Guest guest Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 Hi , and welcome, Terry really covered what you need to know. I just wanted to make sure you can find the homepage: it's groups.yahoo.com/group/graves_support. I also wanted to recommend a helpful book: Graves' Disease: A Practical Guide, by Elaine . You can order it from Amazon. Many people in this group have achieved remission with anti-thyroid meds and without RAI, and others are on the way to doing so--myself included. Graves' is an autoimmune problem, where our bodies are attacking the thyroid and eyes. The meds can control antibody production and give your body a chance to heal, whereas RAI only removes one target that your body's attacking and leaves the eyes vulnerable. You may have to change doctors or, hopefully, your current doc will agree to work with you. There's a list of " top thyroid docs " at thyroid-info.com, and some people have even worked with their general practitioner. It's really hard to have to argue with your physician when you're experiencing untreated Graves' but almost everyone on this list can guarantee that you'll start feeling much better once you start on medication to control your thyroid and heart. Best wishes, B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 On Mon, 19 May 2003 18:34:26 -0700 (PDT) " Gardner " writes: > I was just diagnosed. Can anyone tell me what the > normal range of numbers are? My doctor is recommending > RAI which I don't really want to do. She said that my > numbers are so high If you can, when you share your results could you also tell us your LFT (liver enzymes) and complete or white blood count? Besides trying to rush us into RAI over a TSH too low to register and elevated T4, your dr. may tell you these two tests are dangerously off when in fact they're only slightly elevated (LFT) or suppressed (blood count), which is normal with Graves. Take care, Fay In remission for close to 2 years after 14 months on the ATD Tapazole ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 Hi , High levels of thyroid hormone aren't nearly as important as your actual symptoms. And high thyroid hormone levels shouldn't influence treatment since it's always best to start with anti-thyroid drugs (ATDs, either PTU or Tapazole) to bring thyroid hormone levels down regardless of the treatment you use. TSH is generally <.01 mu/L in hyperthyroidism and this is a pituitary hormone that regulates thyroid hormone levels. All this level shows is that you have enough thyroid hormone and don't need the pituitary's help. To prevent your levels from becoming too high, the pituitary stops secreting TSH. You should also have levels of the thyroid hormones FT4 and FT3. The total levels T3 and T4 are often falsely elevated so aren't as reliable. Each lab establishes their own ranges for these hormones, and your lab report will have them listed beneath your results. Ask your doctor's office to send or fax you a copy of your results. It's a good idea to keep copies of all lab reports to help monitor your own progress and make sure you don't become overtreated. Because the ATDs take a few weeks to kick in, many doctors also prescribe drugs known as beta blockers to help reduce any cardiac symptoms or symptoms of anxiety. Best to you, Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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