I got some news yesterday

Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I went to my doctors yesterday and she had the test results from my thyroid. There is something really wrong with it. She thinks I have Graves disease. I will be seeing a Endocrinologist (SP?) soon, we are hoping this week or the beginning of next week.

I know nothing about Graves except for what I have googled since yesterday. I do have alot of the symptoms but it doesn't say anything about it causing horrible pain everywhere or that it causes these wierd bumps. I asked my doc about that and her answer was that she thinks I have something else going on too (probably another AI) but that we need to treat whatever is messing up my thyroid first then see what symptoms still hang around.

So, at least I got some answers. I am scared to death of Graves because of what it does to your brain as far as memory problems. mood swings and even dementia. Does anyone know if you get your thyroid out due to graves does the mental stuff go away? I really hope so, I am still raising kids, I have to function mentally.

Anyway, I thought I would let you all know what was going on and I will post again when I know more.  Take care.

I'm so sorry that you're going through all of this.

Hugs,

FLower

Keep the faith Shannon , they can work miracles these days . I know you must be nervous its shocking to hear news like that from doctors and then your mind works overtime creating scenarios but it could as easily turn out positive for you as not , so try to stay with the positive scenarios .Keep us posted and take good care of yourself Shannon , love you lots , your friend Mikel

get an appointment with your eye doctor and keep him/her informed of this as it
can affect the eye's and eye drops might help, second is to try to remain calm
I see an endocrinologists and he/she will run more bloodwork and it helps if
you can go to their website to get the new patient paperwork filled out and as
this is a specialists it might take between 2 to 3 months to get in to see them, it
took me three months to get my first appointment with my endo...there is a a
website that has a thyroid disorder and it's www.medhelp.com go there and register
their wedsite for thyroid disorders id very very good, I've posted on that on before,
but this cp forum is better than there's for back pain.....they have an active and informative thyroid disorder forum...
www.medhelp.(I think it's either.com or .org) not sure a google search will bring it up
Prayers and hugz...
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Shannon))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Hi, Shannon,
Well, you wanted some answers - but sometimes we don't know what's worse, the anxiety waiting for them, or the anxiety after we find some things out. But at least you can begin learning. I don't know a lot about Graves but I'd suggest reading credible sites like the mayoclinic.com or even webmd. The site suggested by Chartreux also sounds interesting. I don't rely on wikipedia because anyone can add to that site, so the information may or may not be good.

Thyroid disorders sure can affect mood swings. Once it's removed, you'll probably be placed on something like synthroid to replace what your body needs, and will need to keep your levels monitored through your doctor. However, if you keep your levels stable, you'll probably see an improvement in mood swings. Hypothyroidism (low functioning) symptoms are similar to those of depression, while Hyperthyroidism can mimic symptoms of anxiety. So stabilizing your thyroid levels should help stabilize mood. I'm not sure how much it will help with memory, though, but since mood can affect memory you'll probably have some improvement. These are all great questions to ask your doctor.

Good luck with everything!

Hugs,

PaLady

Awww, you guys are so awesome! Once again I am so touched that you all care so much. I just got off the phone with my doctor and I am scheduled to see a surgeon on the 11th. He will then decide if he is going to remove my thyroid or destroy it with radioactive iodine. I guess medication isn't an option, I won't know why until I speak to him. I am very scared, but I know at least I will have one of my problems taken care of so then we can start working on getting a diagnosis for all the other stuff that is going on with me. One thing at a time I guess. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again for all your concerns and ideas. Take care.

Oh Shannon!!

Well, I guess it's good to have a diagnosis but I'm so sorry that you are going through this! I have the *other* autoimmune thyroid disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis....and I wasn't diagnosed until my own immune system had pretty much killed my thyroid. So I've been on thyroid replacement therapy for many years now, and yes, as long as you are on the right dosage you can lead a perfectly normal life!

I would be leading a perfectly normal life except that I have about 10 other things wrong with me which make that impossible.

My niece Jessica has Graves disease and she does quite well, she works, she just had a baby boy a few months ago.....I think that overall the medical community has a good handle on Graves disease and how to deal with it so try not to worry too much!

You are in my thoughts and prayers.....please keep us posted!
((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))
JoAnn

Hi Shannon,

I'm sorry to hear the bad news. I don't know much about Grave's disease other than the ocular symptoms (it was something my doc considered at one point early on in this journey of mine). But at least on the bright side, you have a diagnosis & so you can begin to treat it. Try to take things slowly & don't let this overwhelm you all at once. Do lots of research & talk with your doctor.

Hang in there!

hugs,
Skeye

Shannon,

My MIL has Graves disease. She had lots of symptoms before her diagnosis... had her thyroid destroyed via the iodine, and has been on Synthroid (thyroid replacement) since, and I think it did fix many of her issues.

I have hypothyroidism and am on Synthroid as well. I'm also Vitamin D deficient... when mine was last checked it was a "10" which was up from a 5. I did the 50,000IU 3x a week replacement... and am now on 1,000IU daily. When I'm through this pregnancy, I'll have my levels checked again and see where things are at. I really hope it you get at least a little relief from your symptoms.

I know how it is to worry, definitely. But I'm glad you are seeing an endocrinologist and working on things. It wasn't until I got to my endocrinologist that I started to really get to the bottom of things w/ my health... so I hope it's the same w/ you. You might want to talk to that doc re: the Vit D thing, too.

Keep us updated.... try not to stress (easier said than done, I know). --Tina