Carbimazole blood test advise pretty please!

[nooneimportant]

Ok, I reduced my Carbimazole slowly over a month I think from 5mg daily to 2.5mg daily because TSH was recovering but my T4 was supressed to the bottom of the range which made me feel like sh!te, and although I had a good week I feel a bit pants atm BUT my high T4 symptoms are so damn similar to the low T4 symptoms I can't really tell which way I've gone - hang in there with me please - my son was convinced - upon visiting - that I'm too low and I've convinced myself I'm high as a kite!

So I'm going away on a motorcycle holiday on Saturday night/Sunday morning. My Endo won't test my blood for a couple of months (long story won't go there!) So I ordered a finger prick test which only arrived late yesterday. I'm not concerned about pain etc but I can't jab myself, I just can't, my body won't let me 😂 I wanted to know where my T4 is at even if it was whilst away in Germany via email if I've rocketed because I reduced my meds .... I'll take more meds with me to start levelling out if needed.

The only way I can get someone to stab me (live alone, nobody here, everyone I know lives an hour away - this is amazing, but has it's drawbacks at times like this) is Saturday potentially mid morning - what I am asking is will this time of day do to give me an idea of where I am sat on the seesaw of T4? the results will come through via email but .... will it be anywhere near accurate??

Apologies for the round the houses explanation.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

We always advise don’t test at end of week or weekend …..it would sit in post until Monday or Tuesday morning

Ideally

Test Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday morning

If you find it impossible to do DIY finger prick test both Medichecks and Blue Horizon offer local to you private blood draw for an extra fee

[nooneimportant in reply to SlowDragon]

I’ll just have suffer a bit whilst away then because can’t test abroad and post back - thank you though

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

Tracking your blood tests it does seem that this first phase, and possibly only phase of Graves is coming to an end :

As suggested previously maybe you could monitor on physical symptoms such as blood pressure, pulse and body temperature since blood tests tend to run behind clinical symptoms by a couple of weeks anyway :

The fact that you are going away is a positive step forward and not something you would have done a year ago and think that given enough time your T4 will slowly come back up the range. and just stay put with the AT regime you currently have in place.

Enjoy your holiday :

[nooneimportant in reply to pennyannie]

Thank you Pennyannie

I'm doubtful, not in others thoughts but I think it's rocketing again and honestly I could just cry - but then I thought that before and it had come down .... but ....

unfortunately none of my physical symptoms appear to correlate well with Hyper body temp is always hot in the morning (I appear to cocoon myself at night regardless of weather) then drops significantly until I exercise (always has tbh) blood pressure and pulse hasn't ever massively increased I even went back over years and years of heart rate recently to see if there was anything significant that could have alerted me to Graves and it's differed by about ten - fifteenth beats max and not just at diagnosis 🤨

I've got myself into a right tizz as to whether I cancel the holiday because I feel rubbish and not sure I can ride that long but not sure if mind is racing now because I have no idea where my results are at and I think I've been round that circle about a million times, but I need to break, I can't let people down, I want to go, I feel like rubbish and off we go again - blub. I don't have palps or tremors but I didn't have much of that before, hair is falling out but it has at both ends, still a bit constipated but have been at both ends, suffer with general anxiety anyway so scrap that, headaches both ends, hand aches both ends, feet, leg, hip and shoulder aches both ends, tingling hands, can't damn well remember, fatigue both ends, sore tongue, cold skin to touch but not hands and no rage which I had at high (according to my son), but if I get mad at anything i also panic and think it's because I'm high again 😂 - that's mainly recently though ..... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Maybe I should clearly through lifelong paranoia in there as well??? 🥴 I feel I know my body generally but this one is stumping me!

[pennyannie in reply to nooneimportant]

I recognise this over thinking - and Graves rage when antibodies are high - well documented -

it's a push you / pull you -

as your brain and body are not at one and causing conflict and anguish -

and doing nothing doesn't help - as you then end up with the ' what if's ' ??

Don't take on more than you would normally do - if you've done it before and it was part of your normal routine - just try - and if you need to turn back - so be it.

[nooneimportant in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks pennyannie x

[Fruitandnutcase]

My trick for the home fingerprick test is to put the lancet in place, shut my eyes grit my teeth tight and press. Sounds weird but that works for me. It’s Friday so too late for trying that now though.

If it’s getting the blood into the tube then I can’t suggest anything that would help you there.

Just make sure you’ve got decent travel insurance in case by any chance you feel awful.

Will you be a passenger on someone else’s bike or are you the driver?

[nooneimportant in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

That’s a plan I might give it a go when I’m back 🙂

I think my pillion days are over now I ride my own 😂 I think I’m panicking because of symptoms and I’ve been so busy at work etc and tbf I won’t most of life so I should just probably go with it and see how I get on 🙃

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to nooneimportant]

Go for it, take it easy and enjoy yourself and have a brilliant time. Let us all know how it goes. Drive carefully.