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...
Yesterday I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and I was wondering if anyone can give me advice and what to expect and any other advice they may have. Any advice is appreciated.
Sorry to hear you joined the GD club.
Have you been experiencing HYPER symptoms?
What tests were you given for the confirmation of the GD diagnosis?
May I ask what your T.S.H., free T3 & Free T4 numbers are?
Graves Disease symptoms can be different for each person. GD triggers are individual, too.
How long do you think you have had GD - symptoms-wise?
Let me know and we will take it from there.
Take Care,
Which ATD (antithyroid drug) are you taking? How much and how often? Are you on any beta blockers?
Can you please include your labs with the lab reference ranges to help us out? Lab companies can have their own lab reference ranges.
Thyroid triggers include eating the bad unhealthy overly processed foods along with exposures to high Iodine, stress, chemicals, toxins, and preservatives for the foods, household and personal products.
Have these antibodies tests been done to determine Graves' Disease - the TSI and the TRAb? If so what are the numbers?
Please feel free to read through all the older posts/threads here on this forum to know what needs to be done to calm the thyroid down, etc.
{{{hugs}}}
2/5/19 thyroid stim hormone and it was <0.005 and normal range is 0.358-3.740
The 28th of March a specialist rechecked my Free T4 and my Thyroid Stim Hormone and she also checked my T3.
3/28/19 hormone was 0.007 and normal range is 0.358-3.740
3/28/19 my free T4 was 4.83 and normal range is 0.76-1.46
3/28/19 my T3 was 687 and normal range is 60-181
Let’s see how we can help you through this.
May I ask your age? (Since you said you were in school) There are certain times (for women) that GD shows up - beginning of cycle, around pregnancy/birth and menopause. It appears it is connected with our female hormones.
Anyway, are you experiencing any TED (eye issues)?
If so, I hope you are not smoking....it can makes the symptoms worse.
You said you lost weight - about how much in what period of time. (I lost 35 lbs. in a few months.)
You said you are feeling tired - that is from your metabolism running on high (and the lack of sleep) - ALL Classic symptoms of GD (HYPER thyroidism)
Your numbers make sense. (My first blood test showed .001 for T.S.H.) and my free T3 and Free T4 were high.
Like MM said, it is important to get your GD antibodies tested (TSI and TRaB) It is also important to get your blood tested every 4 to 6 weeks to keep a close eye on seeing how your medication (MMI) is working.
So, make sure you follow up on that. Keep a journal to record everything. Your meds, your symptoms, what your eat, your triggers.
How much MMI do you take each day?
How long have you been on MMI?
In approximately 5 weeks, the meds kick in and you should be feeling better. (And sleeping better)
Were you getting heart palpitations? I assume you were because the doctor prescribed propanelol (beta blocker) I didn’t want to take that even though I had heart palpitations. After the meds kicked in, my palpitations (most of them) went away.
Have the meds been helping you?
Are you hungry, a lot? Your body is basically crying out for fuel because your metabolism is running so high.
Stay away from processed foods. Look for foods with protein. When losing weight quickly and losing muscle mass, it’s important to consume the right foods.
You said that you had this approx. a year - you poor thing. I didn’t notice it until I was dropping so much weight (which I thought was a great thing - finally, I am losing the weight I have been trying to lose, for years)
Were you eating, like you couldn’t eat enough? Another symptom.
Having Graves Disease shows up differently for each person. There are the classic symptoms but each person has a little something which throws the doctors off so they don’t diagnose it right away - some people, like myself go through so many tests through the years that don’t point to the thyroid. You were lucky they found it fairly quickly. (That’s a good thing.)
How is the shaking? Has it calmed down?
For me, GD made me feel very vulnerable, like having most of my layers peeled back so every little thing bothered me. Making my anxious and stressed out.
I want you to know - it will go away.
Eating the right foods, using the right personal and cleaning products makes a big difference.
Having Graves Disease (an auto-immune disease) our immune system is sensitive to our environment.
Be kind to what you expose it to.
I took (and sometimes, now) a liquid supplement that helped my symptoms. (I think it helped me not have to take the beta blocker for the heart palpitations). It is called Thyroid Calm - by Herb Pharm. I took it 4x a day, in the beginning. Not the best tasting - I didn’t care - it helped me tremendously.
BTW, it would be a good idea to test your vitamin and mineral deficiences, like your magnesium, vitamin D, zinc, etc. GD depletes that in our system.
I find that taking my liquid magnesium/cal/vit D3 help me feel better.
Cut out as much salt (iodine) from your diet.
Eat simple. Remove dairy, gluten, soy, processed foods. Like MM said look at the older posts - they are very helpful and will give you a lot of information.
Try not to worry, just be disciplined with the foods - your immune system is approx. 80% in your digestive system.
Are you going to the bathroom, a lot? Another symptom.
The last, for now.....Take a nice quiet bath with Magnesium Sulfate salts (epsom salts) with lavender. THAT will calm you down and allow you to relax and go to sleep.
I hope you feel better. Take Care.
You said in one of the earlier posts up there that the Methimazole is to be taken three times a day. You are only taking it once per day because your doctor wants you to get used to it?
{{{hugs}}}
Thanks...