Hello.

Just wanted to give an update on my labs. Maybe my journey will help others or give others hope.

Here is my lab history:
TSH:
Hardly there from 06/08/12 to 07/09 … <0.01 (very low)
08/09 … 1.65 (normal 0.27-4.20) (low of normal)
09/14 … 8.71 (normal 0.27-4.20) (high)

FT4 ….
06/08/12 … 2.89 (normal is 0.8-1.70) (high)
06/14 … 3.40 (normal is 0.82-1.77) (high)
06/29 … 3.79 (normal is 0.82-1.77) (high)
07/09 … 2.01 (normal is 0.8-1.70) (high)
08/09 … 0.53 (normal is 0.8-1.70) (low)
09/14 … 0.68 (normal is 0.8-1.70) (low)

FT3 #s:
06/08 … 12.3 (2.6-4.4) (high)
06/14 … 11.5 (2.0-4.4) (high)
06/29 … 10.0 (2.0-4.4) (high)
07/09 … unknown
08/09 … unknown
09/14 … unknown (I'm guessing low just like the fT4)

ALT:
06/08 … 109 (high)
06/18 … 76 (high)
07/09 … 77 (high)
08/09 … 71 (high)
09/14 … 29 (for all - normal is < 32) (normal)

WBC:
07/09 … 4.67 (normal 4.8-10.8) (low)
08/09 … 4.35 (normal 4.8-10.8) (low)
09/14 … 3.44 (normal 4.8-10.8) (low)

As you can see, I'm now hypothyroid. I'm on Methimazole 10mg/day. I'm guessing the Dr. will lower my dose again. I thought I would be hyper again since last time he lowered my dose from 30mg/day to 10mg/day and I thought that it was a drastic change. What I'm afraid about is my WBC. It has gotten lower. I'm very happy about my liver though.

Any comments are welcome.

Caro

Thank you for posting this. My husband was just diagnosed last week and his numbers are higher than yours, but I am hopeful the meds will adjust these issues. May I ask…are you on Beta blockers also or have your symptoms not included the heart palpatations. My husband is a triathlete and is in denial about “slowing” down until he “stabilizes” Did you experience weight gain in this dosage of M? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give this wife about embarking upon this journey with my hubby. Blessings!

Hi Caro,
Congratulations on your Liver numbers. Can be really scary being elevated, took mine 11 months to get out of the danger level and back to almost normal, they still closely monitor it though. Hopefully your next set of labs will show a raised WBC. How are you feeling being officially “Hypo”? Hopefully things will return to normal so you can continue on with life in general. Please keep us updated.
Cheers, hugs and kisses
Debbie

Hi Naturenut,
Welcome to the Forum. Well done on wanting to be informed about Graves. Having a supportive and informed partner can make all the difference and really helps on those “feeling down or blue” days. It is very much an up and down journey and while my journey has now gone on for over a year, the support, information and reassurance I have gained from this Forum and it's members has been priceless. I was diagnosed with heart failure (AF) in conjunction with Graves and I have only just stopped taking Inderal/Deralin in the last week, (not sure what it is called in the US) (I tapered from 4 tablets daily down to 2, down to 1 and then none over 4 weeks) and I am still taking Pradaxa (Warfarin and me just didn't get along) as a Blood Thinner. It is very important that your husband does not over exercise at this stage. Having Graves causes our muscles to deteriorate and although he may feel a need to build them back up, you don't want him to cause any further damage to his heart, please make sure he follows Doctor's orders on this. My initial weight loss was masked by an excess of fluid caused by the heart problems, I lost 18kgs ( approx 40lbs) of fluid whilst in Hospital and it is only now that I am noticing a slight weight gain. Stay strong and please keep us updated on your husband's journey, there are good days and bad days ahead, but this Forum is only a click away.
Cheers, hugs and kisses
Debbie

Naturenut
Thank you for posting this. My husband was just diagnosed last week and his numbers are higher than yours, but I am hopeful the meds will adjust these issues. May I ask…are you on Beta blockers also or have your symptoms not included the heart palpatations. My husband is a triathlete and is in denial about “slowing” down until he “stabilizes” Did you experience weight gain in this dosage of M? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give this wife about embarking upon this journey with my hubby. Blessings!

