Hello, i 'm sorry i keep moaning on this board! My situation my thyroid was overactive, but boarderline so doctor wants to do bloods at the end of the month again, just to see how levels are!
meanwhile i feel so ill! I am soo tired if i plan to do anything in week i have to rest for two days so hopefully i will feel ok on day i have plans! I have a part time job should have gone in this morning, but woke up with big coldsore and feeling like i haven't slept! Luckily people at my job are very understanding, but hate letting them down! I really dont know how i will feel when i wake up!
I just wondered is this normal, does anyone work with thyroid problems? If my bloods haven't changed by end of month, and i have to continue like this, it will be a complete nightmare!
I was diagnses with Graves Disease November 2014. I was sweating profusely, vision was awful and no energy. I have a full time job and keep pushing myself to go to work every morning even when I feel like I havent had sleep in days. It's an awful feeling and I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. I'm taking 10mg or methimazole once a day. Overall my symptoms have improved but my vision is still an issue and I'm tired most of the time,. Just know that you are not alone in this and keep pushing forward dont let the disease win
Hi welsh girl
Firstly I know where yu are coming from.
May I ASK HOW OLD YOU ARW
I was diagnosed 8 years ago and I have always worked. I was very fortunate that it was diagnosed early. I had thyroid tests done routinely for different reasons and when my values spiked I knew immediately whereas many people walk around with it for months or years even before they are diagnosed. I am currently in remission.
You are definitely alone in feeling like you do. I don't have a job but I am a wife, mother and fairly new grandma, our grandson is 16 months old now and because of my symptoms, I am extremely sad to say that I have not been able to the things for and with my grandson that I had dreamed of. (I was diagnosed with a Hyperactive Thyroid/Graves in 2013 and on a couple of occasions have gone from Hyper to Hypo). Some days I have no energy at all and I have no strength - just lifting an ironing board can feel like lifting a ton and also makes me breathless as does just going up a flight of stairs. I have had several panic attacks with racing thumping heart beat that have reduced me to my knees because I have felt so light headed and breathless, it feels like you are going to have a heart attack which makes the anxiety worse. Fortunately I am back on 40 mgs of Carbimazole after my last episode and I have been referred back to the Endo who I had about 6 appointments with when I was first diagnosed in 2013. My appointment isn't until October but the Carbimazole is working again now and I am feeling better anxiety wise. Prior to this I had been taken off all medications (75 micrograms Levythyroxine and 40 mgs Carbimazole) and I am assuming that my GP stopping the meds suddenly (rather than weaning) has caused the return of the Hyper symptoms, although I was feeling Hypo symptoms at the time the GP stopped the meds and I told her so but she dismissed this ! There have been days when I have had no energy at all and pushing yourself to do things just makes you feel worse. We push ourselves because we feel lazy, and we are NOT, we are suffering from a sometimes hellish condition. My husband and daughters are only just beginning to see how bad this condition is after being witness to a couple of panic attacks and by how much weight and muscle I have lost. You are not alone Welsh Girl, I just wish it was something nice that has brought us all on here, together !
Hi everyone thanks for your replies! I am 52 so felt my symtoms were the menopause! Last year it was discovered i have b12 defiency and that comes with tiredness etc! I have injections for b12 every 3 months, but know really if that's enough!
At the moment not being treated for thyroid, as they want to do bloods at end of the month! When doctor said it was thyroid, i felt relieved felt i might get some medicine to cure me! Reading all your boards it seems it's a while to get meds sorted and start feeling better!
I too feel lazy when i cant get out of bed, i'm promising family i will try and fight it! When i do, i get so run down i breakout in coldsores and feel worse! How some of you can work fulltime is amazing, i can work 2 days in a row and then it's straight to bed early after second day! I feel depressed also ( am taking antidepressants) to help sort that! Also i did read that dramatic life events can trigger thyroid problems, anyone else heard this?
Very often a stressful event can trigger Graves. In my case, it was an abusive co-worker that took me 6 months to resolve the situation with her.
I too was started on 10 mg at the time of diagnosis. My eyes were extremely dry and my opthalmologist put collagen plugs in the tear ducts to keep more moisture in them. It really helped.
The Block and Replace method is used very much in Britain but not in the US or Canada. However, the Cleveland Clinic in the States came out with a new treatment method called Add Back Therapy which involves giving a low dose of Methimazole and a low dose of levothyroxine. Long term low dose Methimazole use gets the patient into remission rather than high doses which cause problems for the patient and usually accompanied by liver or blood count problems. People on the Add back say it lowers their antibodies as well.
Yes for sure stress seems to have triggered mine off - from first being diagnosed and until present. However, not many of us go through life without such events so that's a difficult one. My father passed away in January and all of my Hyper symptoms returned with fury and my GP prescribed Diazapan to help me get through the trauma of that (as well as taking the Carbimazole and Levythyroxine).
That's interesting! I have had a very emotional roller coaster of events in by life and it's only recently things are running not too bad! It's almost like my body is saying enough! I am worried now that when i have bloods done for thyroid at the end of this month, and i am boarderline again, doctor may not treat me even though i have all the symtoms! I am in the UK by the way!
I had been on the Block and Replace for about 14 months until my GP told me have a trial without any meds which was 4/5 weeks ago, unfortunately the Hyper symptoms came back with a vengeance after about 5 days without meds. I'm now back on 40mg Carbimazole and have been referred back to the Endo. I don't relish the thought of RAI or removal of the thyroid if 'm offered these when I go back to see the specialist, os is the Add Therapy Back an alternative to those 2 somewhat extreme choices Linda ?
Stick to your guns and tell your doctor that you will not have RAI or TT, that you know lots of Graves patients who are on antithyroid meds for long periods of time without any adverse events and they even go back on if they fall out of remission. And "Could you please restart meds?".
Hi Linda what is TT? also what are antithyrois meds? Haven't had any treatment so far, what's recommended in UK?
TT is short for Thyroid surgery. Antithyroid meds are Carbimazole in England and Methimazole in US and Canada
Hello Welsh Girl:
I used to be that way. I would sleep so much and feel tired even after I slept for more than 8 hours! Yes, I worked while doing this! Being a nurse in the Emergency Dept. too. I had shift changes to deal with like all night 11p.m. to 7 a.m and working 3 p.m to 11 p.m. at times.
i was taking a med called Synthroid (LEVO) and still felt awful. changed to Thyrolar no improvement. Went on Armour Thyroid and felt better. Back in the day, nobody knew about not be able to convert T4 into T3. So I spent years feeling like crap! I went to so many Endo's also.
One day my GP who I had been with since 1982, said he spoke with an Endo at lunch and spoke about me this was back in 2009. This Endo knew of the T4 converting problem and suggested Cytomel (liothyronine) and what a huge difference it made in me!
So once you find the right med for you, things will improve. Keep trying- don't give up!
XO Shelly
Hi Michelle
What is the eye problem that you still experiece>
blurry/double vision, constant watering, bulging, redness, sharp pains and gritty feeling.
I thought that with overactive you would be too lively and with underactive too tired. Sometiems when you take too much medication to calk down the thyroid it can make you too tired. Maybe natural thyroid tablets are better for you? I get mine and take them most days rather than pout up with the horrible side effects of the fake one from the doctor.