Dear Miller,
Use the archives provision for this BB & read everything you can find about ANY thyroid condition (they are all caused by the same causes, the result of those causes are due to the genetic susceptibility of the individual) . THEN, if you still have questions, write again. Be sure to have her read the references mentioned.
Walt
I am 43, was diagnosed with Graves disease in Dec.97, started on PTU, given RAI in March 98 ( as an uninformed patient) and now want to know if it is too late to help my body heal itself. Now, approx. 7 weeks after I131 , my eyelids are swollen,and my eyes are irritated and red. I am married, work full time and have two children ( 7 and 9). I am really anxious about my eyes getting worse. Any suggestions?
I WAS JUST GIVEN RAI UP AT MAYO CLINIC LAST
WEEK FOR GRAVES DISEASE. I WOULD LIKE TO
KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT NOW, AS TO HOW I WILL
BE FEELING. IVE HAD NO CHANGE SO FAR
THANK YOU
CATHY DIMUCCI
My friend has recently been diagnosed with graves disease......I am not sure what it is and was wondering if some one might tell me in plain english.
Hello,
Recently my grandfather was diagnosed with Graves Disease. I am not sure to the extent of how bad it is b/c he usually males himself out to be "fine" when you ask him how he's doing. I'm 18 and I love my grandfather drearly and want to be sure that this disease isn't going to take him away from me anytime soon. Nonetheless I would like to know a little bit about it and why he got it at age 65 and not beofre. Also is it an inherited disease. Curruently I battle epstein barr for about 2 months out of every 12-15 months and want o know am I at risk woith graves as well. Thank You......Jen
In Reply to: Graves Opthalmopathy posted by Jean on May 03, 1998 at 18:56:49:
Dear Jean,
It is never too late to get rid of the causes (regarding your eyes) unless you are already totally blind.
Use the archives section for this BB & read everything you can find about ANY thyroid condition since they ALL are caused by the same mechanisms. You are going to have to look at it this way to get rid of this anyhow.
THEN, if you still have questions, write again. As you get well, please share your experiences with the rest of this BB's participants. Others deserve to know that they are not a the mercy of the conventional medical monopoly.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Graves Disease posted by CATHY DIMUCCI on May 04, 1998 at 22:08:03:
Dear Cathy,
ONLY THE DOCS WHO DID THIS TO YOU CAN TELL YOU THAT!
There will be many more (probably unanswered by your docs) questions in the coming years as the RAI complications show up.
Your only choice now is what you should have been told BEFORE this irreversible action was taken. Use the archives service provided for this BB and read everything you can find about any thyroid condition (since they are all caused by the same progression of causes). Then, if you still have questions, write again.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Graves Disease posted by paula on May 05, 1998 at 09:44:59:
Dear Paula,
Your friend needs to understand this even more than you do. I hope you will pass it on.
Graves Disease was the first thyroid condition shown to be directly related to stores-stress effect in the hypothalamus. That was more than 40 years ago & still it is only the rare physician who will take the time to explain that to a patient AND tell her/him how to get rid of the cause.
The reason for this is that the solution is education & commitment on the part of the patient. It is MUCH easier and more lucrative for the doc to just treat the complaints of the patient and go on to the next fee. The only reason we MDs get away with this is that we have a monopoly over the "disease-care system" in this country.
There are several references that would spell this out in great detail but, in a nutshell, this is what Graves Disease is:
The entire endocrine gland network works like a spiderweb. One cannot "pluck" any one of the strands without influencing the entire web. If one of the strands gets broken the total strength of the web is GREATLY diminished. The pituitary gland used to be called the "master gland" because is seemed to tell all the other glands what to do. We now know that that is pretty simplistic. However, the "first lieutenant" of the "pituitary general" IS the thyroid.
The chronic stored stress-effect everyone is talking about is stored in the hypothalamus which is part & parcel of the pituitary control system. When this gets too much of a strain, the pituitary begins to function in a different way. One of the first strands of the web that breaks is the thyroid.
ALL thyroid conditions are caused by this same mechanism. Whether one "gets" Graves Disease, Hashimoto's Struma, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, etc., is based on the person's genetic makeup NOT on any different causes.
Graves is one of the more serious forms of hyperthyroidism and is a measure of pituitary dysfunction more than being a thyroid condition. Unfortunately, one of the abnormal hormones from the pituitary CAN cause swelling of the fat pad behind the eyeball and cause the characteristic "pop-eyed" appearance of this condition. The fact that this is not a function of the elevated thyroid hormone is shown by the fact that, even with the thyroid totally destroyed by RAI, the "pop-eye" persists. All that has been done with this approach is that the treatment has cut off the tip of the iceberg. The pituitary is still in trouble & later in life the consequences of this problem will surface in other more serious ways.
The only thing that has been shown to consistantly reverse the "pop-eye" problem is to discharge the chronic "fight or flight" storage in the hypothalamus. The only way that has been shown to be effective in accomplishing that is for the individual to learn an effective skilled relaxation technique & practice it at least twice a day for 20 minutes (not counting any done within 2 hours of retiring).
