Overactive Thyroid Graves Part 4

Hi all,

I've just been diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid. Comforting to know I'm not alone though. I've just been through a very busy and stressful few months, and I had no idea stress could cause thyroid problems. I had sudden very fast heart palpitations around the time of my uncle's sudden death a few weeks ago, added to a very difficult few months with work probs and redundancy, which my doctor says probably caused my thyroid probs. On the plus side, it's a relief to find out I have something that's treatable and that I'm not going mad! lol.....I've been really anxious and hyperactive.......been really tired, not sleeping, hot flushes, itchy skin, aching muscles, no periods for 6 months, all of which I put down to possibly being pre-menopausal, as I'm 49. (I now know that I'm not menopausal at all.....

Someone told me that at least I'd be able to get free prescriptions while I'm being treated. Yet, I now find this is not the case. You only qualify if you have an under-active thyroid and not an over-active one!....

If anyone out there can explain why one qualifies and not the other, I'd love to be enlightened please....

Wishing all my fellow sufferers speedy recovery .....x x x

Hello Bev, sorry you are having such a rotten time but yes, its a relief to get a diagnosis and start some treatment. You will get lots of support here, we ha ve all been where you are with the thyroid and its horrible ! I think the reason you are only entitled to free prescriptions with an underactive thyroid is because in that case its medication for life whereas with an overactive thyroid it can be treated and medication should only be needed for a limited time. I was on medication for 18 months though ! Hang on in there after a while you will certainly feel a lot better.

Marigold, sorry to hear about your flashing lights, that must be horrible. Is it different from migraine aura ? Can you still read, drive etc. with it ? Thankyou so much for your words of support, things are still pretty horrible with family worries but just about coping. Hope you are ok.

Barry, have you still got your breathlessness and tingling tongue ? I think they are probably connected and if its not caused by your thyroid, perhaps anxiety is the cause. I could write a book on anxiety !

Sue hun, how are you ? are you still doing battle with your nutty doctors ? I hope you are feeling much better, you have had such a long battle and you must feel they just dont listen at times. Let us know how you are doing and look after yourself.

Hope everyone else ok, Maria, when I am prowling the house in the middle of the night I think of you and wonder if you are awake too, hope you are sleeping better.

love to all, try not to freeze your bits off.

Bess x x

Hi Bess,

Thanks for replying to my post so quickly ,and for explaining about the prescriptions. Yes, what you've said makes absolute sense I think, as my Endo Doc said that she'll put me on a combination of Carbimazole and Propranolol for about a year, with regular 4-weekly blood tests for at least the next 16 weeks to check my drug dosage. (I only met with her for the first time yesterday.) She said that, hopefully, the drugs and time would cure me completely. If not, she'll look at the surgery or RAI options. It'll be great to keep in touch with everyone else on this site to compare treatments and offer each other a friendly ear and some moral support, at least.

It's certainly comforting to know you're not the only one climbing the walls in the wee small hours, too agitated to sleep.....

Love and hugs to all of you.

Bev

x

Hi Bev. Welcome to the forum. A shock and stress can cause thyroid problems. Mine flared up when I lost my mum suddenly. It's a horrible illness, but now that you're on treatment you will start to feel better. We all help each other on the forum, I don't know how I'd have managed without my friends on here. So if you need some help or just a good rant this is the place to come. I've had RAI, and feel fine, but stilll have problems sleeping sometimes and worrying about things in the middle of the night.

Keep in touch and keep your chin up. xxx

Hi Bess. Good to hear from you. The flashing lights are different to a migraine aura. They are in my peripheral vision. It's as if someone is flashing a light just to the side of me. I can read and they don't interfere with my vision. They are getting better now, but I still have lots of floaters. It's like living with a lot of flies. :D Apparently it's nothing to worry about, the trouble is I don't do not worrying. :D It's cold today, I think it's the coldest day we've had this winter. I hope things settle down for you soon. Take care. xxxx

Thinking of everyone. Sue let us know you're ok hun, we're worried about you.

Marigold

xxxx

Hey Marigold and everybody else ..I don’t know who remembers me and who does..but I posted here earlier mid this year…a few months ago. Was diagnosed with HyperT hyroidism in Feb…been on meds since..but they nt seeming to work..or maybe something else is wrong?

Since on meds (Propanolol 5mg per day & Neomercazole 15 mg per day) ..I haven’t felt better..have even developed new symptoms.weakness in legs..in some fingers, weird feeling in head…like pins and needles at times..terrible head tension, extremely excruciating weird head sensations, feeling like passing out my body feels weird like it aint mine..and my head always feels like I am in a fog…like I am living a dream…I feel terrible for months now (March till now constantly everyday)..I have a very fast heart beat, get tired easily..I’m essentially concerned about d way my body feels and weird head feelings..I barely function nowadays. My Drs think its my thyroid..but my endocrinologist thinks otherwise..I got back some results yesterday and they are

T.S.H= 1.25 (.4-5.00)….T4= 11.48(9.03-19.01) & T3=3.66(1.45-3.48 ) …My T3 is clearly the only thing out of range. Can anybody help me please? What could be happening? I meet with my Endo tomorrow

Hello Kerrylee, I remember you and its nice to hear from you but I',m sorry you are feeling so unwell. Your symptoms are c onfusing ! Many of your symptoms could be caused by the Propanolol but you are on an extremely low dose and as you have a fast heart beat it seems unlikely it could be that. Do you have a fast heart beat all the time or just at times? Are you sleeping a lot ? I hope you get on ok with your endo, perhaps your medications will be adjusted. If your endo thinks it it something other than your thyroid, I wonder what he/she thinks it is. I presume all your other bloods have been checked for B12, anaemia etc. I hope you are feeling better soon, be thinking of you and let us know how you get on.

