Oh roo roooo!
Wow, DGF, sounds like we have covered some of the same ground. Thanks, I will certainly take a look at your log. Good to know that MAF training is working for you!
Yes, I do have a lot going on right now but at least some of it is very positive and hopeful, and you just added to that! Thanks again.
Master of the Side Eye
Like DGF, I too have taken levothyroxine from the get-go, and I was diagnosed well over 10 years ago. I find it works for me.
I did MAF as well briefly before I had a bout of colitis in September and really enjoyed it. Now I am battling PF and haven't run in two months. When I do return to running, I think I will do MAF again as well because I need to take it slow and avoid injury and I really just want to run regularly again.
TRUST THE PROCESS
I do have some concerns about the Levothyroxine as opposed to the Synthroid as when I was first diagnosed, they started me on Levo. We couldn't seem to get me stabilized--the doc would do bloodwork, lower my dose to 85 mcg, then do bloodwork and increase it to 100 mcg, then do bloodwork again and increase it to 115, then do bloodwork again and lower it to 100....it was expensive and maddening! Then a gal at work mentioned to me that she was also hypothyroid and that she also couldn't get stabilized until she went on the name-brand Synthroid. I requested this and the difference was night and day. I didn't mind paying a little more for the Synthroid, since it was saving me $$ on lab work and doctor visits. Now, though, the Synthroid is over SEVEN TIMES as expensive and I'm just not willing to pay that much more. I'm hoping that the other changes I've made will allow me to get stable on the Levo--yet another area to observe and tweak...
Just have time for a quick fly-by, but wanted to ask Elly if her doc has done any lab work and what the results of that were?
And Elly, you're not alone among youngsters here. I'm only 10 years behind you and have been on Synthroid for almost 30 years. I was pretty stable on it until I hit menopause (age 48) and then went though a good 5 years of fluctuations. We have only this year got it stabilized. The hormonal changes of menopause (which can last years) appear to include the thyroid hormone too.
Regarding the probiotics: I have to say that I have solved my chronic gastritis and esophageal reflux problems as long as I drink kefir every day. It's been amazing for me.
Regarding the Synthroid vs. levothyroxine choice: The levoxyl simply doesn't work for me; so the choice to pay out of pocket for the more expensive Synthroid is an easy one for me. My doctor also put me on Cytomel a few years ago (in addition to the Synthroid), but only for a short time, since it triggered anxiety and heart palpitations for me - neither of which I'd ever had before - and were a very scarey experience.
Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done.
Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen.
Happyfeat, as of December 19, 2011 My T3 total was 106; TSH was 0.28; T4 Free was 1.2. at that time she decreased my Synthroid from 88 mcg to 75 mcg.
There is one big caveat. I take coumadin for DVT (deep vein thrombosis ... thanks Daddy). I am pretty stable on it but it can get out of whack if I take a trip and/or change my diet. I know coumadin alters the efficacy of other drugs since it is hard to remain stable.
By the way, I was switched to Levoxyl and I eventually went back to Synthroid because, frankly, my hair was falling out. Cytomel caused the shakes very, very briefly, but my system is happy with it now.
http://www.ellyfosterphotography.com/
As I am 52 and just starting to not get periods, this is SO NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR!!! (sigh) well, one more challenge, I guess...
Thanks for that info!
As I am 52 and just starting to not get periods, this is SO NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR!!! (sigh) well, one more challenge, I guess... Thanks for that info!
sorry maybe you won't have the same experience. Everyone is so different in how menopause affects them.
HappyFeat, I'd rather know the possibilities, however grim! Actually, I'm so excited to be ending all that monthly hassle of nasty cramps and lots of ibuprofen which I KNOW is not great for me but the alternative is to miss 3-4 days of work every month, yeah, right.....the possibility of new thyroid issues doesn't sound like any WORSE of a tradeoff...
Forward! Onward! Upward! or something
Quick update: Got the results of the thyroid blood work back today. TSH is 0.008, which is into hyPERthyroid territory (normal is 0.3 to 3.0). I have not had a too-low TSH since perhaps the first year after diagnosis before switching to Synthroid, and never nearly this low. It would seem that now either my thyroid is producing more hormone on its own or I am absorbing the synthetic hormone replacement more efficiently or some combination of the two. Can I attribute this to the gluten-free diet? Is it due to the iodine and selenium supplementation? Is the MAF running producing less stress and thus affecting things in this regard? Is this some kind of side effect of the acupuncture I've been getting for some low back issues? Or is this just the Levothryoxine reacting weirdly with my body as it apparently did years ago, too? Dammit, once again I have too many variables!
What I do see, tho, is that we are going to be cutting my dose down, where prior to this we have been consistently raising it for several years. I'm to go back for another blood draw in 2 months, so we'll see what that shows. For now, I'll be guardedly optimistic that I'm on the right track.
got my test results back, the test that my PCP didn't want to do (and fought me on) but my psychiatrist asked for. The results confirmed the psych's suspicion. I have Hashimoto's.
So, I would like to remind my various PCPs that my hypothyroidism was only diagnosed because a mental health counselor over 10 years ago asked me to be tested and the Hashimoto's was only diagnosed because my psychiatrist now recommended it. Maybe listening is the key to better care, ya think? Just sayin'. And as we all know, advocating for your own care is critical, too.
Kerry, so glad to hear you got the tests and got the results and now have a clear idea what the problem is! I work as a medical transcriptionist; all day I listen to docs rattling off dictation on patients and it's clear they are so busy they really don't even know what they are saying. It is just a cookbook formula--for this problem, prescribe this med. If you happen to have a more complicated problem, you're likely out of luck....
It is not unusual for a doctor to see more than 50 patients a day! How can they possibly give any individual case much thought? Not bashing docs necessarily, but bashing the system big time. Good for you for getting what you needed done.
Quick update: Got the results of the thyroid blood work back today. TSH is 0.008, which is into hyPERthyroid territory (normal is 0.3 to 3.0). I have not had a too-low TSH since perhaps the first year after diagnosis before switching to Synthroid, and never nearly this low. It would seem that now either my thyroid is producing more hormone on its own or I am absorbing the synthetic hormone replacement more efficiently or some combination of the two. Can I attribute this to the gluten-free diet? Is it due to the iodine and selenium supplementation? Is the MAF running producing less stress and thus affecting things in this regard? Is this some kind of side effect of the acupuncture I've been getting for some low back issues? Or is this just the Levothryoxine reacting weirdly with my body as it apparently did years ago, too? Dammit, once again I have too many variables! What I do see, tho, is that we are going to be cutting my dose down, where prior to this we have been consistently raising it for several years. I'm to go back for another blood draw in 2 months, so we'll see what that shows. For now, I'll be guardedly optimistic that I'm on the right track.
I recall reading a link that said that a GF diet often can lower your body's needfor Synthroid if you have Hashi's. It's so hard to tell with all the variablesthough! I was stable for 4+ years on Levoxyl and then my former endo wrote ascript for Synthroid that (at the same dose) which dumped me into the hyper range(TSH 0.03). But I was also competing in a lot of triathlons then and in killershape, so it's hard to tell if it is the body being more efficient or thebinding ingredients in the drug. Good luck to you!
Kerry, glad you got answers! Way to fight for your health
The Crap Whisperer
Being the best tiny spec that I can be!
Thanks, HurricaneShauna and DGF! I think I can keep from introducing any more variables in the next 2 months, so I'll wait and see...