graves Disease

Thanks Jas.
Id be telling your doctor that! Exactly that! She may be doing it to some other patients too, who cannot take it as well a you. I hate working with doctors that are like that!! :wall::wall:

Unfortunately, I have been bumped to 12 carbimazone, and no effect. My endo rang me 8am Monday morning to tell me my Friday blood results are back. And its not good. I am to stop breastfeeding by week's out, increase my heart meds, and go for a nuclear scan within 2 weeks. Im also on strict orders to do nothing, as my HR and BP are so high, that I could stroke out. :pray::pray:

We are looking at the surgery at the moment, because I have to be well before September, no 2 ways about it. I have my final ever uni placement then, and I am not putting it off again. After it I will be a fully registered nurse (now I am an EN). Not the result I was looking for, but I guess its necessary.


Good luck all.

:heartbeat: S

Hi ladies,

Serene, you are having such a tough time your poor body is going through so much. :hug: Your heart must be unders o much stress and also not to mention other things like the possibility of having bone density issues etc. I definately think you should have a total thyroidectomy and be done with it.

Hugs to you serene, have you got someone to watch litte bubba while you have the test and for at least 24 hours after? You cant go near her unfortuntely in that time frame.
Id for for the surgury too if i was you. Yay for the last uni placement i wish i was as close to finishing my degree but i have been slack:p
My neo are working at the moment and have been cut back to 1in the morning and one at night - seems pointless to me. They have slowed mine down too far with too many tablets so now they are cutting them back and seeing if it stays cut back. I hope so. Was suppose to go for blood tests this week but it is going to have to wait until school goes back. I cant look after my 4 and have a blood test at the same time - stupid doctor i told her about the holidays. Really need to find a new gp but i dont even know where to look seeings she is looking after my graves with specialist at the other end of the phone.
Sorry for the complaints, yours is alot worse then mine, wish there was some way to help.

Maybe I am in denial but I still have Graves... but compared to most of you it seems I have a mildish case. Up until recently I was taking PTU... but when I weaned my 2yo my GP decided to put me on neo-mercazole (a type of carbimazole). My last blood test showed a TSH (I think that was the one) level of 25... so only a little bit above normal) it was 47 at it's worst. It was brought down with just 3 PTU tablets a day... which I often forgot to take (I am shocking with medication) and Carnitine (recommended by my natropath) and acupuncture. It came down from a near-thryroid storm level to nearly normal within about 3 months. My Endo was amazed. Then because the PTU made me feel crappy I stopped taking them altogether... my Endo was very angry with me... but was surprised my level had fallen to within a normal range. He convinced me to just take 1 PTU a day and now my level is up to 25 (normal is up to 22 I think). I had blood taken last weekend and get my result tonight. I suspect that my level is still slightly raised. I am currently taking 3 neos a day. The idea of having my thyroid totally removed really freaks me out to be honest... but I guess i could think differently if I had symptoms as bad as some of you. My weight is fairly stable. When I was very thyro-toxic (level 47) I got down to about 62kg. I am 170cm with a solid skeleton so this made me slightly gaunt. Now I am 68kg and a very good weight. I haven't noticed much fluctunation.


Anyhow I'll post my result when i get it tonight. :crossfingers: that it's a good one!!!

ETA: I bought myself a heart rate monitor. My resting HR can get as low as 60bpm (beats per minute) but my "pottering around the house" HR is usually over 100. It got up to 180 while pushing my pram up a hill once!!!

