My Journey Through The Wasteland of Graves Disease

My Personal Symptoms 

   As we all know, every person, or body, responds differently while living the same event. I experienced may of the symptoms mentioned above though not all. These symptoms didn’t flatten me all at once, many of them came on gradually then worsened over time.  I looked for pictures of that time to share with you, but I’ve thrown them all away.  Needless to say, it wasn’t a photogenic time for me. 🙂 

   Initially, at the onset of Graves’ I had a little more energy and felt almost a manic need to exercise. This feeling was a welcome relief to the overwhelming fatigue I’d been feeling for 4 years after being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

   However, that period of euphoria quickly diminished. The fatigue came back with an added kick. I could no longer walk a flight of stairs without heart palpitations and difficulty breathing. I had difficulty driving a car because of the uncontrollable tremors in my hands and legs. My resting heartbeat was between 100-120 beats per minute rather than the former 75 beats per minute. My heartbeat after exertion was around 150 beats per minute. I could hear my rushing blood and my palpitating heart.

   My feet and ankles swelled like a 9-month pregnant woman with edema. I broke out with red boils reminiscent of the bible character, Job. I developed a small lump, not obvious to the casual observer, rather than a large goiter with associated tenderness and discomfort to that area.

   I lost an extreme amount of weight within a short period of time. I dropped from 125 down to 100 lbs in a 2-3 week time span. Oddly enough, I wasn’t fully aware of the extent of my weight loss until a friend from out of town commented on it; therefore, the impaired cognitive function is another symptom I obviously suffered from. Shortly after the extreme weight loss, I ballooned up, literally swelled, to 140. This is not typical of Graves’ disease and so it caused me to think I wasn’t dealing with a thyroid issue, (more on this shortly).

   I was able to swim in the Pacific Ocean which at the time was below 65 degrees. I still felt like I was burning up. I was constantly sweaty and thirsty. My hair fell out in small chunks at times. I suffered from Insomnia, but I didn’t relate it to Graves’ disease as I’ve had this problem my entire life.

   At one point, my period was 6 weeks late. I kept taking pregnancy tests and wondering why they were all negative. I experienced bulging in my right eye accompanied by dryness and pressure. I was irritable and moody, but I ask you – who wouldn’t be under the circumstances? Fortunately, I did not experience panic or anxiety as many do.

   My question upon diagnosis was, “Why? Why and how did I develop this disease when I thought I didn’t have the classic risk factors?”

My Personal Risk Factors and Triggers & Diagnosis   

   So in looking at the risk factors listed above, yes, I am female. But so are lots of other people without Graves’, right? I was in the age range for increased risk, but again so are lots of other women. I had not been pregnant nor was I pregnant at the onset of Graves’. I had never smoked or even been exposed to excessive amounts of second-hand smoke. I did not ingest large amounts of aspartame. I did not take prescription medication. I didn’t even take birth control pills. I hadn’t had a bacterial infection. I did not take iodine in any form – I barely even used table salt (with or without iodine) to flavor my food. I wasn’t aware of a contributing family history. Again, I was not taking drugs nor had I undergone significant medical treatments.

   I had been in a few car accidents (not my fault 🙂 ) up to this point, a couple of which did involve whiplash, but it was indeed minor. And, OK, stress was a factor if you consider multiple moves, loss of job, and being newly married as stressors– but I still felt like Graves’ disease was an awfully extreme reaction to these triggers.  What was going on?

   I later found out that my body was dealing with a critical physical onslaught. I was already afflicted with an auto-immune deficiency and I was sensitive to chemicals. Those two factors left me vulnerable to pesticide poisoning.

   I lived in San Diego at the time.  For those who aren’t familiar with the geographic location of San Diego, it’s just north of Mexico. I spent a short time (between ½ – 1 hr) at a house recently treated for fleas with a pesticide outlawed in the U.S.,  but legal in Mexico. This pesticide poisoning packed a 1-2-3 punch. First my thyroid rebelled, that resulted in my body literally falling to pieces, and in an effort to recover it pulled any fat from my food storing the poison in fat cells. I became very bloated.

