Thought maybe we could start a discussion here.

or continue the one started on 101.

I am very interested to here your experiences with thyroid treatment.

I went to my docs 4 weeks ago with what I thought was side effects form my mirena which I had for heavy bleeding. After 2.5 years with it, about 6 months ago I started getting sore boobs, back pain, really irregular. And also because in the last 3 months I had lost my appetite and was fatigued.

Doc said she wanted to do some blood tests before taking the coil out and my TSH came back at 6.55 but my T4 was just within normal range. Path lab suggested leaving it for a bit but she decided to start treatment.

It all suddenly made a lot of sense to me: the aches and pains all over, straw for hair, days with yellow skin, puffiness, deterioration in my eyesight (due to muscles being so tired I found after an eye test), unable to listen to the teacher in year 6 maths, so much fuzz in my head that holding a conversation was a real struggle. I'd even been missing band practice because of the aches and pains and tiredness and because my playing was declining - loss of co-ordination.

Doc started me 4 weeks ago on 25mcg levothyroxine, which has made a slight improvement as long as I keep life to a minimum - work (19hours), housework and dog walks. If I try to live life properly the brain fuzz totally overcomes me, headaches back etc etc.

My review is in another 4 weeks. Should I go back now and request a higher dose ( or see if I can get a natural alternative to the levo)?

I also would like to ask if my dose could be reviewed based on symptoms rather than blood results. ie taking basal temp and pulse rate morning and evening. Have any of you tried this?

I'd love to draw on all of your experience here and would really apppreciate some help in making the most of the health services available to me.

I used to get headaches at the drop of a hat. I was cold (and mocked for it.) I did not have the energy I should have and working out just got harder, not easier. My hair and skin were dry but hey, I live in a desert so what would you expect?

About three years ago some doc finally thought to check my thyroid. It was way low. They started me on 25 mcg of levothyroxine, then 50, then 75. I don't get headaches nearly as often. I'm not quite as cold all the time. And exercising actually builds my endurance instead of draining it.

It's a simple blood test that any doctor's office can do for you. The meds are very cheap - only $4 a month, even without insurance.

Thyroid deficiency is very common. I type ER and hospital reports all day and there are loads and loads of people taking levothyroxine or Synthroid for it. It seems to be more common in females, but males can be affected, too.

The worst thing about thyroid deficiency is that it can affect your heart. I've noticed that anyone with an unexplained heart problem, especially an arrhythmia, is immediately checked for thyroid problems.

Don't hesitate to ask your family care doctor (or any other health care provider) about this. It's cheap and easy to fix and sure seems to affect a lot more people than we ever realized.

Good that you are taking care of your health. But make sure you get a full blood workup.

Have you had your blood sugar checked? Vitamin D levels?

I take Vitamin D, alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10. The latter two are for my mitochondria (energy levels). I have been having some trouble sleeping, so I'm going to get some melatonin and see how I do on that. My son takes it and says it really helps.

pk

ST, I have had alot of the same symptoms you cite and was also recently diagnosed as hypothyroid. What drove me to the doctor was an unexplained weight gain and my periods just stopped 6 months ago. They started within 2 hours of taking Synthroid. However, I still don't feel good. After 3 weeks on Synthroid [and I understand it takes time to build up] I had done enough research to believe that Armour does a more complete job. I called the doctor and convinced him to switch me to Armour, which he did last week.

Another thing I have been doing is supplementing with high doses of Vitamin D. Did your doctor check your vit D levels? They are usually low in people who have hypothyroid so I am taking a 50,000 iu dose once a week.

I also started taking an iodine pill, but it gives me a terrific headache. Not sure on that one...

THis is the NHS here Mel. I'm quite sure I had the bare minimum of tests , so no vit D - I'm suprised they diagonosed seeing as we get free meds with hypothyroidism - whooppee - I get my asthma inhalers for free now!

The GP I saw was good, I have many q's when I next go.

Mulan, how long were the intervals between your dose increases? Did you have to have blood tests each time?

stay, the increases were all in the first year. They want me to have blood tests about every 6 months. I have been doing somewhat better but I wouldn't be surprised if they upped it to 100.

good topic - I think this affects a lot more people than we know, especially women.

I'm also hypothyroid..have been for years. I take 75mcg levothyroxine. Even though I feel the way many of you here are quoting (aches, pains, fatigue, headaches, etc.), that's come on more recently. Other than weight gain, I was almost asymptomatic about 6 years ago when diagnosed.

I'm arguing with my endocrinologist now about just removing my thyroid so they don't have to constantly jiggle with my med levels.

But I gotta tell you... I don't think this latest round of symptoms is thyroid. I'm going in this week for a Lyme titer. If you live in an area where Lyme is prevalent, you should get checked. I'm almost 100% sure I have it and that my symptoms are due to Lyme, not thyroid.

This is fascinating. Last March, a month or so after starting lithium, I just couldn't get up for work. I was so tired. I had no energy for anything. My hair, which had been smooth and shiny, got frizzy and strawy, and started falling out in the shower. I was either hot or cold. My skin changed - dry elbows, feet, legs, very oily skin. My appetite changed.

But the big thing was ME. I have a huge, creative imagination. I love to write. I dance around the classroom with my students, write my own musicals for my choirs, have great bulletin boards. I went on a cruise that my In-Laws paid for this last summer and had to MAKE myself smile and leave the cabin. No more writing, and a week before school started, I stared at my blank bulletin boards, crying, because I couldn't think of anything to put on them. I went from super accurate typist to "what did she just write???"

