meal planning, all the stuff, done by others. YOu can spend time with your kids, take naps, and by the 2nd week, you might feel that you feel great, but keep the help if it is available.
It can be an experience everyone can enjoy. My incision is not detectable by anyone, never has been. It would not have been a decisive factor for me if it was a possibility. I was breast feeding (wrote fairly recently about that…missed a couple of feeds, pumped milk for those.)
Shirley

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in reply to: 2 decompression surgeries……. #1177016

Agree with Gatorgirly. And no, I have not heard of this. Glad you have your appt. At this time, is seems like a misunderstanding. But maybe not. We sure look forward to hearing from you after your appointment on 3/5. WE’ll all learn something!
Shirley

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in reply to: Alcohol & hypo #1176996

Hi, it is my personal experience there is no relationship with replacement hormone and alcohol or any wine. I drink wine any time I want a glass of red wine, which is generally a few times a month with dinner. I have no effects at all of any kind when I have a glass of wine.

There are other variables to consider regarding the last time you had a the glass of wine with palpitations. One could be if you were hyper at the time.
Or it could be totally unrelated, which I suspect is the case between wine and replacement.

To get a quick answer, you can ask a pharmacist your question, if there is any relationship between one glass of wine and thyroid hormone.

Stymie, good luck with all of this Graves’ stuff. Welcome to the site,and now you have a whole lot of new friends who “get it.”
Shirley

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in reply to: I’m back and feeling better #1176956

Hi Amy, welcome back. I am glad you found a new endo. Hope the experience is good.
I am always available in Seattle if you want any referrals (and non-referrals) based on my experiences.
Shirley

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in reply to: Are We Contagious freaks? #1176925

No, your comment is based on reality and research. Right on! You nailed it!

To have an “invisible disability” is much, much more challenging that a sling on your arm, a cast on a leg, or even the red/white cane of a blind person, and/ or a seeing eye dog.

People with very disabling disabilities have a much more challenging life, with people assuming they are just fine!

Gosh, yes, you are definitely an exception, knowing and understand your family history.
shirley

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in reply to: Are We Contagious freaks? #1176923

I think it is always good for all of us to ask ourselves this question.

“Did I know anything about Graves’ before I ended up with Graves’?

Judging from my own experience, and from all the posts from people who come on this board/forum for the first time, I propose that the answer is
close to 100% “NO!”

Following the thoughts I have stated above, I would hazard to say that all of us, with few exceptions, did not have the education, knowledge or even awareness, of the implications of Graves’. Even if we had a relative, or heard of a relative who had a “thyroid problem,” or Graves’, we still did not understand how it impacted their lives. Just as friends, family and employers do not understand how it impacts our lives.

Even people in the health care profession, as I have been for many decades as an RN with a Masters, really don’t have much of an idea of the experiences a person with Graves’ endures. Sure, I learned in endocrinology all about the feedback loop, the lab tests, probably even read some of the signs and symptoms (though I do not remember them meaning much one way or the other.)

So, yes, I am one of those people who didn’t “get it,” who had little to no knowledge of Graves’ (NOT TO MENTION TED!!!!) before I had it. I can assure you that aside from the people on this forum are the ONLY people who have a clue of the absolute HELL I gone through with TED.

Graves’ is a lesser known endocrine process by the general public. Diabetes, primarily because of the epidemic occurrence that exists now, and celiac disease, more familiar now because of the publicity about gluten intolerance, are examples of diseases that are a bit more familiar to the public.

In conclusion, we can pass our knowledge and experience forward (after we feel stable and more like ourselves,and feel GOOD) and take the opportunity whenever possible, to educate our friends and family, and definitely “be there” for anyone we meet in the future who ends up with Graves’.

This kind of thinking has helped me as I have struggled with Graves’, TED, and two very advanced breast cancers. It does help me, very much, to talk and write with others who have had the same experiences, and resumed to a reasonable state of health.
Shirley

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in reply to: what is recovery like after TT? #1176865

Hi hmm 0304,
I was in the exact same situation as you, when I had my TT. It was years and years ago. I had a 7 month old boy, was entirely breast feeding. I gave him a good feed before I left for the hospital, and had expressed milk for 2-3 bottles while I was having surgery and afterwards. (back then, no breast pumps, I expressed it by hand! a lot of work.) My mom fed him during the surgery,
and when I was about 3 hours post op. I did stay overnight, so my mom brought him over for me to feed-I was SO READY and SO FULL, and gave him a big meal then! There were no restrictions on feeding him. Generally, TT’s are pretty short surgeries, usually around 2 hours.

Everything else Christina De said is pretty much what I would say. My mom stayed for 8 days, and i was glad of it. She did all the cooking, playing with baby, brought him to me (as well as coffee in bed in the morning, I loved it.)
Did the laundry, etc. You might be surprised how easily you get tired, that is what I remember the most. After she left, my friends in married student house (we were both in school, and there were millions of babies and kids in our housing area) took Doug to play and get him out of my hair for an hour so in the morning, and some time in the afternoon. It was pretty unstructured, based on their lives and when I fed him. THat gave me time to get some food together and cook, fold laundry. I did ask people to do my laundry and that was a big help. It almost felt like a vacation!

I had no calcium issues at all, just a slightly sore neck, more from the position of my head/neck than the incision. I was in school as a student nurse, and I went back a bit too early, at about 10 days post op. I was one tired puppy. At that time, we lived a 2 minute walk from the hospital, so I’d use my lunch break to feed him, and/or have someone bring him to me and I’d feed him in the break room at the hospital. Super helpful that he was a fast eater, but he always fussed when he left me. All went well.