Hi ladies

I am popping in to subscribe to this thread, I will be back later to read everyone's history's and share my Graves experience

Bathsheba - sometimes i think we all go into denial because it is easy to overlook the illness on your good days. There are days that i pass most of my symptoms off because i have 4 boys to take care of. I am on 2 ptu tablets a day. Good luck with your results tonight i hope they come back to be closer to normal range. You must be one of the lucky ones.
wouldloveabubba - Hi and welcome to our thread. Cant wait to hear about your graves journey

OK. Gotta say it. Neomercazole isnt a TYPE of Carbimazole, it IS carbimazole. Hun I think you mean your free T3 and T4, because TSH levels are measured 0.1-6.7, with 3.3 being normal. Either way, its a decent reading. Your endo SHOULD be angry with that, because its playing with fire! :crossfingers: your levels are ok this time though. Sorry, but I get so angry with people who do the wrong thing by their body when a doc is working their ar$e off t fix it. I had a diabetic pt refusing his insulin, then having the gall to blame the docs for him losing his foot! If its a potentially life-threatening disease, DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD! :angry:


Well have any of you ladies who had your fixed had Lithium? Im not keen on it because I am having a hell of a time weaning Simone off the boob, and I cant BF with Lithium in my system, so Im stuck between a rock and a hard place. Worst thing is I am so wound up ATM (as you can tell from above) that I cant cope with the stress of her needing the boob and wanting nothing else.

Apparently I can take the lithium, stop BFing and have the radiothereapy, which is the safer option, or I can keep BFing and not have the lithium and only have the option of surgery... Is it worth the stress?

:

---

Was suppose to go for blood tests this week but it is going to have to wait until school goes back. I cant look after my 4 and have a blood test at the same time - stupid doctor i told her about the holidays. Really need to find a new gp

---

Can you see the specialist yourself??

Other than that, try getting your bloods done at the local hospital, and taking the kids to the rec room for an hour after, or getting the path service to come round. Some services do weekends if that helps... Tell your GP to pull your finger out, but dont forget what Graves can do. She ha your best interests at hears (well, should anyhow...), and sometimes they just need reminding. Best way I found is to take your kids with you to the GP and tell her the path service is not happy to draw when your kids are with you, so can she do it pls.

Jas, seriously, make an appointment to see Dr Mortimer direct at his private practive at the RBWH. He is a professor of endochrinology and he even bulk bills in his private practice. And you just get your bloods done at he hospital after your appointment and he will ring you the next day with the results.

Serene, I hope you are feeling better soon sweetie. Considering your graves is playing up so badly I guess one thing you'll have to consider is that if you have RAI is it likely you will end up needing more than one dose? The main reason why I chose surgery over RAI was one, because endo said it was likely I'd need more than one dose of RAI which would significantly delay any TTC #2 plans, and 2 having a toddler, she wouldn't understand why I couldn't go within a meter of her for 10 whole days and 3, I had a fairly sizeable goitre. I cannot comment on the lithium sorry. Good luck with your decision.

Ok these are my results:

16 May 2009

T4 = 25.8
TSH = < 0.03
T3 = 7.3

27 June 2009

T4 = 21.1
TSH = < 0.03
T3 = 7.2

So a slight improvement.

HellRazeD: Yes. I'm still wrapping my head around all the Graves related jargon and am still making mistakes. Sorry for those errors. However I do choose to take responsibility for my health and do not follow medical advice without question. I have been ill advised before. Based on my personal experience I will seek the treatment that correlates with the advice of the majority of health professions not just an individual. The endo that I was seeing rushed me in and out within as little as 5 minutes. He spoke dismissively to me and seemed annoyed when i had the nerve to actually ask questions. I on the other hand am constantly speaking to people about my condition (friends and family members who work in medicine, my natropath, at least 3 GPs, my neighbour who is a nurse etc etc etc) and I am going with what the majority recommend. I have always spoken with calmness and respect with the Edno in question and he had no need to speak so poorly to me. I was conscious of not wasting his time but I DO have a right to inform myself. I also would never get emotional with another Graves sufferer if they were not doing things the way I saw fit... so please try to avoid being overly emotive with me. It's my health and ultimately my responsibility. If there was only one right way to treat me then I wouldn't have experienced so many differing approaches. For instance: my usual GP was away when I needed to get my last blood test result. I had previously asked for a baseline white blood cell test before and it was dismissed as being unnecessary. I didn't bother asking this new GP but she suggested it herself! What's the deal there?

