Welcome dilli.... you'll find that this support group is great at making you feel so much better about your symptoms. What kind of symptoms have you had or are you having? Have you been put on any meds? If so, which ones and how often?

I'm pretty new too....

I have hair falling out, leg and feet cramps, hand tremors, difficulty swallowing, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, itchy watery eyes, finger nails are very soft, the list goes on and on. But finally there is at least hope i might feel halfway normal again at some point!
no mred yet, they don't want false positives on the rest of the tests, so I'm still med free.
I'm glad to finally know whats wrong, but frustrated because there is still so many tests and so much I just don't understand.

I forgot to add,
I have a heart condition and it was baffling the drs as too why some things were happening, so on further investigation they found the thyroid problem...... so now it will be a balencing act with any meds they put me on so that they don't mess up my heart meds.

I guess one other important thing is that I live a very remote area of Australia. I have to fly to the closest hospital for any medical treatment, its a 900klm round trip. just another stress piled on top of what is happening

Hi dilli...welcome to DS. I didnt get an ultra sound but I did have the uptake scan. From what I understand an ultra sound is better. The tests you will need is the TSH FT4 and FT3 these are the best tests to have to regulate your thyroid. It would be wise to insist your doc runs these blood tests. When you get the results please post them here along with the ranges. When you are put on meds please post what kind your on and how much.

Once your on meds it will take about 6 or 8 weeks to start to feel better. Meds also help with the shrinking of your enlarged thyroid. There are quite a few people who have had success with this. I was put on PTU and am now in remission after 18 months of being on them. I am in my 9th month. I strongly urge you to use meds first before ablation...removal....this will give you the opportunity to see if they work for you and to learn more about this disease and the different ways of dealing with it. Not everyone needs to ablate. We actually have a large group here who have successfully achieved remission. Some of our members have opted to have surgery instead of RAI and are doing very well. You actually have many options. You just need time to make your informed decision while on meds. Big Hugs and glad you are here...Kathy

the only blood test results I have back so far are
thyroid function test
TSH 0.5-4.5 mIU.L 0.39

Free T4 10-25 pmo1/L 15

I have no idea what any of that means!

Welcome to the fold.
Here's a definition of Thyroid Function Test. It's where I started my journey. I had many of the same symptoms which everyone had chalked up to my being a full-time employee, student and mother/grandmother. I know now that I only accomplished many of the things I managed because I was manic/hypomanic the majority of the time. No one thought to check my thyroid until I become "mean."

Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary:

"Thyroid Function Test: A test for evidence of increased or decreased thyroid function, including a clinical physical examination, which is usually reliable, and a variety of reliable laboratory tests. The most commonly used test to assess thyroid function is the measurement of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with supersensitive assays . Usually, TSH levels are high in hypothyroidism and suppressed in hyperthyoidsim. , although in patients with pituitary masses this pattern may be reversed. Other thyroid function tests include measurements of free and total thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) test of thyroid-blinding globulin levels, antithyroid tests and thyroid gland radioactive iodine uptake(RAIU) measurement. Many of these test results are more difficult to interpret than are TSH results because their normal ranges may vary with pregnancy, liver disease, nutritional status and other medical conditions."

PS I realize this is a thyroid forum and I respect your privacy BUT what kind of heart problem do you have? I read that your medical professionals are concerned that starting to treat your thyroid condition might interfere with your current heart-health maintenance. I'm a frustrated former nursing student that worked for 10 (damn) years on a degree only to succumb to thyrotoxicosis 2 quarters away from graduation. I would have liked to have gone on to study for a master's degree in cardiac nursing.

I was socked with radioactive iodine very quickly after my formal diagnosis. I wasn't given the medication option. Another member suffered thyroid storm and that is a critical medical condition.
My TSH was

Well I screwed something up.

My TSH was

Hmmmmm.....My TSH was

I had a thyroid storm after months of not knowing I had a thyroid issue. Upon a visit to the ER, I had a cat scan with contrast and this is what triggered the storm (so I believe). Thru all of it, I ended up with an abnormal EKG which raised concern. I do have a cardiologist and he believes it was due to my thyroid and that as my level become normal, my EKG will become normal also. I did have an Ultrasound of my heart and there isn't any damage. Perhaps your heart condition could be due to your thyroid?

Being hyper does effect the heart. That is one of the most obvious symptoms. Almost all of us had to be put on a Beta Blocker in the first few months of diagnosis. I was on Atenolol for the first 3 months. Once your levels come down your heart issues should subside. Thats assuming your heart issues are caused by the thyroid. If you have other issues...then that must be taken into consideration. We have already searched the net and have saved a lot of the info you will need. I hope this helps...Big Hugs..Kathy

http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/graves-disease-general-info/discussions/messages/6420047

Your labs aren't really that off, just the tsh which is not that low at .39. I had a tsh of 0.005 in the beginning. Most people with Graves have very low tsh.You need the "free" t 4 and t-3 test done.Total t-4 is useless as it can be influenced by female hormones. Did you have the 'total" t-4 or free done?

p.s. okay i went back and saw you did have the Free t-4, that's good. Find out if you had the Free t-3 too. You might be hypo, not hyper.

I have an enlarged heart,a heart murmer, high blood pressure, and cholestrol problems, my body retains and make far too much cholestrol..so I'm on meds for blood pressure and cholestrol, and low dose asprin.