General Medicine

» mariammc - grave's disease

In response to grave's disease posted by daisyelaine:

Hi Elaine,

Thank you for the information. The nurse called yesterday and asked if I've decided to have the surgery, but i'm not ready to make a decision. I asked for a copy of all my labs to take to another doctor because I feel my doctor is a little quick on the surgery part.

I do have a vitamin D deficiency, my TSH is 0.01 and I have no celiac disease. The propranolol is beginning to make me feel worse sometimes, and I'm not handling my job well at all. I've lost half of my hair and my skin does not heal well at all. So, my plan is to study my lab results and research what other people with Graves' disease have done. Thanks again.

Maria

-- posted by mariammc

» fivebreaths - Weight Gain in Graves' Disease

In response to Weight Gain in Graves' Disease posted by daisyelaine:
hi Elaine,
Thank you reply last week was very helpful. I will be adding the EFA's and B's.
I had one question about the SLOW DOWN tip you offered. well, I must be an anomaly---because---I AM slowed down.Very. Despite my high T3, T4's, and very rapid heart rate,interrupted sleep, and achy eyes,intolerance to being hot, thigh weakness, shortness of breath, etc ,& a number of other mild symptoms---I am understandably exhausted all the time and couldn't move quickly now if I tried. Last year, I was on the other side of things--lots of energy, weight loss, hypomanic, and by comparison, I'd choose that over this any day! So, here I am, diagnosed as Graves, yet almost feeling like I have Hypothyroid--w/ the fatigue, weight gain, mild depression, memory problems, etc. What's up?
I even went to my doctor expecting my bloodwork to show I had swung from Hyper to Hypo, but in fact my T3's and T4's had gone even higher than 3 months earlier.

Do you hear this from other people? Does this make sense to you?

I'm sooooo tired, achy, miserable, unmotivated, all the while heart races etc etc.
I have noticed that I perform only what i need to perfporm in my work and life, and the rest of the time I keep stimulus VERY low around me. My life seems to be about managing external stimuli. I get overstimulated really easily, and am sad to feel that this is the person I am becoming.
Allopathic treatment, so irreversible, I am avoiding it as long as I can. So I'm being treated with Bionutrition, have begun homeopathy and acupuncture , and chinese herbs. I don't know what kind of window I have to allow these slower deeper healing modalities to show their effect. I also don't know how patient I can be, or need to be.

This illness has changed my behaviour, ( although i also believe my behaviour also created this illness), effected my interest and ability to be social. I withdraw , worried I will either become overstimulated and disoriented, or worse, express my energy toward others with hostility---because that's how this raciness makes me feel.
Anyway---I apologize for the rambling.
I guess my question really comes from not understanding the seemingly contradictory outpicturing of symptoms, as I began in my last email, about weight gain. But now, more than that, the fatigue¬ high-enrgy, the depression¬ the positivity I associated w/ this.
I will add , it is winter here, and may contribute, I realize, to other causative factors.
Have also been told my levels of Lead & mercury are high and contribute to everything.
One more question, and again, sorry this is so discombobbulated---can you write some about how emotional stress or emotional trauma or loss can trigger thyroid disregulations/autoimmune disease? I could not find one specific article or discussion on this.
Thank you Elaine, for your patience, dedication, and the sharing of information with us your readers.

-- posted by fivebreaths

» fivebreaths - Weight Gain in Graves' Disease

In response to Weight Gain in Graves' Disease posted by fivebreaths:
P.S. the symbols I typed in my previous email did not translate once it printed up on your discussion page. What I meant in the last paragraph was:

.... I am not understanding the seemingly contrdictory symptoms I am experiencing. not only the weight gain(20lbs, 2months)( which you've responded to), but also the fatigue &depression, while not the Everready battery kind of high energy often described w/ Graves.

thanks. Sorry for any confusion.

-- posted by fivebreaths

» Elaine Moore - Weight Gain in Graves' Disease

In response to Weight Gain in Graves' Disease posted by fivebreaths:
Hi Five,
Early on in hyperthyroidism some people mention feeling euphoric and pretty speedy. But over time, the fast metabolism leads to the nutrient deficiencies I mentioned. Some doctors think that the muscle fatigue which occurs over time are often related to vitamin B6 deficiency. In my case, calcium and magnesium as well as 100 mg B6 helped. Sometimes, it takes some experimenting and also light exercise with weights to restore muscle tone. Here are two articles on Emotions and a href="http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/grav..." Emotional Changes in Graves' disease that mention the changes that can occur in hyperthyroidism.
Since your levels are still elevated, you may want to add goitrogens, foods that block iodine absorption and lower thyroid hormone levels, to help reduce your levels faster. Even with correcting the nutrient deficiencies, if your levels of FT4 and/or FT3 remain high, you probably won't see much improvement. The herb bugleweed is excellent for reducing levels and you want L-carnitine to reduce some of your symptoms and help restore muscle.
Be very careful about your natural products to make sure that none of them contain kelp or iodine or bladderwack. Some older formulations for thyroid disorders contain iodine, and while this can help hypothyroidism if not in excess, even small amounts of iodine can worsen hyper symptoms. Hope this helps, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - Weight Gain in Graves' Disease

