depression

[Applecore]

All of the sudden I am fighting depression.  It scares me.  I wonder if anyone else has found themselves focusing on themselves to much.  I feel like I am a hypochondriac.  There are so many things bothering me that I can't seem to get my mind off of me for too long.  I am having terrible memory and concentration problems.  My body aches all over.  Cramps in my legs. Eye problems seeing and light sensitive along with scratchiness and pressure.  The eye doctor said that it was dry eyes.  Irritability.   My tongue is still white.  Numbness in toes. And now depression.  Please forgive me for my sentence structures - I don't feel like being correct.  I want to cry all the time and am really having to push to believe it will ever get better - I know it will eventually or will it.  From what I read even when you are normal you don't feel normal.  Hope somebody out there can help.  Also terrible stomach pains.  I am going tuesday to a doctor to see about that and whatever other issues could be related.  Is there light at the end of the tunnel and how long is the tunnel?   thanks linda

[Applecore]

I guess what you are saying is that it is worth it to go through this so that I will eventually get better results.  I needed that to get me into reality.  All I could think of was I wasn't going to be able to eat what I wanted.   Thanks for the enlightening.  Yes it makes sense.  (YOu don't know how I needed to hear that tonight.    I am going to a nutritionist on Friday and wasn't having the right attitude about it.  God Bless You.  lol linda

[ChitChatNine]

I believe firmly that once you control what is causing the allergies then everything follows in relative suit!  My daughters suffer from a form of a reactive arthritis and once their asthma and allergies became controlled by identifying allergins, their joint problems have subsided ten fold!  Kind of cause and effect balancing act and once under control it gives the problematic area a chance to settle down so you can really see where and what you are dealing with in a "chronic" vs. "flared" state if that makes sense?

Cheryl

[Applecore]

thanks for the info.  The doctor gave me some samplel drops and I don't remember the names.  I will look into the Zatidor drops.  I have found that wearing sunglasses has really helped me.  You know there are so many things to deal with I try to deal a little with each symptom.  I just went to a MD, holistic doctor today and he is addressing why I got the thyroid problem in the first place.  He said that over the years my colon and stomach have had a lot of abuse from antibiotics, radiation and other things and instead of it picking up the completely digested food and sending it to the thyroid it picks up the fully digested food and the not fully digested food and the body recognizes that it isn't right and creats antibodies to attack it.  I have to change my eating as I am now allergic to lots of food and this will help to cure what caused the hashimoto and my stomach problems.  Of course this will help in all areas of the disease.  I hope I explained it right.  I  know I made it very simplistic but for the first time I understand the cause of the disease and can understand the cure (I'm not sure cure is the right word) as I am not sure that it can be cured but it will help everything.  I am checking on line for a forum for celiac and cascin free diets.   Thank you for all your help.  It is a learning process and all of us sure can help each other.  lol linda

[Nurseynurse714]

Hi Linda- so sorry you're having a bad spell. I just wanted to offer up my ten cents: there is a light at the end of the tunnel (I think!) :) I have had every symptom you've mentioned and since starting the synthroid in about August-ish, I am feeling a lot better than what I was feeling. I still have some bad days with the joint pain, but just here and there as opposed to everyday. I still struggle with the eye thing though-- all of the same sensations that you've mentioned. I've been to the eye doc at least 5 times in the last year trying to get some help with the burning, grittiness, pain behind the eye, constant eye redness, etc., etc., etc. and I've come to accept that the eye thing will never completely go away. But......you cope the best you can. With respect to the eye sx, the things that have helped me a bit are: 1.) any time I go outside for more than a few minutesand and am going to be exposed to allergens, pollution, etc, I use Zatidor drops about a half hour prior to going outside. This helps to decrease additional eye irritation caused by the outdoor irritants, but check w/ your doc first if you have other health issues or are on other meds. 2.) use an otc eye lubricant such as Systane to keep the eyes moist. It also serves to "flush-out" any of the other irritants/allergens that your eyes come in contact with. My doc said that you can use the Systane as often as necessary, but again, check the box and talk to your doc. 3.) Fish oil capsules: high in anti-oxidants, good for your cholesterol and heart health and helps your eyes produce better, longer lasting tears according to docs. 4.) Someone else on this board mentioned cold packs to your eyes- helps with eyelid swelling and eye inflammation. Hope some of these work for you and I hope that you're feeling better soon. I'll be praying for you. Take care ~

