Hello!

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I just joined your group. I was diagnosed with Grave¡Çs last March and

finally found you now. I¡Çve been looking through the archives, but I

still know so little that I feel like I reading a foreign language for some

messages.

I¡Çm now taking 100mgs of PTU three times a day. My hormone levels had

gone down slowly over the past several months, but shot back up again at the end

of August. My doctor talked about trying different meds, but I am breastfeeding

my son, so the PTU is the safest bet at this point.

I went to my regular physician with a slight fever and every question she asked

me I answered, ¡ÆYes, but I just had a baby¡Ç. I thought my

symptoms were all post-partum, hair loss, fatigue, stressed out (I was very

irritable), weight loss (from breastfeeding). But my doctor checked my heart

rate, 116 bpm and saw that my thyroids were swollen. I had noticed the swollen

thyroids earlier and had told a different doctor, who was treating me for

Hepatitis E, which I now think I got because my WBC was low. But I was switched

around among three different doctors and this symptom got lost in the shuffle. I

also could not open jars, but just thought that I was tired.

I get irritated more easily and sometimes feel tired, but I think I was lucky

that I was diagnosed fairly early. I think I may have had Grave¡Çs before

I was pregnant because m family noticed that my hands were trembling. So I am

thankful that I didn¡Çt have any complications and that my son is healthy

and well.

I¡Çve read about some of the eye problems people have with Grave¡Çs.

Fortunately my eyes seem to be okay so far, just slightly bulgy. What are some

other long-term effects that Grave¡Çs has on people? If my meds can

control the hormone levels, can I expect to be spared any heart or eye problems?

My doctor told me that I have severe hyperthyroidism, but I don¡Çt feel

too bad. But when I tell people I have Grave¡Çs their reaction scares me.

How bad is this disease?

When I eat (ate) a lot of fish or had iodized salt, I broke our in a rash and

always assumed that it was an allergy. Has this happened to anyone else here?

I¡Çm an American living in Yokohama, Japan. I noticed that is

also in Japan. Whereabouts are you? Do you feel like your getting good care

here? So far I feel good about my endo. I feel like he¡Çs working with

me as for as my wanting to continue breastfeeding.