# Graves



## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

A friend of mine just told me she was diagnosed with Graves about 5 years ago. She takes no medication, and only did so for 18 months. Is that a realistic goal to shoot for? I am sure no two Graves cases are alike?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> A friend of mine just told me she was diagnosed with Graves about 5 years ago. She takes no medication, and only did so for 18 months. Is that a realistic goal to shoot for? I am sure no two Graves cases are alike?


Does your friend have exophthalmos, goiter, pretibial myxedema and thyrotoxicosis all of which are criteria for Graves' as per Dr. Graves?

How is she doing? She feels good all the time; no complaints?

I don't know how to answer your question because Graves' does not just go away. I wish it did.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Andros said:


> Does your friend have expophthalmos, goiter, pretibial myxedema and thyrotoxicosis all of which are criteria for Graves' as per Dr. Graves?
> 
> How is she doing? She feels good all the time; no complaints?
> 
> I don't know how to answer your question because Graves' does not just go away. I wish it did.


I know. That's what really blew me away, I don't think Graves goes away, or that life goes on without meds etc. I am thinking she was just hyper for awhile? Or, if her case was Graves, I want that kind that goes away too, please!

What's getting me right now is, I have no clue how I am going to feel one day to the next. I feel tired most of the time but some days excessively so. I was feeling pretty down in the dumps when she told me about her Graves. I thought I was a wimp because I have developed a very close relationship with my couch! My dad used to talk about couch pressers, and I have become one!

Thanks for affirming that Graves doesn't just go away, darn...


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> I know. That's what really blew me away, I don't think Graves goes away, or that life goes on without meds etc. I am thinking she was just hyper for awhile? Or, if her case was Graves, I want that kind that goes away too, please!
> 
> What's getting me right now is, I have no clue how I am going to feel one day to the next. I feel tired most of the time but some days excessively so. I was feeling pretty down in the dumps when she told me about her Graves. I thought I was a wimp because I have developed a very close relationship with my couch! My dad used to talk about couch pressers, and I have become one!
> 
> Thanks for affirming that Graves doesn't just go away, darn...


I wish I had better news for you and thousands of others as well. If I had a magic wand; I could do that and I surely would.

You are not a wimp. Graves' has brought the strongest of women and men to their knees and has turned many an agnostic into a believer too!! LOL!!!

Get it out, get it out!!!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Andros said:


> I wish I had better news for you and thousands of others as well. If I had a magic wand; I could do that and I surely would.
> 
> You are not a wimp. Graves' has brought the strongest of women and men to their knees and has turned many an agnostic into a believer too!! LOL!!!
> 
> Get it out, get it out!!!


Thank you! I am working on getting it out ASAP! I don't see the surgeon until the 29th. And, being gluten free..discussed with the hubby tonight. I told hubby he doesn't have to be but I am going to try it and see if it helps. Ironically, about 2 months ago, I just updated our titles on gluten free at work!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> Thank you! I am working on getting it out ASAP! I don't see the surgeon until the 29th. And, being gluten free..discussed with the hubby tonight. I told hubby he doesn't have to be but I am going to try it and see if it helps. Ironically, about 2 months ago, I just updated our titles on gluten free at work!


Now that is an irony!! You know every book out there on gluten-free. But it is simple if you want it to be.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

So, all veggies and fruits are ok? How simple can it be?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> So, all veggies and fruits are ok? How simple can it be?


Sure.............all veggies, all fruits, all meat, fowl and fish, rice, corn, I tolerate rolled oats (some don't), potatoes. We love the rice Thai noodles. They are just as good as any pasta. Get your Maize flour. We eat corn tortillas and corn chips, popcorn which is what I love, sweet potatoes/yams, cooked fresh pumpkin and squashes...................you name it.

Check your dairy for glutens added. I get the Yoplait yogurt which is gluten-free. Some sour creams have gluten added, so does ice cream. Rice Chex cereal has a bunch of new flavors for the gluten-free diet.

I had a shampoo that had gluten in it. I could not understand why I had sores on my scalp until I read the ingredients. I used this shampoo for many years. Got rid of it. Believe this or not, I no longer have the sores on my scalp.

Learn the insidious names they use for gluten.