Now some of this is just the nature of BP. But I knew I was not right. Now I am thinking that the culprit was not the new BP meds, but the plunging thyroid from the BP meds. This discussion has convinced me to see a real endo. I am working hard to regain some of my real and more interesting self, and I see glimpses, but I am going to get to the bottom of this.

Thank you to whoever started this thyroid stuff!

Another weird thing I would like thoughts on....I sing, or used to. Voice was my major instrument in college. I wasn't Kristen Chenowith, but I was pretty good. The last nine months or so, my voice has also gotten weird, breathy, shaky, uncontrolled, I lost 5-or-6 notes of my high range. I wonder if thyroid could affect this??

Definitely - just before I started on the meds my voice really dropped. The thyroid gland can swell and put pressure on the vocal chords.

Typing!!! Good comment.


I also find it a lot harder to deal with irl people - I think it's because I am always running a monologue in my head and i used to be able to run that monologue and communicate with others. Now I just have the monologue when I've over done it.

Our House, I'm not sure removing the thyroid would help. Your hormone requirement would still change with the temperature, your stress and activity levels etc

I also take Armour and Levothyroxine. I have T4 and T3 issues and take both. My doctor believes dessicated thyroid is better for the body, and easier to absorb and utilize.

When Armour became difficult to find, my doctor contacted a compounding pharmacist in town. The pharmacist agreed to make Armour; he got the materials and compounded it. It doesn't look like the lab-created Armour - it is bigger, in capsule form, clear with powder inside. It works just like lab-created Armour though!

If you can't find Armour, I would encourage you to call a compounding pharmacy and see if they will make it for you!

hormonal fluctuations on vocal cords

I've been trying to keep T3-T4 in balance for a little over 2 years now. I finally went to a woman who specializes in bio-identical hormone therapy after getting nowhere with my regular doc. I was gaining 4 pounds a week, on Atkins and working out at the gym 1 hr daily. Totally baffling and discouraging.

Then I lost 40 pounds once they got the medication right. Now the last three months things are changing again. I had blood drawn last week for my regular check up, but it's just in time. My husband saw first hand what I go through in a day when my energy just crashed during church. I literally could not keep my head up - I had my head on his shoulder and I'm usually more attentive.

When he found out I've been experiencing that kind of crash a couple of times every day at work, he was rather alarmed. I guess I was a bit more out of it than I thought I was.

Tuesday can't come fast enough I guess.

Kayla, this is my experience exactly! I have been on Atkins for 12 years and have been a size 8 all that time until the past year. I have always worked out, so that never changed. But I kept socking on the weight.

I started on thyroid meds 3 weeks ago and have not lost any weight yet. What meds and what strength are you on?

I will remain on atkins no matter what, so I have the diet part down right.

Kayla, have your periods been weird? Mine stopped last November and I just thought "yippeee!! menopause!!" NOPE. My GP ran the tests and said I am not even CLOSE! But within 2 hours of starting Synthroid, it started up. ugh..

I also told my doctor that if he couldn't help me get this weight off I was going to back to MARLBORO'S, dammit! I really hate being overweight.

p.s. I am taking my temperature 3x a day now and the first few times it was around 96, too low.

My temperature averages 96.7 in the a.m.

My periods have been NON stop for the most part - I can take the last 18 months and figure I might have had two periods every month that are a week to 10 days each - and a lot of the rest of the days I'm still spotting.

I'm not close to menopause yet, but I am getting the night sweats and a few hot flashes. I chew crushed ice to chill out. Not good for my teeth.

Kasey and I went for a HIKE yesterday - I feel like I'm packing around 2 or 3 bags of water softener salt everywhere I go. I did manage a four mile round trip hike over rocks and boulders and sand though. Gotta love Spring when it finally gets above 60 during the day.

I'm feeling it a bit today but not as bad as I expected. Just the crash in church was kind of freaky.

I'm on Levothyroxin 200 mcg and 10 mcg of cytomel

I've kind of been wondering for awhile if my thyroid may be going haywire. About 3 months after the baby was born, my hair started falling out. I knew that was normal after giving birth, so I didn't think much of it. Problem is, the baby is 19 months old now, and my hair is still falling out way more than normal. It isn't as bad as it was at first, but it's still pretty heavy. Also, I can't lose that last 10 lbs. no matter how little I eat or how much I exercise. And I've always been super skinny. In fact, I used to have trouble keeping weight on. It's sure not a problem anymore. My energy level isn't great either. For awhile, I thought that was because I wasn't getting much sleep with a new baby in the house. But she's been sleeping 11+ hours a night for a long time now, and I'm still worn down. My insomnia has gotten way worse too. Could all of this be due to a thyroid problem?

I've never had my thyroid checked. I was supposed to go back to my OB/GYN when the baby was 6 months old, but I never went. I guess it's time I made that appointment. Can an OB/GYN handle thyroid problems? I don't really have a GP that I like, though I really should find one.

No harm in getting it checked writer1

KaylaAndy - I have read articles about hypothyroidism being triggered by people doing more exercise than their daily calorie intake really allows for...

This thread is making me cry with relief every time something is added. I have had "Aunt Flo" every two weeks for the past year, and I am sick of it. I can't wait to call this endo.

Maybe I won't be a warbling, fat, straw-headed lump forever after all!

Writer, pregnancy is a major reason women have thyroid issues.