Graves Eye Disease and Hyperthyroid

"Eyesee" Blog Turns Two Today!

I wanted to take a moment this morning to thank everyone who has visited my blog over the past two years.  Today, eyesee.typepad.com turns two years old!  While I'm glad that I've been able to help many of you in your journey to overall health and well being, I'm most grateful to all of you who have  taken the time to talk about your stories so that others may benefit from your personal experiences as well. 

Many of you have offered hope and encouragement.  Others have talked about the difficulty of finding a good medical team.  Still others have talked about how you managed to work through the side effects of both having Grave's Disease as well as being treated for it.  No matter the topic, your shared experiences have meant a lot to readers who've dropped by.  How do I know?  I, for one, am one of them.  And so many people post comments and e mail me each week telling me how valuable all of your personal stories are to them.  For that, I'm extremely grateful.  Thanks for stopping by. 

3 Years Since Grave's Disease/Hyperthyroid Diagnosis

Hi everyone!

It's so hard to believe that it has been three years now since I was first diagnosed with Grave's Disease.  Little did I know then just how much I'd learn about this little gland in your throat called the thyroid gland and the important role it plays in your overall health and well being.  And does it ever!

Like so many of you, I found myself riding the ups and downs that came my way through the twists and turns of treatment and recovery--including a remission that lasted a brief 7-months.

Through the past three years I've discovered quie a lot about the field of medicine, medical treatment, what it means to have a good team of doctors, to have family and friends who support you, and more.  But perhaps more than anything, I rediscovered what it means to be resilient, to move on even when you simply don't feel like it, to handle an uncertain future bravely, and to not be embarassed or ashamed of something that's happened to you that is completely out of your control. 

We all face these challenges throughout our lifetimes and in many different combinations.  For some reason however, I became acutely aware of my own coping skills and how I grew stronger with the passing of time, not weaker.  What else surprised me was how I went from trying to hide what was happening to me to not just being more willing to discuss it, but wanting to really see if I could help others going through the same thing.  Which of course brought me here. 

Today I'm doing well--feeling the best I have felt over the entire past three years.  Dare I say just like my old self?  You bet.  Last week's lab results were right on the edge of borderline normal, holding steadily there for quite some time now.  My eyes are normal.  When tomorrow morning arrives, I'll do what I have done every day for months now:  wake up and take my daily dose of 50mg of PTU and look forward to what the day has in store for me.  Life is good.  Thanks for dropping by.

Thanks to everyone who's dropped by over the past year

Somehow I've managed to lose track of time!  My little blog just turned one year old. I forgot all about it and then all of a sudden it occurred to me while logging in this evening that it was about this time last year when I got started.

So thanks to each and everyone of you who has taken the time to check in, ask a question, post a comment, answer a question or send a private e mail.  I'm grateful to have met so many wonderful and thoughtful people along the way.  From book authors, fellow Graves patients, fellow bloggers, medical experts and more.  From all over the world (a total of 105 countries to date). 

It's because of all of you that I look forward to each new day of checking in myself as I pull the collection of thoughts in my head together and type away.  I'm truly humbled.

Many thanks.

"eyesee" Linda

A thought on this Christmas day . . .

On this Day of Christmas I awoke with much to be thankful for.  It hit me last night when my family and extended family was gathered all around at my cousin's house and as we always do before we eat dinner Christmas Eve, we paused to remember those who've gone before us and who are no longer here.  My cousins father, my own brother, many aunts and uncles, and more.  It really made me realize you've got to make the best of what you have in life, illness and all.  So that's the frame of mind I'm in today as I get ready in the quiet of my home, awaiting family who will join me later today for dinner.  I have so much to be thankful for.