Over active thyroid and grave disease seeking advice & feedback.

[Huanghil]

Hi everyone, i'm new to this site. I'm 37 years old female and was diagnosed with grave disease 5 months ago and have been on Carbimozole (now 10mg a day), i have not been given much information on grave disease and is seeking advice or any thing that i should watch out for? I've found that I've been getting lota of muscle cramps and lots of hair falling out, is this normal? Are there any food i should avoid? Thanks in advance.

[greygoose]

How were you diagnosed? Did you have an antibody test?

[Huanghil in reply to greygoose]

Hi greygoose, yes, blood test by my gp.

[greygoose in reply to Huanghil]

OK I'm afraid I can't give you any advice on Grave's, I don't know anything about it. Hopefully, some Grave's sufferers will start responding soon.

Although, I have to say I didn't think GPs could test for Grave's antibodies. I thought it had to be an endo.

[Valarian in reply to greygoose]

Yeah, they usually test at the first endo appointment, along with FT3 if this hasn’t been ordered automatically by the lab as the result of a low TSH.

[Valarian]

Hi Huanghil, are you in The UK ?

In the UK, being hyper is usually diagnosed initially via a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) which is below range …. Because you have excess thyroid hormone in your system, your body doesn’t make much/any TSH, which would normally tell the thyroid to produce even more hormone. In most cases, if TSH is below range, the lab will automatically test at least one thyroid hormone, FT4, and sometimes FT3 as well, , so your GP would know that one or both of these was over range.

The usual thing then in the UK would be for you to be referred to an endocrinologist, and possibly be prescribed beta blockers (if your heart rate is fast and/or erratic, or in the case of some symptoms such as tremors in your hands) and a fairly low dose of Carbimazole (10mg is pretty low), while you wait for your appointment. The endocrinologist usually orders antibody tests and FT3 if this hasn’t been tested previously, and will be able to confirm Graves (the most common cause), or something else. At this point, your Carbimazole dose may be increased – perhaps doubled, or even trebled, and you will be asked to return for regular blood tests and endo appointments. You can read more about treatment options here btf-thyroid.org/information...

Losing hair is a fairly common symptom – I saw a lot more in my hairbrush and in the shower, but it didn’t get to the stage of bald patches on my head (my legs didn’t need waxing all summer !). I would say weak muscles are more common than leg cramps – eg sitting in the floor for some reason, and being unable to get up – but I did have some leg cramps from calcium channel blockers, prescribed instead of beta blockers for some of the same symptoms.

I

[Huanghil in reply to Valarian]

Hello Valarian,

Thank you for your detailed explaination

Yes i have been to GP and endocrinologist, i now have monthly blood test to ensure my dose is correct.

[ilenuca]

Dont worry about the hair. It will grow again

[Huanghil in reply to ilenuca]

Thanks Ilenuca, that's good to know!

[Huanghil in reply to ilenuca]

Thanks Ilenuca, that's good to know!