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05 Jul 06 - 07:52 AM (#1776524) Subject: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: nutty For the past 10 years I have been an insulin dependent diabetic and coped fairly well with the condition. Yesterday I got blood test results that confirmed that I also have an under-active thyroid and that I very likely have lupus as well. They are all auto-immune diseases and controlling them will involve taking a large number of pills as well as the insulin. Anyone out there got similar problems ? .... I just feel the need for general information and advice at present and to identify with someone I can talk to in the future. |
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05 Jul 06 - 08:00 AM (#1776531) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: skipy Hi nutty, Sorry to read of your problems. You have probalby done this already, but if not try:- www.uklupus.co.uk Skipy |
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05 Jul 06 - 08:07 AM (#1776534) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST, Topsie An underactive thyroid is fairly easily treated - regular bloodtests and a small tablet each day. |
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05 Jul 06 - 08:45 AM (#1776553) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: Sandra in Sydney I have Type 2 diabetes & nodes on my thyroid. The diabetes was diagosed about 12 months ago, the nodes in 1999. I take 1500mg metformin daily & might be soon taking thyroxin depending on a test next week. dunno whether this experience is useful for you, nutty. sandra |
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05 Jul 06 - 08:50 AM (#1776556) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST,Mingulay at work Nutty, sorry to hear of the complications. As I know, being an insulin dependant diabetic is bad enough. Regarding the lupus, you might like to talk to/PM Zany Mouse, she has had it for several years and can probably give you some guidance. Hope all turns out OK. |
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05 Jul 06 - 08:52 AM (#1776557) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: skipy Message for mingulay:- I think you are "PC" Cracked it Skipy! |
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05 Jul 06 - 09:14 AM (#1776574) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: SharonA Hi, nutty: I have lupus but not the other conditions you have, and I'm in the US, so I'm not sure how much help I can be to you in the UK as far as info and advice goes. I just turned 50 and I first started showing symptoms of lupus 28 to 29 years ago, though it took a while for the docs to diagnose it correctly as SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), and longer to find a doc who could treat it effectively. Over the years they've put me on any number of different medication but, at the moment, I'm doing very well with it and have not taken any prescription meds for it for several years. I still get regular blood tests to monitor the white blood cell counts, etc. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, another auto-immune disease. I grew nodules in my lungs, and the disease can produce nodules in other major organs (like the heart and the brain) too. When one's immune system is not up to snuff, it can allow all sorts of weird stuff to happen to one's body! Anyway, I certainly empathize with your immune-system problems, and am certainly available to chat about lupus if you want to do so. Feel free to PM me as needed. Sharon |
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05 Jul 06 - 09:18 AM (#1776579) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: nutty Thanks for reminding me Mingalay ... I will PM Rhiannon. I was particularly interested in someone who had all three (four actually - I forgot to mention my Osteoarthritis) as I understand that while I am taking Thyroxene, I can't take NSAIDS such as Ibuprofen , which is one of the main treatments for LUPUS. |
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05 Jul 06 - 09:20 AM (#1776582) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: nutty THANX Sharon ....I appreciate the offer. |
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05 Jul 06 - 09:26 AM (#1776596) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: LilyFestre Hi Nutty, I am also an insulin dependant diabetic and have been for years. My thyroid is also underactive, so underactive that my doctor told me it may as well be dead. Here's the thing, and you may well already know this, but when you are diabetic, your entire endocrine/hormone system can be messed up, it just kind of goes with the territory. The BEST advice I can give you is to really stay on top of those sugar levels and take the Synthroid (or whatever you will be taking) like you are supposed to. There have been occassions when I haven't taken mine for a long time (I know, I know...) and ended up a disaster area. From your name, I can't tell if you are a man or a woman, but if you are a woman you should know that polycystic ovary syndrome travels in this same bunch of health issues and can be a huge problem as well. If you keep the thyroid levels where they should be, this can reduce the symptoms in a HUGE way...weird how it's all connected, but it is. You should also be aware (and hopefully your doctor has told you) that thyroid medication is photosensitive....hot summer days in the sun will make you sick to your stomach and your skin will be MUCH MORE likely to get sunburned, seriously, be careful with the sun. I learned the hard way. Sunblock and shade are your friends. The thyroid medication is just a small pill taken once a day. You should start feeling results (less tired and draggy) in a few weeks. Initially, you will probably need a blood test every 2 months or so until they get the right dosage level for your body. I don't know anything about lupus but I think you are on the right track in talking to others who share the same conditions. All my best (and feel free to PM me anytime), Michelle |
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05 Jul 06 - 10:28 AM (#1776643) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST, Topsie I've been taking Thyroxine for underactive thyroid for about twenty years. No-one ever told me not to take ibuprofen (but I hardly ever use painkillers anyway), and while I am not so good at regulating my body temperature, the actual sunlight on the skin is not a problem. My skin seems to adapt more quickly and easily than it ever did before. |
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05 Jul 06 - 10:36 AM (#1776651) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: LilyFestre Hey there Topsie, I take Synthroid so maybe it's specific to the particular brand. I do know that the generic of Synthroid is also a photosensitive medication. There's always some kind of side effect of a medication, isn't there? Let's hope the benefits outweigh the side effects! Something else about Synthroid (I don't know about the others though) is that you can't eat grapefruit for 2 hours before or after you take the meds as the acid counteracts the medication. Michelle |
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05 Jul 06 - 12:17 PM (#1776753) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST, Topsie Just grapefruit? What about other acids such as lemon juice or vinegar? |
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05 Jul 06 - 12:49 PM (#1776791) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: LilyFestre Hi Topsie, I imagine you have a point there although I can't say that's accurate for sure. I only know because I LOVE grapefruit and was bummed to find out that it's really better if I don't eat it for breakfast (when I take the Synthroid) and really, better if I don't eat grapefruit daily. Check with your pharmacist to be sure what's right for you. :) Michelle |
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06 Jul 06 - 10:46 AM (#1777355) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST, Topsie My thyroxine goes by the name of 'Levothyroxine'. I have to admit that I've been taking it so long I had stopped reading the manufacturer's leaflet every time I started a new pack, so I have checked the current version and it is full of warnings. I am to tell my doctor if I am suffering from various conditions including pregnancy, diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure and/or an underactive adrenal gland (I should have thought it would be my doctor telling ME these things). I am also to tell the doctor if I am taking medicines for these conditions (surely the doctor would know?), or for stomach ulcers, heartburn, kidney disease or epilepsy, as well as oestrogen, testosterone, iron pills and calcium carbonate (these at least I could be taking as food supplements without a doctor's prescription). It also mentions aspirin and phenylbutazone, but doesn't mention ibuprofen or grapefruit. It's more complicated than I thought. |
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06 Jul 06 - 11:20 AM (#1777377) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: GUEST,Norval Here are a couple of articles on the dangerous interaction of grapefruit and some medications. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050124010803.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060509094500.htm |
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06 Jul 06 - 11:33 AM (#1777390) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: nutty Thank-you everyone for your advice ....you have given me some things to consider. Michelle .... I am already extremely sensitive to sun. Typical 'english rose' colouring with a tendency to go red as soon as the sun looks at me. I tan in wind so am often browner in the cooler months than when the sun is out. I was told I might have problems balancing my bloodsugar levels until my body adjusted to the new medications and that has proved the case today. Back to the regular finger pricking (which I hate). Thanks again everybody, for being concerned enough to post ....this is what I love about Mudcat. Cheers Hazel |
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06 Jul 06 - 05:10 PM (#1777676) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: Zany Mouse Hi Hazel. I can't help you over the thyroid problem but diabetes and lupus are both problems for me. Let me kow if you want to talk it over. Incidentally, the sun is a lupus trigger - keep out of it! Rhiannon |
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07 Jul 06 - 04:09 AM (#1777981) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: Helen Hi Hazel, I was diagnosed with under-active thyroid a little over 3 years ago. I now take a (whatever is the cheapest) thyroxine tablet once a day. I was told to take the tablet 20 minutes before breakfast to give it a chance to absorb. That's annoying, but only slightly. The other thing is not to keep the tablets in a warm place for a long time. I took my tablets on a month long camping trip in the most sweltering summer we have had for some years (in Oz, so I mean like 40 deg C/100 deg F daily). That was before I knew they had to be kept cool, and I couldn't have anyway, because we were camping. No wonder I look back on that trip with some anguish. I wasn't too well at that stage (understatement). But, as soon as the correct dosage was identified I have become much better. I was, as the specialist said, "REALLY SICK" by the time the thyroid condition was diagnosed. (I felt like I was dying.) Now, I'm back to normal health, but I haven't missed a day on the tablets. I worked with another woman who consistently went without the tablets and then had a week or two on them, then back off them. I could tell when she had been off them for a couple of weeks because her brain turned to mush, like oatmeal porridge, just like mine had before I was diagnosed. (Don't ask me how I taught business and management classes at that stage. I have no idea how I got through that, and hardly any idea what I taught.) I have been told by a natural therapist, a survivor of thyroid cancer herself, that soya products are best avoided. I had been using soy milk daily before I was diagnosed, but I can see other causes too. Basically, the thyroid tablets are a supplement which takes my body back to normal thyroid levels. It's not a chemical but a hormone replacement, so it's not the thyroid tablet which may mix badly with other medications. But the thyroid condition may make me vulnerable to reactions to other things such as sinus tablets, although I haven't noticed any problems. I am currently on Oroxine (in Oz) and no sun related side effects so far, and I would have noticed, living here. As for the gastric reflux/heartburn which was one of the symptoms which clued the doctor into thinking it could be thyroid related - that was significantly reduced after I started using a product called GastroCalm, produced by the same group/company which brought Tea Tree Oil to the commercial market. It has meadowsweet in it which balances the stomach acids, and it has changed my life (I mean, "Hallellujah, brothers and sisters, changed my life!!") by reducing the heartburn to a couple of episodes every few weeks rather than 24/7. I am interested to see what other people's experiences are of under-active thyroid, because I have only met 3 other people with it, and 2 were thyroid cancer survivors, and apparently it is really quite common. Helen |
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13 Sep 07 - 12:02 PM (#2148403) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: SINSULL I was diagnosed with Graves Disease about 20 years ago. I was told it was permanent but medication could control it. Symptoms - Crazy memory problems and losing my eyebrows plus a tremor. About a year later my thyroid went underactive. So much for permanent Graves. I changed over to Synthroid and all was well. BUT periodically my thyroid goes overactive. I know it is off by the memory problems and thinning eyebrows. Does anyone else have these fluctuations? My endocrinologist argues with me every time I tell him I need a blood test because my thyroid is out - I am always right. My GP says this all very "unusual" and looks at me skeptically. Both try to get me to admit I am not taking my meds regularly - I am. Every day for years. Last year I had a biopsy done and all the nodes were cysts. He wants to do this every year and I say "No". Every time the hormone levels change I gain weight and can't lose it again. Pisses me off. Anyone? |
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14 Sep 07 - 01:57 AM (#2148823) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: Bob Bolton G'day SINS, You might PM (Dr.) Mark Cohen (if he is still looking in the Mudcat pond). His "Vital Signs" medical article in my latest Discover (September 2007) is on hyperthyroidism / Graves Disease / "ADHD" diagnoses. Regards, Bob |
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14 Sep 07 - 03:19 AM (#2148842) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: fiddler Her below decks has type on diabetes, thyroids posing a regular problem and takes heaps of drugs. From MY point of view the worst aspects are cooping wiht her anger - at times - at the number of drugs she has to take and how very tired she gets. No Lupus fortunately! If you want to talk to her - moral support - knowing shoulder to cry on etc. I'll get her to pm you. pm me with a reply if you like. Andy |
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14 Sep 07 - 04:02 AM (#2148858) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: Helen I know what you mean about the thinning eyebrows, Sinsull. I have been lucky so far that the dosage was worked out very soon after I was diagnosed. I'm about to find out in the next week how I am going at present, because I am finally getting another blood test, which I should have had back in May this year. My sister was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and my mother had it for over 30 years. It was the complications/intertwining of conditions which did for her at the end. Heart, cholesterol, risk of stroke, etc. I'm hoping I don't get diabetes but I think my chances are slim (unlike me - not slim). Helen |
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14 Sep 07 - 07:39 AM (#2148974) Subject: RE: BS: Diabetes+thyroid probs+lupus From: nutty I really had forgotten about this thread and things have moved forward in the last year. The lupus diagnosis is still unclear _ I have some antibodies but not others. I have, however been diagnosed with Erythromelalgia which causes intense heat and pain in the hands and feet - it's worse at some times than at others. Generally a maximum daily dose of co-codamol keeps it under control. I still have problems with the heat and just hibernate on very hot days. I have discovered that all these auto-immune problems may be caused by a childhood disease when I was poisoned by mercury in teething powders. Pinks Disease (it has other names as well) virtually died out when certain teething powders were banned, except in isolated incidences when chemicals were released into the environment by escapes at chemical works. Obviously some children had worse reactions to the powders than others, but in the 20's and 30's the infant mortality rate was high enough for the use of mercury to be banned in the USA. Britain for some reason didn't act until the 1940's. |