Old photos part 2

by 91 it got calmer.... the guy on the right is the bass player from a heavy band called sepultura

also 91

95 this is the year my thyroid kicked my butt... and messed up my eyes

Wow! Grave's disease?

yes.. big time.. so severe I am one in a million ... all good now now though... well except the eyes part.. but I had surgery to fix them somewhat

Permanent damage? I had no idea. So sorry - I have the opposite problem (though not one in a million) . . .

I will let Shelly know that everybody says hello. She did say again that she's sorry she worried folks - she had no idea that everyone would notice her absence!

It sounds like it's almost impossible for her to type normally, so it may be awhile . . .

Allison, a childhood friend of mine had the same thing happen. She went to Colorado for a year visit with relatives and came home early because of her eyes. She has Graves and it was severe for her too at that time. Were you by chance around the age of 20-24 when it happened?
BTW, love the 'big hair'!

Great shots, Allison. I love the big hair too!

Love the hair progression.

The '86 shot is perfect 80's!

24 Pixie...I should revise the 1 in a million statement... I am 1 in a million cases so severe ... couldn't have that luck with the lottery right???... and Katie it wasn't reversible only because it took them so long to fix me.. or so they say... in most cases if the meds work right away they go back.. they took 3 and 1/2 years and a 1/2 dozen doctors to get me straight ... I am not the person to talk about if someone gets this.. it will just make them panic.. and with most for no reason

I am a Jersey girl... have to love the big honking hair!!!... I am sure I am going to run across more of the large hair photos as I am scanning them for facebook.. I have some bigger than those!!!

here is another 85... we entered a contest at my high school ... puttin on the hits... lip sinking.. we had a geeky guy come up with us and dance his face off... we all danced to it's raining men... as soon as the music started the laughter broke out... everyone loved this quiet guy we picked out.. he was like one of those so you think you can dance people who just let it rip.. being freshmen and we won 2nd place right behind the seniors doing thriller... I was pretty proud of us

can't forget our bad attempt of lightning bolts

Yeah, that's what I thought - 1 in a mil so severe. My brother has it, but it didn't affect his eyes that I could see. Bummer, but I'm glad they figured it out.

Love the pictuures. I was going to say I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of that period, but, really, maybe it's just as well . . .

I love to laugh at myself... and they were good times

Isn't it crazy when you actually remember the moment and how good you thought you looked? I love that.

My wife and all 3 of her sisters have Grave's. Her sister had surgery. My DW was an early prescription surgery.

I remember when George HW Bush was diagnosed. I thought it was ironic because his wife Barbara always looked like she was the one with it.

Barbara Bush does have it - more severe than he does. Amazingly, so did their dog, Millie.

I also have Grave's Disease. I didnt have any eye problems until after the radioactive iodine treatment. I've had one surgery and recently found a new doctor who wants to do another. Only one of my eye lids is slightly retracted. I'm wondering if this is hereditary because noone else in my family has it.

Dave, I think it was Bush's wife who had it.

Did the dog really have it too? That would rule out heredity.Or maybe not, depending on how you feel about the Bush's.

Oh - nasty!

All three had it.

That's weird----2 of my dales had thyroid problems---both of the males, but not Graves.

What's a "dale"?

Airdales I suspect. I have Hashimoto's and my dog (who is my namesake) has a thyroid problem, too. Obviously it's hereditary in my family (and I don't mind being realted to Boojum!).

Yes it is heredtary. My MIL andher 4 daughters.

Ah. Hypothyroid is not uncommon in dogs.

Thyroid is your first line of defense against carcinogens, etc. so it takes quite a hit for the body.

My aunt had Graves. My mother has no thyroid issues. My brother has Graves. I have a slowly failing thyroid. Wonder if it's hereditary to have some kind of issue (or a susceptible thyroid) and then have the environment push you over the edge. What's that quote? "Your genetics load the gun and you environment pulls the trigger . . ."

This message was edited Sep 17, 2009 11:44 PM

This message was edited Sep 17, 2009 11:45 PM

Katie
So true. I think that is definitely the way it works. One doctor told me I grew up in the "thyroid belt " named because of the number of cases reported in the tristate area. Made me think there was something in the water.

It is surprising the number of functions the thyroid performs. Its a line of defense for many things, like your cholesterol levels for one.

sorry for hijacking the thread.... now I feel bad... but Jada they had to give me radioactive iodine twice and up the dose the second time.. the first shot did nothing... strange the eye problems came after unless you were under active after the treatment... my plastic surgeon and the ear nose throat surgeon are in Ridgewood, NJ .. I thought they did a great job... most of my eye socket is gone.. just a frame left... and they decompressed my sinuses.. to try and get everything to fit back in ... I was given the option to have this surgery or go blind... too much pressure on my optic nerve.. they almost guaranteed I was going to have double vision after because after moving them my brain might not be able to process the way I am seeing.... but :::knock on wood:::: I have none.. not a scar on my face from it either... they only cut a tiny incision along the crease of my eyelid and onto my face about a 1/2 inch.. in the crows feet line... can't notice it at all... I was expecting to have black and blues all over and be all sore after... but they took the bandages off... and I was shocked how good it looked... just a small bruise... and that tiny cut

Amazing what they can do.

Wow.

Wow onewish! Thanks for sharing that. I'm so glad your surgery was such a success. Sounds like you had great surgeons! I imagined that surgery to be more damaging but its amazing that you dont have noticeable scars.

I recently went to a new eye doctor and told her about my lids. She mentioned this procedure and referred me to a surgeon who I will see in Oct. I dont know if I will do the decompression surgery (it would be cosmetic) because my problem is the lid retraction (muscles in the lid) , more so than the pressure. It causes dryness which gets very irritating. I had an MRI (hate those) and my nerves are ok so far. May I ask what meds you are on?

NYC is part of the thyroid belt, Joyce?

Victor
This was about ten years ago, I was in Washington DC at Walter Reed. I was asking the doctor about why noone else in my immediate family had this illness (had me thinking I was the milkmans baby) and he told me about the "thyroid belt". Seems it starts in Michigan and includes Ohio, New York, Pennslyvania,and the Virginias. Might just be a theory.
At the time, I wondered if these states use the same water resource. Just speculating.

That's interesting.

Funny thing was, I ran into a childhood friend , he grew up and lived across the street from me, and he had it also but noone else in his family. He said he thought it was flouride in the water.

There are so many environmental factors. Water is always a concern since it's unavoidable, like the air.

Well water here, I have a really hard time drinking city water.... I can taste the chlorine!!

well water here too!

Here, too---that's why my front lawn is a mess---I put no chemicals on it---however, this land was an old orchard---God knows what was put on before we lived here----the lady next door to me, the one across the road from her, & I all experienced early & severe forms of arthritis.

So sorry Robindog. Its true you never know.

well water seems like the definitive answer.

When I moved into this house there was a pump and other gadgets left in the shed. My neighbor said the previous owner was going to put in a well. It's sounding more attractive even thou I dont know the first thing about putting one in.