Hi Int..Have you been tested for graves disease.

That's a good question. To be honest I am not quite sure & I do not know; I just called my endo nurse to confirm if I have graves, but went to voicemail.I just had the blood works & also the radioactive iodine uptake. Results indicated that I am hyper. Then they started treatment on Methimazole because I had reservations about doing the radioactive iodine treatment immediately.

Is there another specific test for Graves other than the tests that have been done to me above? On my last review the endo referred me to an eye specialist to have my eyes checked (all this was before the headaches). This was just a recommedation after she did that basic eye test looking at her finger movements without me moving my head. Its interesting that during the discussion, she mentioned that it's good to have your eyes checked because eye problems can be common with Graves diseases. I do not recall in all the visits anytime when the endo or my GP said directly that I had graves. Although sometimes they refer to it when I asked what are some of the causes of being hyper. The Eye exam indicated that I was near-sighted (20-15) & only need glasses occassionally like watching TV & especially night driving. In my opinion my headaches may not be related to my eyes issues (I maybe wrong), since I have had this minor eye issue for many years without the headaches. I have not bought the glasses yet (will do) after I clear what exactly is the root cause of the headaches. By the way a correction in my previous post the endo does NOT think the headaches are related to Methimazole or the weaning off process that's why they referred me to my GP..

They can tell if you have graves by taking blood tests. They test your T3 T4 and TSH You should find out if these tests were done and what the results were. Do you have heart palps, hand tremors and insomnia.

Ohh...and frequent bowel movements?

hi dairytech, Thank you for your responses.Yes, they did these blood tests & the levels were quite high initially. I also had frequent bowel movements & palps and tremors. However, my levels are now lower than the ref ranges, palps have stopped, bowel movements now normal & no more tremors. Hence, the reason why they reduced the meds. I guess in light of this I should have graves? Could this be related to headaches?

Well for me it was, but everyone is different. Originally my TSH was 0.13 which is low and my T4 was 26 and my T3 was 7.7 ( high ) and that is how they discovered I had graves. After being on meds for a month all my symptoms went away including the headaches. Now the only time they come back is when I get really stressed out. If I were you I would find out for sure if you have graves or not because that could influence your RAI decission.

Hi Dairytech,

Nurse from the endo specialist did confirm that I have graves

Hi int...when you have graves ( thats the cause of your hyper ) and your numbers come down too low they have to reduce your meds to alow your numbers to come back up a bit. They are trying to find out where your comfortable range is. Every time you have a med adjustment you feel really crappy before you feel better. It can take anywhere from a week or two for that to happen. Just watch you dont start getting hyper symptoms again. That means you've had to big of a reduction. Both hyper and hypo symptoms suck. Please do research before you make your decission to do the RAI You need to be informed on both sides of the coin.