# New to board, was diagnosed with Graves



## drk421 (Jul 12, 2013)

Hey all,
I'm new to this board.

I thought I'd share my experience with Graves. (I'm 35 yr male)

Was diagnosed in 2007, the trigger was the stress from my job. At the time I wasn't execersizing or eating right. No veggies, all meat and bread, candy. All the nasty stuff.
Anyway, I was diagnosed with Graves and the doctor at the time put me on methimazole, which I quickly broke out in a rash, and it was pretty bad. I also was allergic to the other one, forgot the name.

Being allergic to both medications the doctor only gave me one choice, surgery or radioactive iodine. I really didn't want to do either, so I made a quick lifestyle change, ate nothing but veggies and fish (salmon, tuna, sardines), and went to the gym every other day.

After about a month, my thyroid levels started to drop (thank god). So I figured I'd had it licked.
However, about a year later, I got lazy and went back to my old habbits, and what do you know, thyroid levels started going up again.

This time, I went to a different doctor, one that was recommend for trying lifestyle changes instead vs proven medications that have side effects.
She (new doctor), recommend tons of veggies, vitamin d (supplements), minimum 6 hours a week of exercise.

For the most part, I've been doing this ever since, and its been working, _IF_ I can still keep my stress levels down.

I'm currently off the Atenolol, but get my TH levels checked every 6-8 months.

I've found that booze, sugar, caffeine, greasy meat (beef), and refined foods are extremely bad for anyone with hyperthyroidism.

Cruciferous vegetables are your friend, notably the ones that have lots of goitrogens.


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## drk421 (Jul 12, 2013)

Curious to know about what the typical pulse rates are for most people with Graves.

Mine was about 120 resting, peaked at 140 when it was really bad.

I'm back down to 60-80 resting for now.


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

Its interesting as I've read conflicting articles on goitregenic foods. Some say avoid em and some say eat them. I would have loved to try a more holistic approach, but my levels were so bad that I was almost sent directly to the ER for surgery. I went with the RAI, which after a 2nd dose seems to be holding.

I am interested in your labs (with ranges) during your unhealthy diet and your new labs with your current diet, as well as what your diet consists of more specifically, as I know I should be eating better myself.

Glad it seems to be working for you!

As for my heart rate, it was like yours. Resting was 120+ easily. It spiked into the 140's just like you. Currently I'm usually around or under 70 bpm, though my blood pressure is still a little high (as it seems to be a somewhat permanent aspect of graves). Systolic BP is usually around 140 (which is borderline high blood pressure), but diastolic is 70-80, which is good.


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## drk421 (Jul 12, 2013)

EDIT:

My initial report was free T3 at 13.2.
T3 went back down to 6.3, T4 was at 1.8. Next test T3 was at 10.4, T4 at 2.6.
Finally closer to normal levels, T4 at 1.6 and T3 at 4.7.
Then T4 at 1.13 and T3 at 3.7. (very close to normal).

A year went by and I started getting more lax with diet and exercise,
T3 went back up to 8.3, T4 was at 2.42.
Then started slowing going back down
T3 @ 7.1, T4 @ 2.23
T3 @ 5.6, T4 @ 1.96
T3 @ 3.1, T4 @ 0.91

My TSH was pretty much at less than 0.01 the whole time.

Also, is it possible to have high T3/T4 and still have normal pulse?


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

JPGreco said:


> Its interesting as I've read conflicting articles on goitregenic foods. Some say avoid em and some say eat them.


The warning to stay mostly away from goitrogenic foods is mainly for those with Hashimoto's or straight hypothyroidism and intact thyroids. Goitrogens slow down the thyroid and can act like antithyroid drugs. This effect can be lessened by cooking.

