I (23f) was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism just over a month ago now. I have been given propranolol to slow my heart rate and stop the anxiety and hand tremors and I have an appointment with the endocrinologist at the end of October.
HOWEVER, I am due to start my post graduate teacher training in just a couple of days and I beginning to worry that the treatment I will require will stop me from being able to complete the course. Does anyone have experience with hyperthyroidism and is it realistic of me to be able to be treated for it while I am studying and in placement full time?
The course is very time restrictive, so taking time out may cause me to fail or have to drop out.
Thanks for any help offered! I was given practically no information about this illness from my GP and have had to get most of it from online resources.
EDIT: I am a complete newbie to this! I've not really had health problems before, and when being diagnosed I wasn't told the results of my tests - just that I have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) and will be referred to an endocrinologist. That's literally all I know, I was in the pharmacy picking up propranolol less than 5 minutes after the appointment in which I was told I have Hyperthyroidism. So any basic info would really help me!
I was hyperthyroid for 25 years with Graves for the last 2. I’m a university professor and taught with my condition for most of the time, (2 short medical leaves over that time) with the exception of the last 6 months since my TT.
Have you been diagnosed with Graves? Did your MD run a TRAb test to confirm? If not, the endo will do these, as well as the full thyroid blood panel. It would be helpful if you could post your thyroid blood work when you get the complete set with the antibody tests if available so some of our forum experts can help you. You are legally entitled to your test results and should get a copy from your doctors office. Do you have a goiter or nodules? How severe are your symptoms and do they keep you from functioning now?
It is likely you will be started on anti thyroid therapy and this will help to control your symptoms. I was on Tapazole for two years and was able to teach and do my job until I became resistant to it and needed surgery 6 months ago.
Being hyperthyroid does have its challenges in a teaching environment. You will have to allow yourself down time to rest and recover after you have sessions with students, as interpersonal interaction is tiring even if enjoyable. You will need to take frequent breaks while reading and studying as well to recharge. Time management is critical for hyperthyroid patients.
I was borderline hyperthyroid during my PhD program - and knew nothing about my condition - as I was never told and only found out later after my pregnancy. However, I made it through my program OK - but had I known then what I know now, I would have handled certain things differently - like not relying on the extra energy I had from being hyper to get me through. I would have followed the advice I gave you above - and followed my condition more carefully. I attributed my symptoms to being “stressed” and never looked after them.
I basically ignored my disease throughout my academic career until my body finally said no more and I finally adopted a better way to manage things. I would not recommend that approach to anyone, by the way. It did not serve me well.
Only you know how you badly you feel and your decision is something you should discuss with your endocrinologist when you have your appointment with your well being in mind.
You will also have to see how you respond to the treatment you will likely receive and what your endo recommends. You may do very well once you are adequately controlled - and hopefully, complete your program with flying colours!
I wish you the very best of luck with your health and your program. I’ll be happy to answer any questions and others here will also post advice for you as well. Keep us posted on your progress.
Thank you for your reply. Apart from the symptoms I mentioned above that have now gone thanks to propranolol, I am currently struggling with fatigue (although I am sleeping quite well) constant nausea (though this seems to have calmed down since 2 days of no dairy or soy) no appetite and feeling muscle weakness and aches. I have also been having what feels like tension headaches that don't really go away with pain killers, has anyone else experienced these?
I really do feel as if I've been thrown in the deep end here with no information about what's going on, so I am really grateful for your help!
I think greygoose has given you some good advice - be sure to rule out Hashimoto’s. The symptoms you now describe in your latest post could be either from Graves or Hashimoto’s - without the antibody tests, it’s impossible to know - the endo will be able to run these to confirm which disease you have.
At least the palpitations and the shakiness have abated with the beta blocker. I have been dairy free for years - and at the time I started I never thought the dairy intolerance was from my thyroid disease - but now I do. I never had a problem with gluten - but many with both diseases on this forum see improvement when these are eliminated from the diet.
I too had terrible muscle and joint pain with my Graves - and put it down to stress and my back problems. I was amazed how these pains disappeared after my TT - and have ebbed and flowed since as I am adjusting to replacement therapy. But these are present with Hashimoto’s too, since I see many people on the forum with that disease who report those.
I would also say that with either disease, you will need to take good care and manage time well if you are in school by allowing for rest and recovery periods. Fatigue is common with both conditions. By the way, I know a lawyer with Hashi’s - once she got the proper treatment, she was right back in the courtroom.
There are many questions that can only be answered once you see the endo and have a full thyroid blood panel. In the meantime, get whatever results you already have from your GP so you can be more fully informed.