Hello Naturenut,

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you found us. I'm sorry to hear about your husband but the medications have helped many and hopefully soon your husband will start feeling better. It took me about 3 weeks to start feeling positive changes so tell him to hang in there.

To answer your question, yes, I'm on Metoprolol. Tachycardia was the symptom that got me on the road to being diagnosed. I had to go to the ER early June with tachycardia of 124 bpm. I was given propranolol but since then my Gen. Dr. changed it to Metoprolol. I was having to take the propranolol 6 times a day and it kept my heart going up and down. The metoprolol keeps it constant. I started on a 50mg/day and I'm now down to a 25mg/day.

In June, when I was diagnosed, I was very sick and I lost 10 lbs in one month. At my last Dr's appt, 3 weeks ago, I was told I have gained the weight back (I had to eat a lot of protein at first to keep from loosing muscle). As of right now, I'm where I was before getting sick as far as my weight goes. I'm hoping I don't have to gain any more weight for where I'm at right now is my ideal weight for my height.

My advice to you and your husband is to hang in there. Give the medication time and have his Dr. monitor his liver enzymes and his white blood cells along with his thyroid (ft4, TSH) regularly (mine have been checked every 4 weeks). Also, have your husband give himself time to recuperate. I was told not to exercise at first b/c my body was needing my energy to heal. Now that I'm hypothyroid, I have been given the ok to exercise again.

Thank you for reading my post. If you have any other questions let me know. Please keep us posted.

Caro

Robboford
Hi Caro,
Congratulations on your Liver numbers. Can be really scary being elevated, took mine 11 months to get out of the danger level and back to almost normal, they still closely monitor it though. Hopefully your next set of labs will show a raised WBC. How are you feeling being officially “Hypo”? Hopefully things will return to normal so you can continue on with life in general. Please keep us updated.
Cheers, hugs and kisses
Debbie

Hello Debbie,

How are you?

Thank you!! I'm happy with my liver #s but scared about my WBC. So your liver enzymes were also elevated? I've read that the elevation can be due to being hyperthyroid and some people can even have immune related hepatitis.

Well, now that I'm “hypo” I feel tired but it is a different tired than the tired feeling from being “hyper”. Now, even though I'm tired, I can do more stuff and it is more bearable. So overall, I feel better. I did have a headache the last two days, something that hadn't happened in about 2 months. The weather is changing and my allergies start bothering me but yet again, it can be related to being hypo, right?

My fT4 is not that far away from the normal range, so I guess that is good even though my TSH is very high. I think my eyes have gotten a little bit swollen at night though. They have looked a little bit puffy in the mornings. Maybe they have always done that and I'm just now noticing b/c I'm more aware trying to make sure that if any TED comes up that I can tell the Dr. Maybe it is allergy related. So many maybes …

I hate Graves. I feel like I'm always waiting on another symptom to come up out of nowhere. I try not to worry though but I so want to feel normal.

Anyway, thank you for visiting my post and for asking.

Hope all is going better with you.

Smiles,
Caro

Hi Carito. Glad your numbers are improving. WBC scare is tough. Do you suffer from any sore throats? If you do, see your doctor. That could be a sign of infection. If not, maybe you are ok which is probably why your doctor didn't alarm you about the range of your WBC. Sending positive vibes to you and hang in there. I hate Graves also..still struggling to find my sweet spot. I get labs done this weekend. I am praying they are stabilized or my endo will push RAI…Good luck.

Hello Darcy. Thank you!!! I can't believe its been 3 months (almost 4) since all this started. Well, I was having a little bit of ear problems but I'm better now. I did some gargles with warm water and salt and it seems to have helped. I know my allergies are bothering me for sure. Thank you so much for the + vibes. I see my Endo in a couple of weeks. It seems that I'll be struggling to find my sweet spot too. I got new instructions and I'm supposed to lower the Methimazole now to 5mg/day. I really do hope you find your sweet spot soon. The very best with your labs. Please keep us posted.

Smiles,
Caro