General Medicine

» cybee - undereye swelling?

In response to undereye swelling? posted by cowlover614:

Oh, dear...I do understand about the stress involved taking care of an ailing parent! Been there , done that, but I did have sisters/brothers who actually helped. But I had to leave my family during times of care as my Mother did not want to leave her home..and that was stressful being away for long stretches of time especially with still have children at home! Oh, yes! Just the care can be stressful as the parent's health may worsen and I know I could feel bad when I found it too much (guilt). Eventually we did place my dearest Mother in at a community for elderly that had nurses present and really it was as good of those communities as I have ever seen..like each had a mini apartment, but each could ring (if they recalled to ring) a nurse/staff member at any time and well, it was run very well. Nontheless , that was an extremely difficult decision to make for my Mother of course did not want to leave her home, but it was being too difficult on us children. This is not an easy situation, so I feel for you especially as you have no family help! However, it did reduce the stress by doing that (this was in 2005. Sadly she passed in 2006). You need to reduce stress and that would help, but then there is the guilt, I know, and the fact your siblings won't visit. Actually one sibling who did not help out with Mother when at home did visit every evening once she was at the eldercare community ...so one never knows...but obviously best not to hope for too much. So it is difficult , but something you might consider in light of your situation. I don't know what is the right answer..that is just what happened here....and it is fine to rant...it helps with the stress and I DO understand! B^)

-- posted by cybee

» Elaine Moore - Elaine, hi! questions

In response to Elaine, hi! questions posted by fivebreaths:
Hi Five,
I'll check out post 346 in case I missed it.
It's not unusual to have flares in which symptoms transiently worsen. Many women notice an increase in symptoms right before their periods that's probably related to hormonal influences. Some people notice a flare after they eat shellfish or other foods high in iodine and some women notice a worsening in symptoms after eating foods high in garlic or after experiencing more stress than usual. If you can make a connection and figure out what might have caused your flare it could help prevent future incidents. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - undereye swelling---plus questions to Elaine..

In response to undereye swelling---plus questions to Elaine.. posted by fivebreaths:
Hi,
Periorbital swelling, which is swelling all around the eye and eyelids, is a common symptom of hypothyroidism. It's due to venous congestion. You can have symptoms of hypothyroidism even if TSH is low. And you can be hypothyroid if your thyroid hormone levels are witing the normal range but too low for your body's needs. Most people need thyroid hormone evels at least at mid-range and ideally closer to the high end of the normal range.

The periorbital swelling is related to venous congestion which occurs in hypothyroidism. In addition, hypothyroidism can trigger or exacerbate TED because it causes an increase in thyroid antibodies. If you become hypothyroid, your gland tries to correct the problem by increasing its activity including increased thyroid antibody production.
Hope this helps, Elaine

