Two questions to women with severe hyperthyroidism or Grave's disease

[Cinnamons]

1) Does your thyroid condition caused you to shake and or be hypersexed?
2) Have your ever tried or heard about hyperthyroidism being helped by fulvic minerals?

I am severely hyperthyroid. Though I was varying degrees of hypo for several years, the sever hyper seemed to come on quickly during a time of great stress a few months after the death of someone close to me... got the first symptoms 2.5 months ago. I have lost a lot of weight from it. Doctor did TSH [very high] and free T3 [very low] and advised me to have my thyroid destroyed by radiation ASAP. I am looking for less drastic alternatives and am scheduled to see a thyroid expert soon. But what if that doctor too says to irradiate it? I don't want to. Want to find a way to bring my thyroid back to normal or closer to normal.

I am having myriad symptoms unprededented in my life: shaking, difficulty concentrating, cascading weight loss, severe hair fall, itchiness all over, abnormally heightened libido, apparent severe arthritis in my sacrum, hip joints, and lower back, elevated blood pressure. I am allergic to the beta blocker my doctor prescribed and he says that due to my heart history, that one is the only bp medicine appropriate to my situation, as the other med that would otherwise be indicated kills bone marrow. So I have been taking an herbal remedy from Native Remedies that contains motherwort, which has betablocker like actions. It is liquid so I can cut the dose if I start having the same reactions that I had to the doctor prescribed beta blocker. I started at 12 drops 3 times a day and had to cut it to 7 or 8 drops at the same frequency to be able to tolerate it. I am also using two homeopathic remedies from Pekanna to manage my blood pressure, Co-Hypert and CoroCalm. My doctor knows I cannot take the other medicine and is aware of what I am doing though probably not thrilled about it. There does not seem to be any other alternative for keeping a lid on these symptoms. Altogether this protocol sort of works to keep me more or less functional without falling asleep walking down the street or on public transport or getting white erruptions on my hands [all of which which the Rx caused] but shaking has started and my eyes look a little wierd and the libido problem started last week, so I know the hyperthyoidism is progressing. I have to travel to see the specialist at the beginning of next week. Hoping to hold myself together until then and get advice that will help and hopefully not mandate that my thyroid has to be destroyed.

Yesterday I started liquid fulvic minerals after researching them as much as I could. Did not know what to expect, but this morning when I got out of bed I did not have the sacral pain which sometimes is so strong it that it almost collapses me off my feet. There is still some pain in the sacral area, but it is much, much less than it has been. I do not know for sure that the fulvic minerals did that after just one day, but having so much less pain gave me the impetus to take a dose again this morning. Anybody know anything about fulvic minerals for hyperthyroidism? Or have any suggestions at all? Thanks, C.

[yankeeRN]

I just saw your post I felt the need to respond.  Please make sure that you follow your MDs instructions. I have hyperthyroidism and for me it's Grave's.  I take PTU--I got hives and major itchy palms from methimazole so I was not able to continue with the methimazole.  I also had taken a beta blocker initially.   I was started at a very low dose since I was afraid to take the beta blocker--it had to be slowly increased. What happened when you took the beta blocker?  Before I knew that I had had hyperthyroidism, I thought I was having premenopausal symptoms since many of the symptoms were similar.  I was very warm all the time, I sweat profusely, I was irritable--these I equated to premenopausal symptoms.  I then started with other symptoms--hungry all the time--I joked that I must have a "tapeworm"----I was losing weight though--I had tons of energy and did the work of 2 people at my job--I also had much more energy for other activities;) which made my husband wonder--lol  It was when I started to notice a tremor in my hands that I began to be concerned but though concerned I brushed it off as maybe from my morning coffee--denial is not a good thing:(  It was one day at work that I could not longer deny something SERIOUS was wrong with me---this day I felt so dizzy and had a splitting headache.  I just wanted to make it through the day--I never did---I ended up leaving work and went to the ER---heart rate 170 and blood pressure 187/97 (it was off the charts)---I thought I was gonna have the "big one"----I told the ER doc that I was wondering if my thyroid was off but that I did not have a family history.  The ER doc that I saw also had hyperthyroidism/ Grave's himself  and he thought I might be right---it was hyperthyroidism .  The ER doc said he wanted me to start the beta blocker but since I felt ok after the rapid heart rate had passed I declined the beta blocker---very stupid of me.  The very next day my symptoms returned and were worse--I tried to take it easy and really should have returned to the ER--I waited 2 days and then begged my doctor for the beta blocker because the shakiness was not only in my hands but all over--uncontrollable and uncomfortable--my heart would race and pound so hard it felt like it was going to come out of my chest--I also had panic attacks--very scary.  Please take your condition seriously---your symptoms can get much worse.  I know --I was there.  I had to be out of work for 5 weeks I was so sick and it took that long for my symptoms to get under control.  I had many more symptoms--I lost a lot of muscle mass and was quite weak--scary for me since  a  month prior to all this I was going to the gym working out to a major intensity.  I am back to normal now mostly....I don't know about any herbal stuff--I would be very careful--herbal stuff can be dangerous in my opinion.

