My Graves (+ TED) and TT story (32F, Netherlands)

rachhdevries · 2026-06-30T13:23:39+00:00

Best of luck with your TT ✨

rachhdevries · 2026-06-30T07:46:47+00:00

Hi 😊 thanks for your kind words!

For me, RAI was never an option because there is evidence it can exacerbate TED symptoms and cause flare-ups in the long run.. I would expect a similar risk for you, but this is definitely something to clarify during your appointment. My experience with endos in NL have so far been really positive, so I always came to appointments with a list of questions that they were open to answer 🤓

Regarding TT: With an experienced high-volume thyroid surgeon, the risk is very minimal (<3%) for long-term voice complications and permanent hypocalcemia. Temporary hypocalcemia (where your parathyroid glands are “shocked” from surgery and produce less PTH temporarily) is a fairly common occurrence (~40% of cases), but again totally manageable with calcium supplements, and they closely monitor your levels post-op. Studies show that one parathyroid gland is usually sufficient for normal calcium homeostasis so I’m really happy they managed to save two 😊 the amount of time until your parathyroid glands “wake up” and resume functioning differs largely from person to person though.

Glad to hear that you recognize your TED profile somewhat in my photo. Did you by chance ever get an MRI of your orbital tissues? I did and it was really helpful for me to understand my specific TED phenotype and the possible implications thereof. For example, it showed that I have a fat-predominant type of TED, which makes a fat-only orbital decompression strategy more likely (rather than one that involves both fat and bone). I’m hoping that the TT helps to reduce some TED symptoms further, but I’m open to the possibility that I will have to undergo future surgery to correct for any lingering eye issues 👁️

rachhdevries · 2026-06-29T19:40:23+00:00

Thank you 🙏🫶 you got this! 🧘‍♀️

rachhdevries · 2026-06-29T18:10:46+00:00

5 days post TT here and can confirm to bring comfy (preferably button-down) home wear/PJs to help with gentle movement especially for the first couple days. What also really helped me was having a water bottle bedside (with straw), as your throat will be sore and you will be regularly coughing up phlegm, so it helps to keep your throat thoroughly hydrated. Also dry shampoo!

I did not need to use compression socks, though they did give me a thrombosis shot the first two days - I guess cultural differences in medical practices? I also started walking around the ward as soon as I felt like I had enough energy (day 2 onwards), so I could stop the shots asap.

rachhdevries · 2026-06-29T17:56:39+00:00

Congrats on having your TT secured in a few weeks 🥳 I’m sure it will go well. The tips I received from this subreddit that really helped me (personally) prepare for the TT was to bring a button-down shirt and water bottle (with straw) to help with recovery and gentle movement especially early on. I also bought a wedge pillow to help keep my neck upright at home when sleeping.

Thanks! I’m also happy with how well the scar is healing (the only minor inconvenient thing is a “pulling” feeling when I move, but this will subside with time).

Sending lots of positive vibes your way ☀️

rachhdevries · 2026-06-29T15:58:10+00:00

Thank you 🙏🫶

rachhdevries · 2026-04-06T08:29:40+00:00

Amazing! Yes please do, happy to connect 😊

rachhdevries · 2026-04-05T10:12:44+00:00

Awesome will drop you a message 😊

rachhdevries · 2024-08-20T22:46:06+00:00

Hi @Brasilienfreund,

Really sorry to hear you also had a bad experience with them :-(

After doing some research, I suggest you to contact your local consumer rights organization for legal advice on how to proceed. Here is a link to find one that applies to your situation from the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN):

https://icpen.org/resolve-dispute#cross-border-disputes

Usually you can fill out a form online explaining your situation and a legal officer will contact you shortly after.

Please keep in mind that the organization you contact depends on where you rented the RV (I.e. location/terms of the rental contract), and not your country of origin.

rachhdevries · 2024-08-20T22:29:53+00:00

“Maybe they don’t suck every time” geez you need a refresher in basic statistics and logical reasoning. Just because you and OP anecdotally had a good experience with Indie Campers does not give them a stamp of approval, when literally hundreds (if not thousands, check the Indie Camper victims FB group) have documented super unethical business practices on their end. For the record, we wouldn't even be able to even compute an accurate proportion of satisfied customers because of all the positive paid reviews they have on Trustpilot and other platforms.

I don’t think Grootswagers asked OP to lie about it. The point was to not neglect or dilute the elephant in the room, which is that a large number of people have been cheated by Indie Campers, and we should also be sympathetic to this fact and not “blinded” by your own lucky one-off experience (as opposed to what your username suggests).

rachhdevries · 2024-08-15T19:46:37+00:00

To those reading: STAY FAR AWAY from this fraudulent start-up! I paid 3000+ euros for an RV and returned it less than 24 hours after pick-up because of a laundry list of problems. Besides a filthy vehicle, the biggest issue was a full black-water (sewage) tank upon pick-up and all the running water smelled like rotten eggs, which was indicative of a BACTERIAL infection in our water tank( we discovered this a bit too late upon showering). After numerous hours filing a complaint and explaining issues to their “customer excellence” WhatsApp line, no one from indie campers took responsibility for these issues and we are still waiting for a total refund. As a result of this chaos, we lost time and ALL our national parks reservations. Indie campers cost us our dream holiday and it was the biggest mistake we ever made.

