littleone scribbled: PS...reference your post in response to my good news..meant to say how much I love the "seize the moment" statement..carpe diem!!! Sending you good wishes....Sheryl

littleone scribbled: I DO pray they catch the person(s) tormenting you ...that you do NOT need, nor deserve!!! How are you doing with the flare you had said this had sent you in?? You, as well are so often in my thoughts and prayers.. I am here always for you just as you are for me, okay?? Take very good care!! Sheryl

littleone scribbled: I have been out of the loop for a bit but have excellent news to report...for the first time since last Dec at least, I FEEL NORMAL!!! On the last tsh bolld work done Monday, 21 May, My numbers went into the normal range...I had dared hope but not too loudly as I had suddenly been feeling amazingly better..did not want to jinx myself!! The tsh is 1.45 at the moment amd I have managed to gain 8 lbs in 4 weeks so I no longer look quite like a concentration camp survivor! Now I get checked every 3-4 weeks for an indefinite period watching it to go the other way to hypothyroidism yet I understand I may have a respite for many months to a year or so before that happens..I know it is variable...thanks for keeping me in your prayers ..I believe that helps!!! Hope things are going well for you at the moment with all you have to contend with?? I think of you often and hope all is going well...please take care okay??? Sheryl

littleone scribbled: How sickening for someone out there to thrive on terrorizing your family..it is a violation of your very soul to have your safety and that of your sons threatened this way..NO ONE has that right to inflict such on anyone! I have always marveled at the lack of kindness and compassion in this world..I am thankful you have a responsive law enforcement team for you; I am just so sorry that you have been living this horror!sdb06

littleone scribbled: Not encouraging news today.. I am at square one...no wonder the troublesome symptoms are such a problem..the tsh level has not budged since it was first taken Jan 10 of this year..still at<0.01..I was sure hoping to see a move in the other direction... testing it again in 4 weeks...that will be the 3 month mark....gloomy rainy chilly day...matches my mood at the moment!! Take care...Sheryl

littleone scribbled: I am trying to relax...a particularly bad day today with excessive episodes of diarrhea...I think we agreed that is a *****! I always drink a lot of water but have been doing Gatorade as well for electrolyte balance..I am sorry you had a rough spell..hope you are in a better state right now??! Blood work early in the morning and then I see the endocrinolofgist Thurs AM...most anxious to see what is going on!! Take care and thanks for your encouragement!! Sheryl

littleone scribbled: forget the going back to work for now...come Fri AM , I made it 3 hrs before I had to throw in the towel..too muich weakness, dizziness, gastric disress and shakiness..Saw my primary care Dr and he immediately ordered me off work this time not to be released till the endocrinologist says so! Had lost 2 more lbs with all the diarrhea..Blood work on Wed and my appt with my endocrinologist got moved up to this THurs AM instead of next Mon, so in a few days, I shall know what's going on..this IS a major pain!!! Sheryl

littleone scribbled: I know I was very lucky...from onset of symptoms to the uptake scan to confirm Graves disease and then the radioiodine 131 a few days later was less than two months. I sincerely feel for the lady in Texas!!! I am curious why her doctor did not think to check her thyroid before she had so many years of suffering!! My understanding is that one can have this disease and be asymptomatic and then a big stressor etc can kick it off. Yes stress is the enemy..I too feel worse when stress is present. Like you, the diarrhea episodes are what get me down the most!! I have episodes like 12-15 times a day for several days and then it settles down a bit. The two times in the past month that I had medical leave from the restaurant where I work,was because of issues with diarhhea and the subsequent weight loss and exhaustion. I have definitely learned the value of being good to oneself and for being a type A person have actually learned to relax a bit!! I pamper myself now and then with a good soak , a good book, breakfast out on my days off, buying flowering or more green plants as those have ALWAYS been good for my soul!!! I mainly feel let down and a bit discouraged as I really thought I would start to see improvement by now...perhaps I am destined to be a more challenging case!? There is always good in EVERY day so I too try to focus on that...I am generally an optimistic cheerful sort! First day back at work today and it was not too busy thankfully..I was exhausted after eight and a half hours...then of course there are certain errands that have to be done etc..I am done for the day and ready to sit and relax and hit the sack early. Have a good night!! Sheryl Bergen

littleone scribbled: To answer your question, I started experiencing extreme distress on New Years Day (2007) I chalked it up to a stressful event with one of my sons the week before Christmas, the inevitable holiday letdown and culminating with waiting on a bunch of sloppy drunks on New Years starting at 4AM (I am a server, and open four days a week so I am up by 2 or so!!) I had a horrid knot in my gut and one in my chest, extreme anxiety and agitation, could not sleep more than an hour or two and cried a lot!! I got in to my family doctor that week and I will be forever grateful to him (and I have told him so!!!) for not writing me off as a middle aged emotional woman and handing me a prescription for an antideppressant. It was his idea that morning to schedule a fasting tsh test which came back indicative of hyperthyroidism. I was due to go to Sanibel Island, Fl for a 10 day getaway Jan 13-22 and that place is paradise and great therapy for anyone..especially an Iowan in January! I had no troubles there that I recall but when I got back, another blood test was set up to check not only tsh but T3 and T4...that led to an ultrasound and my first appt with my endocrinologist Feb 16. The following week I had the 123 uptake scan which showed the whole thyroid to be involved...lots of nodules. So the 27th of Feb I had the radioiodine 13...symptoms like weight loss and frequency of bowel movements, days of diarrhea episodes, nervous energy (I had the cleanest house in Davenport Iowa!!) and the constant high gear feeling had added themselves to my list by this time. Within the past month I have had medical leave for two weeks due to flares..back to work tomorrow and I have positive thoughts that all will go well!! How on earth do you manage four autoimmune diseases?? take care...Sheryl Bergen

littleone scribbled: A question please...what IS a good way to deal with what you refer to as flares?? Hey I do not mind a bit sharing info/insight on this disease!! It is extremely helpful to "talk" to someone in the same situation even though symptoms and severity varies greatly..I do not know anyone with Graves so I often get the feeling it is hard to make anyone understand the debilating moments etc!! Forgot to mention another symptom I do not have...that is related to difficulty getting pregnant...I am 53, surgical menopause with complete hysterectomy in 1999 with four grown children..so yes this can happen at any age!!! Have a good one....Sheryl Bergen

littleone scribbled: How wonderful to hear back from someone who seems to definitely understand the one step forward, two steps backward nature of this disease while waiting out these initial weeks after radioiodine 131 treatment!!! I wholeheartedly agree about being proactive..I did a lot of "homework" before my first appt with the endocrinologist, who, thankfully was receptive to being asked a lot of questions! It pays to be your own advocate and not a passive patient! I have two doctors who are with me on this treatment ...first blood work is next Wed to see if any changes yet. I DO drink shakes and eat sundaes...tried the Boost and thought it was pretty nasty tasting..I know the atenolol can contribute to the diarrhea episodes so I feel kind of stuck for the moment..I am 6 feet tall and weigh 122 lbs representing a loss of 26 lbs since the end of January..the only symptoms I do not have are the cardiac ones or the eye/ skin involvement!! Thanks again so much for answering my first post...that was wonderful! Sheryl Bergen