I would suggest you use the archives feature for this BB and read everything you can find about ANY thyroid condition. Then, if that makes sense to you, read a copy of my book (link on this page) since that would explain not only the condition but what to DO about it. THEN, if you want a much more in depth explanation about the mechanisms of cause, read Dr Pelletier's classic "Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer" also referenced in my book.
The solutions to this terrible problem have been apparent for more than 20 years. They are just not financially rewarding for the current conventional monopoly.
If either of you have more questions, after the above is under your belts, write again here on this BB. Others with these kinds of conditions deserve to know that they are not being given all of their options for the worst of reasons.
Walt
In Reply to: Grave's Disease info posted by JEN on May 05, 1998 at 16:14:06:
Dear Jen,
Both your conditions have essentially the same bases. You both need to go to the archives provided with this bb and read everything you can find about ANY thyroid condition, EBV and Chronic Epstein Barr Virus. THEN you should read the reply I made to another request for information about Graves on 5/5/98. Be sure to read the 2 references mentioned frequently under the above topics.
THEN, if you still have questions, write again.
Walt
Virginia,
If the symptoms are there (some or all):
- enlargement of gland
- heart palpitations
- ravenous appetite
- weight loss (sometimes a gain but very rare, I did and was misdiagnosed for a time)
- bulging eyes with dryness (especially in the morning)
- fast hair and nail growth
- dry and itching skin
- intolerance to heat or cold (changes constantly)
- emotional distress (like you're on a roller coaster i.e. laughing one minute, crying the next)
- fatigue (but still feel like you need to keep going)
- nervousness
- Trembling on fingers
There are other symptoms but these should the major ones. Make sure you get a scan. I recommend radiation treatment if your level is way out of range. Mine was 29. Make sure it's an endriconologist, not a reg. m.d. doig the diagnosis. If you can get an endo. that also deals with metabolism. Write for any concerns.
Charlie
My chiropractor gave me the following vitamins to be taken before each meal : Cataplex A-C-P, Hepatrophin PMG and Thytrophin PMG. Then I am to take these vitamins after each meal: Organic Minerals, Cataplex B and Cataplex G. They are all manufactured by Standard Process Inc. out of Palmyra, WI. He also advocates a whole food diet. I am starting these supplements today, but was wondering what your thoughts were on this. My magnesium level is normal 1.6 as are all other levels except thyroid on my lab report. I have been taking 1000 mg of vitamin C per day to help get rid of a cold I picked up three days ago. I will get to the store this weekend to pick up the esterified C you discuss in your book. I am terribly stressed and depressed, is there anything else I should be doing, or do I just wait for things to get better?
In Reply to: Vitamin supplements for Graves posted by Karen Bersche on May 15, 1998 at 12:52:08:
Dear Karen,
BY FAR, the most important thing for anyone with Graves to be doing is an effective skilled relaxation technique as described in the back of my book (which you have).
These stop gap things your Chiropractor started probably will help you feel better for now. If they are not helping in a few weeks I would put my money somewhere more promising.
Was this MG level an INTRACELLULAR level?
You won't "get rid of a cold" very fast with 1000 milligrams of standard vitamin C daily. You would need at least 4 grams of the esterified C a day (or the equivalent--taking 16 grams of regular C).
Standard Process is one of the best companies. However, I think that the amount of money it is costing you--in light of your eventual goal--is much too much.
Walt
Where on your site can I get info on Hypothroidism and/or Wilson Syndrome?
In Reply to: Re: SEARCH posted by Maria on May 22, 1998 at 11:48:22:
Dear Maria,
Since all thyroid conditions are basically caused by the same mechanisms, we have archived all thyroid stuff together. You wil find what you need there:
archives.
The site just got too big for our server & the search had to be disconnected. We are trying to get the most common subjects archived as soon as possible. See the "help" information to get around the most onerous deficiencies caused by the search problem.
We don't have much on Wilson's so you would have to look through the daunting BB for that. My main advice is that: It begins to look line ALL chronic conditions have a genetic proponent to them. ALL of these conditions are improvable by dealing with the genetic modifiers in the lifestyle. Things like Wilsons are just more penetrant with those who have it. They can still improve the liver function they have left.
Learn about castor oil liver packs (ask your health food store or call the Heritage Store (800) 862-2933. Also look up anything you can find about alpha lipoic acid. This will be standard management for ALL liver conditions within 10 years. Since it is perfectly safe, why wait for the conventional medical monopoly to catch up?
Also, a serious "wellness program" will do a lot of good for ANY chronic condition.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: graves desease posted by Walt Stoll on May 02, 1998 at 12:47:18:
Can Graves disease reoccur after iodine/radiation treatment? It has been 7 years since mom initially went through her first treatment and her sysmptoms have reoccured. Does the thyroid grow back?