writer, it is a crap shoot. I figured an endo would be educated about hypothyroidism, but to my surprise, many are not! I am extremely fortunate that my GP is well versed on all things concerning thyroid. His wife is hypothyroid so he has been through all this.

married forever has a great link to good thyroid doctors across the nation.

The most informative book I have found on this subject was Hypothyroid by Dr Broda Barnes. He was a pioneer in thyroid matters.

Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness" Dr. Broda Barnes, M.D., Ph.D here

I looked on the Armour site, but unfortunately, none of the doctors in my area that take my insurance were on there. I have an appointment with an Endo next Thursday. There were only 3 in the area that accepted my insurance, so hopefully one of them will work out. I don't have a GP here that I like. I usually just go to my GYN for everything. Healthcare in my area isn't great. The only hospital system in the area is under threat of being shut down for numerous violations.

I'm going to look for that book and hopefully read up on everything as much as I can prior to my appointment.

Okay. Got the lab results in the mail. The range/unit listed for TSH is 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL. My level came back Out of Range High at 8.380. Free T4 had a range of 0.82-1.77 ng/dL and my level came back at 1.00, so In Range. TPO (Thyroid Peroxidase) had a range of 0-34 IU/mL and my level was 8, so In Range.

At the bottom of the page was this Interpretive Comment:

"An elevation of TSH and a normal FT4 in the absence of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody are suggestive of Subclinical Hypothyroidism. Similar values have also been associated with Non-Thyroidal illness in severely ill patients."

I have no idea what most of this means, but maybe it will mean something to someone with more knowledge. MF or Melody?

Sorry, we were waterskiing for the weekend, just getting back to you now...


I know what it means, it means your doctor is an idiot.

A TSH out of the range means you have hypothyroidism. Regular T4 doesn't matter ~ it would only have mattered if he/she had run Free T4, and he/she obviously doesn't know enough about thyroid issues to have done that.

Get in to an endo and see what they say ~ you may have to hunt around for a good one but you need to find one to put you on thyroid meds. I highly recommend you do NOT go on Synthroid and instead you go on natural thyroid replacement ~ i.e., Armour, Naturethroid or Canada's Erfa. Some people (like me) do ok when on a higher dose of natural thyroid supplemented with a small amount of synthetic but not everyone does. I know of very few people who do well on synthetic thyroid alone.

Read that whole website that I linked above and arm yourself with info before your appointment.

I have an appointment on Thursday, so we'll see how it goes. I'm going to read over the web site as much as I can before I go. Thanks for all the info.

I've been so tired the past few days I can barely keep my eyes open. I have no energy. This sucks!

I just stumbled across this thread. I thought I'd share my experience as it may provide helpful ideas for some of you. I do believe that everyone's body is unique, though, and that there is no "one size fits all" solution for thyroid.

Thyroid problems run in my family (all the women on my mom's side, plus my brother). When I was around 12, I had a virus in my thyroid that made me extremely hyperthyroid for awhile, and at that time I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and warned that I'd be going hypothyroid sometime in my early 20s. This was no big deal to me - everyone in my family went this route. During college I became symptomatic (hyper), and in my early 20s I became hypo and began taking synthroid. I never learned more about it because I assumed it was straightforward. I did fine on Synthroid.

That was until I was coming up on 40... I was switched to a generic levothyroxine (generics hadn't been available previously) and some months later I developed an awful skin rash - it was essentially eczema and hives combined. After tons of testing for allergies, etc., and eliminating nearly everything from my diet, I discovered on the internet that there can be a thyroid connection with rashes. More digging led my mom to remember the awful rashes her mom used to get (prior to having her thyroid removed). I had my medication switched back to synthroid and made a number of dietary changes... things like eliminating soy (which I'd been eating a lot more of) since it contains goiteragins and cooking with and lubricating myself with coconut oil (one of the few things that made my skin feel better). The hives went away and the exzema was diminished, but it was still there. I also began researching thyroid symptoms and treatments like crazy.

Finally, I came across some information about the thyroid and vitamin A - that people with low thyroid can't convert beta carotene to vitamin A. So, I skeptically tried taking cod liver oil (which covers vitamin D as well) - and the results were as dramatic as the taste (yuck!). Within a couple of days, the rash was entirely gone.

I continue on my synthroid, I take a much higher quality cod liver oil than I used to (a fermented one since I've had some digestive issues), and I eat a fairly pristine diet. I've thought about trying natural thyroid, but I hesitate to mess with my synthroid dose, which seems to work well for me. But I do "mess" with it in this respect - I usually have extra medication (prescriptions get filled before others are empty), and I use the extra to take 25% more in the winter months. This seems to work well for me. At first, I tried to get my doctor's blessing on this, and she was going to send me to an endocrinologist for tests prescriptions, but then I couldn't make the appt., and I realized I had enough meds to do it on my own. Frankly, I prefer my self-monitoring. I just go and get my bloodwork done each year.

I do believe that exercise (not one of my strenths) is very important. My energy seems to be good. My skin tends to be dry and I tend to be cold, which are not great signs. I think I have absorption issues though (B12 related), which I'm working on and which can occur in conjunction with thyroid problems, but it doesn't mean that thyroid hormones are the answer. I'm not really interested in taking "more" medication though... what I'm trying to do is exercise more and nourish the thyroid gland I have. It is still carrying most of my thyroid burden, and it produces all the many factors that I need in perfect balance... I just want to help it keep its job up as well as possible as long as it can. I'd love to go "hyper" and need to stop taking my meds, but this may be a bit much to hope!

