Re: Thank you all/Wishnstarr

[Guest guest]

At 11:30 AM 9/18/2003, you wrote:

>Those posting made me feel so good, thank you I am sorry if I sounded

>harsh but I am just so fustrated. Can some explain the sugar and fat

>part to me, why do these do bad things for GD?

Bad for the immune system. The cause of the problem in GD is the immune

system malfunctioning, producing antibodies to the thyroid and its hormones.

> And has anyone else

>heard the Eccanichea(?) triggers graves I read that last night

Echinacea stimulates the immune system. With GD, the immune system is

already working too much.

[Guest guest]

Trust me, we've all felt impatient at some point with this disease. I

can't answer a lot of your questions as I'm really not thinking

clearly this morning, so I apologize in advance. there are some

things that I did that might not have helped my situation with the

Graves/hyperT, but I was unaware of them at the time. One of them

being taking a flu shot. I was sick from Graves/hyperT within 3

months of taking one. I can't say it caused it, but I can't say it

didn't cause it to show up more prominant. I also was guilty of

taking Metabolife 356 as my energy level had gone down tremendously

where it was an effort for me to even breathe, much less how hard it

became for me to go shopping, which I used to love to do.

I suspect I was already hypoT before the Graves and hyperT symptoms

reared their ugly heads. I've also never been on what could be

considered a 'good diet'. While I'm not a junk food junkie, I do

enjoy sweets, on occasion, and I was a healthy eater as far as

appetite. I just never had balanced meals on a continued basis. I

understand that the caffeine and sugar are not good, but as for a good

explanation, I'd have to look it up.

Another thing I noticed before I got really sick was my suseptibilty

to infections. I would get sick everytime something was in the 'air'

and it got to where I became very sick with a upper respiratory

infection and was given steroids to clear it up. Those became very

commonplace and while I tried eccenechia (sp) I don't think it's such

a great product. My cousin introduced me to it, but I never noticed

being helped by it. Whether that was because I was already too sick

for it to help is unknown.

I've been on Methimazole and Atenolol for almost 2 yrs. It's only

been since March of 2003 that I started actually getting better with

the hyperT/Graves, but that was because of being overmedicated by one

of my dr's. I have learned much since being here and really putting

forth efforts to learn about Graves and hyperT. I feel that if I'd

done that back when I first got sick, instead of just assuming that my

Endo knew all and wouldn't steer me wrong, when I was first diagnosed,

I'd prolly have been much better off. This is really a great place to

learn about all the things you can encounter with this disease. I try

to keep up daily with anything on graves and hyperthyroidism I can

learn, so that one day I can gain remission. that is my goal.

While my dr won't want me to stay on ATD's for much longer than I have

been on them now, they are safe for much longer than I've taken them,

provided that he tends to my healthcare in a responsible manner.

tremendously.

Since you've already had RAI, one suggestion I might make is to not

let the time frame that your dr has outlined for you be carved in

stone. Some people do not go long before they start showing hypoT

symptoms and they can be just as debillitating as hyperT symptoms.

Your goal now will be to find that spot where you feel your best, and

don't be chained to just one type of replacement if your Dr is only

planning on giving you synthroid when he feels it's necessary. If you

don't do well on it, then I'd suggest asking him why he only offers

synthroid if it doesn't suit you. Not all people are able to go on

replacement therapy of just a T4 drug which is what synthroid is. A

lot of dr's seem to like it, but if it doesn't work for you, make him

give you something different with added T3 in it, or move onto another

Dr. The hardest thing in all this is to find a DR who knows and

doesn't go strictly by numbers. If you can get one who also takes

into consideration your levels, then you will be much better off for

it.

Sandy~Houston

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 15:30:32 -0000

" wishnstarr " wrote: