Sorry to hear of all your struggles.

While I am not an athlete, I am a very active person....I do cardio/strength-training at least 5 days/week and am not one to sit still most of the day.

Now, docs will tell us our labs are "normal" when they are in-range....that doesn't mean they are our "normal".

And, alternating doses of meds is just not a good idea.....even though synthroid has a long half-life, you are still presenting your body with a different meds dose each day and forcing your body to "process" those different doses - this just doesn't help maintain stable thyroid hormone levels.

Fluctuating thyroid hormone levels don't feel good so, the more you can do to keep them steady, the better you'll feel.

I suggest taking as close to an even dose as possible each day as a start.

Also, if you share some labs on here, we can help you sort through a few things.

Please post your labs with ranges ('cuz they vary from lab to lab and by geographical region) Don't use parentheses or special symbols when posting labs 'cuz a forum bug messes them up.

Here's an example of how to post labs (these are my most recent :)

FT4 1.69 range .82-1.77
FT3 3.3 range 2.0-4.4
TSH .019 range .45-4.50

Quite frankly, if you are being medicated properly, your labs should be quite similar to mine.

Most people feel/function best with FT4 towards the higher end of the range, FT3 at mid-range.

And, post-RAI peeps and other peeps on replacement often have suppressed TSH or TSH no higher than 1.0 (again, if they are being medicated properly).

Your symptoms do sound hyper.....again, sharing labs will go a long way towards sorting things out. Please also share your meds dose and time of day you take your meds.

Hope to hear from you again soon!

thank you for your reply cd. it's so frustrating because I haven't found an endo who truly understands. I ask her all these questions from what I've learned about grave's and no feedback from her. I always feel rushed with her. she doesn't seem like she's really listenng to me.

the past year has been rough. between the mctd factor and my thyroid being out of wack, I've just been trying to be patient with the process. regardless of how she adjusts my medication, I am still having to go through the motions of too much sleep/not enough sleep, palpitations/ no palpitations. then there's the pms factor every month, sometimes, it just sucks being a woman! hehehe

I can just imagine what you're going thru with your endo.

She sounds like my 3 former endos.

Thyroid forum peeps often told me that a GP, DO, internist or holistic doc are often better at treating thyroid disease than endos.

That proved true for me - I found a "with-it" internist who knows how to medicate and I am feeling beyond awesome.

I am also post RAI and very active, (going to the gym at least 5-6 days a week, cardo for at least 1hr during that time). I also think it's strange that they want you to take yuor replacement meds at different times of the day. You are supposted to take it at the SAME TIME every day, on an EMPTY stomach (for at least an hour). NO SOY! it interferes with the absorption of the replacement meds. I was told my my primary that people who have had their thyroid annoculated need their ranges a litle higher than someone who has a functioning thyroid (?) It sounds like your meds are off. The heart palps should not be happening in relation to a thyroid issue if you are stable. Maybe you need to find another Endo. I know how you feel, it took awhile to regulate my thyroid because of things I was doing that I didn't know i shouldn't be. I also found a Naturalipath who advised me to take Evening Primrose, Flaxseed Oil, a ProBiotic, and drink Nettles Tea 2x per day to help manage the symptoms. You might check into getting in to see one. They are great. Good luck to you. Roberta

I've heard Bugleweed can help with the heart aspects of Grave's. I recentely got some at a specialty health food store (it's a little hard to find - Sprouts didn't carry it). It comes in a little glass bottle (tincture?)and you add a dropper full to a shot of water. It tastes pretty bitter (hence the shot glass). So far, it seems to be working well. But you may just want to do a little research about it on the web first to check it out. Hope this helps!
Take care, Kristina
P.S. I take this before I excercise and my heart doesn't seem to race as much.