[Barb135]

Antibodies attack and destroy the thyroid, or cause it to produce too much hormones.  Graves Disease is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies cause the thyroid to over produce hormones.  The definitive test for Graves Disease is Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin.  I wonder, on what basis were you diagnosed with Graves Disease if you haven't had antibody tests?  While all Graves Disease is associated with hyperthyroidism, not all hyperthyroidism is associated with Graves Disease; in other words, they aren't the same thing.

There's another autoimmune thyroid disease, called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, in which antibodies attack healthy thyroid tissue, so it eventually stops producing thyroid hormones.  

While Hashimoto's is most often associated with Hypothyroidism, it's very often characterized by periods of hyperthyroidism, in the early stages.  Antibody tests to determine Hashimoto's are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab).

You, also, need to have an ultrasound to determine whether or not you have nodules. Thyroid nodules can leak hormones, independently of the thyroid gland, which can also cause hyperthyroidism, though nodules are usually, nothing to worry about.

[Cinnamons]

Thanks for your answer. My doctor said that methimazole might kill my bone marrow so he would not prescribe it. He gave a beta blocker but I was apparently allergic to it. Had some side effects that made me feel unsafe on it so I told him I could not take it. I am gald the methimazole works well for you. You have had not bone marrow problems?

[Cinnamons]

You too are correct. It was .007 for the TSH and 2.56 for the free T3. I do not have the report with me now.

[Cinnamons]

All of the answers I got are good but yours really hits home nad will help me. I did not know it was okay to start eating the goitrogenic veggeis. Will do it. I am sure it will help. I avoided them while hypo and thought they had to be avoided wtih ALL thyroid conditions. Thanks so much. Doctors keep asking me if anyone has said I have Graves. No one has. It sounds like I have some of the symptons but no all and in addtion some different symptons. Again Thanks quite a lot.

[Cinnamons]

I have not had antibody testing. What is that?

[Cinnamons]

Goolarra: I had it backwards. Thanks for catching that. he TSH was 0.007 and the free T3 was 2.56. I do not have the report before me currently so cannot tell your the range.

[Cinnamons]

Thanks for answering. You caught me. I see now I stated the situation incorrectly. The TSH was 0.007 and the free T 3 was 2.56. I do not have the lab report before me right now so cannot give you the range.

[Pshizzo]

You do not have to destroy your thyroid. I was diagnosed with Graves disease in 2004. I take methimazole (generic Tapizole) which is the standard of care in Europe. I get my levels tested every three to six months and have had to adjust my dosage quite a few times. I do just fine, your experience may differ though.

[Barb135]

"Please post the actual results of your thyroid labs and include the reference ranges from your own lab report.  What you have described, "Doctor did TSH [very high] and free T3 [very low] and advised me to have my thyroid destroyed by radiation ASAP," is descriptive of hypO, not hypER.

Have you had antibody testing?"

Agree with she said.

[dgmootry]

Hey Cinnamons, I too was hyperthyroid for many years, I didn't have a real problem with it, up untill a few years ago, I went and ate alot of seaweed wraps, which have alot of iodine in them. So you want to stay away from iodine for one, and add alot of cuciferous vegitalbe to your diet, when I ate all those seaweed wraps,  it thru me into a thyroid storm, which sounds kind of like what your going thru now.  I had alot time before I could get into see the endo doctor, I wasn't given a blocker, so I looked on line and found, that eating cruciferous veg raw, like raw brocoli and cauliflower and I drank alot of carrot juice which really helped me out. I felt alot better, but I was really scared I would go thru that storm again and wouldn't make it thru it the next time, so I went thru the RAI treatment, which was suppose to distroy my thyroid, but low and behold its still functioning, but not real well. I'm on Armour and doing  pretty good, its been over a year and a half and I'm still trying to get my levels in the right range. Question to you is, do you have Graves disease? I didn't I just had nodules that some how caused my thyroid to produce to much hormone. Check into cruciferous veg, they are suppose to lower the thyroid hormone, if you were hypo thyroid you would not want to eat these vegitable raw, but being hyper eat them raw, its the goitrogenis in them that will help you, it did me. good luck, and I truly feel for you, that is a scary situation to be in, debbie