SICKNESS ANYONE

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I totally empathize and will pray for you. Melissa, my girlfriend, has high thyroid level also. She is taking medicine to get it to go back down to normal. I talked to the doctor, who said that her TSH level was high and he needed to give her something between 25 and 50 (I think micrograms, not sure). I just want her to be all right, but I've noticed she sleeps so much more than she used to. We'll just keep watching her blood levels.

I have high blood pressure. I take medicine and am exercising to help bring it down. Also staying away from salty food. I never use the salt shaker, so it's just heredity passing it down from my dad.

High blood pressure for me and maybe a touch of insanity. Don't now if it counts as a sickness but I am also a functioning alcohloic. I am aware that lung cancer or liver problems will end my life sooner rather than later.

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Even with your explanation I still don't get what Graves does overall. It jacks up the thyroid but what does that do

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Yeah I still smoke. I might quit I don't know. I am already planning to pimp out a hov-a-round to carry my oxygen tanks. I was thinking about maybe putting some rims on it and a banging sound system. Maybe hydraulics too. I won't be able to breath but my rascal will be bad ass.

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You're welcome. Melissa's on Levothyroxin, a generic for Synthroid. She has had thyroid problems for a while now. At first it was sleepy, sleeping, lethargy, and weight gain. At the next doctor's visit, I was surprised when he told her she had a higher thyroid level. He asked her if she had been irritable and wanting to go to bed later, which she was. Now, after the change in amount of micrograms, she is tired when she gets home from work and usually takes a nap of an hour or two.

It makes less time to be together on the weekdays, but of course I do not wake her up or anything. I wouldn't want anyone to wake me up if I had this. I am told that the thyroid level can fluctuate, and it appears that this is what was happening. I could be wrong, though.

She smoked also, a pack a day, and went cold turkey and has never smoked again. It was hard and I had to encourage her to quit, and it paid off.

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I had a LT Hip Replacement on April 10th 2007 due to Avascular Necrosis. I was 27 at the time. I am fully recovered now and walk normaly. I cannot do some things (like running) but it dosen't phase me for the most part. I notice the big scar on my butt more than anything. It was strange being in physical therapy with a bunch of old people..
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My illness really sucks! I was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 24. I hallucinate visually and audibly. I am normal most of the time. I am the same guy you knew back when. I do see some weird stuff from time to time. I have to tell myself that it is my mental illness.
I take a medicine called seroquel. It limits the amount of dopamine in my brain. Basically, it slows down my thinking and keeps my mind from creating delusions. It really sucks! Do not think of me any different. I usually do not share this with most people, just the people I trust.

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My mom is taking seroquel. It's really been a great help for her.

As for me, I take Xanax and Klonopin for my anxiety disorder, Requip for Restless Leg Syndrome (yes this is a real disorder), and Ambien for chronic insomnia.

I think its funny that the side affects of the Requip include "an increased urge to gamble". I mean, WTF? What kind of medication makes you want to gamble? I guess I should stay away from Vegas.

Seroquel is a great drug! It helps so many, but has some sketchy problems that can occur, like heart trouble. I let Vanderbilt use me as a test patient, so they can better understand Seroquel and it's long-term and short-term effects. My mother is Schizophrenic and my father is Bi-Polar.

I understand restless leg syndrome. Sometimes, my doctor experiments on me. Anti-psychotics can induce restlessness for days. During this time, you cannot sleep or quit moving. It is mental and physical anguish. I hope Requip helps you out. I used to be on Xanax myself. I took myself off it due to over-use (abuse). I cannot sleep without my Ambien either.

It is hard to believe a medicine gives you an urge to gamble. haha!
It sounds like an excuse to gamble. Maybe the drug companies and the casinos are plotting against us. (conspiracy theory)

David, what do you think of Ambien? I have heard of people sleepwalking a lot.

I actually used to sleepwalk/talk/kick and even went to pee in the kitchen one time when sleepwalking. I don't think I've ever done it when I've taken an Ambien though. Or at least if I have no one has been there to see me. It knocks me out and I feel so incredibly rested when I wake up in the mornings. I've been on it for a few months, but I only take it if I can get to bed by 11pm. If I take it any later than that, I worry about sleeping through my alarm.

I was also diagnosed with Graves disease at age 24 and had the radio iodine treatment done twice because it did not work the first time, my levels are still jacked up, but i am on synthroid. I was diagnosed with meniere's disease(a disease that causes severe vertigo and ringing in your ears) at 26, after trying lots of different meds the dr. finally did a procedure to completely kill my balance nerve in my left ear which did stop the vertigo but left me 90% deaf in that ear. Overall i prefer the deafness to the vertigo any day of the week.

I had a mild heart attack in the fall 2006, it was actually at halftime of a football game I was coaching, scared the crap out of me ..... it was the wakeup i needed ... i have lost 25 lbs since then, eating better and exercising more.

Kayla, Avascular Necrosis (the best I understand it) is where the blood vessels in the joint die and blood flow is cut off, then the bone starts to die. It was a freak thing. The Doctors couldn't tell me a reason why it happened. *shrug*

I take Cymbalta and Abilify for my depression and anxiety. Works okay..
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Because of a series of events with my kids we are currently seeing a specialist in Portland to diagnose Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease). My daughter was born with amniotic band syndrome, which left her with just 1 foot. Then when Hunter was 3 months old he broke his leg. DHS came and wouldn't let us leave the hospital with our kids, our Ped was literally throwing up begging them to give her time to figure this out because she knew we didn't abuse our kids. We were run through the ringer, theatened, seperated and questioned. In the end, we left with them late that night because a specialist phoned in from out of town and said that there was a small chance he had this disorder.

I have had 8 broken bones (mostly in elementary school), we have some other random family history factors, and it turns out that OI is a hereditary collogen disorder just like Hannah's ABS. We belive there is a connection. In the end they told us that the test for OI is unreliable and he could test negative and still actually have it, which would put DHS on our backs again. When we save enough money I will travel to the NIH and have the test myself. That may give us some answers for Hunter. So for now we are just waiting and watching and spending evenings scouring the internet for specialists who see a connection between Hannahs ABS and Hunter's break.

It's indescribable stress watching an active 2 year old throw himself off of the couch, always wondering when the next break will be and worrying that DHS will swoop in and claim the need to take my kids. There are so many stories of kids with OI ending up in foster care until they could get a diagnosis. It's really scarry.

I'm going to accompany Melissa to the doctor on Tuesday, and ask him about these sorts of things. While he's not an endocrinologist, he is PCP for her in Internal Medicine and he also is a nephrology specialists (kidneys and dialysis). He works at three different places, and she sees him in Smyrna (not far from here). I also go to this man's brother, since I only need a PCP.

I have already told her the instructions about when to take it (on first awakening) and not to drink 4 hours before or 1 hour after. I don't think she has been doing that before now, but I can reinforce it with her. She's really a sweet girl. I understand about the goiter (we had to learn about it when I was a Bio major). I showed her a photo of it a Malaysian woman who had it, very pronounced in size.

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Holy shit Skyla. I've heard bout the brittle bone deal and it sounds devastating to a happy kid who can't understand why they are limited to doing certain things. I don't pray so I can't do that, but everyone I like usually ends up gaining some of my Irish luck so i'll gladly throw some karma your way.