thyroid workup

[Guest guest]

Hi Steve,

Hopefully you will check back to this list to answer a few remaining

questions. To whom did you go to for your thyroid workup?

I posed the question to my EP doctor last week about the possibility of me

having a sub-clinical hypothyroid disorder but he shrugged that off and said

I would need to go to an Endocrinologist for that. Of course with my health

care plan, my primary physician has to refer me to the Endocrinologist. My

TSH (that's all that has ever been done) always comes out in the normal

range. I have many symptoms that could be explained by hypothyroidism....

thin hair and weak fingernails, infertility, low body temperature, low pulse

rate (around 50 bpm even without beta blockers), fingers and toes that turn

white and go numb.

I did my own little temperature study over the past month. I took my

temperature with the same thermometer up to four times a day when I could

remember to. Nothing to eat or drink 30 minutes prior to taking my

temperature. The first temperature was when I woke up, and the remaining

three temperatures were three hours apart. I also plotted my degrees of

arrhythmias (0=none, 4+= AF) at the times I took my temperature.

Interestingly, much of the time the bad PVC's and PAC's and AF corresponded

with a decrease in my body temperature.... probably about 65% of the time.

For two weeks I took my temperature and then calculated the average. The

average of all the measurements was 97.9. I was having such a rash of AF

that I was becoming desperate to try anything. I went to the health food

store and found a bottle of " RAW THYROID " made by Premier Labs. Supposedly,

the pills contain " Thyroid Tissue, Adrenal Tissue, Pituitary Tissue, Thymus

Tissue, Spleen Tissue and Kelp " This tissue comes from organically raised

Bovine from New Zealand so hopefully no Mad Cow Disease. I have been

continuing to take my temperature and found there is a distinct rise in my

body temperature. The average of all the temperatures since I have been

taking the Raw Thyroid is now 98.5. The temperature chart clearly shows the

rise in body temperature.

I showed this chart to my EP and told him what I was taking. Of course his

eyes rolled skyward but I explained that nothing else he was prescribing was

working and at this point in my life if somebody had offered me snake oil I

would have taken it. He just shrugged and repeated that I would need to see

an Endocrinologist.

I have a feeling if I do see an Endocrinologist this possible sub-clinical

hypothyroidism will be blown off by them too. Perhaps I should find a good

Naturopath and pay for the appointment out of my pocket. Does the Armour

brand of thyroid that has been mentioned on this list need a prescription?

Diane Porter