» fivebreaths - Elaine, hi! questions

In response to Elaine, hi! questions posted by daisyelaine:
hi Elaine, thank you for the info.Very illuminative.... Well, what i had was a blueberry/ creamcheese croissant!!( from the bakery)---As for causative factors for a 'flare'--none of the things you listed as possiblities, i swear, were true for me that day!! I do not have my periods for 5 months now, there was no garlic,( oh! wait! there was the night before come to think of it!! Thai food) and the ingredients in the croissant not out of the ordinary for me these days, tho there was a time before I became a ravenous lunatic that i would have said differently. i am no longer ravenous now, just created some poor habits when I was. It was an easy stress-less morning, no apparent or hidden stressors, unless in fact it was the garlic... so that spike remains to me a mystery....I had another the noght of the next day...came the same way, progressively, and then spiked. only 25 beats up or so, but still, all resting. Headache, tightness in chest, a weird brbly feeling in my hearbeat....
And are you saying that ATD's or no, these fluctuations will occur? Am confused...are they thyroid hormone suppressant? Or thyroid hormone lowering? I ask, because I got the impression that coming off of them could make the hormone levels go up again? why is that? Is that due to the whatever's going on in the pituitary? I'm sorry to be so lame and ask you questions you've probably answered 1000 times, but I try to read about this in your book and elsewhere, and though I'm not unintelligent, I have to say, I can't think straight anymore---
Ok--another question: this preorbital swelling/venous congestion you mentioned. This is or is not a TED thing? Did I understand you correctly that it is/ could be a hyPO thyroid TED manifestation?
I hear the word congestion, and i think, stop eating dairy!!! I didn't used to--and then as I said before, became a ravenous omnivore. So, I'm going to see what happens when I eliminate all that is congestive&mucous forming---eat more raw and cleansing foods---I'll let you all know, for those others having this problem. i'm plannig on doing a major de-tox. Elaine, do you think doing an extreme dietary change is the kind of 'stressor'(albeit a normally healthy one) that would/could set-off the thyroid to do something weird and unstable?? Someone suggested that to me , as I did that last year prior to my thyroid becoming so whacky. Water under the bridge now, but as i intend to do something like a pretty wonderful cleanse again, I wonder. I know you recommend anyway to folks to eat more raw, cut out all the junk , anything processed, etc etc, so I can't see how it's a problem... but I get concerned when a homeopathist suggests to me that possibly i brought this Graves thing forward by making a drastic change in my diet( went all raw for awhile last year)...what do you think about her comment??? do you think that's true?
Thanks for the info on the low tSH--and hypothyroid stuff. i'm way confused. Must have a block or something. because if that's true, why why why doesn't my endo take me OFF of these ATD's???!! she said I'd have to stay on them, even if just a low dose for up to a year!! But my FT4 and FT3 are already in the normal range!! I'm complying, 'cause she's the doc. And because finally I'm sleeping, feeling calmer, heartrate normal except when it's not, no longer heat intolerant, etc etc----but--- now I have a mild creeping plantar facsitis, swollen eyebags, a bit cold, a bit groggy, so if I'm already in normal ranges,why why why keep me on the ATD's??? I'm sure I'm becoming hyPo.I get my blood drawn end of next week. I guess that's why I asked if they are merely suppressants? I asked her about the block& replace thing, which I don't really understand, if it's good, or if it's tricky, or what, but she didn't seem to think it was warranted. When IS that approach it warranted?
Oh dear---did it again--went on & on---so sorry---I guess the verbal overdrive hasn't changed )---any answers to the several or many questions are most , most appreciated. THANK you Elaine......God bless.....

-- posted by fivebreaths

» cowlover614 - fivebreaths eye saddle bags

Hey Fivebreaths, I take it from your post you still have the undereye bag thing going on. Are your eyes watering also? And are they worse in the morning? Have you tried the flaxseed oil? I had forgot I bought some my eyes are driving me crazy!!!!Have you ever went to wipe your eyes and the lid went up and your whole eyeball is exposed. That has happened to me a few times now OMG that was the worst feeling. Have you tried the sleeping with more pillows. I think even if I sat straight up it wouldn't matter for me. Oh I just want it to go away. I've been dealing with this for almost six months now. I am tired of it. And I'm really tired of looking this way. Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614

» cowlover614 - mixed up cowlover

Elaine, have a couple of questions. This past week my heart has been beating crazy. Not just palpations but like it speeds up and gets like four crazy beats all at once and then I panic and feel like it's gonna stop or I'm gonna die it scares me. I thought beta blockers are supposed to control that or am I wrong? Also this past week when I go to bed I've been having really bad leg and hip pains is that a hypo thing? I wonder if something is going on with my thyroid sinse I'm back on meds any ideas. Thanks Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614

» fivebreaths - i

In response to fivebreaths eye saddle bags posted by cowlover614:
hey there Shirl, I do understand, I think i do, when you write "I'm so tired of looking this way". When I read that in your other posts too, I think, oh dear, it's so true... It's bad enuf riding this weird and wild mustang, not knowing when you'll go into hyPO, when you 'll go hyPER, when your heart's gonna freak you out, when you're going to look in the mirror and go "who's puffy-eyed ,swollen face IS that????"
To answer your questions, yes, morning is the bad time for my eyes, although they are still 'baggy' throughout most of the day.
and yes, recently my eyes have begun to be watery--I thought that was seasonal allergy stuff, but now I don't know.
I've also noticed while trying to do eye exercises, like hold my head staright, but describe as full a circle with my eyes as I can, both directions, then diagnally up/down, left/ right, and have noticed new parts of those directionals that used to be easy are now tight and sore.(( Makes me sad. Feels like I'm watching a degeneration I can't stop. Feels like I've aged 10 years in 6 months ! I gather from your postings you feel something the same about having aged alot this year...And stress & grief are the very aging, not just the disease...
Anyway--I've found this a little helpful: I've been soaking the cotton pads in plain Witch Hazel insted of buying the tucks, and am covering my eyes with the pads before going to bed, as cybee said she does, and I swear I think it helped.In the morning it seems my eyes aren't quite as puffy. But no, I can't sleep all propped up. It's too uncomfortable.
I've been bad about the flazseeds or oil.
I'm sure late night eating is a contributor.
i'm sure certain foods are too.
If you saw my last posting to Elaine, you saw that I'm going to do a serious cleanse---and it'll be interesting to see if these manifestations lessn or are altered by it...
And, no! haven't had my eyelid upturn that way! yuk! I hope this doesn't happen to you often!
So , thanks for checking in, and I was so sorry to hear how really hard things are over in your world, and I hope a window of light and relief will shine upon you soon..... Let us know how you're doing...i'll do the same.....

