I'm hypo not hyper, so not the best authority, but I do know that not everyone gets weight gain with hypo (although most people seem to) - so i assume the same goes for hyper - most people probably lose weight but not everyone.
That's what makes thyroid probs so much fun, there isn't a distinct set of symptoms for it, everyone experiences a subset of the list of symptoms.
My hypo symptome come and go with my monthly cycle so perhaps yours could be tied to that? Or Hashimoto's perhaps? I don't know anything about that other than it makes your levels jump about all over the place, someone else could probably be more help on that
Hi Rw...I have graves disease, hyperthyroidism. before i was dx and treated i experienced weight loss, very rapid heartreat, heat intolerence, sore knees and difficulty when getting up from a squatting position. I also didn't sleep very well or very much. Do any of these sound familiar? There are many symptoms and not everyone has the same ones.
Some people experience weight loss and other gain from eating more because of a bigger appetite. I lost weight without changing my eating habits and continued walking and exercising.
Have you done any reseach on hyperthyroid? Do a google search and see what you can learn. They will explain and give a list of symptoms. My next suggestion would be to go see you dr. and ask for a thyroid test, they will most likely order a Ft4 and tsh. Those will give a basic idea of whats going on with you and if needed they can request more detailed test or refer you to an endocrinologist. For you own peace of mind get checked out. If i can be of any help let me know. take care...phylis
Hi RW, your family dr. (have you seen him?) can order the blood work so you'll have it when you see the endo, it could also speed up the time it will take to get an appt., if your dr. makes the call for you. Around here it takes several months to get into see one. What is you age? take care...phyllis
Thanks Phyl,
My Gyn did the bloodwork just waitng for her office to fax it to the endo then they will call for an appointment. They said I could get in by the end of August. I'm calling again today to see if they have gotten the lab report.
Why does it take so long to get an endo appointment? How fast do thyroid disorders progess ?
As far as the list, I always make one because I want to know everything
Hi RW...it takes a while to get into an endo because there are so few of them and they are kept busy . Ask them to send you get a copy of your labs. I don't think it will progesses much, if any before your appt., but if you get to feeling really bad call the dr. and see if he can speed things up. Try not to let it stress you out too much, thats not good for anything. Are there other things are you noticing? Is your heart rate fast even when sitting quiet? heat intoerence? not sleeping well or long? Trembling? I don't know how to explain this, but have you ever felt like your skin is vibrating or feels like your shaking under your skin? Sounds crazy, but thats how i felt at times. keep me posted on how your doing. take care...phyllis
heart rate fast even when sitting quiet? YES - been on toprol for 2 years - woke up night before last pulse 99
heat intoerence? YES
not sleeping well or long? YES - never have though
Trembling? YES - not as much now, this is a symptom of menopause too, which is what I thought has been going on. It just happens at night. I will wake up feeling like it's on the inside and always thought my heart rate was up but it wasn't. It's a strange feeling.
Hopefully, I will get my lab results in the mail tomorrow. I was told today it would take 7 to 10 days.
Hope everything is fine with you. I'll keep you posted.
Hi Anna, Is toprol a med used to treat hyperthyroid? When i was dx with Graves i opted for the RAI rather than try the meds. That is one thing i wish i'd tried, but knew i'd end up with an RAI eventually so went ahead with it. thats the probelm with thyroid disese..it mimics so many other things, like menopause. have a good day..take care...phyllis
toprol is a med that is a beta blocker which is what they give you at times when you are hyperthyroid. I would love to give you a list of all the things that hyperthyroid causes.
Hair loss
trembling
pulse will likely increase
Women may find that the menstrual flow will lighten and the time between periods grow longer
blood pressure and heart rate can increase to dangerous levels
Depression
Fatigue
Sweaty palms
Weight loss
Fine brittle hair
Restlessness
Increased appetite
Changes in sex drive
Muscle weakness, especially in the upper arms and thighs
Shortened attention span
Heat intolerance
Increased sweating
Nervousness and irritability
Restless sleep or insomnia
Erratic behavior
Infertility, recurrent miscarriage
Increased frequency of bowel movements
Maybe these will help you become more knowleadgeable about what symptoms you have that are related to a hyperthyroid.
Wow...was that a trip down memeory lane...i had alot of those, but not all. I think my favorite and my husbands was the change in sex drive...he was a very lucky man. Too bad that one and the weight loss didn't stick around after treatment. I was given atentenol for the racing heart and bp. I don't remember my legs changing how they look, but they were involved. My knees hurt going up and down steps and getting up from squatting got harder and harder, then got better. You can loss muscle mass when hyper, maybe thats the change you and your husband are noticing. Ask the dr. about it when you go. take care...phyllis
I have Graves, and I have eye problems(it really does suck)! I have had to have radiation on my eyes, I have also been on steriods since Dec which helped cause me to become diabetic!!! So any questions concerning TED ask away.
When I first started having problems I lost all sex drive, and was depressed, and had sever cramps while going up and down stairs, my hair was falling out, I lost alot of weight(that was the only part I was happy about) my heart rate was 160 at rest, I had High Blood Pressure, had to go for days without sleep, and felt like I could sleep for days, I had trembles that made me look like I was on drugs(some asked if I was doing speed)I felt like I had to talk non stop, I would sweat and turn bright red when just mopping the floor, my period got to the point I had it a whole day and it was just spotting, I could eat everything in the house and still loose weight, I couldn't pay attention long enough to count change, I sometimes flew into a rage for no reason, and the bathroom had become my best friend! Needless to say I have sever Graves(am hypo now), both parts of this really stinks some days I pray for the hyper feeling, some days I'm glad I'm not hyper anymore. By the time I became hypo after RAI(wish I hadn't had that) my TSH level was 96. My 9 month old daughter was born with Graves(I passed it to her, but she no longer has it) even though I was hypo. Got questions about Graves shoot, I'll try what I can to answer them.
