[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Well, here goes! #1173653

Way to go, Graves Guy – your outstanding attitude has probably had a lot to do with your lessened symptoms and improved health. You’ve got this, it does NOT have you!
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Newly diagnosed with Graves #1181464

Hi Shell.
Congratulations on your first post – you did great!

Yes, this is a disease that is very disruptive and most people know nothing about it so when you tell someone what you’re suffering with they usually look confused, and when you try to explain it, it never sounds like a big deal. The fact that we pretty much LOOK normal also confuses people – they have no idea what’s going on inside of us.

It is definitely a struggle but one you can win. Keep reading, keep posting, and good luck with your treatment plan.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: 11 Weeks Post TT #1181341

OK, 14.5 week update: I just had six OUTSTANDING days. Felt good emotionally and physically, consistently, day and night. I have no idea if it is related to or just coincidental that my husband had been out of town for those days (and a few before that) so he he’s got mixed emotions about how good I felt while he was away. LOL

I had routine blood drawn Tuesday and a check up with my Endo on Thursday and I’m still on the hyper-side. My TSH is .03 and my free T4 is at the maximum end of “normal”. He asked me if I wanted to drop down to a lower dose of Levothyroxine or stay where I am for a few more weeks and see how I feel. I opted to stay where I am because of the six great days I had AND because I really want a break from the fluctuations that come with every dose change. He gave me two blood lab slips, one for before my next office visit and a spare in case I’m feeling “off” sooner than that and want to have my levels checked. He then suggested that if I want to try taking it down a notch he could prescribe some 100 mcg. pills to alternate with my existing 112’s. That will be the next thing I try if I don’t like how I feel at 112 in another month or so.

Please don’t ask me what my T3 was because my Endo doesn’t test for that and i’m done arguing with him about it. Except for that, I really like him and am not in the mood to start all over again with a new doc so I am just trusting that he’s right about not needing to check my T3. Apparently I am converting very well if I have no thyroid and I’m still at my hyper end. If I were feeling tired and depressed I would suspect I was not converting and would insist on a T3 test but since that’s not the case, I really don’t need to know. He only checks TSH and Free T4 in his TT patients.

I’m a little antsy today but that may just be the new routine of having an active household again as opposed to having the place to myself for 10 days. Or, it’s a slight hormonal fluctuation. Or, it’s because the doc told me I was hyper so now my sub-conscious is playing the part. Lots of variables, but I’m feeling much better than a few weeks ago.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Survey on Emotional/Behavioral Symptoms and Graves’ – Please Participate! #1181403

Done.

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: It gets better #1181384

Thank you so much, Andy…. that was a very helpful and comforting post. Your wife is very lucky to have you and I wish you both many “roller-coaster free” years. Stability never sounded so good.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: TT in 6 days, ready to get it over with! #1181389

You sound like me…. I was so anxious and eager to have my TT I was counting the days weeks ahead of time. Everyone thought I was nuts to be so excited about an upcoming surgery.

That was 13 weeks ago and I haven’t regretted it for a minute. Good luck to you and the medical team. Since you’ve done your research, I’m sure everything will be fine.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Just when you think……… #1181152

I haven’t heard from him, either, even after sending him a private message a few weeks ago. Maybe I better dig up his e-mail address and try that way.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: 11 Weeks Post TT #1181340

Another Post-TT update, even though it’s only been a few days. The main reason I’m back at this thread is because I desperately needed to re-read the responses you’ve all given me in the past few days, especially Christina’s. My two days of feeling good ended abruptly and now I am feeling worse than I have in a while, anxiety-wise. Chronic anxiety and some panic attacks – I had hoped I was pretty much done with those. I hate medicating myself more than I have to but yesterday and today I actually broke down and took a tranquilizer to try to and stop this anxiety from turning into a full-blown monster.

It seems odd to me that at the 4-week mark of a DECREASE in Levothyroxine I would feel worse anxiety than I have in several weeks (wasn’t even this bad at the higher dosage) but I Googled and researched for most of the day and then read the book “The Thyroid Solution” and according to the doctor who wrote it, yes, this is possible and could be an indication that my levels are TOO low.

Anyway, I’m going to give this till Monday and if the anxiety isn’t letting up by then, I will have blood drawn. I really hesitate to do it too soon because I know there is a lot to be said for STAYING at a level for a while to feel better so changing too soon could just confuse things. But my stomach is acting up, I can’t sleep well, and I’m anxious, so either I’m too high, too low, or just “shifting”. AaaaaaahhhHHhh!

Thanks for letting me vent and for comforting with confirmation that all this is somewhat normal and part of the process.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: 11 Weeks Post TT #1181339

Sorry to hear that, Talley. I’m sure you thought you’d feel great at the 4-month mark.. I know I hope to! It’s such a weird feeling, these funks I get into, and it’s almost impossible to describe and explain to people.

