New member

[Guest guest]

Hi Bridget, my name's and I was diagnosed

with hypothyroidism in 1985. Your symptoms sound

remarkably similar to mine, so I thought I'd pass along

something I just found out about.<br><br>I've been having

this same problem for years...I feel extremely hypo

and exhibit almost all of the usual symptoms, but my

TSH results are consistently in the low-normal range

or less! My TSH result in February was .11 (hyper),

so my doctor lowered my meds...despite the fact that

I " felt " very hypo. You guessed it; I began to feel

even worse! Gained another 20 pounds in 2 months, acid

reflux worsened, and my moods were horribly affected. I

knew this would happen, because it had happened 2-3

other times already!<br><br>Sure enough, when the TSH

was re-tested in May, the result was .54, which is

" barely " in the normal range. I should have felt better,

but I didn't.<br><br>This time, I stood up for

myself, and insisted that they test something OTHER THAN

my TSH. About 10 days ago, they drew blood and did a

test called a T3 RIA, to see if I have a " conversion "

problem. I got the results back the other day, & I don't

have a conversion problem...but my result was a 320.

The normal range for this test is 82-180. My doctor

says that my low TSH, viewed alongside my high T3,

proves that there's no conversion problem...but it also

shows that I actually am still clinically hypothyroid,

despite my low TSH. So he has decided to raise my meds

back up to the old dosage. Hope it helps me! And I

hope this message helps you!<br><br>

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for responding to my

email! It's nice to know there are others out there with

similar issues!<br>I have an appointment with the

Endocrinology Dept. at UCLA on the 22nd of this month. I will

definately be asking them for a blood test, and will include

the T3 RIA test! My mom has been hypo for quite a few

years, and the docs keept messing with her drugs...her

last blood test showed her TSH at 0.01!! Anyways, I am

very curious to see how my results come out because I

have always tested normal. I will keep you all

posted!<br>Thanks again!<br>Bridget

[Guest guest]

Hi, Kathi! Welcome! It's true that people who

don't have thyroid problems often don't know how

debilitating they are, but now that you've found us, you'll be

able to talk to people who understand.<br><br>Take

care,<br>

[Guest guest]

Hi All. It's been a few weeks, but I've just been

soooooooo busy that I haven't had much time to pop

in!<br><br>Endos! Grrrrr.... The last time I went to one was about

6 months ago. Mind you, I've been hypo since

1985...but ten years later I developed pneumonia, and the

illness really messed up my thyroid levels. I was hoping

the guy would HELP me, but it was a waste of money

and effort. It cost me $142 (I have no health

insurance) to have this guy look down my throat & tell me my

hypo-T is secondary to sleep apnea! I'm seeing a

chiropractor now (HONEST!) & he's MUCH, MUCH more

helpful!<br><br>Tyra, I'm so sorry about your mother...and I can

sympathize more than you know. My mom had a golfball-sized

tumor removed from her brain in July, and it was

malignant. The doctors are pretty sure they got everything,

but it's been a scary experience! She's doing chemo

treatments now, and they sure do knock the wind out of her

sails!<br><br>Tricia, I've had the same problem as you; all I can say

is keep looking, and do NOT be afraid to explore

alternative methods! After years of being jerked around by a

bunch of " by the numbers " G.P.'s and endo's, I talked

to a chiropractor just to get a different

perspective. Granted, the guy I see now also specializes in

Eastern and nutritional medicines, but I'm starting to

believe that any doctor who practices " holistic " medicine

is an improvement over most G.P.'s! Every " regular "

doctor I've seen has been gung-ho about lowering my meds

- and I feel worse every time it's done - and they

were gung-ho because of my NUMBERS. Doctors who

practice holistic medicine go by HOW THE PATIENT FEELS.

I've been seeing the chiro now for about 2 months; he

put me on a high-protein/low carb diet, and he has me

on some herbal supplements to lower my blood sugar,

boost my adrenal function, and detoxify my metabolism.