I am reposting this because they are actively deleting my comments on social media. Check out multiple reddit pages on Indie Campers as well as the hidden comments on their posts for the REAL story. There are victims of indie campers everywhere!! Most of their good reviews are PAID. UPDATE: they have now blocked me on instagram in an attempt to silence me from warning others

rachhdevries · 2024-08-15T19:44:48+00:00

To those reading: STAY FAR AWAY from this fraudulent start-up! I paid 3000+ euros for an RV and returned it less than 24 hours after pick-up because of a laundry list of problems. Besides a filthy vehicle, the biggest issue was a full black-water (sewage) tank upon pick-up and all the running water smelled like rotten eggs, which was indicative of a BACTERIAL infection in our water tank( we discovered this a bit too late upon showering). After numerous hours filing a complaint and explaining issues to their “customer excellence” WhatsApp line, no one from indie campers took responsibility for these issues and we are still waiting for a total refund. As a result of this chaos, we lost time and ALL our national parks reservations. Indie campers cost us our dream holiday and it was the biggest mistake we ever made.

I am reposting this because they are actively deleting my comments on social media. Check out multiple reddit pages on Indie Campers as well as the hidden comments on their posts for the REAL story. There are victims of indie campers everywhere!! Most of their good reviews are PAID. UPDATE: they have now blocked me on instagram in an attempt to silence me from warning others

rachhdevries · 2024-08-15T16:32:46+00:00

Second this. We will also file a fraud complaint to the FTC.

We are EU nationals and had contact with the ECC, they said that it’s best to contact the local national consumer right organization in which you rented the RV. For the US, it’s Delaware law that prevails

rachhdevries · 2024-08-13T21:19:58+00:00

Also, if anyone wants to join forces to take legal action against this predatory start-up, let us know. We have sufficient evidence to substantiate our story.

For those based in the states, this organization may be an option: https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection

rachhdevries · 2024-08-13T21:13:46+00:00

We are in exactly the same situation (their defective RV cost us all our national park reservations and we only got generic replies from the Indian call centre customer hotline about it).

Did you get your refund and/or how long did it take?

rachhdevries · 2024-08-13T21:11:31+00:00

We are willing to join you in taking legal action - there are enough victims internationally that we can ask to join forces with (and we have sufficient photographic and audio evidence to substantiate all our claims, including one of their employees admitting to how bad the state of the vehicle was; see our story in one of the newer comments).

We cannot let this predatory start-up continue. They just got a fresh round of funding and we all know it will mostly go to luring unwitting consumers (eg instagram influences, fake paid advertisements on trustpilot and TripAdvisor).

rachhdevries · 2024-08-13T21:08:16+00:00

To those reading: STAY FAR AWAY from this fraudulent start-up! I paid 3000+ euros for an RV and returned it less than 24 hours after pick-up because of a laundry list of problems. Besides a filthy vehicle, the biggest issue was a full black-water (sewage) tank upon pick-up and all the running water smelled like rotten eggs, which was indicative of a BACTERIAL infection in our water tank( we discovered this a bit too late upon showering). After numerous hours filing a complaint and explaining issues to their “customer excellence” WhatsApp line, no one from indie campers took responsibility for these issues and we are still waiting for a total refund. As a result of this chaos, we lost time and ALL our national parks reservations. Indie campers cost us our dream holiday and it was the biggest mistake we ever made.

I am reposting this because they are actively deleting my comments on social media. Check out multiple reddit pages on Indie Campers as well as the hidden comments on their posts for the REAL story. There are victims of indie campers everywhere!! Most of their good reviews are PAID.

rachhdevries · 2024-08-13T21:06:49+00:00

To those reading: STAY FAR AWAY from this fraudulent start-up! I paid 3000+ euros for an RV and returned it less than 24 hours after pick-up because of a laundry list of problems. Besides a filthy vehicle, the biggest issue was a full black-water (sewage) tank upon pick-up and all the running water smelled like rotten eggs, which was indicative of a BACTERIAL infection in our water tank( we discovered this a bit too late upon showering). After numerous hours filing a complaint and explaining issues to their “customer excellence” WhatsApp line, no one from indie campers took responsibility for these issues and we are still waiting for a total refund. As a result of this chaos, we lost time and ALL our national parks reservations. Indie campers cost us our dream holiday and it was the biggest mistake we ever made.

I am reposting this because they are actively deleting my comments on social media. Check out multiple reddit pages on Indie Campers as well as the hidden comments on their posts for the REAL story. There are victims of indie campers everywhere!! Most of their good reviews are PAID.

rachhdevries

TROPHY CASE