I feel like I just “shut down” but I wouldn’t describe it as tired, or exhausted, or depressed. I just all of a sudden have had enough, of everything, and don’t want to do anything or talk to anyone. And yet I don’t want to be doing nothing, either.

My dark moods have let up for the past two days – I hope this is a new trend. I’ve got really good energy levels, actually still a little TOO high (not sleeping soundly and my stomach spasms and clenches throughout the day) but I’m not overly anxious and not uncomfortably hyper. Tomorrow will be 12 weeks post TT for me, and Wednesday will be 4 weeks since last dose change.

What a trip this is, huh? I, too, feel frustrated with my endo from time to time and consider finding a new one. But often times I find myself grateful that he shows me the other side of things and doesn’t jump every time I tell him I want to change something. Each visit I say to myself “if I’m not happy with him this time I’m finding someone new” and I always end up saying “ok, I’ll see him again next month and see how we get along.”

He is pretty good at hearing what I have to say, but I HATE IT when he tells me certain things can NOT be related to my thyroid. I don’t care if it’s listed in his book or not, I KNOW what I’m feeling and when it started!

Anyway, maybe you and I should go crawl under a rock somewhere, have a good cry, and come out again in a month or two when things have stabilized.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: 11 Weeks Post TT #1181333

Thanks, everyone….. I feel a lot more “normal” now that I’ve heard from you about the same or similar experiences.

It just amazes me how quickly I can switch… I actually asked myself today (yes, I was talking to me) if I should entertain the thought that I might be manic depressive, but then I reminded myself (it was a lengthy conversation I and me were having) that this manic stuff only started since my TT. So I will chalk this up to hormones or being hypo, or maybe even to only being 11 weeks out from surgery. This old bod might still be adjusting to life without a thyroid.

I hope these threads are helpful to people now and in the future. I know this forum has been invaluable to me and I would love to pay it forward a bit.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: 11 Weeks Post TT #1181329

Kimberly wrote:

Thanks for the update – hopefully, our thyroidectomy crew will check in with some feedback on the dosing change.

Yes, the rule of thumb is to wait 4-6 weeks…and some ups and downs are probably to be expected. If you get to the point where you are dealing with the fatigue day in, day out, though, I would personally be on the phone to the doctor to see if I could get a new set of labs!

Hi Kimberly….. I think my above post was misleading: it’s not really “fatigue” I’m dealing with, it’s more of an emotional/mental lack of desire to do anything. My body is pretty much OK, I’m just kinda depressed, little anxious, and grouchy. I want everyone to stay away from me and my fantasy would be to just lie on a couch watching movies for a few days.

Mentally tired, I guess.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Just when you think……… #1181148

If this was already discussed and I missed it, I’m sorry, but why Cytomel for only two weeks? If it helped, why do you have to stop?
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Hello again, and another post-TT update #1180537

ChristinaDe wrote:

Dose changes can be a little rough for me too. I always feel worse for a couple of weeks, even when going in the right direction – and usually don’t feel a complete end to the physical & mood symptoms for 3 or 4 weeks. I think that’s about how long it takes my body to level off from the change. MOVING levels for me are a bit more difficult than WRONG levels. But once they stop moving, then I stabilize. Hopefully I just passed through my last Synthroid increase. Stable always feels so much better. Stable & correct even more incredible!

Thanks, Christina….. your above post was very comforting to me and it was the information I needed to hear to help me calm down. It’s hard to think rationally and logically when your hormones and emotions are in upheaval but the fact that this “upheaval” is normal and short-lived will help me to just accept it and wait it out. I was thinking that by 2 weeks after a dose change I should pretty much be at the new level and stable but apparently it doesn’t happen that fast, regardless of how much I study half-lifes. Maybe our bodies haven’t read the book.
Sue

Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Hello again, and another post-TT update #1180535

Sorry – I asked for an update on you in your other post before I realized you already provided one here. Thank you for that.

I think you and your doc are correct that the previous problems were largely due to too severe dose changes, too fast. Hopefully these more gradual modifications will show positive results.

I, for example, dropped from 125 to 112 about 2.5 weeks ago and I am definitely feeling the difference, and not in a GOOD way. Even though I have LOWERED the Levothyroxine, I have been very anxious and antsy for the past week…. hate it! But from what I’ve read on this forum, any change in meds, in either direction, will cause fluctuations and not necessarily in the direction we would have expected. I thought I’d be calmer with a lower dose, not MORE anxious! Hopefully next week things will settle down and level out.

Stop by when you can, but I understand why you can’t. Just know we’ll be thinking about you.
Sue

[SueAndHerZoo]

in reply to: Will be gone from forum for a while #1181083

Thanks for the update, Amy….. it was very humbling and made me realize how silly and minor my issues are compared to what some people are dealing with.

But how are YOU feeling? Physically? Emotionally? Have you been and/or can you find the time to take care of yourself?

Sue

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