Re: Hi, New here - Intro - Be warned, Be Brave, it's long

[Guest guest]

's Reply (re-posted)

,Afraid your post will get lost in the forum because you posted in reply toanother thread.... You would have done better to start a new topic.........Having read through your post.... yep.... hypothyroid symptoms scream out allthe way through it.....But at the bottom you seem fairly dismissive of the fact that the holisticdocctor prescribed you 1 grain of armour.... that's a great start!!! manypeople try to get prescribed armour and are given thyroxine instead.....1 grain (60 mcg) is probably a bit low but he wants to see you again to checkthis.... via the tsh (ought to be via the free t3 and free t4 too).Your adrenals sound like you might be having a bit of a problem...... can youget a saliva test at 4 point in the day to see where your cortisol levels are?he doc probably won't go for this and you'll have to atange it yourself, but Ibet he'd be interested in the results......You are on the right path..... albeit a slow one..... this doc probably has arubbish bedside manner, but he appears to be on the right lines......>> > Re-posted for > > (to aid recovery of post and create a singular topic)> > > Hi All,

[Guest guest]

Alison's reply (re-posted)

Hi ,

it sounds like you've been having a truly awful time - I'm so sorry. I'm relatively new here too so am really not knowledgeable enough about thyroid problems - but I can say that your experience of crying in the car,sensitivity to light/smells, panic attacks, etc is very familiar to me and I believe stems very much from adrenal problems. This is what I have and I've been seeing Dr P about this. His contact details are on the TPA website. The most important thing that I've understood is to get the adrenals sorted before you deal with thyroid problems.I did the Genova saliva cortisol test which has helped enormously to identify underlying problems. I wish you all the best and hope you start getting better soon.

Best wishes,

Alison

>> > Re-posted for > > (to aid recovery of post and create a singular topic)>

[Ed]

[Guest guest]

Trish's Reply (re-posted)

good grief laura...what a story and congratulations for still being

here!!!!!

the hyper sensitivy you describe, crying about the trees, not being able

to tolerate music and so on ...they are all classic symptoms of adrenal

collapse and in my mind constitute a kind of nervous breakdown ...i've

been through that myself on two occasions. when the adrenals are

struggling so is everything else and it is essential to support your

adrenal function before taking and type of thyroid replacement.

given the amount of drugs you've taken to deal with the pain i would

suggest finding a way to support your liver function ...first thing

would be to get a squeaky clean diet but you may have that already

because you mention your b12 is over the range ...or do you supplement?

milk thistle complex has a long history of being good for toxic livers

natural support for the adrenals include large doses of vitamin c split

throughout the day, unrefined sea salt (or himalayian salt, organic

saturated fat such as butter and/or coconut oil, and getting to bed and

being asleep as near after ten pm as possible.

the itching you experience is most possibly due to a candida overgrowth

...have a look in the files, there's loads of information on candida. the

food for candida is carbohydrates so radically reducing them is a way to

start dealing with it.

welcome to the forum by the way!

best wishes

trish

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> Re-posted for

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> (to aid recovery of post and create a singular topic)

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> Hi All,

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> I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Although, I think my Tgland has been >

failing for years.

> Two events seem to have triggered failure in my body.

[Ed]

[Guest guest]

's Reply (re-posted)

Hi ,

I'm sorry to hear you have been suffering so badly.

I am also new here so can't advise you on thyroid or adrenal issue, but I just wanted to say that you mentioned you take Tramadol & that you suffer with Itchy skin.Itchy skin can be one of the side effects of Tramadol. My OH took it for back pain and had to stop as the itching was driving him mad?I know you need pain relief because of your Fibromyalgia but it might be worth speaking to your Dr about trying a different pain killer to see if that helps relieve the itching?I get really itchy skin sometimes (usually after I take a shower) and know how horrible it is.

Good luck hun, x

>> > Re-posted for > > (to aid recovery of post and create a singular topic)> > > Hi All,> > I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Although, I think my Tgland has been> failing for years.> Two events seem to have triggered failure in my body.

