3 replies to this topic

[Tammy]

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Hello!

 

So I was just diagnosed and in that fact gathering, scouring the internet, driving myself crazy stage! So found this place in my search and looks like a great place to learn from the pros. I'm sure everyone here has went through the initial shock and scare and seems to be finding the best way to deal. I have the classic symptoms and had for many months before diagnosis:  horrible fatigue, hard time sleeping, extreme irritability and mood swings, brittle hair, itchy, always hungry, and heart pounding in chest. I had ultrasound and scan and uptake.  Endo said I have "mild" Grave's.  Labs:

 

T4    2.33     0.82-1.77

T3    217      71-180

TSH  0.008   0.450-4.500

TPO  7          0-34

TSI    204      0-139

TRP <1.0      0.0-0.9    (Thyrogloblin, Antibody)

         39.1     1.5-38.5  (Throglobulin, Serum)

 

I was put on methimazole 15mg ONCE A DAY (3 tablets of 5mg) . I called back to make sure this was correct and I picked up the Rx and the nurse said it was correct...that the Endo always writes her scripts like that because so many people have difficulty taking it 3x a day correctly and since it stays in your body 24 hours, it was okay. I've only taken two doses of the medication so unsure what to expect.  When will I begin to feel some of the symptoms subside....especially the emotional ones and fatigue? I feel like I'm going crazy.

 

Do these labs sound like "mild" Grave's? Or is there even such a thing....is it like being mildly pregnant?

 

Any help or guidance you can give is greatly appreciated as I'm still in the deer in the headlight stage! Thank you very much.

[canderson]

There are others who are definitely more well-versed, but I think if you have Graves, you have Graves. If you haven't found it yet, the Thyroid 101 section here has a lot of great information.

 

It seems the severity of symptoms doesn't always necessarily match the lab values, meaning really high labs might not have as bad symptoms for some people, and people with labs that don't look that bad might be really bothered with a lot of severe symptoms.

 

My GP put me on a beta blocker a few days before seeing the endo, and I felt some relief from the high heart rate within a few days, then methimazole was added. About a week after being on the methimazole I think I started to feel a lot better, and after two weeks, I noticed that the sun was shining and I felt great! (I'd been sick for several months without realizing it.) Of course, everyone's response can be different. That's just how it seemed for me.

 

 

 

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[Shelby]

You can be mildly hyperthyroid, but you're right, if you have Graves', then you have Graves' because the cause of this disease is the autoantibodies. Those can wax and wane depending on diet, stress (we believe), and just natural disease process (usually what doctor's tell you) which makes us either hyperthyroid, euthyroid (normal ranges with no medicine), or hypothyroid.

 

I'm glad to hear you are researching and found us here! 

 

First off, did your doctor take the FT4 and FT3 test or does the lab paper just say T3 and T4? 

 

Some people find that splitting their dose and taking one half in the morning and the other half in the evening keeps their thyroid hormone levels more steady throughout the day. The more steady you can make your thyroid hormones, the greater the chance you'll be lowering your autoantibodies. 

[Tammy]

Thank you very much. Also, I never knew what euthyroid meant so thank you.

 

The lab paperwork says:

 

T4 Free, Direct, S

T3

 

What is the difference for FT3 and FT4?