   Now, ideally, when your body starts acting erratically, regardless of risk factors, you go to a doctor. Your doctor will perform a physical during which they may notice an enlarged thyroid, among other symptoms. Your doctor will then have the lab draw blood to confirm the diagnosis of Graves’. The blood sample measures thyroid stimulating hormones, referenced as TSH, in your bloodstream. If you are low in TSH and high in thyroxine you’ll most likely be diagnosed with Graves’. Additionally, T4 may be elevated as will T3 levels.

   My diagnosis came along a little later than the ideal. Since some of my symptoms mimicked a chronic illness I’d been battling, some came on gradually, and since I definitely exhibited the symptom of cognitive malfunction, I didn’t go to the doctor for quite some time.

   My cat’s veterinarian was the first to convince me I needed find out what was wrong with me. I took my cat in for a respiratory illness,  and the veterinarian asked if I was OK. I was flushed, perspiring, and jittery, all simply sitting in her air-conditioned clinic. She told me I looked like the sick one, not my cat.

   I emailed my previous Naturopath / Acupuncturist living in Texas. He informed me that my symptoms indicated a toxic poisoning of some sort. I visited a holistic practitioner who did a saliva & hair analysis. He was able to determine that I had extremely high levels of a banned pesticide in my system. After a few sessions, I was unsatisfied with his technique to flush my system of the toxin.

   In the meantime, a friend who had Shingles was visiting a doctor specializing in Chelation therapy with good results; I was invited to make an appointment. I received one Chelation session. By the end of the day, I was prone in bed with the worst flu symptoms and backache I’d ever experienced. This condition lasted for days and was not considered normal. Further correspondence with my previous Naturopath in Texas revealed that Chelation, for me, was a bad idea. The toxins which were trying to store away in fat cells of the body suddenly released into my system in one fell swoop; he told me I was lucky I didn’t end up in the hospital.

   You may wonder, what kind of idiot was I that I didn’t go to a medical doctor immediately? Remember, many of these symptoms came on gradually, then worsened. Additionally, in the past I’d received inept care from the traditional medical community, this made me investigate alternative medicine.

   After the scare with the Chelation therapy, I did indeed go to a traditional medical doctor who ran thru the normal physical. I was asked if one eye was naturally bigger than the other. I said yes, because none of us are perfectly symmetrical and one eye was indeed only slightly larger at the time. Of course blood work confirmed the doctor’s suspicion. It was Graves’. I was told I needed to get Radioactive iodine treatment. I was also told there was a strong chance that the treatment wouldn’t “cure” me and that I’d need surgery to remove the thyroid, leaving me on medications the rest of my life. I wasn’t OK with my options at the time.

My Personal Treatment Choices

   I chose an alternative route. I felt that if homeopathic treatments didn’t help, then I’d resort to Western medicine. I chose an Acupuncturist that specialized in Chinese medicinal herbs. Gary Chen O.M.D., Natural Medicine Institute.

   He reviewed my medical labs, checked my vitals, and set aside a considerable amount of time for a consultation.  He determined a course of whole Chinese herbs that I brewed as a tea then drank 3-4 times a day. The tea was not appetizing! Many times I drank it while holding my nose. Every two weeks he followed up with me during another appointment. He would adjust the herbs and dosage as needed. This went on for approximately 1 year. My symptoms gradually subsided. During treatment, my husband and I moved to Texas. I continued my treatment religiously. I learned to monitor my own vitals, reporting the results by phone to the Acupuncturist every two weeks. I’d receive a shipment of fresh herbs to continue brewing. This went on for another 6 months to 1 year after which I was officially “cured”.

   All my symptoms reversed. I never took prescription medication or had surgery.  I’ve diligently had a thyroid panel run every year and it’s always come back in the normal range. During my pregnancies, the doctor’s were especially concerned I’d have a setback since pregnancy hormones have been known to affect the thyroid. My labs always stayed within the norms.

   I’m extremely grateful that I no longer suffer from Graves’ disease. I’m glad that my body responded well to alternative treatments. I’ve learned to be more in tune with my body and be proactive with my health as well. My hope in sharing my journey is that others too can benefit from doing thorough research in determining the best treatment options for them, whether that is Western medicine, Eastern medicine or a combination of both.