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Welcome, Sassy!

Are you asking about treatment with Antithyroid Drugs? You should start to

feel some relief of symptoms within a few weeks of starting them. If you don't

get on the meds now, your symptoms will get worse. Make sure your doctor

checks your WBC and liver panel before starting on meds. Also, have your TSH,

FreeT3 and FreeT4 checked every 4 weeks after starting the meds. I would

suggest

Tapazole as it only has to be taken every 12 hours, whereas PTU should be

taken every 8. Do you know what tests you have had done and what the results

are

with the normal limits?

With the symptoms of thyroid eye disease that you exhibit, please don't

consider taking RAI. Your eyes may improve as your thyroid levels lower on the

ATDs.

Here is some good reading for you......

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tp://www.mediboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004549</A>

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HREF= " http://hometown.aol.com/lisareynolds64/myhomepage/personal.html " >http://ho\

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God bless you!

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Hello, my name is Stacie, they call me Sassy, you can call me

whatever you want, as long as it is nice!! hehe. I was just

diagnossed on friday, 4 days ago, with Graves Disease. I am hoping to

meet some people who have this disease also. I am feeling a large

mixture of fear, denial, anxiety and relief right now. i feel relief

because i have a reason to why i feel the way i do. does that make

since?

I have been doing some research online about the symptoms, plus

talking to my doctor about my options. I am seeing who is supposed

to be the best endo in my area.

One question, i am hoping that once my levels are normal, the

symptoms, will go away. I have eye bluring, dry eyes, and i have

slight bulging (I am not happy about the what could happen with the

bulging). i am also tired, and have some weight gain, and my hands

shake, sometimes. My doctor told me my symptoms are pretty mild, and

that i am happy about. I am thinking by starting treatment soon, we

can stop the symptoms from progressing. is this an acurate thought

of mine? So, once normal, they will go away?????

Thanks to all of you and i look forward to getting to know you.

Sassy

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Hi Stacie,

Welcome to the group! What type of treatment have you undergone so far?

Are you on ATDs (anti-thyroid medications)? If so, which one and what's

your dose? Also, what tests did they take to " diagnose " you? I know, a

lot of questions to answer!

If you are on ATDs your eyes should improve soon. ATDs seem to have the

best effect on controlling the antibodies that are responsible for your

Graves Disease and your eye problems. Graves Disease is your immune

system producing antibodies against your thyroid which tricks your

thyroid into producing too much thyroid hormones. Once your thyroid

levels are in the normal range you'll start to feel better.

Chances are the endo will tell your RAI is your best course of

treatment. There are many of us here that firmly believe that you should

leave that treatment as a last resort and use ATDs as your first course

of action. With ATDs there is an excellent chance that you will go into

remission and can stop taking medications all together. Many people will

have a recurrence of the disease after remission, but remission is

achievable again after another course of ATDs. RAI can, in many

patients, make any eye problems worse instead of better.

If your symptoms are pretty mild I would opt for ATDs for now. Get all

copies of your lab work and share with us the results of the labs.

Pretty soon you'll be good at reading all the mumbo-jumbo on the lab

sheets. It was all strange and confusing stuff to me at first but now I

know just what all those test results mean.

in MA USA

Graves since March 1997

Currently on 2 PTU tablets per day

Was in remission from 2000-2003

Will not undergo RAI

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Hi Sassy,

Welcome. The mixture of feelings you are having now makes perfect sense,

and is completely normal.

After learning as much as I can about this disease and treatment, taking

medication, making certain changes in my diet and achieving symptom relief,

I feel a whole lot better than I did when first diagnosed several months ago.

What treatment are you considering for Graves'? In my opinion, medication

is the best, if you respond well to it (and I believe most people do). I am

doing well on a very low dose of PTU. The eye bulging you are experiencing

are due to the antibodies, and only the medication helps to reduce the

antibodies. RAI, which destroys your thyroid, exacerbates thyroid eye

disease in 30% of patients, and sometimes it is very severe; not something

I would think of doing, even though I only have very mild eye symptoms (all

Gravesians have some eye involvement, though thankfully most of the time it

is slight or subclinical).