Sound a little wacky? Well, my energy level is up, I'm

sleeping better, and I've lost 17 pounds! So my advice is

keep looking, and keep an open

mind!<br><br>Hugs,<br><br>

[Guest guest]

Hi!<br><br>Welcome, Tricia. I'm fairly new here

as well, but I've learned a lot from the people

here. And it is a nice place to sound off when things

get to be too much...<br><br>And sorry to hear about

your Mom, Tyra. My sympathies are with you.<br><br>I

wanted to mention that my Homeopath has addressed my

concerns about the radioactive uptake tests I have had. He

said it was time to treat it anyway, as that is where

we are on my " time-line. " (I had to provide him with

a life history of emotional/physical traumas and we

treat them starting in the present and moving

backwards. He believes that these traumas are what cause

illness in the body.) Anyway, he thought the radioactive

test was a trauma to my body.<br><br>Homeopathy

believes that " like treats like " so he gave me a small

dose (one pellet) of some type of radium (I have no

idea how to spell it). Doses of anything you take are

so highly diluted that there was nothing dangerous

or toxic about this. If a treatment is working, you

may feel worse emotionally of physically for a short

time (depending on what you are being treated for).

All it means is a healing response has been

triggered. I felt awful for a couple of days after, (good,

he tells me - its working!) but today I am feeling

back to my usual self. The effects of any one

treatment can be felt up to a month and we always wait that

long before moving on to something else - next month

it will be a cortisone derivative pellet, for shots

I had a couple of years ago in my ribs (the doctor

at the time said the cartilage was inflamed; the

shots didn't help at all).<br><br>I'm still not sure I

buy into all this, but I must say that I have seen

some positive changes in myself already, so who knows?

I do know that I am finally being looked at as a

whole person, rather than being shuttled about to

different doctors who treat me symptom by

symptom.<br><br>Marcia

[Guest guest]

Hi, Everyone - and welcome, <br><br>Hey,

did anyone see Later Today (NBC, Dec 16)? I don't

usually watch it but I was just sitting there on the

couch scrolling with the remote when I heard them say

they were going to talk about thyroid disease. The

story was so darned perky! Oh, just one little pill is

all you need and you will be right as rain. Very

annoying.<br><br>They featured the story of 3-time Olympic Champion

Gail Devers, which is without a doubt inspiring. She

had Graves disease and went through a long period of

going undiagnosed. Now she is doing better than ever.

It is nice to see there are some success stories out

there.<br><br>Still, the problematic nature of TREATED thyroid disease

always seems to go un-addressed. I was so ticked off I

e-mailed them <br><br>Guess you gotta blow off steam

sometimes...<br><br>Oh, and - I do not know a lot about polycystic

ovary disease, but I have heard that Metformin can be

helpful. It is a drug to control sugar (my husband, a

diabetic, takes it). I'm pretty sure while looking the drug

up a while back I saw something about it being used

for non-diabetics with polycystic ovaries with some

nice side effects, weight loss included. However, do

look into it closely; I'm no expert and have recently

become very cautious of what medications doctors want me

to ingest...<br><br>Marcia

[Guest guest]

Hi Marcia! Yes, I saw that " Later Today "

segment...it WAS annoying, wasn't it? I know they had time

constraints, but IMO they really glossed-over the problems of

hypothyroidism. They got an email from me, too!<br><br>There were

at least a couple of threads going on the About.com

thyroid boards, about that report! No one at WTDF said

anything about it, and I haven't had a chance to check out

Ivillage.<br><br>I wish one of the newsmagazine shows would do an

hour on TD!<br><br>

[Guest guest]

Well, welcome to the club! I joined a little

while ago, and everyone here has been more than

helpful! I currently take Levoxyl, and my hair falls out

MORE on this medication than before....hmmmmmm...c'est

strange! I'm up for more bloodwork in April, so I'm gonna

see if Levoxyl will do what it's supposed to before I

switch...although my doc is contemplating switching me to

Synthroid.<br><br>Anyway, WELCOME to the club!! You'll find this to be a

place of great comfort..it is to me!<br><br>Holly

[Guest guest]

, Hi i've got hyperthyroidism (Grave's

Disease) and i'm currenttly taking a drug called PTU

(propylthiouracil), which is keeping my situation under control. I've

been dealing with this disease for 3 years now and I

too had hair loss. At the beginning my doctor had me

on Synthroid and PTU and when I started taking the

medication my hair started to fall out. I never lost all my

hair, it basically just got real thin. I'm now looking

at having a radioactive iodine treatment done on my

thyroid. <br><br>Tammy

[Guest guest]

I'm a new member too. I have the same problem. It

seems that no matter how hard I try I can't lose any

weight. I have to deal with diabetes also. I haven't had

any problems with hair falling out but I have really

dry itchy skin, I wasn't aware that hypothyroidism

caused this problem, I associated it with the diabetes.

