Guest guest Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. do you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? Are my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have any history. Ifthey are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your help. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Jeff, As far as your children go, no ages mentioned, but I would make sure that when asked for a medical history for your children that they do include thyroid problems because heredity does play a role in thyroid disorders. My Mom and I both have thyroid problems she started out as hyperthyroid and then as she got older it switched to hypo. I suspect that my older brother may have hypo because it is difficult for him to lose weight and he just recently got diagnosed with hegh blood pressure and diabetes, both of which runs in our family. My older sister lucked out but then, I got the nasty diseases from both sides of my family. But, I am not a professional and my bro would not ask his doctor for more bloodwork than he has to have now. I haven't read anything about Grave's because my doctor hasn't said anything about that. However, he did mention hashi's but, he made it sound like it's just a temporary thing like an infection which is a little confusing to me because from all the research I have been doing it's permanent. On another note I spent 2 and 1/2 hours being infused today for a psoriasis treatment and having blood drawn periodically so they could measure the medication going through my system. And I got to have blood taken again tomorrow morning. Have a good night everyone, Robin - In The_Thyroid_Support_Group , " Jeff Wade " wrote: > > Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm > still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. do > you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? Are > my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid > problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have any > history. Ifthey are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or > should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your help. > Jeff > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 --- Hi, I used to belong to this group but recently rejoined so saw this post on Grave's disease. I have Grave's and even though I have had RAI, yes I still have Grave's but I am Hypothyroid if I don't take replacement thyroid hormone. You are both after RAI, you still have Graves and you are hypo, although that can and is treated with replacement hormone, in my case Synthroid. Since Grave's is autoimmune, your children are at risk as it is or can be hereditary. My Mom has autoimmune problems with her thyroid ( Hypothyroidism) and her Father had autoimmune problems. I was told that I was born with these antibodies and that they later on became out of control to cause an autoimmune disease. I would think that you could have a child tested at any time for antibodies to see whether there is something that may cause problems in the furture. You could consult with you doctor on that though. Best wishes. Vicky In The_Thyroid_Support_Group , " Jeff Wade " wrote: > > Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm > still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. do > you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? Are > my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid > problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have any > history. Ifthey are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or > should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your help. > Jeff > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 > > Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm > still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. do > you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? Are > my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid > problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have any > history. If they are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or > should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your help. > Jeff > Shomon has a great hypothyroid book out, and it has helped a lot of people..unfortunately her hyperthyroidism book is out in left field. No one on the Grave's boards agree with it. I have not read it but yeah I have seen some quotes and posts and I have to agree..she just does not have the same handle on hyper that she does on hypo.. mind you she has never been hyper.. Grave's is an autoimune disorder, RAI does not treat Grave's. It treats a hyperthyroid.. I have seen stories of those having partial thyroidectomy and becoming hyper again, one person who had a complete only to have a second thyroid fall into the space the first one was and become hyper again plus a few with the lower doses of RAI that have become hyper again..Now this is not common and the not the rule but it does happen. And a lot of people go on ATD's and never have another bout of hyper in thier lifes. With TSI the antibody that causes Graves, it can attack the eyes and also the shins..you will still have these antibodies..they can rest for a long time, they can never surface or you can end up with both..some people with Grave's get only one, the eyes, the shins or the hyper.. It is hard to do but you really need to seperate Grave's from hyper.. hyperthyroidism is a symptom of Grave's, but the thyroid is a victim not the cause of it. You can pass Grave's on to your children. It does not mean they will get it though. Usually they will not test unless they become symptomatic although some docs will run a TSH as part of a general physical for children who have a family history of thyroid disorder. Kats3boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Kats How does Graves affect the shins, this is very interesting to me, I've not heard it? Re: Graves Disease > >> >> Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm >> still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. do >> you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? Are >> my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid >> problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have > any >> history. If they are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or >> should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your > help. >> Jeff >> > Shomon has a great hypothyroid book out, and it has helped a lot > of people..unfortunately her hyperthyroidism book is out in left field. > No one on the Grave's boards agree with it. I have not read it but yeah > I have seen some quotes and posts and I have to agree..she just does > not have the same handle on hyper that she does on hypo.. mind you she > has never been hyper.. > > Grave's is an autoimune disorder, RAI does not treat Grave's. It treats > a hyperthyroid.. I have seen stories of those having partial > thyroidectomy and becoming hyper again, one person who had a complete > only to have a second thyroid fall into the space the first one was and > become hyper again plus a few with the lower doses of RAI that have > become hyper again..Now this is not common and the not the rule but it > does happen. And a lot of people go on ATD's and never have another > bout of hyper in thier lifes. > > With TSI the antibody that causes Graves, it can attack the eyes and > also the shins..you will still have these antibodies..they can rest for > a long time, they can never surface or you can end up with both..some > people with Grave's get only one, the eyes, the shins or the hyper.. > > It is hard to do but you really need to seperate Grave's from hyper.. > hyperthyroidism is a symptom of Grave's, but the thyroid is a victim > not the cause of it. > > You can pass Grave's on to your children. It does not mean they will > get it though. Usually they will not test unless they become > symptomatic although some docs will run a TSH as part of a general > physical for children who have a family history of thyroid disorder. > > Kats3boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 You still have the Grave's antibodies, they just don't have the thyroid tissue to mess with anymore.... It wouldn't hurt to have your kids checked... I wouldn't get totally paranoid about it, just make it part of an annual check up... testing TSH and antibody levels, if TSH is out of whack or the antibody levels are high.. then check closer... and watch for symptoms... Growth, learning, there has been a lot of discussion about many of the kids that are being put on ritalin for activity disorders (I say it that way cuz of how many teachers and schools are using it to dope up kids and make them easier to handle... I mean NO disrespect to those kids that really do need it to treat REAL ADD and ADHD) are really having problems with thyroid and adrenal hormones. Kids with a family history of thyroid disorders have a greater risk, as do kids that were fed soy based formulas when they were babies... I have a personal suspicion that those that drink a lot of soda with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) may be putting their thyroid health at risk... Lately I've been reading up a bit more on HFCS and the soda industry in general...I was a case a day (24 12-oz cans) or more a day drinker during the last 10 years before I went into thyroid storm. Considering all the other changes in my eating habits that occurred during those years (craving for cruciferous vegies, craving for toasted soy nuts, and others) I suspect that the increase in soda in take was another thing my body was doing to cancel out all the extra thyroid hormone as my thyroid went into over drive.... for those that haven't heard my story yet..... I have a TSH receptor defect, it's genetic... In my case, my thyroid, since it had no instruction via TSH, didn't know what it was supposed to do and decided it was gonna speed up..It's first speed up was at puberty and after that whenever I had a 'life-crises' it kicked up a few more notches until I was in full storm. In twenty some years no doc ever picked up on it... Topper () On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 02:42:36 -0000 " Jeff Wade " bennydabum2003@...> writes: > Just read Shomon's article on Graves and 10 Things to Know. I'm > still a bit (a lot really) confused. Once you're treated with R.I. > do > you still have Graves disease or are you now hypothyroid or both? > Are > my children at risk? My mother and her 3 sisters all had thyroid > problems. None on my father's side. Children's mother doesn't have > any > history. Ifthey are at risk, at what age should they be tested, or > should they wait until symptomatic? Thanks again for all of your > help. > Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 > > Kats > > How does Graves affect the shins, this is very interesting to me, I've not > heard it? > > > This is form the Merck Manual.. Infiltrative dermopathy, also called pretibial myxedema (a confusing term, because myxedema suggests hypothyroidism), is characterized by nonpitting infiltration by proteinaceous ground substance, usually in the pretibial area. It rarely occurs in the absence of Graves' ophthalmopathy. The lesion is often pruritic and erythematous in its early stages and subsequently becomes brawny. Infiltrative dermopathy may appear years before or after hyperthyroidism. http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content-nw/full/87/2/438/F1 This link should give you an idea of what it looks like. Kats3boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 I started off with Graves' Disease -- a very bad case by the time I was diagnosed. At that time, I chose to take PTU instead of having surgery or RAI. Over the next 20 years or so, there were times when my thyroid levels went back up again (the hyperthyroidism flared), and I took PTU off and on during that period. I have heard of cases where someone has had RAI and hyperthyroidism has recurred, if the gland is not put 100% out of commission. Also, if part of the gland is left after surgery, the patient might also become hyperthyroid. If a patient takes PTU (like I did), over time, the thyroid gland will "burn itself out," and you'll become hypothyroid (as I have). Even so, while the thyroid is adjusting, there might be times when levels will increase. Kind of like a roller coaster until everything eventually quiets down. Autoimmune antibodies to thyroid don't go away once they're present, but the level of antibodies doesn't really correlate with disease activity. And, someone could have the antibodies, but not develop thyroid disease, hypo or hyper. Autoimmune hyperthyroidism is thought to be more genetic than autoimmune hypothyroidism, but there's no guarantee that your children will develop auto. thyroid disease if you have it. Hope this helps! Maureen Pratt AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Well, Yahoo is again doing their thing today, as it won't let me sign in for the second day in about 3 wks or so. I'm so tired of this, free or not. I think it's a game. Re: Graves Disease > >> >> Kats >> >> How does Graves affect the shins, this is very interesting to me, > I've not >> heard it? >> >> >> > This is form the Merck Manual.. > > Infiltrative dermopathy, also called pretibial myxedema (a confusing > term, because myxedema suggests hypothyroidism), is characterized by > nonpitting infiltration by proteinaceous ground substance, usually in > the pretibial area. It rarely occurs in the absence of Graves' > ophthalmopathy. The lesion is often pruritic and erythematous in its > early stages and subsequently becomes brawny. Infiltrative dermopathy > may appear years before or after hyperthyroidism. > > http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content-nw/full/87/2/438/F1 > > This link should give you an idea of what it looks like. > > Kats3boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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