Two Months!

I have a blood test at the beginning of each month and apparently I"m still in the normal range (for TSH and free T4). This is incredible to me. To be `normal' for two months!!! Thank you body for sorting yourself out....for now! I'm not expecting to be in the clear now but I do hope that things settle down for a bit. One of the good things is that I can eat normally and exercise normally and my body responds like a normal person. Does that make sense? Any weight loss is `deserved'..I worked for it, it wasn't just my thyroid being wild.

Not sure why I'm not able to fall asleep but if that's the worst of it, I'm okay. I always get about 6 hours which is good enough for me (although I would love 8).

Grrrrr

Carpet cleaning and steam mopping at midnight. Insomnia. What's up?! Had a blood test and hopefully get the results back soon. I was sooooooo good last week. I felt normal. So frustrating to feel jittery again.

I'm Normal

Woohoo! For the first time in 14 months, both my TSH and free T4 are in the NORMAL range! Hip hip hooray! I'm still on the lowest end of free T4 which makes me slightly hypo but ya, I'm normal and have a feeling I will continue to feel better and better and if I can stay here for 6 months, I will be med free! Yippee!

Latest Endocrinologist Visit

Saw my endo yesterday. She cut my PTU dosage in half again. I don't feel ready for it but oh well! I was originally on 150mg/day a year ago, now, I'm on jut 25mg/day. I have a feeling I will lose at least 5lbs this week due to the decrease in PTU. She couldn't explain my migraines, she said it could be the PTU (hence trying to get me off it) or just not being hydrated enough. Dehydration? I don't know, sounds like the easy answer.

We talked a lot about what to do if I accidentally get pregnant. Now, we are not planning on it at all but Gary has not had a vasectomy (I was trying to think of a cooler word for it...sorry) yet because we want to for sure have a third child and if it doesn't happen through adoption,we may try for a biological child. Apparently, my Graves' Disease would be less noticeable throughout pregnancy but would likely flare up afterwards. However, mine is a `strange case' so who knows what would actually happen. The greater concern is that my antibodies would cross to the fetus possibly causing neo natal Graves which would last 6 months (until all of my antibodies were out of him/her). The baby would be jittery, irritable, have a lower birth weight etc. It would likely feel how I did last year...wow, that is not good. The baby could be treated with very small doses of PTU and would be constantly monitored with blood tests.

We talked about my muscle weakness. She said that I likely lost a whole lot more muscle than I thought and it will take twice as long to gain it as it took to lose it. She did say, however, that I could return to `normal'. Hmmmmm...that would be freakin awesome. When I exercise, I hit a wall way faster than I ever did but she says it will get better and better. Slow and steady is not really my motto but I guess it is for me now.

Graves' Disease and Mitral Valve Prolapse

I was trying to figure out why I have such a hard time exercising with GD and also, why I get extreme headaches after doing so. I used to work out super hard and never get headaches like I've had the last 1.5 years. I know it could be attributed to dehydration but my urine isn't indicating that:)

I have other symptoms like my heart feels like it skips a beat, sleeplessness, sensitivity to caffeine, and chest pains. Well, a little research shows I may have mitral valve prolapse which is connected to autoimmune diseases like Graves' Disease. There's nothing I could do about it but if that is the case, it's good to know. I know doctors must hate self diagnosers but there is just so much info on the web now.

I see my endo at the end of the month so I will ask her about this. One of my doctors had detected a heart abnormality before but I did not take notice because they didn't seem concerned. I can't even remember what it was. I feel like my level of safe exercising is maybe running 3km. If I have a football game or run 5km, I have a headache that makes me want to vomit for about 12 hours. Not really worth it!!

Oh boy. Fun doesn't stop around here:)

One Year Later

So. Here we are. One year after it all began. How do I feel? I feel pretty good! I feel like I've reached 90% of normal Louise. It's hard to know what to contribute to working too much and having two monkeys running around and being 32 but I think that if I had a normally functioning thyroid, a few things would be different.

I just take 50mg PTU in the morning. That's it! Sometimes if I'm going to be doing something stressful or running around a lot, I might take a beta blocker. Maybe once or twice a month, that's it!

What things are still affected the most?

1. My neck is sensitive. If I piggy back the boys, they need to hold onto my shoulders. Even having a sheet on my neck is uncomfortable. The thought of a turtle neck makes me shudder.

2. Insomnia. It's not too bad (dare I say?!). I now fall asleep by midnight 5 nights a week and the other two nights I fall asleep somewhere between 1-3am.

3. Weight. I am a good 10lbs heavier than I should be. Why? My metabolism changes constantly AND I am unable to exercise like I used to.

4. I have muscle weakness but it's not too bad. I'm still `normal' in the strength department but I used to be quite strong:) I don't know that I could carry a 40lb pack and hike for 5 days. That makes me sad.

5. I wake up feeling like I'm shaky but I just take my pill and I'm good to go!

6. Some random coronary artery spasms but they usually only last a minute or so.

The upside of Graves' Disease?

I can work til 11pm each night, no problem!!

Goal?

So, I really want to run 5km this year. I have the Run For the Cure in a month and I have to run the whole thing or I will be so disappointed in myself. I ran 4.7km a month ago and I'm trying to run here and there. So yes, I will run 5km on Oct. 3rd. No choice. I'm so glad I got my half marathons in when I did because I don't know how I could do them now!

Thankfulness? I am thankful that this is all I have. I am thankful for drugs. I am thankful for a diagnosis. I am thankful for an understanding husband. I am thankful that I can work from home.

So, to anyone that is newly diagnosed with Graves' Disease, it gets better, I promise!! But, you have to take time to get better (like, don't work) and you need to eliminate stress. See your endo. Take your medication faithfully. Get your blood tests monthly. You will be okay!!

Thank you to everyone for your support, I really appreciate it!!

Hmmmm

So, still up at 1am with a growling tummy. I'm thinking I'm heading into the hyper direction again....should get a blood test. When will it ever just settle down?!