# 21GD-new-help/advice?? Really Lost



## Cat1990 (Jun 9, 2011)

Hi my name is catherine (cat) and I am 21 years old [this past april.]
i live in texas.
grandmother & mother=thyroid disease

here's the DL:my very first symptom was heart papiltations. eventually things got rough.
i was diagnosed with Grave's when i was *19*. at the time my *tsh was at a .2* and i had become bed ridden from all my symptoms. it was just too much for me to deal with. i lost 20lbs, weighing in at 120. my doctor *put me on methimazole *[which i believe is tapazole just generic] for about *6 months*. my symptoms had gotten much better but had not gone away, stairs were still difficult for me to climb, incline hills, etc.

she let me run out of medication for *one week *to see how i would do on the blood results. everything came out fine, she believed i was in remission. But i didnt feel fine. she ignored my pleads etc. and sent me packin.

i have been *off medication for a period of 14 months* now and have been slipping back to weak and wary like the first time. i can feel "muscle wasting" going on, all those things. this is my first week as a student at a community college and i feel so vulnerable, you know? i'm very weak, opening jars or tops is a challenge..stairs are not an option. just walking briskly sends my hear rate up. im going to school bc im trying to obtain a career/future/better life while im sick and cant work, need the grant funds, and to not sit in the house and stew on this all day.

so i got labs done to put in her face and attempt to prove myself.
well. everything was normal EXCEPT my TSI.
*normal ranges = 0-139*
mine was a *177*

i went back and she shut me down again, acting like she cant imagine whats wrong with me. the methimazole worked back then, God knows it would now. I dont see why i have to become bedridden again just to give her a satisfying number. i thought this was health maintnence, not come to me dying! ugh!

I have $1,000 left from my pell grant to spend wisely on my health. I dont have help really from anywhere else. my boyfriend sean-paul and my sister tami are my emotional support to an extent. we all know there are times when we have to go at it alone. i am so discouraged but i try to keep my head high everyday. i just dont want to become stuck ina bed again..its a worst fear.

so should i
-get health insurance thing [but im pre existing so...?]
-pay straight up 4a second opinion &pray it comes out well?

we have a cheap health ins. plan place here called carelink, but the services are extremely poor or at least ive had bad experiences with them.

-no kids
-never been prego
-no nodules
-no radiology/scans done [no$ :/]

when it comes down to it, I'm scared because im not being treated and its having a drastic effect on my body. I dont want something to happen and i dont even have parents around. my dad lives in Arizona and my mother...lets just say she is not an option for support or funds or anything in my life for that matter. i just feel so alone and lost with this mess.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

It sounds like you need a new doctor! Unfortunately, treatment for Graves may run you well over that $1000. Tests and doctor visits can add up.

You may be able to get the care you need without paying a lot out of pocket.

Community health centers will see you based on your income. We have a network in my city that will refer you to a specialist if you need one, and cover testing as well. Here's a link to find one in your area. 
http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx

Many hospitals have clinics that offer a sliding fee scale. Ask for an HCAP application when they send you a bill.

I go to a doctor who works at the local university, where the amount that is not paid by my health insurance is covered on a sliding fee scale. I'm a full time student, and loans do not count as income. So, my income is essentially $0.

If you want to buy health insurance, under the new healthcare act, you can get state-sponsored health insurance at a reduced fee if you have a pre-existing condition and have been refused by 2 insurance companies. An insurance company who agrees to cover you, but only with a pre-existing condition rider (for example, won't cover anything related to Graves Disease) on your policy counts the same as a denial. The caveat is you have to be without insurance for at least 6 months, which it sounds like you are. The programs are different in each state, but worth looking into. In Ohio, the cost is about $200 per month, costly on a student budget, but I pay $300/month for my student plan since I can't afford to go without insurance for 6 months to qualify.

If you are under 26, and your dad has insurance through an employer, you should be able to get covered under his plan according to the new healthcare bill. It may cost him money to add you, but it sounds like you have some to cover the cost difference of adding you to his policy.

You can always go into your local welfare office and complete an application to see if you qualify for any assistance. It may not be healthcare or cash assistance, but you might qualify for food stamps, and the money you save on food could go a long way to covering your health care costs.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Cat1990 said:


> Hi my name is catherine (cat) and I am 21 years old [this past april.]
> i live in texas.
> grandmother & mother=thyroid disease
> 
> ...


Oh, honey bunny! You are ill, ill, ill!!

You are in very advanced stages of hyperthyroid. I can tell by the symptoms you describe and TSI confirms hyper. You should have no TSI at all; period.

Here is info.

TSI
Normally, there is no TSI in the blood. If TSI is found in the blood, this indicates that the thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin is the cause of the of a person's hyperthyroidism.

http://www.medicineonline.com/topics/t/2/Thyroid-Stimulating-Immunoglobulin/TSI.html

Can you go to emergency care at your local hospital? You need to be on antithyroid med and betablocker to get stable and then probably have that thyroid out.

