Re: Hypo levels--AJ

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thank you so much for replying to my post. YOur experience in a

similar situation is most helpful and encouraging to me.

> I don't have research for your case though I'm sure it's

available. I was in a similar situation, with in-range FT4 and T3

and a TSH of 2. After several months of this I was able to convince

my endo to let me add some Synthroid based on my symptoms and my pre-

Graves' levels. I didn't feel right until my TSH was back down to .5

(we're lucky our TSH moves; it often doesn't in Graves').

I was amazed when my TSH popped up so quickly...from 0.05 to 1.09 in

just under 4 weeks!! I expected it to take a year.

> I think Pam mentioned it would be helpful to test FT3 or at least

T3 (my endo's office has been doing T3, less accurate but cheaper

for them).

FT3 is on my list of tests to run when I see her in 6 weeks. I'm

just concerned I will have symptoms before then that indicate I'm

going hypO. I have difficulty breathing, very stiff joints, chest

discomfort, and the feeling of a whirlpool running inside my body.

Is it normal for blood pressure to go low with hypO? Mine was

periodically 90's/50's. It was like one evening before lowering the

PTU. I'm real tired when it goes that low.

> If you have no thyroid tests from before, your endo should listen

to your description of symptoms. (I know, that's a radical

suggestion!) I also would ask what's the harm in adding a small dose

of Synthroid (I'm only taking 50 mcg.). And what a great difference

in how I feel.

My OB/GYN did regular checks on my TSH. I have them for a number of

years. The times I've not felt well my GP took them. Those are

higher.

> Now that I'm feeling well, 1 year into treatment, my endo wants me

to taper off the PTU without an antibody test. So we have some

problems to work out too.

Sigh!! Arm wrestling is getting a lot of practice. I know you are

up to it. Antibody tests. Why doesn't an endo see them as

important? I hope remission is around the corner for you.

I've begun to do " research " of medical journals for any point I want

to win with a doc.

Thank you again,

Ever hopeful,

AJ

>

[Guest guest]

AJ wrote:

> Sigh!! Arm wrestling is getting a lot of practice. I know you are

> up to it. Antibody tests. Why doesn't an endo see them as

> important? I hope remission is around the corner for you.

Boy, can I ever relate to this right now!

I've been mostly lurking here for the last year, picked up much useful info.

I need to find the time for a major call for advice, but this sounds so much

like my latest endo-skirmish, I had to pop in.

My immune system's been in flux this summer, including going into what

presently appears to be full remission on Graves (after only 10 months on

PTU). That's good news, of course, but I was trending hypo through last week

(based on symptoms) 3 weeks after stopping PTU altogether, and had other

reason to think my immune system was up to new mischief, so when I asked my

endo for new tests I asked him to check for Hashimotos antibodies as well as

Graves and anything else he thought might be relevant. He told me they would

certainly do that, but when I managed to get him on the phone this Friday to

discuss the labs (no small acheivement, that), and I asked him about the

antibodies, he told me the lab didn't test for them. Had he asked them to?

He didn't remember whether he did or not. Yeah, why *don't* endos think they

matter?

-Jill