I should also mention that levothyroxine (generic) is used by everyone else in my family. No natural thyroid is used (which may be an indication of the kind of problem that runs in my family? My mom, at least, is flourishing on it.). Also, I'm the only one who's been diagnosed with Hashimoto's (because of my virus and the testing then), and it's been many, many years since I've had any antibodies that indicate Hashimoto's show up on any test. So, I don't have it now - though my blood work as an adolescent showed that I did. There's a ton we don't know...

Best wishes to all of you in your own journeys to health! Learning to listen to my body has been the challenge for me.

Here's a question....

My last blood work also showed that one thing was in normal range but the other wasn't, so the doctor stopped the levothyroxine. What with new jobs and moving I was too swamped to do anything about all this, but now that we are settled I need to figure it out. My thyroid stuff is closely tied to the lithium, so it doesn't make much sense to me that I would have needed thyroid meds and then all the sudden not needed them.

I have the dry crackling hair, the low energy, the trouble with weight loss, the swelling....but rather than being cold, I am almost always hot. I sweat more than I ever have. At the HS ballgame last night I was dripping, and all the other nice southern ladies around me were pristine. How embarrassing. I also read about the vitamin A connection, which also is an underlying problem with my oh, so lovely acne.

So, being cold and having dry skin is hypothyroid. Being hot and sweaty and all that isn't. Or is it?

lurioosi, I have read that you can be hypothyroid and still sweat. It is also a sign of being hypER but it can be associated with hypo. The best test according to Dr Broda Barnes is your body temp upon awakening.

When you are hypo, your body temp will be well below 98.6. Almost everything I have read on this subject suggests that one should be diagnosed based on their symptoms and their body temp and not necessarily your TSH, T-3 and T-4 levels.

Can you take a thermometer to bed with you and take your temp upon waking in the morning?

Luri ~ can you post your labs along with the ranges? Post TSH, Free T3 and Free T4.

When my thyroid's been off I have had problems with being cold AND sweating, so yes this is certainly possible.

I read the Broda Barnes book years ago so may not remember it all correctly but I believe it must be a basal body themometer and it must be taken first thing in the morning, BEFORE getting out of bed and you must take it at the same time every morning.

In the meantime post your most recent labs along with ranges, okey dokey?

I'm gonna take a thermometer to bed. My temp tends to run low all the time. 98.7 and I feel like CRAP.

I haven't been to the doc since the end of May. Having a hard time getting in in this new town. But when I do, I'll post my numbers.

I am seriously thinking and praying about changing from lithium to something else. It is causing all this thyroid/acne/weight stuff...and I don't think it is doing a good job with the moods....as evidenced by my recent little......tantrum (how embarrassing).

Luri...I know you're only 41, but have you ever considered that you might be perimenopausal? Something to consider getting checked.

Along with being hypo, that's my new challenge. The other day I was standing in Kmart and the air conditioning in there made me feel very ill. I think what happens is that adjusting to temperature changes is a real challenge for thyroid disease patients and especially for those who have thyroid disease and are also faced with the challenge of other hormones dipping as well.

Luri, I agree with Solee. That is the first thing my doctor checked. He ruled out menopause and found the thyroid problem. But thyroid symptoms often do mimic peri/menopausal symptoms.

Well, phooey! Bipolar, hypothyroid, and hormonal. At least if I go on a crime spree I've got one heckuva defense - ha!

fer sure!

Luri,

I hope you get to the bottom of it.


How long should there be between reviews with hypothyroidism?

I've started to be a bit cold again, my period was much heavier this time, my boobs have started hurting again and I am having night sweats, I'm finding it hard to keep on top of the horrible skin on my feet and I have started to lose my concentration... i've noticed irritability if someone tries to talk to me and I'm doing something and my appetite has changed back to theone that craves junk and only junk and not much of it, as it was before I started meds.

My vision is still ok although one evening when I was driving I was finding it a bit tricky to refocus between mirror and road a head. Concentration on one task is still ok

just been debating whether to go back to the docs but it is only 2 months since my last test, have been on the same dose for 4 months, diagnosed about 6 months ago

whaddya think?

You should wait 4-6 weeks between any changes in your meds.

Sorry you are feeling so crummy, that's miserable! I hope you get it worked out!

My endo ran some more tests and confirmed that I am indeed hypothyroid. I don't have all the numbers yet but I'm going to pick them up sometime next week. She is starting me on 50 mcg. of levothyroxine (I think that's how you spell it). I go back in 2 months to see how I'm doing on it.

I'm kind of bummed, because I've never taken medication on a regular basis, and apparently, I will have to take this for life.

For those with experience, how long will it take before I start to notice an improvement in how I feel? Is this a normal dose? Does the medication cause any sort of side effects?

I haven't heard great things about synthetic thyroid replacement alone ~ I am on both levothyroxine (50 mgs) and dessicated pig/natural thyroid of 150 mgs.

50 mgs is a very small dose. If it's going to work for you, you should notice a difference in 2-3 weeks. It takes 4-6 weeks for it to show up in your blood work, however.

I suggest you get very familiar with this website: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Good luck!

Thanks MF. Yeah, I've been reading the website. If I don't notice any difference, I will ask about the natural thyroid replacement when I go back in November. I couldn't find any doctors on the list that from the website in my area, so I sort of had to take one of the three endos on the list from my insurance. I'm not sure if this doctor I'm seeing does the natural stuff. I live in a fairly rural area and the selection of health care providers isn't great.