New and a lot of questions

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm a 49-yr old woman, diagnosed with ME/CFIDS since 1995, and on T4 only since

then. Started with 25 µg, went all the way up to 150 and now I'm on 137.5 µg.

Have had all kind of treatments for my illness, none of which really worked.

By coincidence, I stumbled on some info about muscle pain and thyroid issues.

That porcine thyroid med is better in some cases, etc. My specialist confirmed

this, although he added that a lot of his patients don't " tolerate " the porcine.

(didn't specify why though, I think I learned that in the meantime)

I managed to convince my GP to support me in following me up on this, so I

ordered some Erfa. I was eager to start, because I'm tired of feeling miserable.

I got some valuable info on the NTH and NTH-adrenal groups over here, but since

I had my RT3 tested, they referred me to this group.

These are my latest test results:

Free T4 1.34 (0.70-1.60) ng/dL

Free T3 2.47 (2.09-3.70) pg/mL

RT3 35.3 (9-35) ng/dL

TSH 0.06 (0.10-4.00) mU/L

Some weeks ago, I had these results:

Iron: 67 (50-160 µg/dL)

> Ferritin: 38 (8-190 ng/mL)

> Cortisol (morning) : 10.9 (5-25 µg/dL)

> ACTH: 18 (10-60 pg/mL)

> Parathormone (intact): 14.7 (6.2-29 pg/mL)

> FT4: 1.26 (0.7-1.8 ng/dL)

> FT3: 2.15 (2.09-3.7 pg/mL)

> TSH 0.09 (0.1-4 mU/L)

> Anti-thyroglobuline: 1.6 (<9 IU/mL)

> Anti-tpo: <0.5 (<5.6 IU/mL)

> TSI <0.3 (<1.5 IU/L)

> LH: 58.6 mIU/mL

> FSH: 135.3 mIU/mL

> ratio FSH/LH 2.3

> Oestradiol: <14 pg/mL

> Progesteron: 0.1 ng/mL

> Prolactine: 10.1 (5.2-26.5 ng/mL)

> D-4-androsteeindion: 145 (90-470 ng/dL)

> DHEA-sulfate: 1.94 (0.1-202 µg/dL)

> Total testosteron: 34 (10-90 ng/dL)

> SHBG: 1.6 (1-4 µg/dL)

> Free testo. index: 0.6 (0.1-2.8)

I've been trying to get my ferritin levels up, but haven't succeeded yet. I have

some trouble tolerating the iron, as they upset my stomach (have a history of

oesophagus irritation and am on meds for that too).

There's also the issue of adrenal fatigue. My specialist states that this is due

to a badly working hypothalamus, but this theory encountered some resistance on

the adrenal group (without further explanation).

I have appointments with 2 different endocrinologist next month, but I'm not

getting my hopes up, because over here (Belgium) most doctors tend to follow a

more " regular " path. And since my blood results are all more or less within the

ranges, they'll probably tell me everything is OK.

So what should I do/expect? Would it be at all possible that my thyroid problem

caused everything else, and that my AF is a result of this also? Should I be

taking medication only for my thyroid problem or should the adrenal issue be

addressed at the same time?

I'm also menopausal and would like to go on hormone replacement therapy as these

hot flashes are really draining me and causing sleep problems, but I'm afraid to

take anything for the moment, because all these hormones interact.

I'm on DHEA 25mg since 1995 and my specialist advised my to try the 7-keto-DHEA,

as this is better absorbed by some (I have leaky gut). Should I switch or wait?

Sorry about the long posting, wanted to be as complete as possible.