# HELPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!! I feel like I'm losing my mind!



## juneknoel (Jul 16, 2010)

Here's my story...

I am 24 years old, Type A female and was diagnosed with Graves Disease about 4 months ago. No family background of Graves Disease although my grandmother had something wrong with her thyroid, not Graves though. I started feeling "real" symptoms right about January of this year 2010. My doctor couldn't really tell how long I've had it. But prior to my symptoms, I was very active. Just a year ago, I was training for a triathlon and working out at least two hours a day. I have ran a marathon before, ran half-marathons.. so you could get an idea on how active I was. I am also in the National Guard and Army ROTC program. I loved working out until I started feeling crappy 

Right around January, I started feeling fatigue all the time. I thought I was just getting too tired from working out and I needed a break. So I of course slowed down on my workout a bit. And then I started getting diarrhea, like I would eat and 5 minutes later I would have to go to the bathroom. And then everytime I would work out, my heart would beat sooo fast and its really scary that I had to stop. I get dizzy, light headed, blurred vision, basically just felt like I was going to pass out. Then I would just sweat like crazy! I thought I was just getting really stress with school and other stuff. So I just kind of ignored it. Until one morning when I was doing my normal workout, I seriously just almost passed out. I was taken to a health center, they did some blood tests right around March. About 2 days later, my doctor called me and told me my thyroid levels are going crazy. So I talked to him and he told me to get my thyroid scan. He called me a day later after the result was out and told me that I have Graves Disease and that he's going to refer me to an endocrinologist.

So I started seeing my endo in March. I have been researching stuff about Graves Disease and reading other people's stories about it. He told me that I should probably try Methimazole first for a year and see what happens. If a year from now I'm still not feeling better, then we'd do RAI. While this is all going, I was feeling worse that I missed school for 2 weeks and couldn't train with ROTC because of heart palpitations and just not feeling good. So I started the treatment and about a month later, I started itching really bad. I waited for a week before I called my doctor because I couldn't really figure out why that was happening and tried to remember if I did something different. So I called him and his nurse talked to me. She told me that they don't think that I'm allergic to Methimazole because if I am, I would have had an allergic reaction to it during the first week or so and told me to try not taking my meds for a week. So I did that and of course the itching WENT AWAY but then I also started feeling like crap again and this was my finals week too in school. So I've read somewhere on the internet in a forum that maybe my dosage was too high, so I decided to take it once every other day to see if it works. It made me feel better so I could at least not miss school during finals and keep my job.

I saw him again in June 14th and he told me that I guess I could be wrong, sometimes the meds take awhile to kick in so maybe you did have an allergic reaction to it. I told him that I've been taking it every other day and it doesn't make me itch. I'm not on bedrest but I also don't feel like I am back to my normal self is what I told him. He told me to keep going with my treatment and get my blood tests done. I did a blood tests right after that and called me a day later and said that my levels are getting better, normal. But I still wasn't feeling normal AT ALL. I still have diarrhea etc. I thought I'd give it sometime. Now, I am having ANXIETY issues bad. I cannot sleep anymore. I haven't slept in three weeks. I still have diarrhea, tried working out, but I would still get the scary heart palpitations. My emotions are SOOO out of whacked. I feel like I am seriously losing my mind.

I called him and talked to his nurse and she told me that it's not related to graves disease anymore and I should see a different doctor for my anxiety issues. I really don't know what to do. My thyroid levels are fine he said but at the same time, I feel like CRAP. I'm really frustrated and probably not helping this at all.

Sorry if this message is really long!!! I am just really worried about this!!!:sad0049:


----------



## juneknoel (Jul 16, 2010)

PS: I get muscle soreness too sometimes even if I didn't work out.


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Do you haven an internist?

Sounds to me like you need to start at square one and have a complete metabolic panel and see if something shows up. The prolonged digestive problem has gone on far too long.

If everything checks out perfectly normal, then you might consider talking with a psychologist to examine if something else is going on in your life. But first things first. Rule out disease.

Good luck.


----------



## desrtbloom (May 23, 2010)

Hello!

You aren't losing your mind at all. It definitely sounds like the Graves. I have all of those symptoms. I have been on the Methizamole for almost three months and I itch off and on, but it just seems to be a side effect and/or part of the Graves. I had itching bad of my lower extremeties and feet before I started taking the med.

As for the anxiety and heart palpatations - that's the Graves. I have those as well and horrible emotional liability (it has gotten a lot better after 60 days o nthe Methizamole). I have been on Propanolol for the heart palpatations and that really did help.

As for the insomnia, have it too. I didn't sleep for months and thought it was menopause. It's all part of the Graves. I now take Ambien to sleep because without sleep all your symptoms are exacerbated. My doctors have told me sleep is extremely important with Graves disease.

I also have the achey joints (really bad sometimes) and muscle weakness. I also swell really bad.

I would get a second opinion from another endo. Everything you are stating as a Graves patient, I have experienced and more. I would suggest not exercising at all until you get your palpatations sorted. I was working out at the gym almost every day and that was the first thing my Endo and my internal medicine doctor told me to do - stop working out!

Hang in there hun. :hugs:

Patti


----------



## Debbie from Milwaukee (Apr 18, 2010)

Juneknoel:
Welcome as well! You sound like you have been through an awful time. I echo what desertbloom says: lay off exercise for now. Some people (even young people) in your sitiuation have been told it is VERY dangerous to exercise with this condiition. Your endo SHOULD have 1) warned you not to exercise and 2) given you a beta blocker to help with the heart palpatations (like desertbloom's doc gave her Propanalol).

I also think you may need to find a new endo. A good endocrinologist will listen to your symptoms as well as monitor your blood tests. My daughter had Grave's at 17 and had many of your same symptoms. You really need a supportive doc who can work with you so you don't have these debilitating digestive, emotional, and sleep disturbances. If there is a wait until you can get another endo, be sure to see an internist you trust to help you manage your symptoms for now.

Continue to look for support at forums like this one. Also continue to read and reseach about Grave's disease and discuss the relative success rates of treatment options (methimazole and RAI). Good luck with everything, and let us know how it goes.


----------

