Re: New to all this - , Thyroid Storm

[Guest guest]

Hi , Welcome!

Thyroid Storm is nothing to play with... I went through it myself for over a year... The first doc that I went to ignored it and sent me home... by the time I went in for another problem, 10 months later, my resting heart rate was over 160. I dropped tons of weight FAST. Shaking, nerves, most of the symptoms you've listed, plus more. I got to the point where I couldn't sleep.. Because I had to stay up to eat.. I ate constantly and kept losing weight. I was a body builder when I stormed.. I didn't have any fat to lose. My body was eating itself to stay alive.

They are three methods of treatment for hyperthyroidism. Once they have determined the cause. But when your metabolic rate is as high as your's, you're down to only one option. RAI. That is why I am constantly urging folks to get proper testing NOW and not wait. The sooner that you find out what is the cause, the more treatment options are available.

The problem with your rate that high is that first, you don't have time to go through the medication route to slow and control your thyroid. Too much damage is being done to your body right now to take the time to go the slow route of medication. Surgery, here the problem is that your metabolic rate is very elevated right now. The machines needed to keep your oxygen levels up and your blood and everything moving, the anesthetics, all of that is geared toward a 'normal' body.. your's is already nearly double speed. They can't keep you alive on the operating table to be able to do the surgery.

Do some reading on RAI (there should be tons of stuff via Google)... then start asking questions of us here, I had my RAI about 14 years ago.. We have a few others here that have been through it as well.....

We'll happily answer questions... The longer you wait, they greater the stress on your body, the longer it takes to recover... They should be doing some tests, first, to determine the reason for the hyper state. Graves, a severe upswing of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Cancer, or, as in my case, genetic defect.

With wee ones in your life... You will have to make some arrangements to not be near them for about a week after you have been given the RAI.. I dont' say that to scare you.. but as you get things pulled together this will be something very important that you will have to plan for. You can't be near any adults for 3 days and no young children/infants for a week...

Which ever route it turns out that you are able to take.. you should go into this with the idea that you'll be on some level of thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of your life. Again. I'm not trying to scare you.. but there are too many cases of doc's saying that this is gonna be a breeze, we'll just take care of the extra production and get you back to normal and every thing is gonna be great. The science of RAI therapy, or surgery, for that matter, is not that exact.....

We're here for you.. to answer questions, to toss suggestions and relate experiences.... or just to talk to as your work through your decision.

When you go in for testing... there are several tests that you should be getting. TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 (the top three tests for checking thyroid function - AND VERY important when fine tuning replacement hormone meds), Thyroid anitbodies, and RAI uptake/scan. The later will give them a 'picture' of your thyroid and more insight as to what is causing the hyper active state. One question that would be good to ask, right up front, is the type of medication your doc uses to treat hypothyroid, for later, should you swing the other way...... Many, many of us are strong believers that Natural Thyroid Hormone (Most popular Brand name: Armour) is the best route to go. It contains T4, the storage hormone, T3, the hormone that most of your body organs and tissue use, T2, helps your metabolism, T1, not sure what it's function is.. but if our bodies make it, we must need it. And last, but not least, Calcitonin, Which helps to pull the calcium out of your blood and put it into your bones, reducing your risk for Osteoporosis.... Most doctors, however, only prescribe a synthetic hormone that only contains T4, most common brand is Synthroid. Since you've been hyper for a while, it would also be a very, very good idea to have your adrenal glands checked. For many of us with thyroid disorders, the adrenals take a real beating and can cause a myriad of symptoms in addition to those from the thyroid being out of whack.

I know this is a lot to absorb right off the bat... so I'm gonna stop now.. so that you can absorb... do some more reading... and go from there.

We're here for you, welcome to our family.

Topper ()

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:32:27 -0500 " Poole" writes:

My son had an ear infection this week and his pediatrician told me I looked hyperthyroid to him and to see my GP. Thinking that he was overeacting, I kind ignored it. I looked it up online and read it to my husband. He asked if it was my biography. I figured I would wait till my appt in April no big deal since this has been going on about a year and was worse last spring(heart racing in the 160's for about a month).

I called my Mom and she freaked telling me I would have a stroke because she knew of someone who had. So, I decide I would call and make a quicker appt. I got in the next day and went this morning

The doctor seemed very concerned. My resting heart rate is 130 and he says my eyes are bugging out. My vision has changed and I have been thinking about getting new glasses it has gotten so bad. They pulled blood and want me at an endicrinologist first of next week. I was given a beta blocker that really has helped. The doc said I was very ill when I kept telling him that wasn't sick. I never get sick. I never see the doctor for anything.

I went through some extreme stress last March and I dropped 20lbs in 3 weeks. I was only 117 so that was quite a drop(I am 5ft 1) I have kinda enjoyed being able to eat what I want and stay very thin. I kept thinking that when I quit being stressed out, my shaking would stop. It has only gotten worse. My right side of the thyroid is swollen and the doctor said it displaces my trachea when I swallow. I am always hot and my poor husand thinks we live in Alaska in the house.

I was told that the treatment would likely be radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid. I am not really thrilled with that idea. I would prefer to see if this will correct itself, since it was brought on by stress. I am 34 and have twin 4 year olds. The NP said that the doc was saying I was having a Thyroid storm.