Keep us updated on your developments and I will watch for your posts here.
Hi, first job monday morning pop along to the doctors surgery and ask receptionist for the results and reference ranges of all the tests that have been done. We can then advise you better.
Most GP's are out of their depth with thyroids so you really need to read as much as you can. I'm underactive so I don't know much about whether it will impact on your studies.
Yes, you absolutely need to have your blood test results. Do not accept any antithyroid treatment until you've seen TRAB test results - or TSI - they are the antibodies that confirm Grave's.
You could also have Hashi's, which starts with a hyper-like period, but the levels go down by themselves, so anti-thyroid medication would not be the right treatment. And, the problem is that most doctors don't know the difference!
Thoroughly agree with all that has been said, and just to add that there is a dedicated website to Graves Disease, run by a lady named Elaine Moore who has the disease herself and found little help or understanding in the late 1990's. It is stateside so medical protocol is slightly different, but it covers all aspects of autoimmune thyroid disease and may help you widen your knowledge, should you be diagnosed with this disease
Do you know what is causing you to be hyperthyroid and what the medium/long term treatment plan is ?
I was in the middle of an MA when I was diagnosed (with Graves’) and although my course was part-time, I had other commitments which meant I was effectively working full time.
In the early days, it was pretty tough at times, but as my thyroid levels came down, it became much easier. However, everyone’s experience is a bit different.
Your biggest problem might be the teaching practice, as i assume it has to be done at a certain time and I imagine it could be quite physically demanding. When I was first diagnosed, my thyroid was swollen and my voice quite squeaky - I couldn’t have taken a lesson or given a talk, I could barely hold a phone conversation !
Firstly, I would talk to your college and find out what support they can provide - eg being allowed to deliver assignments a few days late if you are feeling particularly ill. I would then plan everything to allow yourself as much time as possible for each activity balanced with adequate rest, so that you only use whatever licence they are prepared to give you if you really need it. The reason for this is that if you start submitting everything behind schedule, you’ll always be running to catch up. You also want to avoid stress as much as possible - always easier said than done when you are hyper.
It won’t be easy, but you can feel pretty angry when you are hyper, so you could try channelling this into refusing to let your thyroid levels beat you !
Great suggestions! Actually , most universities have accessibility requirements for students who need medical accommodation . This should be investigated.
I would totally agree with Valerian’s suggestion of talking to your college at Uni to see what support is on offer if you decide not to defer for a year etc. There should be support but I’m well aware that it can be variable.
I just wanted to say ‘hang in there’ and things will get better with correct diagnosis, treatment and vitamins.
I started hyper symptoms when juggling writing my doctoral thesis, teaching and being a mum. With hindsight, I should have taken things more slowly and put my health first.
I would recommend you talk openly about your health concerns with your PGCE tutors and not try to overstretch yourself. Can you delay for a term?
Thank you for all your replies. I start Uni on thursday so will hopefully find out who my tutor is so I can discuss it with them. I think that because the course is so time restrictive, I would have to defer for the whole year, I just hope I don't end up having to pay the student loans for the whole term back. It's frustrating because if this had been found a few months earlier I would have been able to inform the Uni before all the funding and health checks had gone through 🙄 Oh well that's life I suppose haha.
You’ve already had lots of good advice from the others - I’m in remission from Graves - I was diagnosed in November 2013. I was taking 40mcg carbimazole a day - couldn’t take beta blockers due to asthma.
I was due to invigilate for exams at the beginning of the January, not like teaching I know - I taught primary for many years - but surprisingly stressful nonetheless.
I worried so much about it that in the end I dropped out because I was very anxious that I wouldn’t feel able to work when it came to the day and people were counting on me.
I had to get up and leave home very early in the morning - 07.00 and wasn’t home until 18.00 and I was already incredibly tired with the Graves - I was in my mid sixties which could partly have accounted for my tiredness.
I started my block and replace treatment at the end of February and started invigilating early April and was fine after that.
I’d say it depends on how tired you get doing your teaching practice, how far you have to travel and generally what other commitments you have.
Also, when I started on carbimazole my pharmacist came out specially to tell me to take vitamin C along with the carb so every day I took 1000mcg of slow release vitamin C with zinc and I felt pretty good on the whole. Rightly or wrongly I put that down to the vitamin C.
Hi Piggypotter95, I’m a teacher and I had hyperthyroidism (until I had a hemithyroidectomy). After treatment I noticed I needed to have a bit more down time in the weekends than I previously had, but that’s about all. I’m still as crazy as ever. I’m now two years post surgery and am finally understanding what term three teacher tired is! Enjoy the journey, and find your thyroid teaching buddies 😊
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