# Forum Newbie. Wondering if I have Graves.



## ELiddle (Nov 30, 2009)

Hey everyone. (Note: If my spelling is terrible, sorry. Im on the bus. And my story jumps around a bit so please try and follow along. Thank you.)

I'd like to first start off by saying that I have yet to go to the doctor for this and all my symptoms could be totally random and unrelated. If this is the case, sorry for wasting everyones time.

My story is kinda weird so bare with me. This all started about a year to a year and a half ago(Oh I turned 20 a couple of months ago), I was living with my Mother and girlfriend, and my girlfriend and I started developing similar symptoms. I understand that you cant "catch" graves disease so don't worry. Anywho, the symptoms are as follows, vomiting, morning and night nausea, tiredness. Her hair also started thinning and semi falling out. I on the other hand have terrible night sweats, unable to sit still(twitching hands, itching, shifting in my seat), and swollen glands in my neck and jaw and I went from 210lbs to about 160-165lbs and I dont have that much of an appetite. I also get terrible headaches about once a week and more often than not its my eyes seem to start hurting first.

Quickly fast forward to the present day and my girlfriend went to the doctor and finally found out that she has something wrong with her Thyroid and is waiting on a test. She has no family history of it. Weird eh.

Flash back: While my vomiting stopped i still have the nausea and all the others symptoms i listed for myself. I also developed a condition called Quincey, if infact thats what it was(I did go to the doctor and received medication). Apparently it causes a boil to grow in your neck and can cut off your airway or pop and leak into your stomach. Well whatever it was meds didnt really help and it came and went for over a month. And I still have days where i feel like my throat is tightening but it could be in my head. I also mention that none of the other doctors i went to had ever heard of Quincey.

Now while we were living together, my girlfriend and I started smoking marijuana to cope with the nausea. Please dont judge me on it lol. I had the symptoms before I started smoking. And I was also working a graveyard shift, so I assumed that a lot of my symptoms were from not enough sleep. Yet now that im off marijuana and am not even working, everything has reverted from ok, to not great lol. And when I work out i tend to just stop, or get light headed on occasion. I feel like im running at 50-60 percent of what i know im able to do, in both working out and day to day life. I also haven't been able to gain any muscle weight even though im eating properly and working out frequently.

Fast forward to a couple of months before my birthday and I was in the car with my mother. Telling her about what was going on and off handidly she says "You know I have Graves' Disease. Maybe we should get you checked out. A lot of things got in the way and so far i can cope with everything ok. But reading on what could happen made me want to find out for sure. So im starting here.

So with the family history and symptoms, I could have it, or I could just have a few unrelated things. Not sure. Anything you guys can share would be a great help.

I might have left some things out, and if so i'll try to add them as i recal or experience.

Thank you everyone.

Ethan

Edit 1: Also I said tiredness, but it seems to be more of a whole body thing, and yet i dont get that much sleep. Very iriatble and a lot of the time my GF will be talking to me and i drift in and out. I have to get her to repeat herself constantly.

Edit 2: Just reading through the forums. Love all the support. Although I wish i hadn't stumbled upon other peoples symptoms that I have that I didnt even know were related. For example, not being able to for speak correctly, the irregular heartbeat thing, anxiety...


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

ELiddle said:


> Hey everyone. (Note: If my spelling is terrible, sorry. Im on the bus. And my story jumps around a bit so please try and follow along. Thank you.)
> 
> I'd like to first start off by saying that I have yet to go to the doctor for this and all my symptoms could be totally random and unrelated. If this is the case, sorry for wasting everyones time.
> 
> ...


Hey there and welcome to the board. The one single thing I find the most interesting in your story is that of the nausea and vomiting for both you and your GF.. That makes me think something "environmental" is going on which is causing you ill health and subsequently "triggering" what for you would be a genetic pre-disposition towards Graves'. Not sure about the GF as you say no family history but just because there is no record does not mean it is so if you get my drift on that.

So, are you on a well? Are you in a heavily industrial area? Are you being exposed to cell phone towers or anything like that? Are you exposed to pesticides on a regular basis?