[Applecore]

In my whole life I would never have thought that there was anything like this to walk through.  We don't know until we walk in it ourselves how other people suffer.  The Lord has been so good to me.  I like to say he gave me a mattress to lay upon as he has given me lots of scriptures to carry me through.  I am required at this time to push and overcome.  This is where I really appreciate my friends on this forum.  I have looked at a lot of other forums but there are none that I have found like this one. I would have judged others that seemed to have so many things wrong that they were wrong, but God is teaching me to not judge because I do not want to be judged either.   God Bless you and all of you for the help that you are to me.   lol Linda

[TOLD YOU]

I am really sorry you are going through all of this.  But I can relate SO MUCH with what you have written, I could have written it myself.  My family (well a couple of them) DO think I am a hypocondriac, and I say LET THEM THINK IT...UGH...no one knows until they have walked a mile in my shoes.  Anyway sorry to vent a little.  I am almost 3 months post op and I still get depressed, more now that my meds have been increases than before.  I feel like a failure most of the time, but have to push through it.\
There IS a light, we just have to PUSH to get to the end of the tunnel, I know you can do it.  I have total faith in you, and the God that he will strenghten you each and every day.  He will not put more on us than we can handle, but he NEVER said it would be easy.  I will be thinking of you and praying for you.

Dana

[Applecore]

When I was on the prozac I thought that it made me at first feel worse.  They started me on a very high dosage.  I took it anyway and did what they toldl me to do.  I was in such a state that it didn't really seem to matter.  I was trusting in what the Lord had told me that the medicines would keep me safe.  When I finally got to a psychiartrist he took me off it and said that they started me on too much.  I didn't see any difference when they took me off or when I was on it.  He halved the doseage for a couple of weeks, then stopped it.  I am not opposed to taking an antidepressant if I need it so we will see what the doctor says.  I am ok today so the depression doesn't last.  I wondered if the nodules were throwing extra hormone again and that is the way I reacted.  Don't know.  Thanks for all your comments and prayers.  I do believe that with the help of God and medicine I will make it.  Just couldn't cope for awhile.  God Bless You All, Linda

[kitcurious]

Perhaps the Prozac was helping you afterall and you may wish to try it, or something else again. You also did have a  good observation earlier. Sometimes it's good to find distractions from the concentration on the self to help avoid noticing every ache, pain or sensation the body may have.

[GravesLady]

I am taking lorazapam on an as need bases and it is great, although I don't suffer anxiety or much depression. However, Lorazapam has saved me from Graves' Rages many times. But I have to be very true to my feeling or what I think might become a problem, even if it might be hours away from happening, I take my little pill regardless.

I am sending you positive thoughts and prayers.  You will get through this with a little help from everything, medical to prayers.

Let us know how you are doing and what docs says Tuesday.

[ChitChatNine]

I have gallstones .. so mine is pain under the right rib.

I had depression/anxiety after surgery and at diffrent times in my life that a mild tranquilizer did wonders to help me overcome .. esp. the concentration areas .. maybe something to ask your Dr. about short-term as you deal with all this.

Chronic conditions can cause depression and/or anxiety ... hang in there we are there for you!!!!!

Cheryl

[Applecore]

I meant to tell you that I also get pain under my left rib and I don't know what it is from either.  linda

[Applecore]

Thank you b oth for your comments.  I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this place to turn to to ask my questions.  I have printed these answers and will take them with me to the doctors on tuesday.  I will let you know how I make out.  I was on prozac during the terrible hypo hell but after 5 months he took me off.  I don't know that it really helped me as I wasn't depressed at that time.  This is the first time I have really felt depression.  I took lorazapam for anxiety  and it was an absolute lifesaver for me.  I don't take anymore as I don't have anxiety.  I will look into all the things and advice that you both gave me.  Thanks again and I do pray for the people on this forum.  lol linda

[AR-10]

I was telling my wife a couple weeks ago I am starting to sound like a hypochondriac. I'm sure my doctor wonders sometimes.

