What to do???

March 5, 2003

I take ativan sublingual for anxiety attacks. Now that my meds are somewhat

stable (although I have been going through changes recently) I find I only

need to keep a few on hand. They really do help. I printed off my pages

about how awful I was feeling and how panicked and gave it to my doc. Got

instant attention.

I went through feeling as you are after I had taken RAI - my thyroid was

dying and I was on a pendulum swing from hyper to hypo. I've found everytime

my meds change and I start swinging anxiety kicks in again. I feel for you -

it's a horrible feeling.

Kate

Marsha wrote:

> I was put on Synthroid for hypothyroid symptoms which I now attribute

> to possibly too much estrogen which can drive down your thyroid

> hormone. Well, I've since cut back on my estrogen and because of

> this I now think that I might have too much T4 in my system and am

> really feeling the affects. I panicked because of the worsening

> symptoms and stopped the Synthroid a week ago which was only 25 mg.

> per day. What do you think of my symptoms? (I actually had these

> symptoms while on the Synthroid, but they were also being masked by

> excess estrogen symptoms.)

>

> I keep experiencing these aweful symptoms in waves (ebbs in and out

> and I can actually feel the symptoms building up and then releasing

> almost as though I can feel the hormone entering my blood stream)

> throughout the day, but it is far, far worse in the morning and early

> afternoon. All of a sudden out of no where, I get extremely anxious,

> my body tightens up with my muscles being tensed and I feel like

> someone who has either drank way too much caffeine on an empty

> stomach or what someone who has taken a lot of speed might feel

> like. Well, I suppose I could describe it as a sort of

> nervous/scared feeling. Most the time when my symptoms are bad, I

> have a lot of trouble concentrating...my mind darts around and just

> can't focus. I've also been bouncing back and forth between highly

> irritable to crying spells. I was also getting stabbing pains in my

> hands/wrists and bottoms of my feet. I've noticed that I am

> retaining some water and have puffy eye lids. Another thing is that

> my top lip keeps splitting open when I go to brush my teeth or

> something like that. Also, I immediately (within 10 minutes) have

> tremendous anxiety/tension when I have coffee which I sometimes drink

> in the morning because I am so tired from the insomnia and just this

> afternoon I had some *(salt-cured?? maybe) chipped chopped ham and

> got extremely anxious. When it does finally let up, I am very

> physically exhausted and my arms and legs are weak (sometimes the

> weakness is present during the anxiety). My last TSH was down around

> 1 and both my Free T3 and Free T4 were around the middle of their

> ranges, but this was before I nearly halved my estrogen which freed

> up a bou cou amount of unbound thyroid and probably sent my numbers

> plummeting and then followed up with stopping my Synthroid. Symptoms

> that I don't have are tremors, extra body heat (probably because it

> is around 65 degrees F in my house), or increased heart

> rate/palpitations. I might get little flutters now and then and a

> tiny bit short of breath when this happens. Also, my blood pressure

> seems to be just fine. It's strange that I don't really have these

> symptoms.

>

> Now I know to some extent that I brought this on myself and that it

> isn't a direct result of a hyperthyroid disease although I have been

> diagnosed with elevated anti-bodies around 127 in a range of 0-40 but

> had a TSH comfortably at 2.09, but how soon before blood tests can

> verify my condition and do you know if I just have to ride this out

> or is there some medication that can help me with the anxiety until

> the Synthroid has a chance to work itself out of my system? I'm

> climbing the walls half of the day and the other half I feel

> exhausted like my adrenals are in crisis from it all and they just

> may be.

>

> Thanks for your input,

> Marsha

> Note: I've been on a small dose of Doxepin (generic for Sinequan)

> for about 2 months now.

> *The ham wasn't sweet, so must've been salt cured. I don't know if

> the salt contained iodide. I thought most all edible salt did until

> I read my Morton Salt container that said, " This salt does not supply

> iodide, a necessary nutrient. "

>

March 7, 2003

Hi Marsha-

It sounds like you are having a time of it. . . but all too familiar.

Yes, there are some things you can do to calm down a bit-

First- call your doctor and let them know you want something for your heart

(preferably propranolol if it doesn't interfere with your other meds).

Then- lay off the pork (ham). Some hyperTs, hypoTs and all the thyroid

problem people have a digestive problem with the fats in pork. Also- cool

down on the coffee, dairy and gluten grains. Brown rice (in any quantity)

with herbal teas. . preferably primrose will agree with you. Stay away from

caffeine for now. As well as fatty foods. Drink things like soy milk (to help

calm the hormone rollercoaster) and munch on sunflower seeds. It will take a

few days of being completely off " bad foods " and eating " good foods " but keep

it up for at least 3 days. You will also need vitamins with minerals (NO

IODINE in them).

Next- lay down and breath. Relax. Remember you are not alone. We just had a

set of posts about panic attacks so read through the posts.

Finally- get those labs #s. You need to know what's going on asap so you can

address it directly or modify your diet for it.

Sherry

March 7, 2003

> >

> >> I was a hypoT for years. I got pnuemonia last spring and it

kicked

> >> me into hyperT with all it's problems.