Hope everyone elso ok today - Sue - where are you ??? worried about you. x x

love Bess. ps. Marigold is the wizz on blood results, I bet she can shed some light.

Kerrylee. Hello from the wizz kid (according to Bess anyway). It's good to hear from you, but sorry you're feeling so awful.

Your T4 is just within the normal range. The normal range I have is 11 to 22. Your TSH is low, but it will be suppressed by the neomercazole.I can't help with the T3, my endo never bothered with that ( all endos have different ways of dealing with thyroid problems).

You're on a very low dose of Propranolol, and if you have a fast heart rate maybe it should be increased. I hope your endo can help, let us know how you get on. If he doesn't think your symptoms are due to your thyroid then perhaps he could refer you to someone who can help. Sorry I haven't been much help, but I hope you feel better soon.

Thinking of everyone. Cold enough to freeze your bits off today.

love,

Marigold

xxx

I just wanted to say Happy Christmas to everyone and best wishes for the New Year.

Thanks for being there.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the moderators too.

Marigold

xxxx

hi all,

long time since i posted an update so here goes,

had a total thyroidectomy on july 10th 2012 all went well and has all healed really nicely. felt fine the next day so went home after some brekki!

i was started on 75mcg levothyroxine and over the course of the last 5 months my dose has gradually increased and i'm currently on 225mcg.

still feeling a tad lethargic here and there but on the whole much better! had a few endo visits since and on dec 12th was discharged and into the hands of my GP which in all fairness is actually pretty good.

in terms of my graves disease and eyes everything has got much much better, sure they still have there puffy red swollen days but it is subsiding and again i was discharged from the eye specialist which is another bonus!

anyway, latest bloods taken after 6 weeks on 225mcg levothyroxine show;

free T4 16.3

TSH 19.41

TSH has come down from 52.03 so heading in the right direction?

hope everyone is well, and merry xmas to you all

Evan

Hello Evan, good to hear from you. What a speedy recovery from surgery ! It sounds as though you are on the road to recovery, you must be so pleased.

Merry Christmas to all my pals on here,thankyou for all your support.

Love

Bess xxx

hi all, merry christmas to one and all and may next year bring good health to us all ...

Hello

Merry xmas to all of you and hope your having a brilliant time.

all the best for the new year xx

Hi everyone,And a late merry xmas

After i last posted i took my self off to A&E as i couldnt breathe and was addmitted for 2 days ,had all kinds of tests but everything came back negitive ,no fluid on lungs no chest infection,and b12 gone up too 400 . no way would the doctors listen to me but i did give it a good try :[ any came home still wheezing and breathless and thought something is definately not right so started doing some research and started by looking at my tablets ,on the Eltroxin side effects said can cause breathlessness and wheezing so got straight on phone to my now married handsome gp and told him ,so he wrote me a prescription for a different one.The next morning after not taking eltroxin i felt as if a band had loosend from around my chest ,its took a while but i dont get the these symptoms as bad as before and feel much better .The other thing i am going to have to fight my corner on is my b12 levels ,my gp wouldnt have any of it he said the b12 i was taking would not absorb and the tingling is from fybermalga ss cant spell it lol ,in hospital they said it was because of hyperventilating and causing the tingling.But i have had this tingling for months plus other symptoms ,when i take b12 i do feel a bit better and if i stop my symptoms go worse so i am sure its something to do with b12 ,i wish i had never taken them so my levels would never have risen

so sorry will have to write later as i have visiters love sue xx

back , well now i have come down with a bad cold after looking after my daughter and son in law who both had real flu over xmas ,daughter is still not right ,as she was so ill with it ,son in law is much better

and gone back to work today although he still is coughing .So i ended up cooking christmas dinner that didnt get eaten .

I am going to ask my gp if i can trial b12 injections and if he refuses i will bring up the BNF protocol guide line for b12 in my family many of us have thyroid problems and my grandma had pernicious aneamia and was hyperthyroid ,over the years she had lots of heart attacks and he should take this into consideration too ,my gran had 11 children and some of them had thyroid problems

I just want to get right now as i go to spain on the 15th for 2 weeks and meeting people i met there last year .

hope every one had a nice xmas and kept well

love sue xxx

Hi, just found this forum & would be grategul for any advice. I was diagnosed with Graves & TED in April 2009 (& experienced Graves dermopathy for a short time - obviously I hate to miss out on anything !) and have been on B & R therapy since (came off once after 18 months and my T4 levels shot up to 57 within two weeks)

Due to see my endo next week to come to some decision as to where we go from here. Have seen a surgeon who has gone over the thyroidectomy op & it's possible complications and discussed the TED complications with my opthalmologist about going down the RAI route. Have been told high doses of steriods administed by IV over three days should protect my eyes from becoming any worse - which is a huge concern, they are already bulging slightly, bloodshot & light sensitive.

Has anyone experienced this form of steriod/ RAI treatment and had a successful outcome ?

Help

Sue