Newly diagnosed

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Lynne

>

> Is it possible you could see another doctor who knows about thyroid

disease and who is willing to give you a trial of combination

therapy. If you are not converting the t4 into T3 - you ARE going to

feel pretty rough, and not get your health back, especially if your

own doctor will not budge from using levothyroxine only.

>

> Most NHS doctors will only ever increase Levothyroxine by

increments of 25 mcgs, so this is not surprising, but with you having

Angina, it is right that a doctor is cautious. However, he should be

made aware that untreated/under treated hypothyroidism can cause

heart problems too - and you do need to be on the right dose of

thyroid hormone replacement sooner rather than later. Levothyroxine

is absolutely fine for the majority of sufferers, but it does not

suit everybody.

>

> Do you know if your father also had a thyroid problem or autoimmune

disease?

>

> Statins can cause sufferers of high cholesterol many, many

problems, and perhaps you could ask your doctor to give you a

preparation that is NOT one of the statins - there are some and

doctors can prescribe these. The best thing (and safest) supplements

you can take for high cholesterol and high BP are high dose

CoEnzymeQ10 (such as 300 mgs) and also high dose non-flushing Niacin

(Vitamin B3) 350 mgs - or more. It is possible that some of your

symptoms are related to this " wonderdrug " for heart disease - but I

doubt your doctor will tell you this.

>

> Luv - Sheila

>

Hi Sheila, I seem to be replying to you on a lot of different

threads. I know statins can cause muscle aches, but I have been

taking them for nearly 6 years now without these problems until

recently. What are the other issues that you are aware of with

regard to statins?

I'm not sure if I mentioned, but I have naturally low cholesterol and

was put on statins for the proven benefits they have in helping to

prevent further heart attacks. I have read up quite a lot about

them, but haven't seen any other concerns so I am very interested to

know what it is you are referring to.

I take a low dose (2.5mg) betablocker that was diagnosed to stop

super ventricular tachycardia. I am also on a lot of nitrates in

various forms, plus calcium channel blockers, etc. etc. and as a

result have very low bp now. Having had heart disease for 6 years

now, I have read up a lot on the subject, and have a very good grasp

of it. Hypothyroidism however is totally new to me, and from what I

have read recently it seems that the two are difficult to manage in

conjunction. I'm not sure if it was you that suggested some reading,

but strangely I had read that article myself earlier today!

I am very cautious of changing my medications as it took a long time

to get them balanced in the first place, and I still experience an

awful lot of pain from my angina, so much so that I have been

prescribed morphine for it.

It seems I am just going to have to learn patience and wait for

things to reach equilibrium, but in the meantime I hope to learn as

much about the subject as possible. I believe knowledge is power,

and that we alone are ultimately responsible for our own health.

I spent today in bed and slept and slept, and feel a lot better for

not fighting it, and unbelievably am still tired!

Lynne

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen,

Depression is a symptoms of hypo. I agree with Val that test results need to be

nearer the top of the range and that 90% of health folk have a TSH of around

1.0. only a minor proportion of the thyroid meds swallowed actually get into

the blood stream except for T3 which in almost totally absorbed. 50mcg is a low

starter dose and levo ( T4) has a long half life, so any does change takes 25

days or so to fully stabilize on the body- you are at the beginning of a long

road to recovery. A full replacement dose is around 125 to 150mcg so you see

you have a long way to go yet. Don’t let your doc undermedicate you to

make the tests look nice.

Subject: Re:

Re:Newly diagnosed

Hi Val,

Thanks

for that but I'm not understanding. It's probably me as my concentration and

understanding have been all over the place for a wee while. I have bought a

book as the doc told me nothing other than take one tablet each morning

on an empty stomach, and as far as I can gather levothyroxine is T4.

[Guest guest]

Hi hinne,

Betablockers can interfere with thyroid meds. I had appalling

aching feet when taking them for high BP, but mostly to prevent migraines.

Both aching feet and migraines stopped when I got Atmour and T3 instead of

thyroxine. This also stopped the agonising heart pain that I had from time

to time- don't know if it was angina, but fits the picture.

