Lyme and Thyroid

[Guest guest]

You may want to check out the following link:

http://www.wilsonssyndrome.com/

> Dear Kim,

> I tried, unsuccessfully, to follow up on this.

> Any further details?

> I have Lyme & Hypothyroid & would be interested in this study, so please

> mention me to Dr Sigman,

>

> Thanks,

> a Aida

[Guest guest]

I've been on both those meds as well. Armour made an incredible difference in

the beginning, but never consistently better like you say. One thing I notice

about anything new I introduce is that it may help a little in the beginning but

then it's as if I become resistant to it. I wonder if that *resistance* is Lyme

related? For instance I have a ton of trouble getting so sleep...have tried

everything from Melatonin, to 5HTP, Valerian root, Tryptophan, PS, etc, to OTC

sleep aids and even very expensive Ambien. It works once or twice and then

nothing!

It wouldn't surprise me that your labs were coming back " normal " when you were

hypo-T, as most doctors only look at TSH which doesn't show the whole picture. I

had normal TSH, because I had plenty T4 (mostly inactive form of the hormone)

but was very low in the active hormone (T3). Now that I know Lyme patients tend

to be deficient in iodine and cortisol, it makes perfect sense as both those

substances are seriously needed to convert inactive thyroid hormone into the

active form. The more I read on Lyme the more things make sense in general.

I also read a group post somewhere (but no resource to back it up yet) that Lyme

interferes with the actual hormone receptor sites. So that makes sense why you

can take and take and take all these replacement dosages and nothing happens;

it's like it's just floating around in your bloodstream but can't get into the

cells were it's needed!

I am glad you are making progress in only 3 months...I am about a month into

treatment and that gives me great hope. Wishing you continued improvement!

Connie

>

> All my symptoms started with dx of hypothyroidism--Oct. '03.? Apparently,

Lyme caused the problem.? No matter which meds I took Synthroid or Armour, I

never felt consistently well. Blood work always came back normal.? Second

endocrinologist said, " It's not your thyroid, look elsewhere. " ? He also noted my

thyroid was not enlarged, actually it was smaller than expected.? During an

8-month remission (Lyme in dormant phase) during which I felt extremely healthy,

my blood work indicated I was on too high a dose of Synthroid.?

>

> My current LLMD only gives me a one-month supply of Synthroid, no refills? I

guess he's watching thyroid function closely.?

>

> Endocrine system definitely is effected by Lyme.? It caused me to experience

severe mood swings & crying spells (very scary), which was the clue to test me

for Lyme.? Abx (almost 3 months oral) have helped that a lot.?

>

> Kim from Massachusetts

> ?

>

>

>

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> [ ] Re: Lyme and hormonal shift

>

>

> Armour is what I take, too (1 grain/day). It would be great if I could wean

off, espcially since it's on back order until who knows how long, and I am

freaking out since it's the only thyroid med that ever made a difference. I know

exactly what you mean about those jitters. When I first started taking I over

shot at one point and it was miserable. Also I watch my pulse as far as a

hyper-T symptoms...can't remeber what other signs to watch for. Time for a

refresher course on all that. =)

>

>

> I'm also on Cortef and have been trying to wean. Two years ago I had days

where I'd go as high as 25mg, sometimes even 30, but was always leery going that

high. I've been down to 10mg for many months, have tried unsuccessfully to wean

beyond that, but I keep trying to (and I have some days where I take as little

as 7.5mg).

>

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>

>

> I'm so glad these horomonal issues should improve. Such a pain to manage,

especially since it's so up and down from day to day.

>