Anyhow I'm feeling relieved that my latest results seem to show an improvement. I haven't had acupuncture for a while and perhaps it contributed to my fantastic result at the end of last year when i got the T4 result of 13 so I might have to go back and give that another try. I know that it won't solve the problem alone... but along with looking after my overall health it certainly can't hurt!

I forgot to post the normal ranges according to the pathology report I have. These are:

T4 = 10.0 - 19.0
TSH = 0.50 - 4.00
T3 = 3.5 - 6.5

Isn't it interesting how these "normal ranges" vary so much depending on who you speak to and what you read?

These are the ranges of Dorovich pathology.

Oh Bath! Im sorry hun! It came out all wrong. I was mad about the idiot diabetic I treated, but also shocked you did that! I didnt mean it to sound that way.

Its odd that they dismiss the WBC, since its a serious side effect??? Sounds like your endo needs a goot crack over the back of the head! His JOB is to listen!

Good to see the improvement hunny.

Thanks HR :) I get sensitive about all this too so i could have read more into your comment that what was intended... no hard feelings.

Yes, I agree that a White Blood Cell test is important... bit too late to wait for the sore throat I think! (To find out if you are experiencing a very dangerous side effect of anti-thyroid medication).

Are those the normal ranges that you are familiar with BTW?

hmmmm a bit different. HAPS has them a little lower for the norm, but the upper is much the same.

bath - to me your results dont look that much above anymore, mine are very similar to yours only one of mine is now too low.
i agree with the sore throat bit, although i have my white cell count checked all the time because i am prone at the moment to colds and flus and everytime i complain to my doctor she sends me off for one. It is good though cause she checks iron levels and stuff at the same time.
Spice - i am threw dr mortimer but i was told that he retired? Maybe they told my doctor fibbs. He told me it would be easier to do it this way, i just get frustrated.
serene - i have been fighting the rai - too much time to have to stay away from the kids. How are you going with the weaning? i know it can be hard - i had to do it with my 3rd and 4th.
will go for my blood tests next wednesday - they will be done two weeks late but for some reason she is saying it might be better for them to be done later then earlier - especialy with the recent change in the dose.
i havent tried the Lithium sorry serene i am no help on that one.

Keep warm and i will chat to you all soon, at least i know that you all understand this illness and what i am going threw - alot of others dont and underestimate it or think it is a death sentence.

hi just letting you know I had my hemithyroidectomy yesterday and it was not as bad as I was expecting, bit sore today but only need panadeine for pain relief. I get the results of the cyst next week

Oh thanks for the update Louise! I hope you heal well too... let us know how you feel again in a few days... and your results. Goodluck!

very sore today and now my DH (not sure how dear) has decided he is feeling sick and is in bed resting whilst me and mum take care of the kids whom I am not aloowed to lift - men.

Aww, Kitten, I'm glad the Op went well. Rest up hey.
Males are shockers when they don't feel too crash hot. He must have the man flu :lol:

Louise - Hope you are feeling ok still. Hope Dh gets better too and can help out. How are you going post op?

Well i finally had my blood tests yesterday . I know it is late but the results will be back monday and i have an appointment to see her then as well. I have just been feeling really off lately, not sick just funny. I dont have any motivation to do anything. Hope it passes soon, but i feel like i am missing something just dont have any idea what it is.

Hope you are all going well and that the graves is going into remission.

Hi everyone

I got my results today and the cyst was large - over 4 cms but was not cancerous and the last ultrasound showed no no other cysts in the other half of my thyroid - phew. So more blood tests in 6 weeks times for thyroid function and then we will see where I am at, but atm all is looking well.

thats great news louise. Hope the blood tests turn out to be in normal limits

That's good news Kitten... hope your DH is better too and that your results come back with good thyroid function.