Subject: Re:Newly diagnosed

I take a low dose (2.5mg) betablocker that was diagnosed to stop

super ventricular tachycardia. I am also on a lot of nitrates in

various forms, plus calcium channel blockers, etc. etc. and as a

result have very low bp now. Having had heart disease for 6 years

now, I have read up a lot on the subject,

I am very cautious of changing my medications as it took a long time

to get them balanced in the first place, and I still experience an

awful lot of pain from my angina, so much so that I have been

prescribed morphine for it.

I spent today in bed and slept and slept, and feel a lot better for

not fighting it, and unbelievably am still tired!

Lynne

------------------------------------

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing

medication.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm a 34-year-old Native American woman from Minnesota. I am an alcoholic and

have two daughters, ages 7 and 4, that I lost temporary custody of to my

ex-husband due to an accidental overdose in January of alcohol and Mucinex. I

have had gastric bypass surgery in 2009, which makes this diagnosis a little

complicated on the protein front.  I also have major depressive disorder,

borderline personality disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder and am taking

Seroquel and Paxil, which I'm wondering if I can still take. I had liver enzymes

drawn today and they were within normal range. I don't know the severity of my

illness or my viral load but am scared to death OF death. My mom had hepatitis C

and died of cirrhosis at the age of 44. My sister died of cirrhosis at age 24,

which makes me curious of her hepatitis C status when she died.  Right now I'm

scared more than anything. I spent the weekend in detox before this diagnosis

but between that trip to

detox and the hepatitis C diagnosis, I know it's time to get serious. I am in

outpatient treatment and am going to start AA this week but am a little scared

of the unknown. I want to start attending a local church, too, although am

nervous of doing that alone too. I have a history of agoraphobia and going

places alone is so hard for me. I cried so hard the first day of treatment

because i was scared of groups.

Anyway Im not sure what is next for me. If it's treatment of the hepatitis C,

watching and waiting, or what. I just know sobriety is my main concern right

now.

I hope to learn from all of you.

LMS.

[Guest guest]

Thanks JC. It helps a lot to hear a success story. I was sure this time

yesterday that I was destined to die of HCV! I'm learning that I just need to

live a different life than the one I was living. I am a firm believer that

everything happens for a reason and I think this was just God's way of saying

" quit drinking, dumbass. " LOL

Amy

________________________________

From: joseph chappell <vwrestler22@...>

Hepatitis C

Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 1:25 AM

Subject: Re: Newly diagnosed

 

Amy,

    Keep your head up. I am going on 26yrs. old and got hepatitis C two weeks

after i was born from a blood transfussion. Back in '85 all the world knew was

that there was a non-A/non-B hepatitis. I went through a clinical trial

sponsored by Shering Plough Pharmaceuticals. It was the original 3 times a week

interferon injections and ribavirin (combo). I'm living proof that the treatment

works. I have continue to get tested once a year and to date still show

undetectable HCV levels. I also continue to have full liver panel workups as

well. Everything normal. I'm telling you this because there is light through the

tunnel. You have taken the first step now continue to put one foot in front of

the other. One thing I always did was drink lots of orange juice. Keep your

immune system strong so as your body can focus on getting better. Good news too

Shering Plough is continuing to develope more effective drugs to aide in the

treatment of HCV.

Best of Luck,

JC

[Guest guest]

My neurosurgeons words were exactly the same. " You'll know when its time. " (I live in Fort Lauderdale). Sometimes the fact that they don't want to jump in and immediately operate is a good sign. I managed to go another year and a half with pain management shots. Then when I couldn't move out of bed even to go to the bathroom it was time. I am 73 years old this was done when I was 70. If you are in pretty good shape without a lot of extra weight on you I would say that you shouldn't have any problems. It also depends what they are going to do. My doctor only wnet in and removed the bone spurs. After the back surgery, I fell and broke my foot and then had my hip replaced all within a year and a half.

I am now almost able to do anything. I go to the gym, I stand in the security line at the airport and then face the extra security with the dumb hip. I swim, I dance. I do not pick up heavy things. I go to the gym.

Try the pain shots under twilight anesthesia. If not get another opinion or two and then if you like go for it. If I can be of any further help let me know. lie