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...
Ugh, I'm so exhausted from this Graves Journey! Someone help me out here please!!! I've been feeling pretty good for awhile now until last week. My last labs were done in December just before Christmas... and for some reason, I can't seem to locate the labs. but I believe this is what it read, T3, Free 473 (range 230-420)
T4, Free 1.18 (range 0.8-1.8). In an effort to possibly bring my T3 down, I had my endo prescribe a low dose of propranolol again and he told me to just take it as needed... well, i never needed it until now... :( Last week on Monday, Jan. 4, I had a cyst removed (it was a minor outpatient surgical procedure) and ever since then, i haven't felt right. Something has gone wrong!!! I have had to take my propranolol at least ONCE every day since and sometimes TWICE a day. I take a really dose of only 5 mg and this seems to work to bring my heartrate back into range (usually 60's or 70's)... it seems like out of nowhere, no matter what im doing... sleeping, walking, going to the bathroom, whatever it is... my heartrate will suddenly spike to the high 90's. I will suddenly feel like I just finished running around the block. Everytime this happens, I check my blood pressure and heartrate. My blood pressure always seems low (100/50) but my heartrate will be high. What in the world could be causing this??? I've been really really tired the last week, sleeping almost 18 hours a day off and on, maybe even more than that, I'm lacking energy, and at times I feel like my anxiety is back with a vengenance. WHY? Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! I am desperate here... I did do labs again yesterday at the request of my endo so I'll know tomorrow where my levels are. Thanks so much to everyone!
T4, Free 1.18 (range 0.8-1.8). In an effort to possibly bring my T3 down, I had my endo prescribe a low dose of propranolol again and he told me to just take it as needed... well, i never needed it until now... :( Last week on Monday, Jan. 4, I had a cyst removed (it was a minor outpatient surgical procedure) and ever since then, i haven't felt right. Something has gone wrong!!! I have had to take my propranolol at least ONCE every day since and sometimes TWICE a day. I take a really dose of only 5 mg and this seems to work to bring my heartrate back into range (usually 60's or 70's)... it seems like out of nowhere, no matter what im doing... sleeping, walking, going to the bathroom, whatever it is... my heartrate will suddenly spike to the high 90's. I will suddenly feel like I just finished running around the block. Everytime this happens, I check my blood pressure and heartrate. My blood pressure always seems low (100/50) but my heartrate will be high. What in the world could be causing this??? I've been really really tired the last week, sleeping almost 18 hours a day off and on, maybe even more than that, I'm lacking energy, and at times I feel like my anxiety is back with a vengenance. WHY? Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! I am desperate here... I did do labs again yesterday at the request of my endo so I'll know tomorrow where my levels are. Thanks so much to everyone!
Your FreeT3 was over-range last month - it might be even higher now.
Your BP being low could very well be due to the beta-blocker.
The other symptoms you're having re sleep needs, lacking energy and the horrible anxiety are hyPO symptoms and your FreeT4 level in December was on the low side and most likely too low for your body's needs.
It sounds like you really can't take a beta-blocker due to low BP issues but you still need to get that FreeT3 down. You certainly don't want your FreeT4 level to go down any more - in fact, you probably need it to be higher.
You might be a good candidate for Block and Replace.....you would take your PTU which will keep both your FreeT4 and FreeT3 levels regulated and then supplement with a T4 replacement med to get your FreeT4 level up to your comfort zone.
Elaine Moore talks about this alot and it makes sense.
If you haven't done so already, I suggest your share your story with her and get her direct take on the matter.
She has a Q&A forum on her website wherein registered users can submit questions and she answers directly
Here's a link
http://elaine-moore.com/QA/tabid/57/forumid/6/scope/threads/Default.aspx
Hang in - better days are coming!
Are you still seeing the same endo that took you off meds when he/she obviously shouldn't have?
I remember when I was hyPO I had this symptom that one of the hyPO sites called "air hunger" - it wasn't shortness of breath per se but the feeling like you couldn't inhale deeply enough - it was freakin' scary!
You know, February 8th isn't exactly around the corner - do you think you could get in to see your GP beforehand?
Have you ever discussed with your GP the possibility of him/her managing your Graves'.
SO many thyroid forum peeps kept telling me that a GP, DO, internist or holistic doc can often be better at treating Graves' than endos.
After "going through" 3 clueless endos, interviewing a few more, I finally found a "with-it" internist who was/is the charm.
Just a thought - I hate hearing stories like yours - especially when I know your experiences are completely preventable if you have the right care :(