It's hard not to wonder and worry when you have constant aches and pains. I am starting to think I have another undiscovered serious problem because of a pain in my side I have had for a month now. The truth is, if it is something bad, I don't want to know.

Depression is tough to deal with all by yourself. I have had some degree of depression for well over a year. My doctors don't want me on antidepressants. I have mixed feelings about that.

Sometimes the depression is mild and I keep it pushed back. Sometimes it comes screaming to the front and I am in a black, negative place. Last week I actually came out and told my wife the only reason I was still breathing was because I couldn't stand the thought of her and my boys suffering for years because I was weak and selfish, but there are times I just want to end it.

She wasn't surprised. She has been worrying about it for a long time. Hopefully she will worry less now.

Discuss it with your doctor Tuesday. If he feels you would benefit from antidepressants, ask him about different drugs before you let him write you a scrip. His first inclination on what to perscribe may be modified if you ask him about different drugs and how they may affect any drugs you take now or your disease and how IT is affecting your body. He may decide a different antidepressant may be more appropriate as you discuss things with him.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, Linda. How long that tunnel is I cannot say, but I hope you walk out of it one day soon.  

[GravesLady]

You are not going crazy, its the disease and you are not a lone in this.  Many of us have suffered the same as you. However there are things we can do for ourselves to help get through all these thyroid issues.

Depression and a lot of other symptoms  just comes with the thyroid territory and being at the right levels for us to feel our best just might not be enough to correct all our issues. I took antidepressants for a while and have graduated to anxiety meds. even though I don't  anxiety and little depression, like blue Mondays,  I take them for Graves' Rage, and they truly help.  I would have lost family and friends if I hadn't taken these meds.
For cramps I take mega dose of calcium, potassium, magnesium, thiamine (B1), pantothenic acid (B5), and pyridoxine (B6) in which I take a good B-Complex 100.
Vitamin E has also been said to help minimize cramp occurrence. Drink eight glasses of liquid on a daily basis, preferably water .
And I sleep with a bar of wrapped soap under my bottom sheet.  All this seems to keep the cramping away. Once I stop the routine the cramping comes back big time.

Eye problems like TED -  Thyroid Eye Disease, stress is big factor and should be minimize as much as possible. Stress and smoking can induce disease development and worsen symptoms. Nutrient-rich diet, avoiding sugar and saturated fats, and incorporating stress reduction techniques. Diet, supplements and mild exercise are the key ingredients to keeping our immune system healthy, thereby reducing symptoms of  TED ophthalmopathy. 8 hours of sleep. Certain medications increase light sensitivity, including aspirin, oral contraceptives and many antibiotics, and many medications, including antihistamines, contribute to eye dryness and its associated symptoms of tearing. It’s also important to drink at least 8 glasses of water daily to prevent dehydration, and more if artificial heating is contributing to dryness. Humidifiers are helpful for those living in dry climates.
Lubricating eye drops with natural ingredients. Over-the-counter items that may help are artificial tears (NOT get-the-red-out drops or one that contain additives/preservative free ),  drops that are sterile and use liberally for dry eyes (if your eyes are excessively tearing, they are most likely dry), and simple anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen for the pain. If you have continuing difficulty, you can look into the nighttime gel products that stay in the eye overnight to provide extra moisture. Raise the head of your bed with a 4x4 under the head of the frame, and it raises the bed just right. That helps gravity to keep the fluid from collecting in the tissues of your eyes.
You might want to see an ophthalmologist soon as possible if you haven't already. It's possible that you will be a "wait and see" patient which is very common. But it's good for an ophthalmologist to have baseline readings for your eye measurements so they have some way to quantify the changes. Then you'll have an established relationship and the doctor will know where your eyes started.

Your other issues might be related to depression, cramps, stress, in other wards, once your depression, cramps, stress are treated, the others may be alleviated. There is a lot more to all this, but as you can see I have already but too much here as it is. You can google graves disease and rai (you must join) to get more info plus meet and get support from great people. Regardless, Good luck!