I was talking to another school mum yesterdeay who says that she doesn't have Graves but ever since she was 11yo her thyroid gland enlarges whenever she is under stress... sometimes she can go years without a problem but recently her sister gave birth to a premmie baby which she also found very stressful as they are close. She also has nodules. It's amazing how many people have it when you mention that you have a thyroid disease yourself.

I'm also under a bit of stress ATM with a relative staying... I hope it doesn't make things worse... because lately I have been feeling really well.

Hi there guys long time since i was on here last..... well an update on me is not good my TFT tests are always bad of late....on the
21-11-08
T4- 21.7 (9.0-19.0) this is what it should be between
T3- 9.8 (2.6-6.0 ) as above
TSH <0.01 (0.3-5.0 ) as above

6-4-09
T4- 27.0
T3- 15.8
TSH same as always never changes

2-6-09
T4- 50.7
T3- 46.1
TSH same as above

21-7-09
T4- 35.4
T3- 22.6
TSH as above

Then i found out i may have haemachromatosis just had genetic testing done wont find out till late next week..... Thats not all i go see my endo on Monday his name is Dr Michael De Emden he is one of Mortimers collegues.... i will have to go see my doctor before then to have a Pregnancy test.... I done aone at home it came up positive please help i need info on the risks of being pregnant and taking Neo-Mercazoles i currently take 6 x 5mg tabs a day and im back on 40mg a day of Inderals help me i really stuffed up now i think i just want a healthy pregnancy XXXXX Michelle :pray:

Hi everyone

I'm new here to the forums. My name is Kath; I've got Graves Disease too - I was diagnosed in March this year when my baby was 10 months old; I was severely hyper at the time and had lost 12kgs in about 3 months and was eating like a horse; had heart palpitations and my eyes felt a bit funny. I thought it was because of the breastfeeding that I'd lost all the weight.

Basically to cut a long story short - went to see an endo who recommended total thyroidectomy due to my age and wanting to have more kids/ I'm 35 so didn't want to wait to see if I'd go into remission due to the fact I'd had a few miscarriages in the past.

I'm now just over 2 weeks post total thyroidectomy but like Mara; I have had problems with the calcium thing. I had to stay in hospital for 1 week after surgery also on the calcium drips and am now on a stack of calcium, magnesium and rocaltrol. The surgeon told me that in some Graves Disease patients they do see this reaction. I have 3 of the 4 parathyroids left after the surgery... they told me that 2 were a bit "battered and bruised"

Mara, I was wondering as you had your surgery a little while ago now.... how are your calcium levels going...are you still on supplements and do they think it will be long term for you? I'm just curious to see if it settled down for you. I still am having the pins and needles in hands and feet even when they are saying the calcium levels are going up. My story sounds quite similar to yours... my bubs is 15 months old now and we would like another one soonish... as soon as is safe to conceive.

The other thing I saw one of you mentioned ...the link between pre-eclampsia/toxemia and Graves... I developed severe post partum hypertension/ pre-eclampsia but with a strange presentation after the birth of my bubs.... my endo and renal physician say they are unrelated.... I was curious if any of you had other info. Interestingly when I had the thyroid out but had the parathyroid issue my blood pressure was fine this time.

Sorry for the long post... seems like you have a great community here... lots of good info/ have been lurking for a while reading your stories trying to find out more for myself that what the docs tell you. Hope you are all going well!

cheers Kath :D

Hi Kath, and welcome to BB :)

I so know what you're going through at the moment. :hug:

I was on calcium, magnesium and calcitriol (prob the same as you're rocaltrol) tablets for roughtly 4-6 weeks post surgery. When I first left the hospital I was on 6 calcium, 2 magnesium and 4 calcitriol tabs per day but as the weeks went on it was less and less. I still had 4 parathyroids but they had to transplant one of them into muscle tissue and they were all battered and bruised from the surgery - hence not functioning properly. I think you'll be totally fine once they recover and start to function properly again.