-- posted by fivebreaths

» Elaine Moore - Elaine, hi! questions

In response to Elaine, hi! questions posted by fivebreaths:
Hi 5B,
The flare could have been from the garlic or from any food you might be sensitive or allergic to. It really helps to keep a journal, listing your lab results, how you felt when you had the blood test drawn, what you're eating, potential stressors, meds you're taking, cleaning products you're using, diet sodas or chewing gum, allergic symptoms, etc. That will help figure out what your triggers might be.

Many people have a history of dieting or taking diet pills before being diagnosed with GD. Studies show that strenuous exercise like any stressor can trigger GD. But the diet connection seems to be related to the hypothyroid period most everyone has for a few weeks to a few years before developing hyperthyroidism. It's more an association than a trigger.

The ATDs are anti-thyroid drugs. They help block dietary iodine and help reduce the amount of thyroid hormone you can produce. Normally, your body produces varying amounts of thryoid hormone depending on your diet, stress, other hormones, meds, temperature, thryoid antibody levels, etc. If you always produced the same amount of thryoid hormone, your ATD dose would provide you with a constant level. So a certain dose of an ATD reduces your dose the same each day, but if you're producing more hormone, your levels will be higher and if you're producing less hormone, the levels will be lower.

Periorbital edema is more likely to occur in hypothyroidism than hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism makes everything sluggish and makes you retain fluid. Hypothyroidism is a term for myxedema, and myxedema comes from the words for waterlogged and swollen. So yes, your eye symptoms could be from hypoT. Look at your levels.

What I'm saying with TSH is that it shouldn't be used to monitor your meds since it can be misleading....although if TSH is high the dose is usually stopped for a few days and then lowered. You want to be on just enough of an ATD dose to keep FT4 near the high end of the reference range. You wouldn't want to just stop taking meds. You would want to reduce your dose slowly. And if you're getting by on a very low dose, then you could consider using alt med alone to help move you into remission.

You want to follow a natural diet and you want to make sure you're getting adequate but not excess protein. You don't want to stress yourself out though. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - mixed up cowlover

In response to mixed up cowlover posted by cowlover614:
Hi Shirl,
When you start thyroid replacement hormone or increase your dose, you can notice some transient hyper symptoms. These generally subside within a week unless the dose is causing hyperthyroidsm, in which case they'd persist. Some people also have reactions to certain doses or types of thyroid hormone related to the dyes. For instance, some people react to the yellow pills but not the blue ones. And some people react to generic meds and not brand names and vice versa.
If these symptoms are still present or are increasing after a week on meds, you should probably call your doctor. He or she might want to order levels and if they're ok, try a different type of med. Best, Elaine

» cowlover614 - Mixed Up

Hey Elaine, Last Friday about one in the afternoon. Something hit me all at once! Broke out in a bad sweat got really dizzy and heart felt like it was pounding. When I woke up that morning I took my snythroid but an hour later I got the leg pains. I took 4 Ibuprofen because two does me no good. I didn't eat anything but I had coffee and took the pills with soda. Is it possible with the snythroid and caffine made that reaction? I called the Endo today to tell him about what had happened, and about the leg pains asked if their could be a chance I couldn't take the snythroid. He said I needed to give it two more weeks to see if my body would ajust to it.More or less was told to deal with whatever was going on. Before I was on the Levothyroxine [14yrs]no problems at all except for the over medication that made me hyper. I asked if I could be switched to that and they told me he doesn't do generic. I think this is crazy if something I know I can take will work with no side effects then why can't they give me that? What is the difference between the two? They also told me if I was still having trouble in two weeks to see my family doctor! I have never had such a time in my life! I understand it takes time to get this turned around but OMG I'm really tired of feeling so bad! My eyes are no better! Some days worse. I did get an appointment with a eye doctor for June 27th. Can't they order test to see if this is TED or Graves. My eyeballs feel hard as rocks. Almost seven months of this and it feels like seven years. Sorry I'm just tired. Thanks Elaine Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614