Are there many other alternate therapies?? I am pretty in the dark about everything.

[Guest guest]

End of March, I had a traumatic life event, that really has come to resolution, but that is when all this started. I am almost certain that is what has thrown me into this ordeal. I have never been stressed like this. The only thing that could have been worse would be, a death of one of my kids(God forbid! I hate even saying that!)

Up until the last few months, I really thought it was plain and simple stress. Psychological stuff. Although, I really was ok, at least in my mind! In April, I would wake up almost unable to breathe and my heart pounding so hard I truly was amazed I wasn't in a heart attack. I have kept waiting for this to pass, but in all honesty, the shaking was becoming very embarrassing.

My kids pediatrician is the best I have seen. He is really a top doctor. I don't say that very often. I have seen some less than par ones in my lifetime. The GP I was with for 17 years became the laser and vein guy, so I have been without a GP for years. I haven't seen a doctor in forever, I am really never sick. I had an appt with this GP for April, as a new patient visit. It was really the pediatrician and my Mom that convinced me to go

Wow, I can't believe this is such a big thing. It is hard to wrap my mind around the severity of it all. I don't know what tests they ran today, as it wasn't a big thing in my mind. It seemed to be in the staff's mind. They were freaking alot worse than me. Keep the info coming, it is very helpful

Re: New to all this - , Thyroid Storm

Hi , Welcome!

Thyroid Storm is nothing to play with... I went through it myself for over a year... The first doc that I went to ignored it and sent me home... by the time I went in for another problem, 10 months later, my resting heart rate was over 160. I dropped tons of weight FAST. Shaking, nerves, most of the symptoms you've listed, plus more. I got to the point where I couldn't sleep.. Because I had to stay up to eat.. I ate constantly and kept losing weight. I was a body builder when I stormed.. I didn't have any fat to lose. My body was eating itself to stay alive.

[Guest guest]

It is a big deal... A traumatic event, accident.. a myriad of things can make up the final straw that can push a thyroid to storm.. so many of us just think it will pass.. I was low grade hyper for about 20 years and didn't even know it.... I went for nearly 10 years without a period.. and flat out didn't get sick, no colds, no flu... nothing... the only reason I saw a doc was for work.... or if I had an accident.. so when I did go in and the doc blew me off... I just went away... that was a BIG mistake. If I'd pursued my symptoms and kept seeing docs... they may have found out what was wrong before I got so sick.

Right now, determining what caused you to storm is the priority, then you can decide how to treat. This isn't a nice thing to say.. but way too many docs don't have a clue when it comes to thyroid treatment... We have one doc that is a member here, but he's not on much... the rest of us have just learned trough experience and research.... We pool all of that here and help each other to figure out that best route to go for each of us.. there is no one treatment regime that fits everyone.. but a very important key is to figure out what is up and start working toward whatever you need to do to care for yourself BEFORE your body gets all messed up.

Getting your hormones balanced as quickly as possible will help a lot to reduce damage and stress to your body, your emotions and YOU.. and the sooner that you make the switch over from the eating you do while hyper .... to much much fewer calories as you slow down, the less weight you will gain. I wasn't helped with that after my RAI.. they just kept telling me no to worry about it, that once my meds were correct the weight would just fall off.... NOT true...

You've got a lot to learn.. and a couple of hundred folks to help.. even if only to listen and understand!

Give your clinic a call in the morning and as for copies of the lab results... that way you'll be able to share it with us... we can help you to understand what the numbers mean, questions to ask your doc... and give you a bit of a heads up on some of the stuff that you'll be told, and asked, so that you understand more of what's going on.... the more that you understand as they talk with you, the easier this will all be....

Invite your hubby to read and learn with you... so that he'll be aware of some of the roller coster you're going to be riding for a while.. it's gonna make everything a lot less stressful for both of you... If he'd like to join, as a family member, to learn more.. he's more than welcome! He'll most likely have questions as well... and you can contact me off list, too... if you're a bit shy, at first, to ask on the group.

Topper ()

Proud Group Co-Owner

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 18:52:05 -0500 " Poole" writes:

End of March, I had a traumatic life event, that really has come to resolution, but that is when all this started. I am almost certain that is what has thrown me into this ordeal. I have never been stressed like this. The only thing that could have been worse would be, a death of one of my kids(God forbid! I hate even saying that!)

Up until the last few months, I really thought it was plain and simple stress. Psychological stuff. Although, I really was ok, at least in my mind! In April, I would wake up almost unable to breathe and my heart pounding so hard I truly was amazed I wasn't in a heart attack. I have kept waiting for this to pass, but in all honesty, the shaking was becoming very embarrassing.

My kids pediatrician is the best I have seen. He is really a top doctor. I don't say that very often. I have seen some less than par ones in my lifetime. The GP I was with for 17 years became the laser and vein guy, so I have been without a GP for years. I haven't seen a doctor in forever, I am really never sick. I had an appt with this GP for April, as a new patient visit. It was really the pediatrician and my Mom that convinced me to go

Wow, I can't believe this is such a big thing. It is hard to wrap my mind around the severity of it all. I don't know what tests they ran today, as it wasn't a big thing in my mind. It seemed to be in the staff's mind. They were freaking alot worse than me. Keep the info coming, it is very helpful