In response to Weight Gain in Graves' Disease posted by fivebreaths:
Hi,
I understand what you're saying. The extra energy and euphoria I mentioned are more likely to occur in early mild hyperT. I rather liked having levels slightly above normal and still prefer to have levels on the high side of the range. But some people never feel good when hyper and this is usually because they've been slightly hyper for some time and have nutrient deficiencies or because thyroid antibodies are reacting with other tissues, such as skeletal muscle tissue or brain tissue, and causing inflammation and fluid retention.
In either case, whether symptoms are related more to excess thyroid hormone or thyroid antibodies, healing via your immune system will benefit you. This would include a nutrient rich diet, avoiding sugar and saturated fats, cigarette smoke, aspartame, allergens, dietary iodine, processed foods and adding exercise and other stress reduction techniques. Changes won't happen overnight but if you can reduce your thyroid hormone levels while doing this (and diet does reduce levels in most everyone) you should begin noticing improvement soon. Best to you, Elaine

» luckylady39 - Hashimoto's disease to Grave's disease???

I have been watched for thyroid disease since my son was born, 9 years ago. I went to an endrocrinologst that was supposed to be the best, only one catch he was a jerk. I never went back.

So I have been watched for the last 7 years. I was told about a year and a half ago I had Hashimotos disease. I lost my insurance, and did not have time or the money to get it taken care of.

Some of my symptoms, uncontrolable shaking, I had to quit a job because of. Depression, IBS.

I have been hospitalized for chest pains, and been told i have heart palpations. Intermitant hair loss. Also I have a Goiter. AND Memory loss, I can't remember anything, I keep telling people I am really really smart I just cant remember a darn thing anymore.

So here is the thing I am happy to finally have a solution, but now I am concerned, how can I go from one end of the spectrum to the other? Also once I take the radioactive iodine, will I gain weight, I am finally where I want to be, going through divorce.

How will this effect my weight? My Mood Swings, Brain Fog?
How long does it take to get to get the meds under control? The Doctor said this is going to change my life, made me happy at first then the worring started to kick in, does the depression go away? IBS? How much can i trust that if I do this will I be better?

-- posted by luckylady39

» Elaine Moore - Hashimoto's disease to Grave's disease???

In response to Hashimoto's disease to Grave's disease??? posted by luckylady39:
Hi,
Common symptoms of depression include depression, hypertension, sluggish digestion, memory loss, hearing impairment, nerve problems such as peripheral neuropathy, weight gain, and anxiety, with depression one of the earliest symptoms to occur in hypothyroidism.

Treatment for hyperthyroidism that results in permanent hypothyroidism, such as radioiodine, is highly associated with weight gain. Most reports mention an average 20-30 lb weight gain within 4 years although many people gain more weight than that and a few people don't gain weight.

You would need to have lifelong treatment for hypothyroidism with thyroid replacement hormone. Because radioiodine stimulates the immune system, you would also be more likely to develop other autoimmune diseases. Graves' disease, which is autoimmun hyperthyroidism, can also be treated with anti-thyroid drugs, which must be taken for around 18 months. The goal here is to lower thyroid hormone levels while allowing the immune system to heal. Graves' disease is self-limiting, and meds help move remission along, with the end result being normal thyroid function. You might want to research your options carefully before choosing a permanent treatment option. Best to you, Elaine

» mariammc - hair loss

hi everybody. has anyone here been able to calm down the hair loss from Graves' disease? thanks again, maria

-- posted by mariammc

» Elaine Moore - hair loss

In response to hair loss posted by mariammc:
Hi Maria,
Are you only on propranolol for your hyperthyroidism?
Why don't you ask for a copy of your last lab results so you can see if your thyroid levels are elevated. While hair loss occurs in hyperthyroidism and hair tends to become finer and have less of a tendency to hold curl, hair loss isn't too significant.
However, if meds cause your thyroid hormone levels to fall too low hair loss can be pretty extreme.
What helps? Correcting your thyroid hormone levels so they're neither too high nor too low, using B complex and biotin supplements, adding essential oils such as flaxseed oil, and adding more protein to your diet. I hope to see some other suggestions here too.
Best, Elaine

» Phoebe_2007 - Question - What is a 'Typical' Methimazole Dosage

Hi - I'm new to this board and am hoping someone can help with a question I have. I was dx'd with Graves' this week. My labs were something like TSH .005 and T4 24.0, and my 24 hr uptake was 65%. I do have goiter and my eyes protrude slightly. My Endo/I agreed to tx with methimazole. He indicated I'll be starting on 30 mg/day with follow-up labs in 6 weeks. Does this dose seem a little high for someone who weighs 120 lbs, especially for an entire 6 weeks? Most of what I'm reading indicates a start dose of 15-20 mg/day. Are there benefits/draw-backs of taking 30 mg vs. a lower dose like 15 mg/day? My other concern is that I have generalized pruritus, especially my hands/feet. I know methimazole can cause rash/itching and I'd REALLY like to prevent my current problem from getting worse. My latest liver function test was N (I was dx'd Epstein-Barr a year ago with itching/abnormal liver function tests), Neither my Endo/Gastro Drs know why I'm itching now. And Hydroxine does not help. Is methimazole less likely to cause itching if taken at a lower dosage?. I appreciate your input - Thanks!

-- posted by Phoebe_2007