Although goitrogenics can be beneficial to people with Graves, and maybe it's because I have both or already had a goiter, but I always found that too many of them even in my most hyper state caused my thyroid to hurt. *shrug*


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## blueyes (Feb 15, 2013)

That's really interesting about the goitrogenic foods. My endo told me not to change my diet (he doesn't even know what my diet is), but my diet does consist of foods that are considered goitrogens - I LOVE kale, strawberries, and spinach... all of which are on the list. I followed doc's orders and continue to eat them :winking0014:

Before I was medicated, my heart rate was about 100 when I was just lying in bed, about 120 at calm points during the day, and would usually hit about 170 after my shower every morning (pretty sure that was the highest point most days). Now I'm probably averaging 65-70, hitting mid 50s and low/mid 80s at the extremes (not counting physical exertion).


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## Prudence (Oct 30, 2012)

drk421 said:


> Curious to know about what the typical pulse rates are for most people with Graves.
> 
> Mine was about 120 resting, peaked at 140 when it was really bad.
> 
> I'm back down to 60-80 resting for now.


My resting pulse would be anywhere from 100-120 or so when I was diagnosed. Before, it was normal for me to be 65. Most times just doing simple things like showering would send it skyrocketing into the 160's, and would take an hour or so just to hit 100 again. It almost felt like I had just ran five miles and needing to cool down, yet all I had done was shower for ten minutes! Right now my dose has been tweaked for my thyroid replacement, and my resting pulse will be anywhere from 80-100, but will still get the super fast pulse doing simple stuff.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

drk421 said:


> Hey all,
> I'm new to this board.
> 
> I thought I'd share my experience with Graves. (I'm 35 yr male)
> ...












You could also try L-Carnitine w/the approval of your doctor. If you Google L-Carnintine for Hyperthyroid, you will turn up a lot of info.

How do you feel right now? Are you sleeping well?


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## drk421 (Jul 12, 2013)

Me personally, I feel great. Pulse is at 70bpm for most of the day. I do at least an hour of cardio per day, either cycling or surfing.

I sleep all through the night, no night sweats, or waking up in the middle of the night with heart pounding away at 140bpm.

I've found with my diet, I pretty much can't eat anything except veggies, fruit and fish. Deviating from that diet seems to bring back the high pulse rate and night sweats.

Alcohol and sugar to be triggers though. Having one too many pieces of cake in the evening, I might wake up sweating with a pulse of 120.

I've been getting regular blood tests every 6 months, most of the time I'm within the normal range.

Question for you all. If you were just slightly hyperthyroid, would you still do RAI or surgery?


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## JPGreco (Mar 2, 2012)

drk, if I were only slightly hyper, with mild symptoms that weren't interfering with my day, I would continue on a homeopathic process. There is evidence that some vitamins and minerals can help calm thyroids (I'd have to find the research journal article), but it was never followed up on with extensive research. For me, it really wasn't an option as stated, I was off the charts on my labs originally. There is also some suggestion that iodine deficiency can impact the activity of the thyroid, so there are several areas one could explore to try to naturally rebalance their system.

So it would really depend on my symptoms and if I could find a reputable natural doctor (as there are a lot that I wouldn't trust). The way I see it, if the symptoms are manageable/bare-able and don't present other health risks, why not try naturally fixing your system over the course of a year or even two (if symptoms don't get worse)? But then again, I spent several years EXTREMELY hyper, so I may just be crazy


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## drk421 (Jul 12, 2013)

Believe it or not, I've found stress to be the number one trigger that brings back the symptoms. An even bigger problems is the anxiety caused by being hyper brings more stress which makes me more hyper and causes a feedback loops (if you will).

Beta blocks do wonders for me, but make me lethargic.

My endo (doctor) is willing to try out the homeopathic method first, if you aren't completely off the charts. Something my previous endo wouldn't even attempt because it's not proven by the AMA.

BTW, this board seems to have some great people, very supportive.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

drk421 said:


> Believe it or not, I've found stress to be the number one trigger that brings back the symptoms. An even bigger problems is the anxiety caused by being hyper brings more stress which makes me more hyper and causes a feedback loops (if you will).
> 
> Beta blocks do wonders for me, but make me lethargic.
> 
> ...


We all try very hard to think outside the box and encourage each person to try things to figure out what works for them.

It's a big world out there; too much that we do not know and the more we know, the more we need to know!


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