I know what you mean about the tingling. Even when my levels were back to normal I still experienced tingling. Actually even to this day I still get a little tingling in my hands and feet sometimes. I also used to get a lot of muscle cramps. Apparently that was because of low magnesium levels.

You'll definately need to wait until after your calcium evels are normal again before TTC. Hopefully it won't be too long for you :crossfingers:

Other than that. How are you feeling?

Thanks for your reply; that's great to hear that yours settled down...gives me a bit of hope; I'm a little nervous that I could be one of the unlucky ones stuck on supplements long term but good to hear a good case such as yours. Fingers crossed we'll be as lucky!

I'm feeling ok thanks... still a bit tired from it all... looking after an energetic 15month old on top of everything sure takes it out of you hey?? Hard to know what symptoms are related to the parathyroid issue and the lack of a thyroid. Think I had gone a bit underactive prior to surgery as I know that's how they want you but have had heaps of issues with hair falling out; tired; peeling nails; and now just feel super tired after walking up the stairs.

To be honest I actually felt pretty full of energy and great with the Graves...guess cause by body was firing on all cylinders but I know it couldn't sustain that long term it burns out...bummer hey!!

I'll keep checking in on this thread to see how you all are doing...it's good to be able to chat with people going through something similiar.... feel like it's all numbers and figures when you talk to your endo...you wait weeks to see them and then you are in and out in a few minutes once they've discussed your "levels" (which I still don't really understand...guess I'll have to know I'm on thyroxin for life!!)

Thanks once again for giving me some hope this might settle!!

Kath x

Hi everyone, I have just been diagnosed with Graves Disease...after noticing a rapid heart rate, tremors, poor sleep, fatigue, weight loss etc. I am now taking neo mercozole and have to see an endocrinologist...I am nervous about how long treatment will take in terms of fertility, as we have already been TTC for some time, with other issues to deal with, and I am not getting any younger. I am also used to be really active, but have had to slow down a bit, so I hope the meds take effect soon.

I hear you! It's exactly what I was worrying about with the whole Graves thing. My endocrinologist recommended a thyroidectomy to me for the reasons you are worrying about. She explained that I had 3 options..... I could stay on medication for a few years to see if my Graves went into remission - but I could relapse; I could have the radioactive iodine but she couldn't guarantee safety for my eggs; or I could have the thyroidectomy and then once they get your levels right within a few months after surgery she said most people were fine to try and conceive. They just have to manage you more closely.

Good luck with everything; I can totally sympathise; I had two miscarriages before I had my little boy (I consider him my miracle baby considering I probably had Graves at the time - the surgeon who took my thyroid out reckons maybe for at least 5 years!)

When do you see your endocrinolgist?

Hi Possoms and welcome to this thread.
The problems you've been having with conceiving and carrying etc could well be attributed to the Graves Disease. So hopefully being diagnosed will be a step in the right direction of you having your much longed for bubba. I was on propylthiouracil (PTU) for 5 years. PTU is considered the safer drug whilst pregnant and my pregnancy was fine. TBH the preg actually pretty much put the graves into remission. I only had to take half a tab per day. I did have a major relapse after the birth though which is very common. Just thought I'd tell you my experience so that you know you could very successfully have a bubba while you're on meds.

Kath, just wanted to let you know that I had my calcium checked last week. It was a bit low (not dire but below the minimum acceptable reading) so I have to have more bloods done in 6 weeks time. Also my dose of thyroxine was too low so that's been upped too (no wonder I'd wacked on 10 kilo's since my OP in January) :rolleyes: How are you doing?