When do you plan on seeing a doctor? I believe you should do that soon. It would be highly advantageous for you to hook up with a board certified ophthalmologist also as the eyes must be treated independently of the thyroid.

I love the internet; look what I found.........

QUINSY QUINCY Severe complication of tonsilitis which results in abscess near the tonsils.
Before antibiotics available could be fatal. more on Peritonsillar abscess etc..
Read all about it here.............

http://tinyurl.com/ylc7sup

But, I am wondering if your true problem is a goiter. They don't always grow outward, sometimes they grow inward. They always take the path of least resistance.

Please let us know about your girlfriends' test results and please get your own self in also. It definitely sounds like you have Graves' Disease.

We are here to help, not to judge. I personally always appreciate folks who are forthright.


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## ELiddle (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks Andros. I was patiently awaiting your response.

Well I mean when it comes to health I have to be honest, or I won't receive the proper info/treatment etc.

Her nausea and vomiting started before mine, but hers has subsequently continued while I only have slight nausea.

The only enviromental thing that I could think it could be is pesticides maybe. But we've moved out of the city to the country since this began and everything has continued.

Im feeling more bumps under my jaw closer to the joint now. I also have some random cysts like one on my right leg(not large or even protruding), but the doctor said it was nothing to be worried about. So I'm not sure there.

It was only recently that I got up the courage to look online to see what might be going on. For a long while I was afraid of what I might see.

Your right about someone in her family may have had it. I just found it super weird that we both might have this thing, and than I randomly find out my mom had it.

Im not sure if my girlfriend has Graves, but its something to do with her thyroid, but they aren't rushing the test, so maybe the know something I dont. Its hard sitting here seeing her hair thin and semi fall out and her not knowing why.

Oh and I had a question and yes I know your not a doctor Andros or who ever answers, but on a person without any problems, would they be able to feel their glands in their throat or neck? I didnt know if anyone else could or i was just overexaggerating that i can feel them and they can get sore.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

ELiddle said:


> Thanks Andros. I was patiently awaiting your response.
> 
> Well I mean when it comes to health I have to be honest, or I won't receive the proper info/treatment etc.
> 
> ...


I have been convinced for years that exposure to pesticides "triggered" my Graves' Disease. We were in the restaurant business for over 40 years and that necessitated regular and thorough exterminating. I used to get sooooooooooo sick from it and eventually, Graves' let it's self be known. Because you see, it was genetically predisposed but the immune system with prolonged exposure to pesticides could no longer defend it's self to what was lying genetically dormant.

Anyway..............I am glad you are out in the country and hopefully you have lots of wonderful fresh air to fill your lungs.

As for you, you just seek medical intervention. I am going to tell you straight up; you can die from untreated Graves'/Hyperthyroid...............okay? Capiche'? We sure don't want that to happen. I almost did. I had a thyroid storm.

Please don't be afraid to confront your fears. Knowledge is power and knowledge removes fear. It is the unknown that we are fearful of.

Back to the nausea and vomiting. That is a bit unusual w/ thyroid disease but I am not saying it is not possible. Anything is possible. But, I now wonder if either of you or both of you eat raw fish or rare meat? I do think this may be a seperate issue but I most certainly agree that you both have some sort of thyoid thing going on.

I will be anxious to hear your girlfriend's results when they come in.


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## ELiddle (Nov 30, 2009)

No to the raw part. I mean we lived in Victoria, BC so...other than car polution and maybe pesticides I'm not sure.

Her vomiting and what not got so bad the she a GI tract thingy done and it said there was nothing wrong. Her sickness kind of over shadowed mine just because of how much vomiting she was doing. I kind of half hid it to, just because it wasn't that bad for me. But now feel like im running on one lung you know. Working out was what I enjoyed the most and I can only half do it. Yet she can pretty much get through a work out.
Its weird that she has the few symptoms i dont have and we know shes got something, and I have the others that she doesn't and we know for sure i have a "predisposition" to it.