Here is info on thyroid storm.

Thyroid Storm
http://www.clivir.com/lessons/show/thyroid-storm-symptoms-causes-and-treatment.html

Serious damage to your organs and even death can transpire if you don't get medical intervention soon.

I don't see you breathing well as the muscles surrounding the lungs also go kapooey. Bladder and uterus prolapse also.

Saying some serious prayers for you young lady and you must get rid of that doctor. She should be arrested for letting you get this way and I am dead serious; I kid you not.

You can tell I am angry. This should not have happened to you.

Holding you in prayer and let us know.


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## Miss Mouse (Jun 2, 2011)

Hi Cat : )
I really feel for you. You are very smart in believing in yourself. I was diagnosed with graves when I was 22. I was a very extreme case, and I call that period of my life the dark years. Please, please go see a different Dr. Did you go to the Dr alone last time? My experience was that Dr.'s would blow me off because I was young. Have your Mom or parent type go wih you next time and have them help you ask questions. Graves can make you feel unstable and a bit crazy at times! Not to mention all the weird physical stuff that comes and goes. You hang in there and fight for your health! Be sure to ask for and keep all copies of labs or anything to do with your process. You have to be your own advocate and you will need those records for the road ahead! Start a binder and put everything in it, labs results, symptoms your having wih dates, insurance info, all that stuff. Your not alone! Although healthy people may not understand what you are going through, anyone here will! Keep us posted, and ask, ask ask questions!!!! You don't have to suffer in silence. Big hug!


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## Cat1990 (Jun 9, 2011)

thank you for your posts so far :hugs:
i want to cry just reading them.. but im at school in the library so tryin not to
haha! they just make u feel crazy right? i tried to ignore everything but its not me being psycho.

i have a red folder with stacks of everything i could get my hands on, medical papers-wise. i charted all symptoms from the year i was off meds too. 

:confused0081:*****i forgot to mention, my *right rib cage is raised*,
particularly when i lay down. certain ribs have been inflammed for months. no previous injuries or anything. has evolved to this over past year. i get daily pains and aches in chest cavity in the upper part. mostly on right side, 
but sometimes on left kinda around heart/lung? hurt a lot#[email protected]$. *can antibodies break down cartilage too, or just soft muscle?*?*****

doc had said it was that chostcondritis crap, whatever, but perscribed me a pill thats like the strength of two Aleve... i didnt pay for that.. i have aleve in my purse. glow
pain:
-squeezing
-sharp
-random
-has taken breath away
-pretty scary at times.

soo is this possibly lung/cartilage? whaaa? :sad0047:


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Cat1990 said:


> thank you for your posts so far :hugs:
> i want to cry just reading them.. but im at school in the library so tryin not to
> haha! they just make u feel crazy right? i tried to ignore everything but its not me being psycho.
> 
> ...


I would be more inclined to think pleurisy because of the muscles surrounding the lungs are not able to do their job well.

, pleurisy.
Pleurisy, also known as "pleurisy", is inflammation of the pleura.After the inflammation subsided, resume to normal pleura, or the occurrence of adhesion between two layers of pleura.Caused by a variety of causes, such as infection, malignancy, connective tissue disease, pulmonary embolism and so on.Tuberculous pleurisy is the most common one.When dry pleurisy, pleural effusion surface of a small amount of fibers, expressed as severe chest pain, like needle-like, check pleural friction rub can be found in such changes.Exudative pleurisy, with the increase in the pleural cavity effusion, chest pain diminished or disappeared, patients often cough, may have difficulty breathing.Also often fever, weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite and other symptoms.Check can be found in heart, lung compression performance.When a large number of pleural fluid can be checked by chest X-ray examination and discovery.The treatment of tuberculous pleurisy include TB drug therapy; accelerate the absorption of pleural fluid, if necessary, pumping liquid treatment; prevent and reduce pleural thickening and adhesion, the choice of adrenal cortex hormones.Pleurisy is caused by various reasons parietal pleura and dirty level of inflammation.Mostly secondary to lung and chest diseases, but also for the local performance of systemic disease.There are many types of clinical pleurisy, tuberculous pleurisy in the most common.

explodeFor hyperthyroidism heart, rheumatic heart disease, coronary heart disease have a special method of measuring the differential diagnosis: hyperthyroid heart disease (hyperthyroidism heart), rheumatic heart disease (RHD), coronary artery disease (referred to as coronary heart disease) is a heart attack three distinct, but in a certain period of the disease, its performance is quite similar, which could easily lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment.
http://daquandisease.com/identification-of-coronary-heart-disease/

I am thinking a dry pleurisy. It is very very painful.

You can cry tears of validation; you are not crazy. Not at all. I hope you get help. I pray for it.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Gosh, that sounds an awful lot like the pain I was in when I was in thyroid storm. I ended up in the ER over chest pain. I was never given anything for the pain, but my graves was treated, and it went away.


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