2 months ago I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism - went to the doctor because I thought something was wrong with my heart. I've had palpitations for most of my life but 3 months ago the palpitations started to be severe and up to an hour long.

My blut tests showed a t4 level of 2.45 and TSH was 0.01. The 1st doctor said I can try to see if it goes away since I told him that I oppose all medication. I have never taken anything - not even Antibiotics or headache pills. I never have been sick in my whole life except some anxiety and panick attacks but I had learned to deal with them and was able to control them. I am a very active woman (42) and I have always been proud of the way I am able to manage my health. Now I am a complete mess!

The doctor recommended RAI - which is out of the question for me. Read a lot of info on ithyroid.com and many other places and have started to change diet and include magnesium and B vitamins.

My symptoms seem to go up and down - I have tremors, palpitations, thickening of my lower legs, muscle weakness and pain, my neck hurts too and now I even have a little enlarged thyroid. Some days I feel completely fine and on other days I am sitting at work and cry continously because I feel so helpless.

Then, yesterday, was a nighmere! I felt an increased heart rate and had trouble falling a sleep. Finally I slept but then woke up at 1:30 am because my heart was pounding so violently. As I woke up, it became worse and my heart kept pounding faster and harder. I started to panic and that only made it worse. After 20 minutes I seriously thought I was going to die! My heart kept hittig my chest and I must have had a pulse of 200 or more! So I crawled out of bed, on my knees I crawled to the phone and I called 911 - I crawled on the floor since I couldn't get up and opened the door to let the ambulance guys come in. They immediately checked my pulse and then loaded me into the ambulance. On the way to the hospital the palpitations finally stopped - oh I was sooo relieved! I really thought I had seen my last day!

At the hospital I had to wait for someone to check me out and since I was feeling better, I called a friend to pick me up - without waiting for someone to do a check up. It was 3:30 am by then and I was exhausted. I was fianlly able to sleep after difficulty breathing and anxiety but I went to work anyways at 8.

Today I went to another doctor who was recommended to me and she, too, told me that the RAI would be the preferred treatment. I refused and asked to get PTU as I have read that many people are able to heal themselves with this medication. She referred me to a specialist for this and ordered some more tests. My guess is that my t4 and tsh levels have increased - I can feel it.

Anyhow, the new doctor prescribed Propranolol for my heart and here I am, sitting in front of the bottle but I just can't get myself to take it. I am soo scared! I am afraid that when I stop using this stuff, my heart will pound again - even worse as it flares up (so I read). I don't know what to do and I am trying to keep myself calm but I am really scared that this violent palpitation happens again. I don't want to die but I am not good with taking pills either.

Could you give me encouragement or advise? Should I take the meds or wait until I get motherworts and buggleweed which I ordered today and which is supposed to help too? Does anyone think at this stage that I should consider anything else?

To all who have the same problems - my blessings and best wishes for recovery to all of you. Some here seem to have won the battle with this condition and I wish I could do the same. There's got to be a way to naturally heal, no? May be we can all find out how?

May we all get healthy again!

Thanks for allowing me to pour my heart out here :|

Sabine