I've been wondering how long people stayed on anti-thyroid medication for... so thanks Mara for posting that you were on for 5 years. I've only been on them for 1 year (but I was naughty and stopped taking them for a few months). I was on PTU for a few months and have been on Carbimazole for about 4 months. My next blood test will include a liver function test to make sure everything is ok too.
I feel fine ATM... I suspect I may have dropped back down into normal levels again. Have been putting on weight (am a good weight ATM), am sleeping well, no shakes, hair is in good condition, heart not racing. I'm taking 3 carbimazoles per day... I hope I might be able to drop 1 if my test results are good.

Hi Kath and welcome to our group. I think it is great that you feel so welcome. When i first posted a thread to find out more about graves i was told that it was uncommon - not the case so i have since found.
How are things coming along?
Hi Possums, Hopefully now that your graves has been picked up on you will get it all back in normal limits soon. I had 4 m/c's myself and i know that it is very depressing. Fingers are crost that all your hard work will pay off soon
Mara, Hopefully they get your tablet levels right soon. Not good about the weight gain. Funny thing when you have the right neo level you put on weight, and when you have the wrong throx levels you put on weight. If only there was a happy medium where we could be and not put on weight.

Am going to start shopping around for a new GP. Just realised the other day that she has no idea what so ever on what she is talking about nor has she documented anything right. Drives me insane having to sit threw the same q's all the time then finally get onto what we are talking about.
Mara - Do you know any good GP's out towards Ipswich way at all?

Bathsheba - Hope your test results come back good and you get to drop some tablets. Fingers crost

Hi Mara and Jas

Thanks for your messages and nice welcome; I'm feeling much better this week thanks. Hopefully things are on the mend ...my calcium levels have been coming up (yay!!) so they are reducing doses of caltrex and rocaltrol...now just playing the blood test game.

I had also gone very underactive so they increased dosage of thyroxin to 150mg...fingers crossed that's right for me because I can feel the weight creeping back on....(one/two kilos a month since I started the PTU before the op...hopefully the thryoixin halts it)

Was anyone else having massive hair loss?? (like big clumps every time you wash or brush your hair??)

Mara do they have any idea why your calcium has dipped again?? Were you feeling a bit funny with it...tingles in hands and feet??

Kath x

Kath, my hair fell out around when i was first diaognosed with graves diesease. Not all of it but most of it. My hair was quite thick and now it is very thin. Hope yours stops falling out soon

My results were not good. My T4 has gone up from 21 to 26 :( There is also still no traces of TSH :( My liver function was good so at least the Carbimazole isn't wreeking havoc. Oh well... maybe I'll lose some weight for summer. I'm 68... 65 is ideal. My hair is good though... gone back to being thick... not coming out when I wash it. Appointment with Endo in Dec. He is busy. Going to go back to having acupuncture... last time I had that (every weekend for several months) my T4 went way down to 13.

Bathsheba - How are you feeling? Hope the acupuncture works for you this time around as well.

Well i took myself off my tablets. My doctor went away and they were recking havoic with some other tablets that i had to take for a month. So it is off today to have my bloods done again to see what my levels are looking like - i have been off the tablets for 2 months. My doctor is not impressed but she wants to radiate and i would rather avoid that if i could. My eldest son is also got to be tested today as it looks like he has a thyroid problem as well.

Serene - How are you and bubba going? How are your levels? Hoping they stayed in the normal ranges for you.
Kath - How are you going? Have your levels come into good ranges yet?

Hi Jas :) I took myself of my tablets for a few months too last year... my doctor said i was a "silly girl" (I was 39 LOL). In retrospect I probably should have kept taking at least 1 tablet per day... it might have stopped it going up again this year. Now I take carbimazole and they seem to be agreeing with me. Am currently taking 3 per day.

I feel well although i am noticing (maybe it's my imagination) that my thyroid seems a bit puffier than last year. I don't have much fat around my neck... it wasn't enlarged last year... but the past few months it seems to have grown a bit :( Although wouldn't call it a goitre yet. I expect my doctor will send me for another scan.

Ugh. It has really sunk in that this is for life. Last year I was still in denial... not anymore.

