New Member hitting a wall with meds

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Hello, thanks to Jan for pointing me here. I posted the following on

the About.com thyroid site and she felt I might get good feedback

here. Because this post is long, I'll respond to it myself with an

update including test results and an update of what's gone on since I

posted it (Dec 29).

I need some advise!

I had half my thyroid removed for a nodule 2-1/2 years ago. A year

later I began having hypo symptoms. I began on Levoxyl and when I got

up to 75mcg, I began having headaches. Slowly I increased my dosage

until I got to 112mcg where I got severe headaches, brain fog, and my

left eye went whacko (pupil dilation, blurry vision, off colors and

discomfort). I went off the Levoxyl and the symptoms quickly

subsided. After trying different brands and dosages, I have found

that I am toxic to any synthetic T4 over 62.5 mcg (I've tried

Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid and Levothroid).

I also went through many trials of Armour and Naturethroid with

initial GI and bloating problems that were serious enough to cause my

GI to completely shut down for a number of days (at 52.5 mg or 7/8

grain). I have since remedied that by lowering the dose, mixing the

tablets with water and drinking the water throughout the day.

I have been doing well at 50mcg Levothroid and 30mg Armour except for

slight headaches and eye discomfort (always the left)... all except

for one thing: extreme muscle pain and fatigue. I have since had my

other hormones checked and I am now on testosterone as well. However,

it has not helped my muscle pain.

My mother has Fibromyalgia and I fear the worst there, but I'm still

trying to find a solution without accepting that I might have gotten

FMS from this thyroid roller coaster. I had a Cortisol saliva test

done and it came out Low on 2 of the 4, Low range on 1, and Mid range

on 1. It did follow the day's curve, however. I stopped the Armour

the day before yesterday so I can try some Isocort in the near

future. Since stopping the Armour, my muscle pain has dropped

significantly. I am now facing the possibility that the Armour is

causing the muscle pain.

That's my history.

If it turns out that both synthetic T4 and Desiccated thyroid are

toxic to my system at doses I need to be healthy, what can I do? I do

know about Cytomel and haven't given that a complete trial yet

although I do know that my T3 limit is around 7.5mcg without my pulse

going over 80bpm.

I am worried about the future if my thyroid continues to fail. I also

had a tiny carcinoma found in the half of the thyroid that was

removed unrelated to the larger nodule, so it is possible I may have

or get cancer in the remaining gland. I have to consider that as

well. Ideally I would keep my TSH suppressed, but I can only get it

down around 1.00 before I hit a wall with the replacement hormones.

Any advise? THANK YOU for getting this far!

I would also love to hear from anyone with similar experiences to the

meds!

Randy