[Ed]

[Guest guest]

Sheila's reply (re-posted)

Hello I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Although, I think my Tgland has been failing for years.Two events seem to have triggered failure in my body.Birth of my son in 1997, a week after I got home I woke up one day and felt like someone had poured cement into my entire body. I felt soooo heavy and painful and had headaches, stiffness and all over pain every day pretty much since. Its like having the flu everyday.

Many people start their hypothyroidism after the birth of their child. This is because the baby used all of your thyroid hormone and obviously, no checks were made on your thyroid function whilst pregnant.

I also started getting beyond horrible stomach pains which would knock me down to the bathroom floor where I would lay for hours. Then I would either throw up or get diarrhea. I finally went to a doc, had endo's done and was diagnosed with gastritis and colitis. The pain attacks went away, but stomach has given me problems ever since. I have terrible burping ALL the time, heartburn etc. I sound like a teenage boy trying to win a biggest burp contest. I hate that!

Do you know whether you tested positive for thyroid antibodies. If you have not had these tests done, ask your GP to test for TPO Ab and TgAb. If you test positive, this means your hypothyroidism has been caused through Hashimoto's disease. See http://outsmartdisease.com/gut-repair-in-hashimotos-disease. Antibodies thrive on gluten and you should try a gluten free diet if you do find you have antibodies.Immediately after the surgery 2006 (like the next day)... I had what seems like a mental breakdown and the body pain issues worsed with an added bonus of itching. I started with hyper-sensitivity to ALL sounds, lights, smells and people in general. I would get to work and cry on the way, cry when I saw trees cut down and have to pull over, seeing the trees cut down just made me so darned sad I couldn't take it. I could not bare to have the TV on anywhere near me, couldn't stand hearing music, I was freezing all the time, tired all the time. Never had much of an appetite. It evolved into panic attacks (so they say) and general anxiety and then severe agoraphobia, inability to drive, and depression...go figure the last one! I had to stop working, I couldn't get out of my car in the parking lot. It was soooo depressing and no one could help me.

You need to get the 24 hour salivary adrenal profile done through Genova Diagnostics . Go to our FILES section from the Home Page of this forum web site thyroid treatment . Scroll down the list of files that opens, and click on 'Discounts on Tests and Supplements' and then click on 'Genova Diagnostics'. This tests your levels of cortisol and DHEA throughout a 24 hour period. You send back the saliva test tubes and you should hear from them with your results in about 10 days. You can claim a discount on the tests done by Genova, but follow the instructions in this particular file, quoting 'Thyroid Patient Advocacy' as your Practitioner.

Alternatively, if you are unable to afford these tests, again go to the FILES section, scroll down to the Folder entitled 'Medical Questionnaires' and do the Adrenal, Candida and Magnesium questionnaires and let us know how you score.

I would also wake up every day to physical pain all over, stiffness, killer headaches, difficulty in walking, bumping into walls, brain fog, cold all the time, stiffness, puffiness. I was told I had Fibromyalgia. Took Tramadol for the pain which does help some.

Askl your GP to check your levels of specific minerals and vitamins. These are ferritin, vitamin B12m vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc. Should any of these be low in the reference range, thyroid hormone cannot be properly utilised at the cellular level and you will continue to suffer with many of your present symptoms. When you get the results, ask for the reference range for each of the tests done and post them here on the forum, and we will help with the interpretation. If y our GP tells you there is no association between these low levels and hypothyroidism, then copy off the attached document to show him that there is. Check out the other attached document also that shows reasons why thyroid hormone may not be working.

After years of feeling like crap, with all blood tests always resulting in Normal....and feeling like no one would ever really know what was wrong with me, since FM is such a mystery.....about 1.5 months ago I suddenly felt really puffy everywhere, especially my stomach, it seemed to just poof up overnight and I couldn't zip up my pants.

Fibromyalgia (FM) has been found to be treated extremely successfully with the active thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3). I had a particularly severe case of FM with crippling pains in my lower back, shoulder and under both heels. Had I not found natural thyroid extract, I would most definitely be wheelchair bound. As it is, after only 9 days of changing from L-thyroxine to Armour Thyroid, the sun came out for me and has never gone back in since, and I have never had any further pain in all of the 8 years since then.

