slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (11/05/85)
>John Wurzelmann writes: > One other point I'd like to add about the treatment of hyperthyroid- >ism. The treatment options mentioned (surgery and radioactive iodine) are >turned to after a patient has failed therapy with propylthiouracil. Some- >times the disease will remit while on this medication, thereby making >more aggressive interventions unnecessary. A good point. That's why this has been dragging on for some time. I originally went in about 1 1/2 years ago for a routine exam. My doctor spotted the thyroid problem. After a radioactive iodine scan and skull X-rays (to rule out a pituitary tumor), he put me on the propylthiouracil. This did the trick. After about 6 months, he removed it, to see if I would remit. He asked me to come back in July to check it out. Well, I was feeling Ok at the time (the headaches I put down to eyestrain), and delayed until last month. Mistake. The symptoms are really sneaky. You easily put down the tiredness ("I am just working too hard") and the nervousness ("Have a lot on my mind right now"). When the person checking your blood pressure at the blood bank shakes her head, you just think "Well, I'm nervous 'cause they're going to stick me." At this point, he has convinced himself that it's not going to go away that simply. Why he mentioned the surgery and not the iodine, I don't know. (Perhaps he is priming me for the most difficult treatment?) He IS going to send me to an endocrinologist. (I liked the way he put it, "I'm just an ordinary family doctor. I want a specialist to see you before anyone cuts anything out of you." Sounds good to me!) But he wants to get me stable first. I was back two weeks ago, by the way. My pulse was down, but the b.p. was still high; he upped the dose. I go back again Wednesday. At first I was upset because everything was going so slowly. But I see his reasons for trying the medicine first, it might have been a permanent solution. And I see why he delayed doing that while he tried to find if there was some other cause for it. There's a tendency when you aren't feeling good to want immediate results and instant answers. It doesn't work that way. Personally, I prefer the idea of surgery to the radioactive iodine. At least the risks are all up front. I can't imagine there aren't *some* possible long-term effects from the radiation. But I don't like hospitals, either--no netnews :-), so will do whatever is finally decided. (Along these lines, that iodine scan they did was fun. You go into a room where a woman uses lead gloves and long tongs to open a case that has 4 inch thick walls. She uses the tongs to remove a pill, put it in a cup and hand it to you, saying "Swallow this." Yeah...sure. "How stupid am I?", I said to myself, as I complied.) Thanks to all the people who sent advice. Hope you got my return mail. If there are any people out there in netland interested in follow-up reports, let me know. (By the way, just out of curiosity. What would you holistic types out there have done? Didn't get any mail from you. This is your chance--convert me.) -- Sue Brezden ihnp4!drutx!slb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I march to the beat of a different drummer, whose identity, location, and musical ability are as yet unknown. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bob@textware.UUCP (Bob Felt) (11/09/85)
> (By the way, just out of curiosity. What would you holistic types out > there have done? Didn't get any mail from you. This is your chance--convert > me.) Conversions are not my specialty, however, had this wholistic type been given surgery as an alternative, I would seek acupuncture treatment. The Shanghai medical school reports treating the condition successfully with both acupuncture and Chinese crude drugs (herbs, if we must). There are about a dozen Oriental medical syndromes which incorporate your condition, treatment references go back to the Da Cheng in the eighteenth centry. Since you do not report tumors, lesions or some traumatic damage, the prognosis (via acupuncture) is fairly good. Yves Requena, M.D. reports two of these syndromes are particularly related to women, one post-partum, the other is not related to reproductive events (Requena, ``Terrains et Pathologie en Acupuncture'', Maloine, Paris, 1981). Japanese treatment combines acupuncture and treatment with drugs prepared from traditional Chinese formulae, (Otsuka, M.D., ``Kanpo Journal''). I don't have a batch of references at hand; however, a descent basic text or point reference will discuss your condition. There is not a lot of work going on about this in Oriental medicine, because it is usually not considered very difficult to treat and because, the attention is on the problems that allopathy finds difficult. The Oriental texts use ``Graves Disease'' (an older name) in many cases. I watched one of my treachers, Dr. Tin Yau So, treat two cases, both stabalized immediately, one required some routine visits for a year or so. Although, this isn't my field a French physician, Menetrier, declares that the action of manganese, in cases of hyperthyroidism, is often ``clear and long lasting.'' Menetrier did a great deal of research on trace elements and is the ``father'' of ``diathetic medicine'' in Europe. At least, considering the costs and risks, I'd put some effort into finding a descent acupuncturist. A course of treatment of about 10 days should be sufficient to let you decide if you are converted, or would like to postpone surgery, while retaining your membership in the other camp. Many M.D.'s will be curious enough to encourage you to give it a try. If you can, use the acupuncture and Chinese prescription in combination. Bob Felt