Graves' Disease Support Group
Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...
I was at the endo's last week, and he asked when I thought all this had started. It was an interesting question. I was diagnosed a little more than a year ago, at age 50, after routine bloodwork with a new doctor.
For the previous two years, records of visits with my previous doctor showed a "suppressed TSH", no numbers on the sheet he gave me, and pulse rates of 90 to 105 in the office, along with hypertension, etc. About 25 years prior I had first been told that my thyroid was enlarged. My dentist noticed it, about two weeks after I had been at another doctor's for a physical. (Last visit with that guy.)
Thinking back on it, I've had at least transient symptoms pretty much all of my adult life. My mother, sister, and maternal aunt and grandparents all had various forms of thyroid disease.
How about everyone else? Did it come out of nowhere and hit like a ton of bricks, or was it something that had been stalking you for a long time?
For the previous two years, records of visits with my previous doctor showed a "suppressed TSH", no numbers on the sheet he gave me, and pulse rates of 90 to 105 in the office, along with hypertension, etc. About 25 years prior I had first been told that my thyroid was enlarged. My dentist noticed it, about two weeks after I had been at another doctor's for a physical. (Last visit with that guy.)
Thinking back on it, I've had at least transient symptoms pretty much all of my adult life. My mother, sister, and maternal aunt and grandparents all had various forms of thyroid disease.
How about everyone else? Did it come out of nowhere and hit like a ton of bricks, or was it something that had been stalking you for a long time?
People on this board usually hate it if they get even a slight bit hypo, while I've seen comments from the Hashi's folks that the worst thing that can happen is if you're overmedicated and go towards the tops of the ranges. I think a lot of us are used to the slightly manic feel of higher levels of thyroid hormone after having lived that way for years, or even decades.