There is a great welcome letter by Pam B in the files section, second to

last listing: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/graves_support/files/

Also, Mediboard.com has a lot of great info. You can post there as well for

feedback/support/etc. The place to start is the Thyroid Awareness 101

thread: http://www.mediboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004549

Please don't make any permanent treatment decisions until you have a chance

to fully research them, both the pros and the cons. Read all you can about

this disease, and within a month or two, things will come into focus.

At 10:55 AM 9/30/2003, you wrote:

>Hello, my name is Stacie, they call me Sassy, you can call me

>whatever you want, as long as it is nice!! hehe. I was just

>diagnossed on friday, 4 days ago, with Graves Disease. I am hoping to

>meet some people who have this disease also. I am feeling a large

>mixture of fear, denial, anxiety and relief right now. i feel relief

>because i have a reason to why i feel the way i do. does that make

>since?

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Thanks to all of you. So far treatment wise i have done noghting, it

has been very quick. However, monday i am going in for a idiodine

pannel, or something like that????? it is a test, and i have my

appointment, go back 4 hours later and then 24 hours after the first

appointment. My endo really recomends the RAI. i am not sure what i

am going to do. I am doing some reading, and lots of praying to make

the best decision. the eye bulging, my doctor said i have slight,

honestly it is nothing i even notice. my eyes do get blured, but

again, i am 6 months past my yearly eye exam. and after each of my

pregnancy my eyes have gotten worse. My husband thinks i should do

the RAI as well, but it is up to me what i choose. I feel like i

need time to think, but then again, i want to go as fast as i can to

get this under control. I am young 28, and my symptoms are fairly

mild compared to a lot of people, or so my endo said. I will search

the websites you all have mentioned and hopefully decide what to do.

Sassy

> >Hello, my name is Stacie, they call me Sassy, you can call me

> >whatever you want, as long as it is nice!! hehe. I was just

> >diagnossed on friday, 4 days ago, with Graves Disease. I am hoping

to

> >meet some people who have this disease also. I am feeling a large

> >mixture of fear, denial, anxiety and relief right now. i feel

relief

> >because i have a reason to why i feel the way i do. does that make

> >since?

>

>

>

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Hi Sassy, i like the nick! lol. I also was diagnosed with hyperT/Graves back

in Nov/Dec of 2001. I've been on ATD's and with the exception of having one dr

overmedicate me, it's not been as bad as anything dr's say it will be. I am

having a rough time right now and my emotions are running amuck, but I'm working

on that. I am currently on 5 mgs of Methimazole and 50 mgs of Atenolol. The

atenolol has never been reduced as I also got high blood pressure about 18

months before my hyperT/Graves diagnosis.

I felt like you did at first, and it was a relief to finally find out that

something indeed WAS wrong with me. I had to struggle to get my diagnosis, but

I finally got there. I am having trouble with my eyes and have been for quite

some time. I don't really notice a bulging, but I do notice a lot of blurriness

and dry eyes, especially when the fan is running (which I have to have to

sleep), but I'm going to make an appt soon with a Opthomologist as soon as I can

find one who knows a lot about Graves.

Before you let a dr push you into RAI, there is much learning to do. Most dr's

will suggest it as a 'relief' but it doesn't always work that way. I never

intended to have RAI, but I also found out that all 3 dr's I've seen suggested

it, so getting another opinion is not always anything other than playing dr

hopskotch (in my opinion). I'd rather fire one of my dr's for not knowing how

to treat me on anti-thyroid drugs instead of the RAI issue, cuz most (not all)

will finally realize you mean NO RAI. But, sometimes they are stubborn like I

am, so I do give them an " E " for effort. lol.

Now that you've found us, you can learn what all you need to do to address your

health problem. Always ask for a copy of your labs, and don't take no for an

answer on that issue. I let a dr get away with that and he either kept me on

the starting dose of 30 mgs of Methimazole, or he took me off the drugs cuz my

TSH # was in 'his' normal range. Grrrr! There are many here who can help you

to learn what you must learn so that you can now be in charge of your care, and

make good decisions on what to chose. I recently read an article by Shoman

about the high incidence of " Obesity " after RAI, so that is always a good

starting point. I have enuff trouble with weight at this point in my life and I

don't need ANY HELP in gaining lbs since this disease reared it's ugly head.

