Re: Elaine.eye disease..scared!

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/28/00 11:33:10 AM Central Daylight Time,

mhorten@... writes:

<< Subj: RE: went to doctor..eye disease..scared!

Date: 9/28/00 11:33:10 AM Central Daylight Time

From: mhorten@... (Horten, Mona)

Reply-to: hyperthyroidismegroups

hyperthyroidismegroups ('hyperthyroidismegroups')

Kim, please don't panic about the eyes. I did when I was first diagnosed.

Thought I would go blind....that's only in the most severe cases and when

left untreated. Elaine can give you more info. If your eyes are dry use a

preservative free eye drop called REFRESH. You can use as much as you want

and it makes the eyes feel good. Most often if your thyroid levels are

stabilized your eyes will too. Only a small percentage of people have

serious problems. Take care, Mona

>>

Elaine, How can I make the eye symptoms not get worse? The eye doctor said

even if Grave's or thyroid is gone I may still have eye part. Do people with

this get scerlerderma or any other horrible things? Can the autoimmune we

have attack lungs etc or only thyroid and eyes? thanks for the help ) Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Kim,

There is no association between TED and scleroderma. Graves' disease

primarily affects the thyroid and it may also affect the eyes and skin (in a

condition known as pretibial myxedema which we've discussed on the board this

week).

Like your doctor told you, the eye disease can be totally independent of the

thyroid disorder and does tend to run its own course. There is an association

between high titers of stimulating TSH receptor antibodies and TED but many

patients with high antibodies never go on to develop eye disease.

The best thing you can do, as others have mentioned, is to relax. The drops

REFRESH that someone, I think Mona, mentioned can help with your symptoms.

You also want to protect your eyes from wind, sun, and elements that can add

to the dryness.

There are two types of eye disease, a congestive infiltration which is more

severe and part of the autoimmune process. Here your eyes usually bulge which

is called proptosis or exophthalmos. With your reading of 15, you don't seem

to have signs of this.

The other type of TED is caused by excess thyroid hormone, and causes

symptoms of spastic twitching, staring, dryness, grittiness, etc. These

symptoms resolve as your thyroid hormone levels go down. Once your Tapazole

kicks in, both your thyroid and eye symptoms should improve.

As for the cabbage soup, I've never tried it so can't recommend any recipes.

I'd probably opt for the one with the most ingredients I like.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/28/00 9:47:32 PM Central Daylight Time,

daisyelaine@... writes:

<< o the dryness.

There are two types of eye disease, a congestive infiltration which is more

severe and part of the autoimmune process. Here your eyes usually bulge

which

is called proptosis or exophthalmos. With your reading of 15, you don't seem

to have signs of this.

The other type of TED is caused by excess thyroid hormone, and causes

symptoms of spastic twitching, staring, dryness, grittiness, etc. These

symptoms resolve as your thyroid hormone levels go down. Once your Tapazole

kicks in, both your thyroid and eye symptoms should improve. >>

Elaine, thanks for the info. I have no symptoms. They did 2 1/2 hours of

tests. The main doctor pulled my eyelashes up a little and said I had subtle

signs that the white is showing a little above my iris. So is that the

bulging one and it's just not bad yet? thanks Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim, it's hard to say, although it does sound more like the bulging type than

the other. It's probably something you want to keep on top of but nothing to

worry about. It's good though that you have these baseline levels so if there

are changes later your doc has something to compare. It's good to see that

you're starting to sound more positive about all this. Knowledge really is

empowering.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/28/00 10:20:28 PM Central Daylight Time,

daisyelaine@... writes:

<< Subj: Re: Elaine.eye disease..scared!

Date: 9/28/00 10:20:28 PM Central Daylight Time

From: daisyelaine@...

Reply-to: hyperthyroidismegroups

hyperthyroidismegroups

Kim, it's hard to say, although it does sound more like the bulging type

than

the other. It's probably something you want to keep on top of but nothing to

worry about. It's good though that you have these baseline levels so if

there

are changes later your doc has something to compare. It's good to see that

you're starting to sound more positive about all this. Knowledge really is

empowering.

>>

Elaine, if it is the bulging type can it go away when the thyroid disease

goes away? Does it always get worse or sometimes doesn't? What do you think

the chances are of my thyroid going into remmision since I am moderate to

severe? Tthanks so much for your help. You are so smart. What is the name

of your book? Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim,

It's impossible to say how your eye condition will progress, but since only

5% of Graves' patients get severe TED and nearly all of us have the changes

seen on your eye exam, your chances of not having further problems are good.

More than 90% of patients on ATD's eventually go into remission although the

amount of time it takes varies. Soon your thyroid hormone levels will be

normal and then the dosage of your medicine will be adjusted. You will

probably have several other medication adjustments as your disease changes

course. You just have to take it one step at a time.

My book is called Living with Graves' Disease, Allopathic and Alternative

Suggestions for Healing. It's about 450 pages long and covers everything

you'd ever want to know about thyroid function and autoimmune thyroid

disease. It's being published by McFarland & Company and will be out early

next year.

[Guest guest]

Elaine, do you suggest holistic, naturopathic, or naturopathy doctors? I'm

taking the Tapozole as you know. My Endo. doctor is against herbs and

vitamins. My MD says they are fine but he is not knowledgeable about them.

I cured asthma with MSM. I really believe in them but would like your

opinion on which doctor and which treatments. I'm taking copper like

said. I can't wait for your book. I pray I'll be in remmision by then but

want to read it. Do you think magnet therepy helps? thanks Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Kim,

This is just my opinion but I think you should first focus on getting your

levels into the normal range. Then see how things go with the ATD's and how

happy you are being on them. In the meantime, read the advice of people

who've went the natural route.

Ant Joan and Mike P on this board both successfully adopted a natural healing

approach once they had their symptoms in control with ATD's. But just because

an approach is natural doesn't mean it's easy. It takes a lot of discipline

to follow a restricted diet, take supplements on a regular basis and follow a

stress reduction method. If you found B's protocol in the archives,

you'll see that for a short time she was taking supplements on practically an

hourly basis and eating different meals than the rest of her family.

Also, with an exclusively alternative approach you'd always have to be on the

alert for hyper symptoms. This could add to your worry. You have to think

things over and decide how a rigid routine would fit into your lifestyle.

Only you can realistically assess the situation.

Even if you stay on ATD's you could still see a naturopath who would work in

conjunction with your doctor, integrating a game plan. If you're in a large

city, there are integrative healing centers where medical docs incorporate

alternative medicine into their protocols.

Or you could do what many people do and in your free time read all you can

and learn all you can and incorporate holistic healing techniques, such as

yoga and acupuncture, into your routine. This is an excellent time for you to

incorporate lots of good habits into your lifestyle. Your daughter can only

benefit from all this good nutrition.

There's a lot to learn and you're probably being overloaded right now so ease

into this slowly. You didn't develop Graves' overnight even though it might

have seemed that way at first. And you can't cure it overnight.

I think that working on correcting the known nutrient deficiencies seen in

Graves' and finding a stress reduction technique that works for you are goals

enough for right now.