Forum Replies Created
-
Just an update on my condition. It’s been 1 year since I was able to discontinue treatment with western or chinese medicine. My eyes are normal now, no visible bulging. I continue to get bloodwork every 6months. My FT4 1.2 which is within normal range (0.8-1.
, TSH is 0.75 (0.4-4.5), and TSI is below 100%. Physically I feel great and able to resume work and school. So I am considered in remission. There is recently an article online about thyroid disease and traditional Chinese medicine approaches that seem interesting if anyone wants to read about it: http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/chinesemed.htm
I was diagnosed with Graves disease since early 2010 and then later developed thyroid eye disease, and also have other autoimmune problems for about 6 years. I was on methimazole and prednisone for the eye. I began treatment with Chinese medicine earlier this year and have been tapering off western drugs. I will share my story/progress with getting both western medical care and treatment with chinese medicine when I have time to write it up. Sorry I’ve been super busy with school.
” title=”Confused” /> I know this discussion was split off to a new thread, so I’ll post in the newer one.Some important points to keep in mind for anyone seeking “alternative” treatment:*feel free to add*
1. You should NEVER abandon western medicine for alternative treatment. (Western medicine and any other "alternative" modalities work complementary to each other with the ultimate goal of YOU getting better.)
– Finding an endocrinologist who is open-minded and willing to work with you and monitor you can be rare, but bless those who are.
2. You should find a well-qualified and EXPERIENCED practitioner. (which is not as easy as it seems.)
3. Treatment should be safe. (A well designed treatment should not have much of side effect.)
4. Treatment (at least in Chinese Medicine) should be individualized. (that is how Chinese medicine is practiced, so don’t buy some random pre-made medicine online.)
5. Most importantly, you should see positive effect/improvements from your treatment. This should also be measurable with bloodwork (like TSH, FT4, TSI..etc.). (might seem obvious, but don’t be blinded or fooled by bogus claims/things out there.)A side note if you are thinking about seeking treatment say with traditional Chinese medicine, you’ll probably be in the best situation if you did not have radioiodine treatment (RAI) or surgery…because the thyroid gland is not the problem, but the immune system and hormones are. Just like conventional medicine, different people will have different response. It’s important to know that it’s not a magic cure. I like to think about it just adding more "tricks in the healing bag".
It is my hope that medicine can be truly integrative in the future, taking the best of what modern medicine and traditional practices has to offer. Definitely more research needs to be done to better understand the disease, and to provide better and safer treatment for all of us with Graves disease and other autoimmune problems.
” title=”Smile” /> I wish everyone be well.@marciam
First thing, congratulations on BQ! That is an awesome accomplishment. I wish I had stumbled upon your post earlier. I’ve been sleuthing through many many Graves disease posts and people who manages their GD and also "vigorously" exercise are few and far between. I am relatively newbie runner, began running about a year ago, coincidently about the time that my GD symptoms started. I didn’t thought of it much, just maybe stress, lack of sleep, but anyways, didn’t get diagnosed for like 8 months, and when I got the bloodwork, Free T4 was ~5x high normal range, TSH <0.001. "Severe" was the word my doctor used. Fast forward 8 months, I just finished my first 1/2 marathon last weekend, after getting my Graves disease somewhat under control. Before treatment, at one point my heart rate was pretty high, resting ~120bpm, exercise was well over 200bpm (not recommended for anybody). I didn’t have to go on beta-blockers, but my doctor banned me from exercising for a while, because cardiac risk is too high. Boo
” title=”Sad” /> And I sort of did stop. I was so weak anyways, couldn’t walk up any stairs, felt like I am a melted blob. But the methimazole is working well for me, I had bloodwork every 2 weeks while on high dose, and every month or so while on maintenance dose. The general medical literature says methimazole kicks in somewhere btw 2 weeks to a few months. Thyroid hormone have a long half life in your blood, so even if you cut off production at the source (which is what methimazole does), it takes a while for the thyroid hormone in blood to go down. GD affects many parts of your body. Know that GD not only affects your heart, but can also weakens your intercostal muscles (those you use to breathe), thus making you more short of breath. Being short of breath can be scary. Also have your Vitamin D checked, so you can rule out at least that one reason you are not weakening your bones.
I would highly recommend wearing a heart rate monitor, if you don’t already. Depending on your age, which will reflect what your Max HR should be. Maybe there are light exercises you can do, so you keep your flexibility and strength (ironic but necessary because GD causes muscle weakness), but just be cautious not to increase your HR too much, and blood pressure too high (like AVOID isometric weight lifting). Of course, consult your doctors on this.
So hang in there, take care, and let’s run WITH Graves, instead of running to the grave. Be patient, take it easy for now(seriously, don’t risk it), you will get better soon enough.
