I got an extremely overactive thyroid. I got diagnosed with Grave disease (Hyperthyroidism) since I was 14 and now I am already 18. But I got the symptoms since I was young before I got diagnosed. I did not loss weight because of hyperthyroidism, I even gain weight sometimes. I crave for food and feel hungry all the time. I eat a lot but with high metabolism in hyperthyroidism, it helps me to burn fat. so the amount of food I digest and the fat it burns are equal. I don't have a grave eyes. My neck are not obvious. However, I got an increasing rate of heart beats, my heart beats up to 166 bpm. After taking Carbimazole (antithyroid), I gained 22 kg in a month (30 days). I feel ugly and fat, I don't feel like going out anymore. My hyperthyroid is really hyper that I haven't sleep for 3 days. I hardly sleep yet I can sleep more that 16 hours a day. I did not feel angry easily, I keep laughing for non stop every time I get nervous especially during presentation or public speaking. I don't know why I wish I died sometimes, I want to suicide. I'm weird with hyperthyroidism, I'm hyperactive all the time, I keep sweating and my face is always red. In school, people insulted me and say that I am disgusting and fat. They think that I got cancer because my hair fall easily and there's hole on my head. I used to have a lot of male admirers, and now I do not have any. One of them even insulted me that I'm a fat chick and mock at me. I used to be good-looking and confident and now I just don't feel like looking into the mirror anymore. It's been a long time that I did not wake up and feel beautiful. I don't know about myself anymore!
T4 >155
T3 > 30.8
TSH 0.001
Taking 30mg of Carbimazole a day and 120mg of Propranalol
i did the blood test on 21/6/13. And I received it on 22/6/2013, that is my latest report
Actually, my reading was
TSH 0.001 (Abnormal)
T4 24.6 (Normal)
T3 9.3 (Normal)
on 15/6/2012
Therefore, my doctor prepared me to go for radioiodine. As we know, before radioiodine, we have to stop our medicine for a week. After 7 days, I went to the hospital. At first, they put me on consultation. After consultation, the doctor count my heart rate randomly and my heart rate was 140 bpm with Propranalol. He said, I couldn't do the radiation because my heart rate will increase after the radiation, he worries that my heart couldn't take it. So now he put me on 30mg of carbimazole and 120mg of propranalol
The best thing to do now is to rest, because it will help your heart - the Propranolol will probably make you very tired anyway, so you will want to rest. Has he told you how long you will have to wait? will he look at you again in about a month?
Where do you live, Elina, (not exactly, but roughly)? You seem young for RAI, but maybe I am a bit old-fashioned now.
I hope your heart will calm down with the dose you are on, and you feel a little bit better soon.
Surely you are under the continuing care of an endocrinologist for your hyperthyroidism? It is impossible to believe that you are not, as your GP should have referred you, but it does seem from the your blood test results that your hyperthyroidism is not yet under control and endo and doctor need to know how you are. Please do not continue with the state of health that you describe, there is help available and you are entitled to it.
If you know little about your condition and its treatment then you might buy Dr A Toft's "Understanding thyroid disorders" only £5 from Amazon/chemists, BMA publication plus Dr Toft is past president of the British Thyroid Association.
Also the main site has more extensive info on hyperthyroidism and treatments.
Thanks for the information. Actually, I got a history with bad condition of hyperthyroidism. I went for 4 endocrinologist, none of them willing to read old reports. My condition is very special. My thyroid gland is very active and I'm sensitive to Carbimazole. They thought they understand, but actually they don't. they normally will just ask me for the latest one.
Hello Elina, I am so sorry you feel so bad, I know that Graves' can change your appearance terribly. I was diagnosed with Graves' when I was 13 and they put me on Carbimazole. I had lost a lot of weight but as soon as I went on Carbimazole I put loads of weight on. When they stopped the Carbimazole I started to lose again.
After a few months on Carbimazole some of my friends started calling me 'the Robin' Because they said I looked like a robin with skinny little stick legs and a round body! People used to be amazed how much I was eating, I could not stop. Let me tell you, though, anybody who is so shallow that they can turn against you after admiring you, is not worth knowing. When I got better I went to all my faithless friends and told them how I felt that they did not stand by me when I needed them.
You try to hide it but inside you just want to run away and cry. I know that. But you must remember, that what you see now is not you, it is a disease. And it is a disease which makes it harder for you to fight for yourself.
I can give you my own experience, that after a few years the consultant decided it was best to remove most of my thyroid, and after that life began to be much better, so you must speak to your doctor who is treating you and tell him how you feel. I say this because your rapid heartbeat and the sweating means that your Graves' is not being controlled properly. That affects your mind very much, I too had suicidal thoughts when I was very bad. I remember one lovely evening with my only faithful friend, I had gone to her house and we were singing and happy, and someone said something funny, and I could not stop laughing, and after a while I was laughing and crying too. Her father suddenly said to me 'It was not THAT funny'. I was so upset I just ran home, I was so emotional all the time, and like you wished I could be just gone, not feeling bad any more. I felt as if I was out of control. All that was many years ago and I am not young any more but I remember so well how I felt. I know now that it was all caused by the illness, I thought then nothing would ever change, that I would always be this horrible mess of a person, but please never give up, there is hope. You will feel better, and life can be good.
You do not mention your family, are you struggling to get on with them, or are they supportive? It is important to remember that your moods and behaviour now are being controlled by your illness and that it is not you. Most of all, though, please don't hate yourself for how you are, you did not ask for it and it will get better, with the right treatment. I can tell you that with confidence because I was very ill myself, I can understand your feelings and your self-loathing because I was like that, too. It can help you to find out all you can about Graves' and this site can help you:
Rod asked you about your results. were they taken when you were on carbimazole or before? If they are while you are on carbimazole, then you really need to see whoever is treating you.
In the meantime, please come back and keep talking about how you feel, we are here to listen and to support you.
Omg! you know my feeling! And thanks for sharing your story. By the time when you are on Carbimazole, did you tell your friends that you got hyperthyroidism?
I did tell them all. I think it is a good thing to tell people you trust because those who care enough can help you to cope. When you are ill, how much you need a good friend! I have always tried to be very open about my condition and it has helped me and it has also helped other people to be able to understand.
But young people can be very cruel, and when you feel so bad about yourself, it is best to stay away from the ones who will make you feel worse. I know it seems to take a long time, but when you have been successfully treated and the worst is over (you probably will still have to take some tablets, but you will never feel so miserable and self-hating as you do now) then you can look forward to a life with good friends and happiness.
I do not forget the bad times when I was so ill, but I remember just so that I can understand how someone like you feels now. When we have suffered, we have a gift of knowing how it feels. We can help others to go through the bad times and have hope.
Most important of all, do not be feeling ashamed because you are ill. Do not blame yourself or spend your time trying to find a reason, because there is none. We live in a world where many people are sick, in many different ways. Yours is Graves'. Someone else has something they maybe don't know about yet. You are going to get better, and that is what really matters.
Elina, I can imagine how awful you feel, I have Graves too, I was diagnosed in November last year and was feeling very ill back then, I had so many of the symptoms you have. I felt terribly hopeless and as if I was really weird and hyper, a bit like you do. I started on Carbimazole and have also been taking levothyrine since February. I feel a lot better now, I don't feel depressed and unhappy any more and I dont worry all the time like I did when I was really hyper.
Have you been to hospital to see an endocrinologist recently? It sounds like you need to go back to your doctor or hospital again and tell them how bad you feel. Once you get sorted out you will feel better.
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