> >>

> >> Four days after I started on Tapazole I had an attack. The

doctor

> >> over the phone listed to my symptoms and said it was a panic

> >> attack. " Give her tranquilizers. " They thought I was crazy. I

> >> couldn't help this attack. I did scream and scream. I was

> >> scarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrred. I decided that if it happened again I

would

> >> stay as calm as possible to prove the doctors wrong. It wasn't

> >> panic

> >> although panic became involved. It was a type of seizure. I was

> >> sure.

> >>

> >> Again it happened. I didn't scream. I laid down and breathed

> >> deeply

> >> until it passed hours later...

> >>

> >> I was having so many episodes that my husband took me in to the

> >> doctors office when I was having one so the doctor could see. I

was

> >>

> >> sooooooo calm that the doctor thought little of the attack! He

> >> didn't know what was the cause. He looked in the Physician's

Desk

> >> Reference under Tapazole and couldn't find any side affect

similar

> >> to

> >> mine.

> >>

> >> I searched for the answer myself. On an internet site I found

> >> Tapazole/Methimazole and all it's side affects. The site is

> >> http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic3/methim_wcp.htm. The side

effect

> >> that mimmicked my panic attacks was encephalolpathy.

> >>

> >> Encephalopathy is actually a derivative of " mad cow disease " .

In a

> >> little synopsis it is whtn the liver is inhibited in ridding the

> >> body

> >> of toxins and the toxin levels in the blood reach the brain

bringing

> >>

> >> on seizures.

> >>

> >> After having these " panic attacks " over and over again 2 to 3

hours

> >> daily(couldn't drive)I began to recognize the precluding symptoms

> >> before they would come around.

> >>

> >> My symptoms may be similar or different from yours. Here is

mine.

> >>

> >> The first time it happened I was reading the paper and the words

> >> began to not make sense and my speech became slurred. (Read that

> >> website about encephalopathy/slurred speech or lack of speech)

> >>

> >> Facial Flush

> >> Disorientation

> >> Lymph nodes under jaw ache(sometimes severe sharp)

> >> Surge of Naseau

> >> One side head pain (not headache/not migraine)

> >> light intolerance

> >> tongue numbs

> >> lips numb on one side

> >> facial muscles feel numb

> >> one side of the whole body numbs (you can feel it travel)

> >> breathing esculates and diminishes in peaks and cycles (multiple

> >> peaks)may last hours (In the beginning when I couldn't catch my

> >> breath I would screaaaaaaaaaam.)

> >> torso from under ribs down, rise and fall in cycles (not painful)

> >> but

> >> similar to contractions of having a child

> >> muscle weakness

> >> Attacks are followed by chills and fatigue.

> >>

> >> Eventually I saw a neurologist. He said that the

hyperventalation

> >> in

> >> itself could cause half those symptoms. He suggested I breath

into

> >> a

> >> sack. Whatever symptoms remained was the symptom we should be

> >> dealing with whether circulatory or whatever.

> >>

> >> I happened to have a " seizure/panic attack in his office " . He

was

> >> happy to hit my knee, check my responses, check my heart and

pulse

> >> while I labored to breath. He said my heart was not involved so

> >> that

> >> eliminated a thyroid storm.

> >>

> >> I finally realized that I had had similar (not as severe)

reactions

> >> to some of the prescription meds I was on for pnuemonia.

Therefore

> >> I

> >> don't think that it is necessarily the drug itself-Tapazole.

> >>

> >> This is the clincher: I believe that it is my liver. It has an

> >> inability to handle prescription meds. I stumbled on this by

> >> reading

> >> that encephalopathy.

> >>

> >> I still believe that many/if not all thyroid problems can be

linked

> >> to the liver and it's inability to process vitamins, assimilate,

or

> >> convert T3-T4........

> >>

> >> Many of you have done fasts and cleanses. Do you get relief?

For a

> >>

> >> while?

> >>

> >> So that is the reason that I take 's vitamins only. I don't

> >> have

> >> panic attacks with the vitamins and they help me. I still have

some

> >>

> >> one sided numbing and weakness immediately after eating a large

> >> meal. I started taking phosphatidylcholine complex,probiotics,

and

> >> doing cleansings and have gotten a lot of relief from most of

these

> >> symptoms.

> >>

> >> By the way when I breathed into a bag(actually I used a paint

face

> >> mask because I was using it so often and it fit well), the

remaining

> >>

> >> symptoms were one sided numbing, guts rise and fall in cycles,

and

> >> the breathing escalation.

> >>

> >> Please talk about your panic attack symptoms. I think in the

hyperT

> >>

> >> we have a tremble and a nervousness. Our mental outlook is

slightly

> >>

> >> impaired. We have mood swings. Panic attacks. But what causes

> >> panic attacks. I think you can become involved with the attack

or

> >> hold yourself calm. Try breathing in a bag. If nothing else it

> >> will

> >> diminish the attack. I promise! Things may trigger the attacks.

