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...
Hi All,
Yes its been awhile since I posted. I am very happy to say that after 3 1/2 yrs from diagnosis, I am solidly in remission. Praise the lord! Many thanks to all of you for your words, support and help. There were many times I didn't think this was possible. Many times when I wondered what lay ahead with this disease. Although the future is unknown, I am confident that by using what I learned here and from Elaine Moore, I will be better able to deal with anything that arises in the future.
My latest labs were FT4 1.24 - which has held steady for well over 2 yrs
FT3 - 3.16 up from 2.99 in May
TSH 1.31 - in May it as .31 so rose significantly from May to Sept.
Antibodies show 0 on both tests.
I started working with a functional medicine Dr and found through blood work and other testing my food sensitivities and also what was going on in my gut - lots of yeast and bad bacteria, no digestive enzymes were starting points. Working on my diet and using supplements to bring these things into line has helped and I am feeling way better.
Again, stay with this group if you are struggling, new and just need support. Finding a good doctor that will listen is huge. I finally have and Endo that's supportive but have pretty much turned everything over to my functional medicine Dr that is an MD. She totally gets the TSH thing. :)) although it was funny because it took her a minute to realize why I was so happy about a 1.31 TSH - then the light went on and she got it.
There is hope, there is support and there are answers. Stay proactive and on top of you labs and do your own research. It does pay off.
Again, many many many thanks to all of you.
Cindeeh
Yes its been awhile since I posted. I am very happy to say that after 3 1/2 yrs from diagnosis, I am solidly in remission. Praise the lord! Many thanks to all of you for your words, support and help. There were many times I didn't think this was possible. Many times when I wondered what lay ahead with this disease. Although the future is unknown, I am confident that by using what I learned here and from Elaine Moore, I will be better able to deal with anything that arises in the future.
My latest labs were FT4 1.24 - which has held steady for well over 2 yrs
FT3 - 3.16 up from 2.99 in May
TSH 1.31 - in May it as .31 so rose significantly from May to Sept.
Antibodies show 0 on both tests.
I started working with a functional medicine Dr and found through blood work and other testing my food sensitivities and also what was going on in my gut - lots of yeast and bad bacteria, no digestive enzymes were starting points. Working on my diet and using supplements to bring these things into line has helped and I am feeling way better.
Again, stay with this group if you are struggling, new and just need support. Finding a good doctor that will listen is huge. I finally have and Endo that's supportive but have pretty much turned everything over to my functional medicine Dr that is an MD. She totally gets the TSH thing. :)) although it was funny because it took her a minute to realize why I was so happy about a 1.31 TSH - then the light went on and she got it.
There is hope, there is support and there are answers. Stay proactive and on top of you labs and do your own research. It does pay off.
Again, many many many thanks to all of you.
Cindeeh
The timing of your post is pretty funny-- I logged on today to check in and post something similar, so maybe we can turn this into a cheer up thread! :)
Unlike you, I didn't stay in remission and I probably never will have a chance at it again. But I want to add to the chorus for people not to be afraid! This disease is very manageable years down the road. So much so that with the encouragement of my fantastic endo, I recently embarked on a little dream of mine to travel and work overseas :) Still on a small maintanence dose of methimazole, but otherwise as long as I take extra precautions to care for myself and be as well rested as possible, this has been totally an achievable goal. A blessing considering that when I was first diagnosed, I fully believed that my life was pretty much over and that I'd be a slave to this for the rest of my days.
So yeah! Let's keep up the success stories everyone! Graves disease can't beat the fighter in all of us :)
{{{hugs}}}
The key you guys keep saying is patience. Slow and
Sure wins the race. I know some of the people that were
so helpful I don't see their "tags". Laura, Dairytech couldn't
have done this without you.