Help Please - Graves disease/hyperthyroidism

Check out Dr Joel Furhman. It seems his simple diet does a lot to help people with these issues. I am on my second day so I can not  vouch for it but it sounds logical. The program is Eat to Live or Eat for Health.

For what its worth...

Well if you are HypERthyroid - they may do a treatment to slow or kill your thyroid gland and put you on Synthroid or Levoxyl. There are other treatments as well and I am not a doctor

I have however spent the last 10 years being hypO and have just crossed over into hypER - there is treatment out there and when you have it well controlled you will feel much better.

Make sure you see your endo and keep an eye on things.  Pay attention to how you feel, energy, heart rate and those types of things.  Make sure you have an endo that listens to you.

All in all - it can take some playing around to get it under control but it'll be much better once you do.

Honestly, it isn't a bad deal.  Thyroid issues have to be closely monitored, which is a pain at times, but treatment is pretty straightforward and you can have a completely normal life once they get it figured out.

I was hyper, and then hypo before they had even had a chance to address the hyper condition (it was my thyroid last futile attempt to function apparently).  I've been on medication for 5 yrs now and my dosage has been steady for the last 3 yrs.  Hyper is a little different as they typically end up having to do something to the thyroid gland (surgery or radiation are common) and then end up treating it the same as hypo.

I was a nervous wreck and really edgy when I was "hyper" and completely lethargic and useless when "hypo".  Don't worry, you'll be back to your normal self relatively soon.

You sound HYPOthyroidic, not hyper.  Your thyroid isn't doing enough.  Symptoms...

fatigue, inability to lose weight, loss of appetite, hair loss, feeling cold, sometimes a metallic taste in your mouth, irritable, depression, lack of focus/concentration and errrr...  you don't poop (which will make you irritable and depressed anyway!)

You get a blood test to determine your thyroid levels:

TSH - should be 0.5-3.5; too low and you're hyper, too high and you're hypo
T4 - should be 4.5-12.5; the thyroid secretes T3 which transforms into T4
TPOAb - Thyroid antibodies;  Is your own immune system attacking your thyroid?  (Graves Disease)

Relax - It's not all that bad.  The cure is to go on Synthroid, a sythetic T3 hormone.  If so, don't mess with generics (inconsistent) and don't go with organic (made from horse urine - I sh*t you not!  Gross!)  The organic doesn't measure well for a standard TSH blood test.  Synthroid has been around since like dirt was invented (maybe 100 years).  There's ZERO side-effects for most people.

The two keys are in finding your dose and then monitoring to maintain it.  It will take 6 months of experimenting with the dosage.  They start you low.  You take 1 pill first thing in the morning 30min before eating anything and that's it.  Wait 6-8 weeks, get a blood test and see your TSH.  They up it slowly and retest every 6-8 weeks.  Once you get it dialed in, you get tested once every 6 months as your body changes naturally.

Ask around.  I did.  80% of the people you ask are either on Synthroid themselves or know someone who is.  A friend of my moms has been taking it for 62 years!

How do I know all this?  The chemo/radiation therapy I got for throat cancer last year killed off my thyroid.  My first round of numbers were:

TSH - should be 0.5-3.5:  Mine was...  27.9!!!!
T4 - should be 4.5-12.5;  Mine was...    0.4!!!!
TPOAb - Thyroid anitbodies;  Mine was something like 1,000!!!

The doc didn't really care if it was Graves Disease or not.  The cause was most certainly the cancer treatment.  Damaged the thyroid and my body was attacking what was left.  The cure:  Synthroid.  I started at 50mg, then went 100mg, 14 weeks later it was 150 and finally after 5 months of experimenting, my numbers are in the normal range with 200mg per day of Synthroid.  I can feel it.

The risk?  My Endocrinologist wants to check me every 6 months for thyroid cancer.  "If I feel any nodules or tumors I'm just going to go on in and cut it out.  Thyroid cancer is easy, hardly ever spreads and the cure is to remove it and put you on...  Synthroid."  So nothing changes.

It will take several months, but you can and will come back!  Good luck!

Did your Dr. do bloodwork?  I had Graves and I felt lethargic and like crap.  I was surprised because as a veterinarian seeing cats with hyperthyroidism bounce off the wall, I expected to have endless energy too, but I didn't.  What's your resting heart rate?  I was training for a marathon at the time, and couldn't do any of my long runs - I'd done 4 before then, so I wasn't sure why they were so difficult.

If you are hyperthyroid, excess thyroid hormone does have an effect on your heart.  I was told that my heart rate had to stay under 160 when exercising.  Which, since my resting HR at the time was about 90, I had to walk up hills.  Under the care of an endocrinologist, I tried to treat it, thinking I could preserve some thyroid function, but ended up just getting it ablated.  It took about 2 years to get my thyroid levels and heart rate regulated (probably because I didn't go with the ablation earlier), and could finally run again.  Now I'm hypo, regulated on synthroid, and my resting heart rate is back in the 50s.

One thing - make sure you get the correct diagnosis.  My grandmother was hyperthyroid but was being treated for hypothyroidism.  She was skin and bones before getting the correct diagnosis.  And because of the trophic effects on the heart, you really need to monitor your heart rate in exercise (of course, if you're hypo like others have suggested - you won't be able to get your heart rate up enough to run up a hill either).

Thanks everyone - I feel better.  Yes I have had the blood work and am hyperthyroid.  My resting heart rate 4 months ago was 53, at my appt last Friday it was 93.   My blood pressure is up as well.   I have lost nearly 20 pounds and it is mostly muslce and for someone who is only 5 feet tall and only weighed about 112 - this is huge!!!!  I eat all the time.  The lethargy is terrible.   I am going to see a highly recommended endo doc this next week. 

Once again, thanks for the info - I am now hopeful that I will be able to get back to some tris by next summer. 

This is pretty right on.  I say that both as a physician and as a hypothyroid patient (due to Hasimoto's thyroiditis). Levels may take more than 6 months to achieve, but finally getting your levels back up will improve your symptoms.  I am also usually okay with generic drugs, but this is one drug that many physicians (especially endocrinologists) say needs to be the brand name.  With synthroid, there is a difference.

Now although you have lethargy, apparently your numbers bear out hyperthyroidism, so in that case you will not go on sythroid.  There will be a few different options for you depending on what the cause is.  Good luck.

x2 been on levoxyl for almost 20yrs, no problem... and the genetic version is cheep. The worst side affect of Hyperthyroid was my eyes began to pop out, like marty feldman but not that bad, I had to get one of them opperated on to get it back to normal after my treatment. Wonder if you are you getting the eye thing?