I am new to the group and need help BAD

[Guest guest]

Hello, and welcome to the group!

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife's condition and all that you both are

facing.

One thing that is important to somehow convey to your wife is that her weight

will stabilize when her health improves with a good treatment plan. If she

has been ill enough to experience thyroid storm, then she probably needs to

gain some weight, and what pounds she has is likely not in the form of much

muscle. I'm sure you've noticed muscle weakness on her part.

It sounds like counseling might be in order if you can get her to agree, and

to have a third party help convince her of the risk she is taking by not

treating this disease.

I have a daughter with Graves' so I'm in the same boat trying to understand

what it's like to have this disease, but I do know that your wife can improve.

This disease is rough on all family members, and my heart goes out to you.

Stay in touch with this group; it has been instrumental in helping my

daughter and my family understand a terrifying disease. Keep asking questions;

others will also respond with more help than I can give. :-)

P

In a message dated 8/23/2003 9:36:04 PM Central Daylight Time,

niku86@... writes:

> My wife was diagnosed with hyperthyroid in March and

> here are the numbers. She was not diagnosed until she

> finally had a Thyroid Storm.

>

> In March T4 7.7 TSH 0.01

>

> In April T4 4.3 T3 11.0

>

> In May T4 3.6 T3 8.9 TSH 0.01

>

> She skipped all other endo appointments since May.

>

> My wife is Japanese, she currently weight 100 lbs and

> was down to 95 when she had her thyroid storm.

>

> She has suffered through every symptom of hyperthyroid

> and went undiagnosed our entire marriage and propably

> longer.

>

> She was perscribed Inderal LA 80 mg once a day

>

> Propylthiouracil 50 mg 2 pills three times a day

>

> Here is where the problems start she is not taking her

> medicine properly and is so worried out her weight

> gain that she would rather have this illness than to

> gain weight.

>

[Guest guest]

Nick,

I know I am probably just going to repeat what others have said, but here

goes. You are in a difficult bind. I agree that counseling is needed -- do

you have any leverage? Does anyone you both know have any influence (family

members, friends)? You may want to enlist someone else in this endeavor (to

talk to her), as you may be viewed by her as " the bad guy. " If she agrees,

I would recommend that you find a therapist who does cognitive-behavioral

therapy (you can contact the Beck Institute for a referral).

Perhaps you can alter your approach to her, and decipher what works from

what doesn't. It is hard to know what to suggest (other than do what

works!), as the situation is complex.

I think that the most you can do is be supportive, tell her that you love

her, and that you want to help her get well. Tell her you are afraid for

her, and that you don't want to lose her to this illness, which can cause

premature death if untreated. Offer her choices (books, doctors,

counselors, etc.), and see if she selects one. Then go from there.

Ultimately, her health is her responsibility. I believe all you can do at

this point is gently but persistently encourage her to get proper treatment

and be there for her (and enlist the help of others if possible, either

individually or like an intervention). My guess is that she doesn't

appreciate the seriousness of the illness; she is likely in denial.

If her vanity is getting in the way, she should be assured that she will

not put on weight if she is closely monitored (blood work done every 4

weeks, at least till stabilized -- dosing should be adjusted according to

the Free T3 and Free T4 tests) and not given too much medicine making her

hypOT. True, she won't be able to pig out with abandon like when hyper, but

she will be healthy and able to eat normally for her if she is stabilized

at a point where thyroid levels (FT3 and FT4) are within the normal range.

I think you know she is not thinking right or clearly. Depression and

irritability are common with thyroid problems, unless one is stabilized.

Best wishes,

[Guest guest]

Nick,

I have read all the responses to your post. I think you are wonderful

for trying so hard to help your wife through what must be a very

difficult time for both of you. I would just like to add my thoughts,

because something has occurred to me that no one else has mentioned

yet.

Is your wife really able to comprehend what her endo/docs are telling

her and the seriousness of her condition? Now I do not mean to cast

doubts on your wife's linguistic ability at all but let me explain why

I ask this.

My native language is English but I live in Japan. I happen to speak,

read and write Japanese fluently. However when I was diagnosed with

Graves I found that I really struggled trying to understand what my

Japanese doctor was telling me about the disease, medication, tests

etc. There is so much vocabulary that I had never heard before in

English let alone in a foreign language. It was a real education in

both languages:-).

So, even if your wife can cope with day to day situations in English is

she able to understand all the technical terms she needs to know about

her condition and that it can be life threatening if left untreated?

Does she have access to a PC with Japanese language capabilities? Can

she access information in her own language about hyperthyroidism? I

know that I would have been lost without access to information in my

native language.

There is at least one website I know of for the Kuma Hospital in Kobe

which is the allegedly the best thyroid clinic in Japan. Dr Kuma was

called to treat the Empress when she had thyroid problems. The website

is in Japanese and if your wife is looking for information on Basedow's

Syndrome which is what Graves is called in Japan this might be helpful:

http://www.kuma-h.or.jp

Or a search of yahoo.co.jp for Basedow's Syndrome or kojosen kino

koshinsho (hyperthyroidism) will bring up a lot of information in

Japanese.

I also second Terry's suggestion about her going back to see her family

or if that fails then make sure you give her family as much information

as possible so they can communicate with her and give her support from

their end.