I have GD my bloods on my last test were showing I was now going under active .. so I ask is it unusall to still feel over active at times .

[wendypartridge]

I get so confused .. What is GD I thought it was an overactive thyroid .Am I missing some thing ....please can some one explain to me about GD X

[eeng]

Graves Disease is an overactive thyroid. I am guessing your doctor gave you carbimazole to treat it. This is the normal treatment but it's a bit like hitting your thyroid with a sledgehammer. What normally happens is that your thyroid responds by becoming underactive. Then you should be prescribed Thyroxine to put you back to normal. This is called 'block and replace' therapy. It sounds as though you have been given plenty of the 'block' but not enough 'replace'. Graves disease is, I believe, caused by your body making antibodies of some kind. The amount of antibodies it makes fluctuates so you can end up having hyper days and hypo days. You have my commiserations. The good news is that you may go into remission. Quite a few people find that after 6-12 months of treatment they can gradually stop taking all their medication and they settle down and are OK. If not then you are offered either surgery to remove the thyroid or Radioactive Iodine therapy to switch it off. Either way you will then be underactive for the rest of your life and (like many of us here) have to take thyroid hormones to replace what your body can't produce.

I hope this helps and that you get sorted out soon. Getting the balance of medication right can take a while (several months) - the 'replace' hormone takes 6-8 weeks to build up in your system. Your doctor should be on your case - if he isn't, badger him until he is!

[wendypartridge in reply to eeng]

thank you so much .. you have really helped me understand my illness .