Graves or Hyperthyroidism?

Diagnosis = Graves Disease

28 yr old female
4'11"     125lbs (was 132lbs 2 weeks ago before Adepex)
3 pregnancies/3births
No allergies/surgeries/diseases
Off and On Smoker
Rx: Adepex 37.5mg to assist with weightloss
Family history:  Mother = Obesity, Asthma, Hyperthyroid during pregnancy only, degenerative disk disease
                                  Grandmother - Cancer of lung, liver, brain & kidney, heart disease, goiter & synthroid
                                  Grandfather - Cancer of the prostate
                       Father = Very thin, hearing loss began in early 30's
                                   Grandmother - Cancer of lung
                                   Grandfather - Cancer (unknown origin)

Symptoms: fatigue, body aches (shoulders, back), sciatic-like pain and joint cracking around hips/butt/pelvis, loss of appetite, difficulty losing extra 25lbs from pregnancy (4 years ago), waking up tired, difficulty falling asleep, can't concentrate, forgetful, irritable, crabby, short painful menses, dry skin - often red welts or pimples appear after scratching, sweating, generally low blood pressure (93/76) but recently higher (114/89) which might be the Adepex, headaches, dry itchy eyes, short of breath, wimp out easily with exercise, sinus problems.

Labs: Taken twice =  T3, T4, TSH and FTI normal ranges (not free T3 or free T4)

Ultrasound = 5 nodules.  4 together, no more than 1.2 cm.  1 alone, 1.6cm  Findings - slightly enlarged thyroid with multiple nodules

I123 = Four hour uptake is borderline increased at 22% (5-20% normal).  Twenty-four hour uptake is increased at 39% (5-35% normal).  Images demonstrate a thyroid gland which is enlarged measuring about 5-5.5cm.  No hot or cold nodules seen.  Findings:  Abnormal scan suggesting hyperthyroidism with elevated four and twenty-four hour uptake.  Negative for any dominant hot or cold nodules.

Doctor instructed me to keep taking Adepex for another month until I plateau with weightloss, then stop taking medication and begin treatment for Graves Disease using one of the three options given: medication, RAI or surgery.

1)  Just need a second opinion on diagnosis of Graves before I jump in with treatment options.  Anything else I should be doing?
2)  My mother is one of those Reliv nutrition supplement distributers - and she is trying to convince me that if I would just exercise and eat even healthy that doing those things would lower my heart rate, increase my metabolism, make me sleep better and I would wake up rested.  That treatment with surgery, RAI or pills is not necessary and that treatment is a lazyman's way out.  Any suggestions on how I respond to this?

Thanks for reading, Arae
                      

[Roxanne862]

Sounds like you might be a bit hyper. I lost almost 50 pounds when my thyroid went wild. My heart Palps were 160 beats a minute, desperate , after getting down to 114 pounds and two months of meth and beta blockers, and wanting to get well fast, I rushed to have Radioactive Iodine. I consider that to be the biggest mistake of my life. about a month and a half after RAI my eyes began to feel like something foreign was in them, tear and itch.. Then swell upper and lower. I now have GO, Thyroid Eye Disease, that was caused or made worse by RAI. GO is worse than anything graves had to throw my way.  If you decide to do RAI , dont be as unwise as me, see a eye doctor prior, and have a CT scam to make certain you do not have TED , before the RAI. Even then as prevention have the Doctor put you on Prednizone , steroid, for about three weeks prior to your uptake I had my RAI in Nov of 08, went hypo with a TSH of 50.6 in April , then in July my TSH is 0.0 ... I am now Hyper.. displaying many of the symptoms I had when I started, I also had a multi nodule toxic goiter. I believe, I made myself hyper... after being hypo and finding it more dreadful than hyper, after reading Elaine Moores books, I began to try foods and supplements.  I beleive my changes in diet have brought me back so swiftly.  Listen to your Mother... I wish , someone like your Mother could have got through to me ... and that I would have tried other ways of treating my thyroid. I am now off of all thyroid meds... and continuing eating good foods ... My eyes are stable, however I will need surgery to correct them... They have improved but from all I have read, congestive GO needs surgery. I believe the RAI caused that... So please consider anything but RAI first.  I wish you the best on your journey.  Best of luck.

[Smilerdeb]

Stop the diet supplements as 99% of them contain Iodine (unbeknown to many).
Get your Doctor to run the Graves antibodies test (TSI) not mistaken as TSH and dont do nothing permanant until you have researched your condition inside out.

Buy yourself some time by getting on anti-thyroid meds and beta blockers and researching as much as you can about your condition.
Those who have permanant treatment on the advice of a Doc/Endo without researching everything come down with one almighty THUMP.
Some Docs will tell you that its easier to deal with Graves once Hypo...I totally agree with that but I dont agree that  'All you will need to take is one pill a day for the rest of your life"...which is the info a lot of Docs give their patients.
Until you know 100% sure that you have Graves antibodies......do nothing permanant.

Theres no way on this Earth I would let a Doc do something permanant for Graves, without testing for Graves Antibodies.

[Smilerdeb]

I had RAI too after uncontrollable antibodies (Graves) and thyroid cancer of both lobes (TT done too) .

13 months later I am doing great BUT only because I researched everything inside out.
I went Hypo 5 weeks after RAI ...it didnt take me long.
But I think I had Graves and Hyperthyroidism for many years and stayed on ATDS as long as I could (nearly a year) to do my research.

Ask for antibody testing.