Graves Swings, a bit bonkers!

[Guest guest]

Hi

Happy New Year one and all. I just wanted to apologise to those lovely fellow

Graves patients who have emailed me off forum. I'm really sorry I've not got

back to you, I've been a bit all over the show.

To recap, my brilliant endo reckons that I won't tolerate surgery, synthetic

hormones or RAI so he's encouraging me to stick with ATDs and a very gradual

triation as my body really hates any kind of biochemical shift and they need to

go gently to bring me under control. He says there's no reason why I can't stay

on very low dose ATDs for ten or twenty years once I'm stable.

I've been on ATDs for nearly six months now. To be truthful I'm starting to

feel INSANE. I'm very, very tearful, and I just feel anxious, insecure, and

scared. I'm trying to keep up my normal life but I'm so tired, I got the flu,

we got snowed in and then it was Xmas and I feel a bit isolated, like I've been

in some weird parallel dimension for a few weeks. I'm also a bit chubby now and

losing my hair, which is hard.

i've also quit smoking - nearly six weeks - so that is probably having an effect

too.

Have emailed the endo who has told me to go and get a test (I think I'm going

hyper again, fairly certain in fact, despite high dose ATDs)and we'll see where

I'm at. I was just outside normal range 3 weeks ago, which he said was

biochemically about right as my body will be used to being a bit 'up'. He also

keeps telling me not to panic, that he's not too worried and all will be well.

I suppose what I'm asking for here is a little reassurance. Has anyone else

been through this, is it 'normal'? I just feel like I could do with a big hug

and someone to rub my back and tell me its all going to be OK.

Yours (on a desk cluttered with soggy kleenex)

x