Other names for wheat include:

•Binder or binding 
•Bulgur 
•Cereal 
•Cereal binders or cereal protein 
•Couscous 
•Duram (durum) 
•Einkorn 
•Farina 
•Filler 
•Flour 
•Frumento 
•Graham 
•Gum base 
•Hydrolysed wheat protein 
•Kamut 
•Malt 
•Manna 
•Matzo 
•Matzah 
•Matzoh 
•Modified food starch
•Modified starch 
•Rusk 
•Seitan 
•Semolina 
•Special edible starch 
•Spelt 
•Starch 
•Thickener or thickening 
•Triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye) 
•Wheat alternative

Other Names for Gluten

While it is helpful to know the other names of wheat, some other names to watch for on labels are ingredients with hidden gluten. These include items such as:

Natural flavor: While not all natural flavors include gluten, if you see this term on the ingredient list it may or may not include gluten-containing grains or derivatives and should be avoided.

Monosodium glutamate: Again, not all monosodium glutamate (MSG) contains gluten, but foreign sources usually are derived from gluten-containing grains. In the United States, most monosodium glutamate is made from cane, beets or tapioca starch but even in the U.S. some manufacturers still use wheat gluten.

Emulsifiers: Emulsifiers are used to change surface properties of other ingredients with which they are combined. These emulsifiers may or may not contain gluten.

Lectins (lecithins): Lectins are made from the hull of grain. While it may come from a "safe" grain such as amaranth, it may also come from barley or other grains to be avoided by those eliminating gluten from their diet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Believe it or not; the above is true. Same for Aspartame (or other artificial sweetners), soy has a trillion names and so on.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Wow! I never imagined gluten could be in so many things. Thanks for the list. It will help me so much. I would have never considered shampoo having gluten. Right now, my scalp lesions are unbelievable. Plus, the "shingles" type feeling is going on, as well as mouth sores. I have an appointment with my GP on Friday. I an going to try to move it up, so he can see *this* in it's full blown glory. This might be a good time for him to add a test for lupus?

Would you mind sharing a sample menu for a day? I don't mean the recipes just what you might eat for a day? Are there any big differences in cooking with maize flour?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! I have to let you know that I am no longer discouraged about Graves etc., despite well meaning friends!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> Wow! I never imagined gluten could be in so many things. Thanks for the list. It will help me so much. I would have never considered shampoo having gluten. Right now, my scalp lesions are unbelievable. Plus, the "shingles" type feeling is going on, as well as mouth sores. I have an appointment with my GP on Friday. I an going to try to move it up, so he can see *this* in it's full blown glory. This might be a good time for him to add a test for lupus?
> 
> Would you mind sharing a sample menu for a day? I don't mean the recipes just what you might eat for a day? Are there any big differences in cooking with maize flour?
> 
> Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! I have to let you know that I am no longer discouraged about Graves etc., despite well meaning friends!


Yes on the Lupus tests. Anti-DNA, C3 and C4.

Breakfast- coffee with real cream (no additives), 1 yoplait yogurt w/powedered cinnamon in it for glucose control.

Lunch- our main meal. I might have 2 chicken wings, a large side salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar with sunflower seeds thrown in, 1/2 potato plain and another cooked veggie such as brocolli. That will be a healthy portion on the brocolli. For me, it's all about choices and portion control.

Evening- 3 apples and a large bowl of popcorn popped in olive (Presto microwave popper) w/Chipotle or just red pepper (both are capsaicin) and tumeric.

I drink lots of water and lots of coffee.

That may not seem like a lot of food but hey; no thyroid here, ya' know? And I don't want to be fat.

Once in a while I will have some dried cranberries or dark chocolate but not often.

I do have a handful of walnuts about every other day and sometimes I am really bad and put a bit of honey on the walnuts. LOL! Bad, bad girl.

Today we are having Thai noodles with tomato sauce and a side salad for lunch.

(by the way, the salads are loaded with cooked dried beans, cukes, tomatoes .................whatever is on market for the season. We zero in on the high fiber stuff. We are never hungry, believe that or not.


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## McKenna (Jun 23, 2010)

I hope you don't mind me chiming in here, but I went gluten free a little while ago to see if it would help bring my antibodies down. I'm happy to say it did!
It really isn't as hard as you would think, but it is a change and does take a while to get used to.

Here are some things I've found:

**My hubby loves to go out to eat and a lot of restaurants have gluten free menues or you can check their regular menu for gluten, it's usually listed under "special diet", "dietary considerations" or "allergy info". You can check them out online before you go. Outback Steakhouse has a lot of GF items.

**Gluten is EVERYWHERE! You have to check labels. Ice cream, condiments, etc.

**If you can't find gluten info on a package, you can write the company and ask for a GF list. I've had companies send me a list (along with coupons!). Sometimes they will list "food starch" and not specify if it's from wheat or another grain. When you write the company they will tell you the source.

**I haven't found a GF bread I really love, so most times I go without. I'll eat a burger with no bun, tuna salad without bread, etc. I make rice, quinoa, or potatoes for carbs in meals. I did try a new bread last week and it was pretty good, though. It was a baguette by Against The Grain.