Write if any more questions.
Shirley

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in reply to: Hyper Hormone Secretions? anyone know? #1176878

Hi vanillasky,
I mentioned this before, not sure if you happened to notice it.
FRom what I can tell, you are NOT taking an estrogen supplement. You are taking soy, melatonin, chamomile, passion flower, valerian and hops.
Estroven is (straight from the official website of the company selling this supplement:
Estroven Nighttime Ingredients

Estroven Nighttime is formulated to help provide a more restful night’s sleep and to wake up refreshed*. It contains:

Melatonin, clinically proven to help you fall asleep easier*
Soy isoflavones, clinically proven to help reduce hot flashes and night sweats*
Estroven Herbal Sleep & Relaxation Blend with chamomile, passion flower and valerian and hops

So, if I am completely off base, sorry. But if this is the situation, perhaps you might try a real estrogen supplement? See if it helps.

And, I know that now is NOW, and how well I know it, having dealt with Graves’, TED and menopause……but…one day, when menopause is behind you, you will probably be saying to someone in the middle it, that you had hot flashes, too, and they went away. And it won’t be too helpful to the woman in the middle of all this, cause she is (as you are) suffering from them NOW! My experience was very similar to yours. I could not take estrogen, cause I have had estrogen receptor positive breast cancer twice, so it was not an option for me.
Shirley

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in reply to: For those of you who have used Cytomel #1176887

About a year ago, I tried, with the reluctant agreement of my endo. He said if I used it, I should take it at least twice a day. optimally 3x/day, but there was little compliance with that. That it tended to be a big “dump” with a once a day regimen, which is what most people wanted to do.

I found it did not help me, if anything, my experience was similar to that of Alexis. I stuck with it a while longer, and did not feel better, if anything, more up and down hyper-ish, and just did not like the way I felt. Decided that messing around with Synthroid was enough for me. I guess there is that rare person who does well with it.
Shirley

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in reply to: Hyper Hormone Secretions? anyone know? #1176871

Hi. I have always presumed you were taking a prescribed small amount of estrogen to help you with this tough time with your hot flashes. But I just looked up Estroven, and found it is a alternative combination of a bunch of vitamins and some other stuff. Clearly, this is not an option for you, cause it does not help at all, and you vomit when you take it.

I encourage you to go to a gynecologist, discuss this situation with her (get a woman, preferably one who is a big older, and has been in practice for a while.) There are reasons not to take estrogen, like a significant breast cancer history with estrogen receptive pathology. But if you consult with this kind of a doc, I think you can have a good discussion about short term use of estrogen to help you with your menopausal symptoms. I know this has helped others.
But the gyn doc is the right doc to discuss this with.
Shirley

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in reply to: Going in Circles! #1176835

Hi. This might have you feel that I am not empathic, but I am.
It sounds like you are really being “hit” with menopausal symptoms big time.
I had the same experiences. Glad that your Graves’ is beginning to behave itself. IT is hard to have this double whammy.

But what your endo said was perfectly reasonable. Kinda not fair to say that he passed the buck. That pretty much reflects the degree of your frustration with all of this, which is perfectly easy to understand, but entirely reasonable.

It sounds like you have done what you can about these menopausal symptoms that are driving your life right now. And the fact that you have been hyper recently, sure does not help you to have little bit of an objective view of your subjective self.

So, yes, you do have to live menopause and its’ terrible hot flashes and soaked sheets at night. Sounds like you did try the women’s group. I am guessing that exists for women to know that other women are having the same experiences. Basically, it’s another darn thing that happens to females.
It really does impact your life when you soak your clothes and get a bright red face, day or night.

YOu might have already done this, but probably a female gynecologist, or an empathic primary care doc, are the appropriate people to talk to . But the fact, is, REALLY, that you are experiencing menopause, big time, this is typical, and it does end. HRT has been known to help some women, but apparently not you. Menopause does have a beginning and and end. Honestly. I was just like you.
Shirley

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in reply to: Graves disease & dermatitus herpetiformis-Autoimmune eczema #1176821

Hi, it seems that you already know your diagnosis. And that you have a good doctor who has given you good information.
I suggest you read this accurate website from NIH on this autoimmune disease. It reflects everything you have been told by your doc.
Have you really tried to be gluten free? It sounds like this is very promising, the management tools (gluten and dapsone, as stated by your doc and in the NIH article.) I’d go with the advice you have already received, and review with your doc again. Seems like you have your answers. Have you tried a gluten free diet?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002451/

Shirley

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in reply to: RAI Worked I am HYPO! :) Starting Synthroid 88mcg #1176815

Sooooo excited for you! Yay. And more yay!
Shirley

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in reply to: Anyone know about low globulin with Methimazole? #1176812

Hi Bella, yes, it is likely that your doc and Kimberly are saying the same thing.
It does sound like he ordered, and you received LFT’s or liver function tests, as you have stated. Globulin is only one element of these tests. LFT’s are the same as a liver profile.
Just call your doc, ask the reason for the tests (sounds like he is doing the appropriate stuff according to the guidelines,a nd what he knows, when a person is taking ATD’s. And it sounds like he is a good doc, to follow up with a phone call that all is well, you just need to have a full understanding from him/her of this.
Shirley

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