Graves Disease?????

I've been diagnosed with Graves Disease....can any one share their story or information?

Some FYI about it....Graves's is an autoimmune disease....basically it is a severe form of Hyperthyroidism where my body produces way to much of the Thyroid hormone causing my body to go out of control. Some of the symptoms are shaking from head to toe......weight loss, hair falling out, fatigue and I have experienced and still experience many of these sypmtoms.

I'm tired of being sick and tired.....

I was diagnosed with GD about 6 weeks ago. I started with extreme hunger, then a 20lb weight loss, fatigue, 3-5 BMs a day, palpitations, moodiness, and other female stuff. As soon as I noticed a change I went to the doctor right away. I don't have any of the bulging eyes or skin problems. I started taking PTU right away as well as propanolol. I've been on my meds for the past 6 weeks and have just started noticing a decrease in my symptoms. Although a lot of people say GD is a "good news" disease, I don't see it that way at all. It makes me angry that I am now subject to a life of meds and seeing an endocrinologist. I have to genetic factors, so I have no idea why I just got it. I have been very diligent with my meds, as well as watching my alcohol intake, since PTU causes a lot of liver damage.
I have been reading articles about the causes which possible include high iodine intake, high aspartame intake, high soy products intake.
Also, did you know when you go to the dentist, you cannot have novocaine? It contains epinephrine, which will exacerbate the symptoms.
Good luck with your prognosis. I really know how you feel about being sick and tired of it all.

i was diagnosed when i was 16. it was rare for me to get it at a young age. Basically they gave me tapazole it's not the best medicine and you can't have kids while on it because the medicine cause birth defects. I chose to get the radiation therapy 2 years later. I now have hypothyroid it's better because the medicine is not at all harmful and i have no chance of having a thyroid storm.

When you start with the medicine you will be going to docs appointments every month until you are stable with the drugs. Then it will be every 3 months just to check your blood. It's not that bad when the medicine kicks in and you will feels better.

Only .25% of population diagnosed - follow the link below for the national graves disease foundation. Click on the resources tab and you'll be able to find a support group. Hope this helps!

Damn, sorry to hear about your situation. I have a very good friend who has Grave's Disease and it went undiagnosed for a very long time which led to what you're experiencing now, but a little worse off. Presently, her organs have aged a great deal, her eyes are bulbous, and she almost lost her life (which ended up being a legitimate law-suit because she told the "doctor" many times that she thought it was a thyroid problem and he insisted that it wasn't and to leave the doctoring to a professional). She's okay now, but it took a long time to get there and to have everything regulated.

I wish you well with what you're going through and I also hope that you're educating yourself to the utmost degree in regards to this heart breaking disease.

i and a friend both had Graves disease - but except for feeling sick and tired our symptoms were very different.

she lost lots of weight.
I didn't; i had more and more trouble walking, lots of trouble on stairs, and started falling down, and found myself unable to get up without help. Also, i became unbelievably sensitive to heat and cold.

both of us had our thyroids removed by radiation, and now take levothroid (sp?)

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/h...

This website can answer a lot of questions that you may have.
Click on the appropriate tab and enter "graves disease".
I wish you well
Hope

Hey ...i dont know about this disease but i know how you feel on having one....i have a disease called Ulcerative Colitis and when i tell you that my body also gets out of control..let me tell you it does... i wish you the best of luck...always be strong and think about the people you love it helps out alot.....

You shouldn't still be experiencing these symptoms, because your doctor should have given you a beta blocker as a temporary emergency treatment, and anti-thyroid drugs for a longer term solution. If you doctor didn't prescribe these, you need to get a new doctor.
It is notoriously hard to get help for thyroid problems. You have to be persistent, and you might have to try a lot of doctors before you can get treatment. I had to go trough 6 doctors before I got any help.