Val
Last edited by lookin4aclue; 07-27-2006 at 04:02 PM.
Depending on certain things can depend on what the tests say. For instance I learned today that the TSI(antibodie that is Graves related) can cause a decreased TSH level, go figure. Now mind you that the TSH is a good indicator, and that the new TSH levels should be used when telling if there is a TSH level out of range(which most labs and doctors aren't using at this time)the TSH level should be 0.3-3.0. Most are still using the 0.5-5.0. So alot can go wrong. What doctors should be testing is antibodies for Graves and Hashi's, and then the Free T4 and FreeT3, as well as the TSH...I myself think that the TSH is pretty much worthless.....except in certain cases. I think these should be the standard tests that they perform when looking for a thyroid problem but most doctors will only do the TSH, and then if that is high will do the Free T4. So even if the TSH is normal the others may not be. Some people have the antibodies and still haven't had the TSH effected yet. That is why so many people go without the proper DX for so long is because instead of checking these tests they insist on checking TSH alone.
I am very lucky that mine was sooooo bad, as I got treated right away, but then again I never new that I had Graves until a year after I had RAI. There are alot of doctors out there that can't tell you Graves from hyperthyroid, so they are just guessing at what tests to do.
Hi Anna and Val...I was lucky and didn't get the eye problems, but i am always on the lookout for signs of it. Not everyone with Graves gets it. The way the endo checked mine was to have me look in all directions following his finger as far as i could. You can do this yourself. Yes Anna, your legs will get better. Once you are treated with either drugs or RAI...that is after you see and talk to your dr...you will get the muscle tone back. You'll have to rebuild the muscle that has been affected. Walking and weight training are what i did and still do.
Anna, how long have you been feeling this way? If its just recently its good you are seeing the endo soon. Keep in mind that right now you don't know if you have Graves or some other form or hyperthyroid. The endo will be able to determine just whats going on and treat you accordingly. Another thing..don't let what we say scare you...we are speaking of our experiences and everyone is different.
Val, you said you wished you hadn't had the RAI..what made you think that way? I had mine because the endo told me that eventually most people with Graves end up with one. i didn't know about the possibility of remission after being on ATD's for a period of time or i would have tried that first. I can't say i regret having it done, but had i wish i'd been better educated before my first visit.. My biggest complaint is not being able to lose weight. I gained back what i lost, but luckily haven't gained more. Did your endo tell you that once you have an autoimmune disease your more prone to others? Also, did he say anything about your bone density being affected..mine didn't and mine are. I feel they should warn people about that since being hyper is so hard on the bones. This something to be aware of so you can do what you can now to protect your bones. I'm assuming that you are quite a bit younger than me, i'm 53, since you have a 9 month old daughter.
I have found that there is indeed a link between graves and Ostioporosis(I'm sure I spelled that wrong) and since I am also on steriods, have been worried about this, although I am only 32 (just a few more days and I'm 33)I went to the oncologist(he did the radiation on my eyes, not because I have cancer, just because he has the experence)and they checked to see how tall I was, and they said I was 5ft 7inch, and I have been 5ft 9 inchs since high school, so now I'm worried!!
I wasn't ever told that I had a chance of remission with ATD, or I myself would have tried it as well. He never told me about all the things that they have linked to the RAI...all the cancers, and the problems that I could have become worse because of the RAI...for instance the TED, which is pretty bad for me.
Now as for the knowing that I would be more prone to another autoimmune disease, no he never told me, my MD did that....It's been years since my start on my Graves journey, and I have pretty much learned it all on my own, because I was never informed about almost every thing, until I found the doctor I know see.(which happens to be the doctor that was called to do my emergency C-section of my now 9 month old daughter, I was lucky I had her)
As for the newbies here don't let my story here scare you, these things happen when you don't have the education to make the right choices for you, and the right doctors to care for you, and it looks like you are all educating yourself, remember do research about the condition your told you have, read, research, and ask questions....and ask more questions, and research more.
Oh and as for the eye thing, some don't have it with Graves, some don't get it until years later(like me) and some have it but not really all that bad.
Mind you I'm not dead, and don't tend to be any time soon...I'm still dancing, and happy threw all this
Hi Val..i knew you could get TED years after dx, which is why i keep a close eye on my eyes..hahaha. I didnt want to scare Anna. Your the same age as my daughter, i worry that i've passed not only thyroid disease, but also osteoporosis onto her and our son. Next time you see your dr. ask them to do a DEXA scan so you can see where your bone density is now. Are you doing weight bearing exercises and weight training? Both will help you bones. My RAI was 3 years ago and so far i haven' had any problems, but we both know that that could change. I was surprised to find out i had osteo cause i've always taken care of myself. to be honest i thought by getting the hyrperthyroid fixed i was preventing further damage..i beleive the most of the damage was done while hyper and some from the meds we have to take.
Ya know, until i started coming to this board i really hadnt given the graves much thouhgt lately. I've felt like my old self since i got on meds after going hypo. It's nice to be able to help someone new going thru it, wish i'd had
someone to point out the small details that make big dfferences.
I'm still dancing too, to classic rock...take care...phyllis
Too bad that one and the weight loss didn't stick around after treatment. I was given atentenol for the racing heart and bp. I don't remember my legs changing how they look, but they were involved. My knees hurt going up and down steps and getting up from squatting got harder and harder, then got better. You can loss muscle mass when hyper, maybe thats the change you and your husband are noticing. Ask the dr. about it when you go. take care...phyllis