> >> What triggers your attacks? Mine is brought on by medications

and

> >> large meals - stress makes it worse. But I don't believe it is

the

> >> other way around. It is a physical problem made worse by some

> >> stressful situations. Are you afraid you'll have an attack in

> >> public, which just makes it worse?

> >>

> >> People think you're crazy? Lechithin is suppose to help the

liver

> >> too? Don't you think it's odd that thyroid patients have a lot

of

> >> attacks? Does the thryoid make the adrenaline overreact and kick

> >> the

> >> attacks in?

> >>

> >> It feels good just to talk about it. What do you think? Let's

deal

> >>

> >> with this thing.

> >>

June 25, 2007

Hi Alice,

How much does he weigh? What dose and dosing schedule are you using? How long

have you been using oral chelators? Have you identified and reduced/removed

sources of exposure? What are the symptoms you're most interested in

addressing? What's his diet like? What supplements is he on?

S S

Hi group,

My son does not seem to be pulling mercury and big lead and arsenic

anymore. He is not finished by a long-shot.

We are using both oral ala and dmsa. What can I do to get these poisons

out? We have been chelating for 2 years now (with td and now orals)

Alice

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June 26, 2007

Have you tried using cysteine (NAC) or environ tonic herbal tinciture.

>

> Hi group,

> My son does not seem to be pulling mercury and big lead and arsenic

> anymore. He is not finished by a long-shot.

>

> We are using both oral ala and dmsa. What can I do to get these

poisons

> out? We have been chelating for 2 years now (with td and now orals)

>

> Alice

>

June 26, 2007

What you need to do is stop getting a lot of irrelevant tests you don't know how

to

interpret that confuse you.

You already know he has the metals, so just chelate. That is what gets them

out.

Andy

> Hi group,

> My son does not seem to be pulling mercury and big lead and arsenic

> anymore. He is not finished by a long-shot.

>

> We are using both oral ala and dmsa. What can I do to get these poisons

> out? We have been chelating for 2 years now (with td and now orals)

>

> Alice

>

November 18, 2008

I am a 58 year old RA patient who has has had success with the combo of

Prednisone, MTX, & Enbrel for about 3 years. I've just had the very

unpleasant experience of a pretty serious infection & spent 5 days in

the hospital,in isolation.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about having shingles. It quickly got

out of control because of my compromised immunity. I am now home under

Home Health care, having 3 IV treatments a day for 2 weeks. (Had to go

to surgery & get a central line put in for that because of lousy veins!)

I am off the MTX & Enbrel till I'm done with the IV therapy. I had 3

different Dr.s in the hospital. One of them with no tact told me that

this happened to me because of the Enbrel. My rheumey says we will

discuss either changing meds or dosing.

I know that I will have to do something if I want to walk. Just not

sure....Should I try another biologic? Try a lower dosage of Enbrel?

At this point, I'm just trying to get well. I'm just kinda scared

about future RA treatment. I know some of you can talk me through this.

Thanks,

Judy

November 19, 2008

Judy and group;

I am so sorry you had shingles. My husband had shingles and he don't have RA.

I am so so sorry a doctor said that to you about enbrel.

You have been through so much. I pray there are better days ahead for you. God

bless and take care. I don't know what you should do but I bet there will be a

lot of post on it.

gentle hugs

Clora

************************************************

From: judyamcgee <judyamcgee@...>

Subject: [ ] What to do???

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 9:19 AM

I am a 58 year old RA patient who has has had success with the combo of

Prednisone, MTX, & Enbrel for about 3 years. I've just had the very

unpleasant experience of a pretty serious infection & spent 5 days in

the hospital,in isolation.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about having shingles. It quickly got

out of control because of my compromised immunity. I am now home under

Home Health care, having 3 IV treatments a day for 2 weeks. (Had to go

to surgery & get a central line put in for that because of lousy veins!)

I am off the MTX & Enbrel till I'm done with the IV therapy. I had 3

different Dr.s in the hospital. One of them with no tact told me that

this happened to me because of the Enbrel. My rheumey says we will

discuss either changing meds or dosing.

I know that I will have to do something if I want to walk. Just not

sure....Should I try another biologic? Try a lower dosage of Enbrel?

At this point, I'm just trying to get well. I'm just kinda scared

about future RA treatment. I know some of you can talk me through this.

Thanks,

Judy

April 7, 2010

Hi, Donna. I am so sorry to hear of 's knee - I had hoped no news was

good news. I do have one suggestion for a dr. He is in Indianapolis. His name is

Dr. Jeffery Pierson. He repaired my mother's tendon in her knee. A transplant

was a possibility but when he opened her knee up he was able to repair it. He

did wonderful work! I was very impressd with him. I know you are in KY but Indy

is not too far and may be worth the trip. My mother had the surgery at St

's Hospital and the care was excellent. Research him and see what you

think.

My mother had a knee replacement and then during rehab tore her tendon (the one

that runs alongside the knee - I cannot remember the name). She was in

incredible pain. After the repair by Dr Pierson, her knee is doing quite well.

I hope that you get some answers for . At 14, he should be doing whatever

he enjoys (as long as mom approves - LOL!)

Let us know how it goes, Michele ( 22, spondy)

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