Anyone has/had OVER-active thyriod?

[PaulinaB]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone on the forum has or had an OVER-active thyroid (Hyperthyroidism)? Everyone around seem to have under-active thyroid..
I was diagnosed with overactive thyroid at the age of 13 and after few years and 3 relapses (when meds seemed to work and then they stopped) doctors decided to go with iodine therapy which "transforms" overactive thyroid into under-active thyroid, which is apparently less life-threatening and easier to control.

Iodine therapy is basically giving the patient radio-active iodine which is absorbed by thyroid - radio-active particles damage the thyroid which "kills" the over-activity. My thyroid is currently very small and hard to see even on ultrasound (which is "normal").

 

[anna29]

Paulina - am bumping this thread up for you .
Hope you get some helpful replies .

I have an hypothyroid yet my hubby actually does the
nuclear medicine iodine 131 capsule treatment .
Did you get isolated therapy treatment afterwards ?
Where all things active from your own body get
disposed off separately .

 

[lessci]

I had hyperthyroidism a few years ago - but not the normal Graves disease version where your body makes to much T3 - with weight loss, short temper, "bulging" eyes etc as indicators, my body made too much T4 but converted the correct amount to T3. The only physically noticeable symptom was swollen feet! But I did also have a very fast pulse 100+ resting and enough energy to run a small country (4hrs sleep and still raring to go) and went from having terminal cold hands and feet to wandering around mid winter in a vest top & shorts. Was proscribed a course of medication (can't remember what) and after about 18 months my levels returned to the "normal" range although they are on the higher end and I still run hot, which doesn't bother me cos it saves on my heating bills!

 

[GlynneW]

Hyperthyroidism is an autoimmune condition as is my Type 1 Diabetes together with Pernicious Anaemia. I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 35 years and developed Hyperthyroidism 26 years ago, (so far I don't have Pernicious anaemia!! -- although this was the only autoimmune condition my mother had)
I was treated with radio active iodine to completely knock out my thyroid function and was isolated for a couple of days. Since then I have had Thyroxine replacement medication daily with no further problems. I have annual blood tests to confirm the replacement is adequate.
Hope all goes well for youPaulinaB

 

[anna29]

Some persons with a hyperactive thyroid need little sleep .
Can suffer with fastness of speech and hyper hunger needs .

Old school friend of mine talked so fast it was virtually
impossible to grasp what she was saying .
Also baked a load of party cakes for her daughters party
then ate the 'lot' and had to dash out to local bakery and buy
more in - in time for the party !
Her eyes swelled up and she lost weight and wore wellies
as her shoes wouldn't fit .
Suffered from unreasonable road rage too - I well recall
None of us would go in her car with her either !

She was hospitalised for 3 weeks to get her thyroid levels
sorted out .

 

[PaulinaB]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

I had the radio iodine therapy few years ago and I'm taking thyroxine ever since.

I don't know what the "cause" of hyperthyroidism was, but it probably wasn't Graves - I had no usual symptoms (eyes, etc). My only external symptom was my neck, which was A BIT bigger and was only noticed by my doc when he was checking my throat when I had a cold. Otherwise no one would notice.

I was 13 when diagnosed, but I remember that before that I simply had tons of energy and could eat any amounts of food without changing my weight

My BP was always "perfect", I was hardly getting cold in winter and sometimes my hands would sweat... But to be honest I liked my hyperthyroidism! I had lots of energy and could eat anything

After the iodine therapy I gained a lot of weight (no one really explained to the 13-year old what was going to change), which caused a lot of problems with my self-esteem. Even though my BMI was in the "normal" range, just at the top end

I noticed that as long as I have my thyroxine dose right and my docs are not messing with it (which was also a problem recently) and I let my TSH normalize, my weight comes off by itself and my body kind of "balances" itself out

For the iodine therapy, I remember I was given a pill and had to stay at home for some time and that was it.

 

[julie56]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone on the forum has or had an OVER-active thyroid (Hyperthyroidism)? Everyone around seem to have under-active thyroid..

I had Graves Disease about 20 years ago and after about 5 years on PTU decided to go for the radioactive iodine treatment. Have been medication free since then and only now have I entered the subclinical hypothyroid range. Just had to avoid close contact with people for a few days and wash my knife and fork separately.