All of the symptoms and signs you describe are those of hypothyroidism. You need to get an up to date thyroid function test of TSH, free T4, free T3, TPO Ab and TgAb and let us know the results again with the ref. range for each test done. TSH is quite insufficient.

He sent me to have blood drawn which of course I did. Now I know it might sound strange but when he told me my thyroid wasn't functioning I was overjoyed. Finally!, I thought, something to fix!!! I called so many people to tell them. I thought, this is whats been wrong with me all these years!!! I can feel normal again. I don't know if that's true however after all I've learned since the diagnosis. And who knows if this is the answer to all my problems, but I am so happy to have something to treat.

Now you have a diagnosis, we can help you move forward and we do know a lot more than the average doctor - as their training in the world of thyroid disease is quite appalling. Ask as many questions as you wish and we will do whatever we can to find you some answers.

My TSH was 5.3, Vit D-LowB12-High (anyone see elevated B12 in their labs?)

Can you let us have the numbers showing your B12 was elevated. B12 SHOULD be right at the top of the reference range. Again, it is important to get the results because doctors don't know how to interpret them. They simply have not been taught.

Cholesterol - High (for the first time ever in my life)LDL - High (first time ever)

Many sufferers of hypothyroidism have high levels of cholesterol. They used to diagnose hypothyroidism in the 'old days' by high cholesterol levels.

I'm not too pleased with this doc. This guy didn't even examine my body. He never touched me!! I have joint pain, a puffy distended abdomen for cryin out loud. I mean this was before he knew about my thyorid. I think I'll try to find an Endocrinologist. I plan to arm myself with knowledge before I go however! From what I've read it seems a T3 and T4 and others should be done.

See above.

He prescribed Armour Thyro- 60mg/day and 50K vit-D/week and told me to come back in 6 weeks to check the TSH level.

WOO HOO! You are SO lucky. Stick with this man, it is quite unlikely that an endocrinologist will prescribe you natural thyroid extract and thyroxine alone (which is a mainly INACTIVE thyroid hormone) could actually make you much worse. Armour Thyroid contains all the thyroid hormones your body requires, i.e. T4,. T3, T2, T1 plus calcitonin for the bones. You lucky, lucky girl, forget that he is a crap doctor for not giving you a physical examination, believe me, members here would sell their souls to find a doctor willing to prescribe them this wonderful thyroid hormone replacement on the NHS. Can you send his name to me privately please and the address he works from. This is important as I am collecting names of doctors who will prescribe either synthetic T4;'/T3 combination or natural thyroid extract. These doctors are like gold-dust.

If you go to our FILES section - yet again, open the Folder entitled 'Natural Desiccated Thyroid Extract' and there you will find a document telling you exactly how you should use NDT and how you should increase your dose.

Well, that's about it I guess. I apologize for writing so much and for not being the flowing coherent writer that I used to be. Just can't do it anymore. But I was so excited to find you all I was desperate for someone who might understand to hear my story. I have no support from anyone in my life. And no one understands.

There will be many here who fully understand your story, me in particular - been there, worn the T-shirt and come out at the other end feeling absolutely wonderful. You will find that light at the end of the tunnel .

Luv - Sheila

2 of 2 File(s)

LOW MINERALS AND VITAMINS AND THE THYROID CONNECTION.doc

Why thyroid hormone stops working (2).doc

Sun Jun 5, 2011 3:57 pm

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>> > Re-posted for > > (to aid recovery of post and create a singular topic)> > > Hi All,> > I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. Although, I think my Tgland has been> failing for years.> Two events seem to have triggered failure in my body.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,Welcome to the group.    I think it is possible your doctor didn't examine you because he didn't need to, he could see straight away that you had a thyroid problem.       It might be he will see how you get on with the Armour and then examine you if need be.     Armour has T4 and T3 in it anyway,  so he obviously presumes you need both.     I have had a doctor tell me I was under medicated just by looking at me, and he was right.

It would have been better had he sorted any adrenal problem out first, but it is extremely rare to get a doctor to prescribe Armour and even rarer if they take the adrenals into consideration.   

I am presuming you are in the UK.    Lilian