I have only had a few sessions of acupuncture... money is a bit tight ATM. I really should have more.

Bathsheba - i have noticed that mine seems larger too - too me. Glad i am not the only one that feels like that. I havent mentioned it to my doctor yet i am hoping my some miracle that it will all magically disappear - lol guess i am going threw the denial stage. My weight seems to have stoped itself 20kg over where it is suppose to be and i have found that trying to lose it just doesnt work exercise and diet dont seem to be able to make it shift one way or the other.
It is good that you have accepted it i think i am still a long way off acceptance at the moment

Hello all,
I am also new to this forum. My sister suggested I join to see if anyone can fill in some gaps for me - I hope you dont mind. Just over 12 months ago I was diagnosed with graves disease, after having my first child - she was probably about 6month old when I first noticed the symptoms. I went to a specialist who told me in no uncertain terms that I had to give up breast feeding and go on these tablets. I didnt, and the symptoms went away somewhat, so I didnt worry about it. Now I suffer greatly from insomnia, and believe it is time to go on the tablets. So I went back to the specialist. One of my main concerns was that my husband and I want to have other children, so I asked the specialist about it. He told me (after flicking through several books) that the main concern with the tablets was the baby might develop a goitre, and not on the tablets, miscarriage. Can someone please let me know of anything else that could potentially happen - either on or off the tablets...So sorry about the long post.

Hi JoeyJ

Firstly, its lovely to see you here. We all know what youre going through.

OK stay ON the tablets. If you do not control your thyroid, this condition can KILL YOU.

OK shock spiel over.

Seriously though. Without the medication you are at risk of heart damage, liver and kidney damage and eventually death. THe weightloss is a great side effect, but its also dangerous. You go through muscle wastage. Graves also tends to make people infertile. Youre right. The insomnia is from the disease. I was sleeping less than 2 hours a day for over 2 years because mine was just so out of control even with the meds.

WIth the tablets, you may gain a little weight, but its better than the other issues. All you need to look out for are the signs of a viral throat infection. Sounds silly, but its the sign of a very rare but dangerous complication. If you fall pg on the meds (theres really nothing saying you cant... Even Breastfeeding is essentially OK, as long as you are properly cared for), your Obstetrician should have you placed in the care of an endo who caters specifically to that situation. You will be closely monitored, and baby will be too. Usually, Graves goes into remission during pregnancy, and often once its in remission, it stays there.


Joey Feel free to email me directly at sjo76149@supernerd.com.au if you need some more help that youre not keen on posting.





Well, I havent posted in a while! I had my thyroidectomy in August. I guess it went well. I was in hospital for 5 days cos they damaged the paras, and after I was released, 4 weeks later I went into calcium crisis, so now Im taking a truck load of caltrate and calcitriol every day, and Ive been back in hospital twice since with pseudohypoparathyroidism and low calcium levels. Not pleasant, but I guess its safer than Tyroid storm. My endo has told me that I am not to fall pregnant again on any terms. Im just too sick. yay. Im at the point now where I really dont care as long as I can finish my Nursing degree. I lost my AIN job because of this, and Ive only just gone back to K-Mart after almost 2 years off work sick. By weight has peaked at 118kg, and my diabetic nurse is not impressed, but the endo told her to shove it. Ive been on prednisone for 18 months and just had my thyroid out. Im bound to gain at least a bit!
My t4 is sitting very low right now though, so it looks like Im getting my thyroxine increased.


As for good news, Bubba is totally well and I am very happy about that. She is still small (8.3 kg at 14 months), but is developng normally and doesnt need to be under paediatric care any more, my endo visits with her are enough. I was able to keep breastfeeding! I love that fact. I was told I would not be able to at all, and here I am with a 14 month old who is STILL breastfeed! Im so very proud of myself.


How is everyone else faring? Jas? Bath?


Merry Xmas all!