Thyroid question

[BeatingRA]

Hi Everyone,

I was told this week by a cardiologist I'm seeing for high triglycerides and low HDL that my TSH was too high – it was 7.77 (my lucky number, I should go to Foxwoods this weekend!).  Anyway, he said “here's a prescription for synthroid see you in three months”.  I refuse to add another medication to my body until I understand this – especially one that begins with SYN.  I know I've seen Thyroid discussions here and that a number of you cystas have thyroid issues ;-).  I've read the posts but didn't retain much of the information because it didn't apply to me.  I'm at a loss, I don't even know where to begin to research this.  What type of doctor typically addresses thyroid issues?  I've done a few searches and frankly everything I've found just boggles my mind.

I'm going to spend lots of time this weekend researching thyroid info.  Does anyone have any books or websites to recommend to get me started in my new education?  Any topics I should focus on?  Any books or websites to avoid?

Thanks in advance for any help and also for letting me vent!

Theresa

[Kim]

Theresa,

I don't recall a single person on this board that says they have their thyroid sorted out. Mine has gone full circle from hypo to hyper now back to hypo.

An endocronoligist should be the doctor with all the answers, but the ones I've seen have not helped me. Each doctor has given me a different course of action and none have helped, leading me to believe it's a crapshoot. If the “experts” aren't in agreement, good luck trying to make any sense of it yourself.

There is no doubt in my mind that all of these auto-immune conditions, and Lyme in particular, really mess with the whole endocrine system.

Sorry this was no help at all. 🙁

Take care…..kim

[Maz]

[user=8]BeatingRA[/user] wrote:

I'm going to spend lots of time this weekend researching thyroid info.  Does anyone have any books or websites to recommend to get me started in my new education?  Any topics I should focus on?  Any books or websites to avoid?

Hi Theresa,

Mary Shoman is quite the Thyroid guru and has quite a bit of info on her website and, I believe, a thyroid physician locator by state:

http://thyroid.about.com/

Interestingly, she's also done an interview with a very well-known AP doc, Dr B, on the arthritis/thyroid connection:

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/brownstein.htm

Here's another site I came across recently:

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Hope this helps…am sure others can chime in with resources they've found helpful, too.

Hope you find your answers soon…getting the thyroid in balance is so important and may well affect pain levels and delay progress on AP if not in balance. As Kim said, thyroid can be difficult to treat (particularly Hashimotos, which tends to swing back and forth), and finding a physician who knows their stuff and can properly diagnose the type of thyroid condition you have is quite important. Hypothyroidism can have a few variations in disease type…”autoimmune” in nature or simply a sluggish thyroid and there are variations in the way you can choose to treat it…with synthetic or natural hormones. It's quite common for thyroid probs to overlap with rheumatic diseases, especially for women.  

Peace, Maz

[linda]

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism as well, and do take synthroid. When Armour gets back on track I would like to switch b/c by most accounts it works much better. I know what you mean about adding more meds, I feel like I could open my own pharmacy.

I have a little bit of information, but not much as I have not researched much about the thyroid. Apparently it can be affected by AI diseases, but other things can cause problems with it as well, so it's difficult to know what's going on sometimes. I do remember reading that soy products can affect the thyroid if one eats too much of it. I found this out when I was on the Medifast diet, which is basically a liquid diet with pre-pkged dry mixes, all made from soy. No wonder I couldn't lose any weight while on it. That's all I have, I don't know much about it mostly b/c it's my least worrisome problem at this point and thsu gets little attention.

[Eva Holloway]

Theresa, Kim, Maz, Linda,

I am also having problems with my thyroid and I received this info just a few days ago about nature thyroid. I thought it was interesting. Here is the link:

You can get natural thyroid from Nutri Meds without a prescription. 
http://www.nutri– meds.com/ thyroid_suppleme nts_s/33.htm 
 
hopes this comes through okay.
 
Eva:D

 
http://www.nutri- meds.com/ thyroid_suppleme nts_s/33. htm

Eva Holloway

[BeatingRA]

Thank you for all your responses, you ladies are a wealth of information!

 

Kim, Thank you, what you wrote did help.  It proves to me that I need to read, read, read and try to truly understand the treatment options.  I think before I start the synthroid I?m going to talk to my PCP.  He?s used to me turning down his drugs and those of the specialists he sends me to.:D

 

Maz, thanks for the links.  I took a quick look at the first one and it looks like a great resource.  I?m looking forward to delving in and learning more.

 

Linda, thanks for the info, I have read about the Armour problem and saw a reference to it in the first link Maz sent in her reply.

 

Eva, I?ll check out that link about nature thyroid too.  Thank you for sending it.

 

Theresa

[mschmidt]

Hi Theresa!