**The brown rice pastas are good, even my kids will eat them. LOL! Quinoa pasta is good too.

** My family is not GF, but there are so many things you can make that are "normal" foods but you are still eating GF. Instead of having to make two meals.

**Like Andros, I use a lot of veggies in season.

**GF flours take a while to get used to cooking with. I'm not a big corn fan, but I've bought different bread and baking mixes to experiement with.

HTH and Good Luck!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

McKenna said:


> I hope you don't mind me chiming in here, but I went gluten free a little while ago to see if it would help bring my antibodies down. I'm happy to say it did!
> It really isn't as hard as you would think, but it is a change and does take a while to get used to.
> 
> Here are some things I've found:
> ...


Of course we don't mind chiming...........................in. LOL!!

My husband makes cornbread; it is very good. I don't eat it only because I don't have the room for it. He uses the corn meal and baking powder (aluminum free), eggs, milk; then you just do your thing like if you want to add nuts or quinona or whatever, honey maybe. Whatever you like!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Andros said:


> Of course we don't mind chiming...........................in. LOL!!
> 
> My husband makes cornbread; it is very good. I don't eat it only because I don't have the room for it. He uses the corn meal and baking powder (aluminum free), eggs, milk; then you just do your thing like if you want to add nuts or quinona or whatever, honey maybe. Whatever you like!


I love the "chiming in"! More info is good! I have been researching gluten free foods, and was delighted to find my favorite cheese "Cabot" is gluten free! Andros, thank you for the peek at your menu. Getting fat really scares me. It seems like you have plenty of choices, which is always a good thing!

I love this board.

Is it possible to have a Graves rage even while on ATDs? I know I feel something like that brewing. These rages were my biggest "ah ha" . I chalked them up to menopause. Not fun times for anyone here. I encourage my husband to go do something, anything, and he usually does. I thought I was losing my mind.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> I love the "chiming in"! More info is good! I have been researching gluten free foods, and was delighted to find my favorite cheese "Cabot" is gluten free! Andros, thank you for the peek at your menu. Getting fat really scares me. It seems like you have plenty of choices, which is always a good thing!
> 
> I love this board.
> 
> Is it possible to have a Graves rage even while on ATDs? I know I feel something like that brewing. These rages were my biggest "ah ha" . I chalked them up to menopause. Not fun times for anyone here. I encourage my husband to go do something, anything, and he usually does. I thought I was losing my mind.


Yes, it is possible to have Graves' Rage while on ATD. I know I did and as a matter of fact, there were times when I was convinced that the Tapazole was making me worse.

Hence the RAI. Pooey w/all of that. Emotions like a roller coaster all the time!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Good to know that I am not alone. My energy level is so low right now. My ankles are swollen. This little bugger has got to go!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> Good to know that I am not alone. My energy level is so low right now. My ankles are swollen. This little bugger has got to go!


And the sooner, the better!!explode Splat!!:anim_38:


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

I agree. I see my PCP on Friday. I am going to make him run labs for lupus. On Tuesday next week, I see the surgeon. I hope he will get the little monster out ASAP! the after bothers me a little, regulating the meds, and not getting fat. I can't wait to feel well enough for exercise!

You must have felt awful before you were diagnosed. How long did it take? How did they diagnose everything? I must say, you impress, and inspire me! Thanks!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Ugh...I know this doesn't have anything to do with the thread I started but, I just need to put it out there. I don't feel great today at all. It is my next to the last day of work before surgery but I woke up exhausted, and I am getting more tired as the day goes by. One bright note, I woke up today. Peeps, I don't know how you do this everyday.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

webster2 said:


> Ugh...I know this doesn't have anything to do with the thread I started but, I just need to put it out there. I don't feel great today at all. It is my next to the last day of work before surgery but I woke up exhausted, and I am getting more tired as the day goes by. One bright note, I woke up today. Peeps, I don't know how you do this everyday.


I agree with one thing; it is a very bright note to be waking up each and every day. You got that right!

Hard to believe the 28th. is closing in on us.

Make sure you have plenty of ice-packs on hand for when you come home.

I wish I could "give" you some energy; I really do!


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Hello! Thank you for sending some positive energy! I have absolutely no energy, and feel like I could fall asleep at any moment. I came home from work, went to bed, and slept until 5 this morning. I am still feeling tired. My husband wonders if it is the beta blocker. We are going out tonight, if I am awake, to get some supplies for after. After, sounds good to me. I am wondering what the process for getting the medication correct will be like. Recently, there have been a few pots here, about it being very difficult. Oh well, we'll cross that bridge, if we come to it!


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