My biggest problem is the total exaustion. I feel

like every drop of energy has been drained from my

body. I really need to know if any one has any ideas on

how to cope with this as My 13 yr old is attention

deficit with hyperactivity and these two problems don't

mix. Sorry this was so long but any advice would be

greatly appreciated Fireflie59

[Guest guest]

The sooner you get tested the better off you will

be in the long run. I know it is hard to motivate

yourself, but don't you want to feel better? That is what

motivates me. I am still working with my doctor to find the

correct dosage for me, but I know that soon I should be

stabilized. Good Luck to you and welcome to the club.

[Guest guest]

Your story sounds similiar to mine, I found out

about my thyroid 6 months after giving birth to my

second son, my doctor said I could have a form of

hypothyroidism caused by pregnancy, which I have never heard of

before, but I told her I have had symptoms long before

giving birth, like weight gain, horse voice,

tiredness.....<br>I guess we will never know how I got this disease ,

but unfortuntly I have this disease and now I am

trying to feel better.<br>I have just recently started

feeling better my son will be 2 in August, It has been a

little over a year since I started taking my meds, my

levels were very high (OVER 100) when I found out I had

this disease, so this may be why it has taken so long

to start feeling better.<br>I am also going to try

for another baby, I have been put on prenatal

vitamins and I am having my levels monitored already, and

my doctor says that I will have to have blood drawn

more often to keep my levels under control.<br>I wish

you luck......if you ever want to talk please look me

up online I would like to chat with

you.<br>Sunflower_413

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to the club. I also was diagnosed

with hypothyroidism after the birth of my first child.

I have had my ups and downs with this battle, but I

went ahead and had a second child. Other than the fact

that pregnancy (and nursing) caused my TSH levels to

fluctuate quite dramatically, I don't think that having the

second child made my condition any worse. I am always

tired, but I am not sure if that is a result of the

disease or the fact that I don't get much unbroken sleep

at this point in my life. Anyway, good luck to you

and keep us posted.<br><br>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lori,<br>Sounds like you are doing well!

Congratulations on the weight loss. That is a wonderful part of

treatment! Glad to hear your feet and hands are better too.

How much Synthroid do you take?<br>Bev

[Guest guest]

That's exactly how I feel! I'm so relieved to

have finally found a doctor that is willing to keep an

open mind and work with me on this. <br><br>There must

be things we can do to make living with

hypothyroidism more tolerable. It's so easy to feel helpless and

hopeless sometimes. I get downright depressed and just

want to throw my hands up and say " what's the point? "

which is why I need to touch base with others who

understand what I'm coping with and will remind me to be

proactive, like the doctor told my daughter and me today.

<br><br>Do you have a good doctor? What sort of treatment

are you doing?<br><br>Tammie

[Guest guest]

I remember that feeling. I lost a few years to

that feeling! YES you will feel good again, but you

must empower yourself with knowledge of this disease.

Have you viewed about.com? I hate to push it as this

club is great for developing 'friends', but about.com

will pack you with information. Check it out, let me

know if you need the link.<br><br>Welcome to the club,

you will find lots of support here ) <br>Bev

[Guest guest]

Tammie,<br><br>I know what you mean. My family

doesn't understand the issues that hypothyroid brings

about. Right now, I am only on synthroid. Which is ok,

but they seem to have to double the dosage each

month. I haven't seen a specialist, yet. I have just

been seeing my regular family practitioner. But, I am

taking a more proactive choice for my well being. I have

just been referred to a specialist. I will be seeing

him in the next couple of weeks.<br><br>The more i

become aware of these disease, the more i realize that

we can lead normal, healthy lifestyles. I know

someone who had his thyroid removed. He is the perfect

picture of health. You could never tell, he suffered

hypothyroid. We just need to express ourselves and become more

active in our treatments. <br><br>I see that you are in

Texas. So am I. I live in San . Keep your head

up. We can have healthier times. <br><br> Jane

[Guest guest]

Hi ,<br>It takes several weeks for a change

to be felt, so don't get discouraged. Likewise, high

cholesterol is a very common symptom of hypothyroidism. Your

doctor will be VERY imopressed as your thyroid hormones

begin to have an effect on your body.<br><br>What kind

of medication were you prescribed?<br><br>Welcome to

the club!!!<br>:-) Bev

[Guest guest]

Hi Bev<br> They are waiting until they do another

test before prescribing any medication. They say

exercise and watch what you eat. If I had the energy I

would exercise. After forcing myself to do the things I

need to do with the kids & to go to work I just don't

have the energy to do any type of

exercise.<br><br>

[Guest guest]

