Re: Lower Tap Dose?? B&R? To , Pam L., Elaine??

July 26, 2003

Barb,

***Now I am

confused. Pam, can you please elaborate on the

five-year commitment on B & R comment? I thought that

the point of B & R was to try to go into a quicker

remission... I sure as heck don't intend on dragging

this out intentionally.***

No it is not quicker. It is possibly surer. That is the point. And once on

the correct dose you STAY on it.

Then later the ATD is removed and the thyroid hormone is continued, in order

to leave the thyroid asleep as it were, and not have the potential for

antibodies to reappear .

Graves' is for life.

Even in remission I must be aware that I do have the genes for this, and if

I were to allow the triggers that started it in the first place to become

part of my life again, well... then I will be back there getting labs every

4 weeks again.

But... I do not find surgery or RAI to replace one disease with another

acceptable either.

Replacement thyroid hormones are not complete. They are not exactly the same

as what the body makes.

There are many other diseases caused by a hypo body.

Our bodies make thyroid hormone and release it AS NEEDED. It is not all

dumped out once a day as a pill works. Our bodies demand for thyroid hormone

is different by season, time of day, and life events. No pill can do that.

And most importantly... I will NOT have any person in charge of how much

hormone I am allowed to have...or what kind. I'll just make my own , thank

you very much. Grrrrr....

So yes... this is for life. But we each have a choice in how we wish to live

I would rather spend those few years on the drugs... and now have to watch

my triggers... my rewards have been many. It WAS worth it and still is.

Have you seen 's picture over at MediBoard ? Her eyes are protruding at

about 30 and 31 in those pictures. At my worst my eyes were at 28 and 29.

Pretty close in the scheme of things. I lived with double vision for several

years. Because I believed that if I could get rid of the antibodies my eyes

would heal. And they did. The eye disease can happen 20 years later IF we

still have the antibodies.

Now how do you feel about 'dragging it out ' ? Sort of brightens the spot

light on what really matters in my opinion. And I did not even start on

heart damage and bone loss. I have wonderful plans for the years ahead. And

I NEED my body to function and be able to do the things I want. Mental

health is firmly attached to how our body works also.

Do a search on the block and replace. That takes a lot of time and you need

to understand it.

-Pam L - your friendly night shift worker :-)

July 26, 2003

Oh Lord! Do I wish I had choices before I had RAI (I did but I didn't know

about them)! Although I don't know much about the 1st part, the rest is an

eloquent reason for really thinking about making permanent choices for

destroying a gland we need for life.

Take care,

dx & RAI 1987 (at age 24)-also on the night shift

" Graves' is for life.