Good luck for the RFA Terri!!
I really hope it helps you!!
Hi, It is RFA not RAF OOPS!! I had to sign papers todays and send them back. I am scared but going to do it, cuz I can not take this pain. today is really bad just sitting here try to think and type is hard, my hips are thorbbing shotting pains if i touch my tighs it hurts so so sick of this. Iam sorry i complain so much..... life is good mom walked 25 steps today
Oh I have to get up and do my walk around in circles
Hi, It is Radiofrequency Ablation. They burn the nerve tissue in spine.
Hugz Terri
Terri,
What is the RAF they are doing to your back?
Another way to explain things, if they are familiar with diabetes .. tell them it is similar to that. Its a daily battle and your levels/situation can change just that quick. Its not so much what you eat but as food affects a diabetic, everything affects a thyroid illness. A pill does help but it is not instantanious but takes time, just like insulin. And still, you have to consider the invironment. For me, additional stress really causes my graves to act up.
Hi Terri...
A way I found to get my family (well, some of them!) to sort of understand what I go through is to get them reading the stuff on here! Once they read a bit and realised what thyroid issues are like for other people and not only me they sort of understood that I do need time and this illness it just the pits!!
Are they at all willing to look around here with you and read some stuff??
If they aren't willing to either read and realise themselves what you are going through and aren't willing to listen to what you tell them about thyroid I doubt there is much more you can do to make them understand. Some of my family still don't care and reckon I'm making it all up and once I take the thyroid pill in the morning all should be fine. Those people are the ones you just let them think what they wanna think. Let them be uneducated on thyroid and focus on getting you better!! There's no point trying to get them to understand if they don't wanna understand.
thank you!! I will Just have to deal with my family the best I can, and do my best to not complain to them anymore!!
The worst is over with as far as going throught the RAI , hstery surgery and being sooooo out of controll mentaly, I really do not know how I got throught this past year in the condition I was in.
I have lived with chronic pain from fibro and back issues for many years.
But in oct 2009 I knew my new pains and symptoms were more that.
I just have to live one day at a time and deal the best i can and keep trying to learn more about this disease and do everything I can to get better.
On th 21st is my back RAF and hope that will help but I am scared to do it, but going to go through with it. everytime I have Surgery things go wrong. Also I hear it is painful.
Good Nite and Thanks for your time, Hugz Terri
Its pretty hard Terri to make someone understand things when they aren't going through it.
Most of us had our share of what you are feeling and trust me... these sites can be more than just medical information.
How can I help my Family and friends understand Hashimoto"s and graves? They just think I have hyper or just hypo Thyroid you take a pill and your cured. They do not get it and niether do I so much,
But I do know how sick and tired I an all time time. also the brain fog i get not to mention, pain, hair loss and on and on of illness. How do I get them to get it and be more surpportive??????
Thanks Terri
You can tell your friend to also check out sites like Mayo Clinic or others that have top notch doctors/information....... those are usually the least biased and don't add a bunch of "fillers" (as LM so eloquently put it).........
Thank you both. I have forwarded your information as well as suggested this site to her.
LazyMoose is right - we have about as much information on this site as anywhere and it comes from people who actually have the disease. Tell your friend to join, then read through some of the posts, ask questions, etc.
There are a lot of sites that have information about Hashimoto's........ you have to take a lot of the information with a grain of salt, because like LM said - a lot of authors put their own "twist" on things or add information that's not needed.
One you could have her check out is:
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
Well, from all the forums I have looked at , this seems to be the best and easiest to maneuver and use.. Fast answers, and lots of Hashi people here.
As far as books, I would spend a few afternoons in the library and chain book stores. Many of the books have personal opinions of things, which may not reflect everyones situation. Some written by Naturopaths go way far out in detail with unproven ideas of there own. And some are just filled with way to much 'filler'. The 'leading book' which you can figure out by goggling is pretty good for the basics, but contains a lot of unneeded 'filler' to get more pages I can only assume.
There is no one place to go. But understanding Hashomoto is not really that difficult, when taken in at ones 'pace'. This is a good place to learn.
The most important thing is to get Free T3 tested at least 2x per year, not one time. Most feel best when FT3 is mid to upper third of the range. Ft3 is more important the TSH and FT4. Total T3 / T4 is obsolete. And Synthyroid (most popular T4 med) is not the only med she can take, regardless of what her doc thinks!