I am so FRUSTRATED! My TSH showed up " normal " at

4.72. I don't understand it at all....I have EVERY

single symptom of this. My weight continues to rise even

though I am cutting back on my food intake. I feel so

AWFUL all of the time. The doctor said he was willing

to bet money that's what I had and now he said it

isn't although it is " low normal " AHHHH! I just feel so

hopeless! Am I EVER going to know what is wrong with

me????<br><br>Oh, well....thanks for letting me vent

anyway.<br><br>Staci

[Guest guest]

I need to be between 1 and 2 to feel good. At

3.68 I was asleep all day...it was horrible. Can you

convince your doc this range is not normal for YOU? Some

docs will listen, mine did.<br><br>Good luck,<br>Bev

[Guest guest]

Please go back to your Dr. and convince him that

one size does not fit all. Could he be swayed into

" experimenting " with a thyroid medication just in case you're

more sensitive than the charts read? Isn't the weight

gain awful??!! I've never weighed this much before in

my life and I hate it. I'll be returning to Weight

Watchers in a couple weeks when my work schedule allows

for it. Good luck with your Dr. Don't give up! Judy

[Guest guest]

& gt; & gt;My TSH showed up " normal " at

4.72 & lt; & lt;<br><br>My 13 yr old daughter and I have Hashimotos, and I

had my 12 yr old son tested for the second time last

week. Last year, he had many symptoms (tired, weight

gain, puffy eyes, moody), but his TSH came back 0.60,

so he was not treated. His sister was started on

meds because her TSH was over 10, I think (would need

to check her records to be certain). I wish my son

had been treated based on his symptoms. This time his

TSH was 4.67, so it is climbing. I'm sure our doctor

will start him on meds. I had to try several doctors

before I found one who would look at more than numbers

and would be open-minded about using different types

of meds. I had the kids tested by their pediatrician

last year, but this time, we used my new doctor. She

is hypothyroid herself and could tell just by

looking at my son that he needed to be tested again. This

doctor aims for a 1 or 2, but she goes mostly by the

symptoms. Since my daughter has been taking thyroid meds,

she had lost quite a bit of weight and is doing much

better. My son will most likely start taking meds this

week.<br><br>Don't give up! Keep looking for a doc who'll work with

you. Arm yourself with the most up-to-date information

and share it with your doctor. If he/she is clueless

about what you're saying or is resistant to receiving

your information, find someone else. It's a pain in

the wazoo, I know -- but it's worth it!<br><br>Tammie

[Guest guest]

Hi Ree and welcome!<br><br>You and I must have

been diagnosed round about the same time and I think I

can say that I know exactly how your feeling right

now. I was too very happy to find this club ...I think

it's impossible for anyone who doesn't have the

disease to understand what we're going through. My

" better half " is very supportive, but to be honest ...I

don't think he's got a clue. After all it's not visible

like a broken arm or foot.<br><br>You told us your

playing with the dosage ...I think you should ask the

other women in here, but I know I would advice you not

to ...yet.<br><br>My doctor put me on 0,25 mg a day

straight away and told me to give it 2 weeks. The first

week I had such an adrenaline cick and felt better

than ever. Though, when the 2 weeks were up ...I felt

worse than ever ...all the symptoms double up + lots of

bothers that were new to me. My doctor was on his holiday

so I phoned up his substitute and got an appointment

the day after.<br><br>This doctor told me that I was

put on way to high a dose of medication. He redused

down to the half straight away. He told me not to

increase untill another 2 or 3 months. He also said that

it would most likely take up to 8 months before any

noticeable effect from the drugs.<br><br>Now finally, about

a week after the reduction, the worst side-effects

are gone, and getting out of bed, having a shower and

getting dressed isn't such a hard thing to do anymore.

I'm back to where I used to be, far from well, but in

a condition I can cope with.<br><br>Take care, and

I'm looking forward to speaking to you in the

future!<br><br>All the best,<br>smiling_bee

[Guest guest]

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. And

thanks for the advice about upped dosages. I actually

have already had my meds. upped three times. I started

at 75 mcg, then two weeks later went to 88 mcg, 2

weeks later went to 100 mcg, and was given 125 mcg

today. My follow up test two weeks ago had my TSH down

from about 5 to 2.7. My doctor is aiming for less than

1 since I would like to get pregnant in four or

five months. I have experienced no bad side effects

from the upped dosages, but I appreciate the warning.

Should this occur, I'll know what to do! So far, the

only difference has been that though I am still

sleepy, I can make it through the afternoon without a

nap. That's a real improvement, but I am hoping for so

much more. I would like to be able to keep up with my

son! <br><br>Thanks again for the warm

welcome,<br><br>Ree