And I added a part to my last question so i'll just retype it here.

Oh and I had a question and yes I know your not a doctor Andros or who ever answers, but on a person without any problems, would they be able to feel their glands in their throat or neck? I didnt know if anyone else could or i was just overexaggerating that i can feel them and they can get sore.

And I got some blood work done when I was coughing up some blood like a year ago, but it was just due to the throwing up and wearing away the lining of my esophagus.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

ELiddle said:


> No to the raw part. I mean we lived in Victoria, BC so...other than car polution and maybe pesticides I'm not sure.
> 
> Her vomiting and what not got so bad the she a GI tract thingy done and it said there was nothing wrong. Her sickness kind of over shadowed mine just because of how much vomiting she was doing. I kind of half hid it to, just because it wasn't that bad for me. But now feel like im running on one lung you know. Working out was what I enjoyed the most and I can only half do it. Yet she can pretty much get through a work out.
> Its weird that she has the few symptoms i dont have and we know shes got something, and I have the others that she doesn't and we know for sure i have a "predisposition" to it.
> ...


Oh, yes.  Actually, those are called lymph glands and w/ Graves' they can be enlarged and painful. There are other diseases that cause this as well. It is not unusual for a person to have more than one autoimmune condition. As you can see in my siggie, I also have Sjogren's and Lupus. "Both" of those cause lymph node inflammation. But, initially when I had Graves', I had swollen lymphs in many places such as under the axilaries, groin area, chest, neck, head etc.. The lymphatic system runs throughout the entire body.

Zounds; I just found this. Hyper can cause vomiting and nausea. My goodness; so rare but possible. Here is the reference......you have to scroll down.........

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nausea/MY00572/DSECTION=causes

I should not be surprised really as hypo and hyper both affect intestinal motility. Wow! You learn something new every day!


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## ELiddle (Nov 30, 2009)

Andros said:


> Oh, yes. Actually, those are called lymph glands and w/ Graves' they can be enlarged and painful. There are other diseases that cause this as well. It is not unusual for a person to have more than one autoimmune condition. As you can see in my siggie, I also have Sjogren's and Lupus. "Both" of those cause lymph node inflamation. But, initially when I had Graves', I had swollen lymphs in many places such as under the axilaries, groin area, chest, neck, head etc.. The lymphatic system runs throughout the entire body.
> 
> Zounds; I just found this. Hyper can cause vomiting and nausea. My goodness; so rare but possible. Here is the reference......you have to scroll down.........
> 
> ...


Ugh. You just mentioned the only thing I hadn't. The swollen glands in the groin area(Like not poking out, but when you press slightly it should be smooth though right?). I also have at least one on my left rib cage/chest.

So i deff have something wrong than...

Yes thanks for the link. Apparently it sends the metabolism into overdrive, or at least thats what it did for her.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

ELiddle said:


> Ugh. You just mentioned the only thing I hadn't. The swollen glands in the groin area(Like not poking out, but when you press slightly it should be smooth though right?). I also have at least one on my left rib cage/chest.
> 
> So i deff have something wrong than...
> 
> Yes thanks for the link. Apparently it sends the metabolism into overdrive, or at least thats what it did for her.


At this point, both you and your GF need to have a very very good doctor who can think outside the box.

It would be good for both of you to have the following tests..........

TSH, FREE T3, FREE T4, TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies), ANA (antinuclear antibodies), TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) and Thyroglobulin Ab.

You can look all of the above up here so you know what they are for........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/

The above is a good place to bookmark for future use.


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## Nova (Nov 12, 2009)

It's scary to face, yes, but there are blood tests to tell you if you have Grave's disease and there are treatment options. You and your doctor can discuss your disease progression further - it sounds like you may have had the symptoms for some time now. Get treatment as soon as possible! Listen to Andros, she knows, as I do that Grave's can be life threatening. And if you have Grave's, which it sounds plausible that you do, it has already taken so much quality of life from you untreated. Hopefully you and your girlfriend get some much needed answers and treatment soon!


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