I, too had my thyroid take a nosedive last year, and have been on Armour Thyroid since late Spring of 2009.  My autoimmunity definitely played a part, as well as Lyme disease.  If you have time I highly recommend reading “Living Well With Hypothyroidism:  “What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You…That You Need To Know” by Mary Shomon.  You could spend days doing a search on hypothyroidism and not get 1/2 of the information she has in her book.  Very knowledgeable woman!! 

The endocrine system and adrenals are under a lot of stress when your body is trying to fight a chronic disease.  Did he/she run a full thyroid panel on you? (TSH, T3,T4, Thyroglobulin ABS, Thyroid Peroxidase ABS)  The latter two is to check for Hashimotos. If you're dealing with Hashimotos, that's an entirely different beast, and get ready for a roller coaster ride. (Kim can attest to that!!) That is a high TSH level but, I'd be curious as to what the other numbers are, too. 

My AP rheumatologist and LLMD check my thyroid levels–way better than the endocrinologist.  It's definitely tricky to regulate the thyroid med levels initially but, with the proper monitoring, a good doctor can find the dosage that's best for you. I started out on 120mg of Armour, and am now down to 60 mg every other day because my thyroid is making a comeback–I'm actually losing the weight it slapped on me, and my doctors think I may not have to be on meds for it the rest of my life.  My stress level is a lot lower as well, which I'm sure has contributed to my hormones trying to balance out. 

Please feel free to vent and ask questions as many times as you need to.  It's frustrating trying to figure this all out on your own!

Maria

[JBJBJB]

Theresa,

I take Armour Thyroid. I take 30 mg in the morning and 30 mg in the evening. It's very hard to balance like Kim said. My TSH went from 2.44 from two years ago to 6.40 a year and half ago. I am also new to this.

Recently I read an article, talking about adding zinc can help to lower TSH. I have been on 50 mg zinc. I had a test which checked my vitamin level. I lacked zinc big time.

I sure hope you can figure everything out. JB

 

 

[Cherie]

Hi, I'm new hear,

Is Armour thyroid better  then syn or levo thyroid.

Can you take it if you don't have a thyroid anymore.

Thanks,

Heather

[Kim]

Hey Heather and welcome to the board,

Armour has both T3 and T4, whereas the synthetics like Synthroid only have T4.  I've tried both ways and I'm sticking with the Armour.  I split my dose and take it twice a day because it has a short half-life and I'd crash in the afternoon if I didn't.  It also should be taken on an empty stomach for better absorption.

Good luck…..kim

[BeatingRA]

Maria, I just checked and my library has the book you suggested.  I?m going to pick it up today.  The doctor I went to just ran the TSH test, I?m going to ask my PCP to run the full thyroid panel.  That?s good news that you are taking less of the Armour and that your thyroid is making a comeback.

 

JB and Kim, good suggestion on splitting the dose.  I?ll look into JB?s  zinc suggestion too.

 

Heather, welcome to the RBFBB.

 

Thanks to all of you for your replies!

 

Theresa

[Cherie]

Thanks, Kim

I'll see what my doctor says maybe she'll switch me.

 

[Patti D]

Theresa,
Welcome to the club of cystas. Many of us here have whacky thyroids as well as the little beasts called thyroid nodules. 7's are my lucky number too but geeze, you could do without that right. Maybe you can get the thyroid squared away in 7 days, or 7 weeks if necessary!

I just started thyroid medication, Armour 2 weeks ago. I started at 60 mg and got very spacy and agitated kind of hyper so I cut it down to 30 mg and gradually increased to the full pill or 60 mg just yesterday. My doctor is putting me on the 60 mg and will recheck bloodwork in 6 weeks.
One thing you can do on your own is check your basal temperature every morning for 5 days. You take it before you even lift your head off of your pillow. Take the average of the 5 days of temperature monitoring and give the record to your doctor. If your temperature is 97.3 or lower as an average your thyroid is underactive or hypo. This is another way to monitor your treatment plan in addition to the TSH, T3 & T4. I am going to ask for the other two blood tests that Maria mentioned for Hasimotos at my next blood work appointment and also get that book.

JB: Kim had said split the pill in half and take one before breakfast and one before lunch but you said you take one half or 30 mg.in the evening. Doesn't this keep you awake at bedtime? I found this medication, Armour, really gave me some energy so I would be afraid it would interfere with sleep.

Sending well wishes your way!
Patti

[BeatingRA]

Patti,

That's interesting about the temperature.  I never knew that low basal temp meant you were hypo until I started researching thyroid.  I remember back when I was trying to get pregnant I was checking my temp every morning and most mornings it was 97.2.

Thanks!

Theresa

[Rosey UK]

Hi Theresa,

I have under active thyroid ( hypothyroidism ) over active is hyperthyroidism.

Here In the UK we are pescribed Levothyroxine. I take 50mc and we are tested about every year or so, well they usually tell me to have a blood test when they realize I haven't had one for a while.

It sounds like your docs havent explained whats going on, no wonder you feel the way you do.

Hope you soon get some answers.

Rosemary

[Author]

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