Not to mention all the other things that and have shared with you.

I'm vain enuff to tell ya too, weight is not something I want to fight ALL my

life as I'm already middle aged! lol.

Sandy~Houston

i am new and hoping to make friends

Hello, my name is Stacie, they call me Sassy, you can call me

whatever you want, as long as it is nice!! hehe. I was just

diagnossed on friday, 4 days ago, with Graves Disease. I am hoping to

meet some people who have this disease also. I am feeling a large

mixture of fear, denial, anxiety and relief right now. i feel relief

because i have a reason to why i feel the way i do. does that make

since?

I have been doing some research online about the symptoms, plus

talking to my doctor about my options. I am seeing who is supposed

to be the best endo in my area.

One question, i am hoping that once my levels are normal, the

symptoms, will go away. I have eye bluring, dry eyes, and i have

slight bulging (I am not happy about the what could happen with the

bulging). i am also tired, and have some weight gain, and my hands

shake, sometimes. My doctor told me my symptoms are pretty mild, and

that i am happy about. I am thinking by starting treatment soon, we

can stop the symptoms from progressing. is this an acurate thought

of mine? So, once normal, they will go away?????

Thanks to all of you and i look forward to getting to know you.

Sassy

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Hi Stacie.

I have been on the anti-thyroid drug-PTU, for alittle over 2 months

now, and I have to tell you that I feel much better. I was diagnosed

in April by an eye doc but had to wait and go thru the medical maze

until I finally got on the meds. I have mild eye disease and I must

tell you, from what I have learned here and other sites, that I would

not consider RAI. I think you should try the medication and see how

it goes. RAI is permanent and meds are a way to get better and get

your symptoms under control so at least you can think clearly enough

to make whatever decision you wish with a better perspective.

I am not 100% by any means, but I am not the same girl I was 3 months

ago either. The difference in me is astonishing. I am doing great on

medication and I'm sure you will too. It's worth trying.

My right eye is protuded, but I think it is better than it was. It

does not water as much and seldom seems like there is something in it

all the time. The pressure is sooooo much better than before. I can

give you some tips that I received here and on the mediboard.

Flaxseed oil{you can also buy the gel caps at any drugstore}

Refresh eye lubricant eye drops with no preservatives{individual

viles are the best, they come 30-50 per box}

elavate your head while sleeping{boards under bed or 2 pillows}

Sunglasses are a must--even when it's cloudy

Aviod ciggie smoke, there is data that this is a no no for the eyes

with Graves{I smoke and know I should not}.

That's all I can think of right now. These things have helped me,

especially the flaxseed.

Don't let ANYONE push you in to a treatment. You decide what's best

for you. I strongly suggest meds first. They have helped me so

much. I did start on a low dose and have not had any hypo symptoms

as of yet. My endo is one of those see ya in 2 and 1/2 months kind

of guy, but so far so very good. My next appointment is next Tues, so

I'm doing fine. If you decide on meds, just make sure you get labs

every 4 weeks, especially if you are started on a large dosage.

Hoping the best for you and I know what your going thru. It's all

too much when newly diagnosed. Sounds like your ahead of the game

from your reading about this and that is so important.

Take care, Donna

> > >Hello, my name is Stacie, they call me Sassy, you can call me

> > >whatever you want, as long as it is nice!! hehe. I was just

> > >diagnossed on friday, 4 days ago, with Graves Disease. I am

hoping

> to

> > >meet some people who have this disease also. I am feeling a

large

> > >mixture of fear, denial, anxiety and relief right now. i feel

> relief

> > >because i have a reason to why i feel the way i do. does that

make

> > >since?

> >

> >

> >

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Hi Sassy,

Welcome to the group. As to your question, yes, early treatment with meds

known as anti-thyroid drugs will lower your thyroid hormone levels and reduce

your symptoms, including the eye symptoms. It is a relief to know there is a

reason for your symptoms, and it's good to know that remission is attainable.

Best, Elaine

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