Let's find out what your current Free T3 and Free T4 are doing.

{{{hugs}}}

Hi Snippy,

Thinking of you and hoping the day improved after your appointment.

Pam

OK here we go. She raised my meds from 5mg. To 10mg. Daily. Jump on my butt about my weight and getting healthier, wants me to go se a health coach. Don't see that happening. K here goes hope I do this right. October FreeT4 0.6 0.7-1.7.
TSH. 16.184. 0.7-1.7

November FreeT4 0.024. 0.40-5.50
TSH. 1.3. 0.7-1.7
Next lab work is 01/09/12

Thanks for all of your guys help, you mean so much to me.

Snippy:

Check your Free T4 with the TSH numbers in November, is it the other way around?

It looks like 5 mg was too much of a drop. Perhaps the 10 mg might be better.

Take a wait and see. Definitely lab again in four weeks and find out for sure.

How are you feeling?

{{{hugs}}}

I think you said you are on the road a lot??
There is a network of gyms that if you join one you can usually visit other across the country for a low daily fee each time you go. Or usually you can pop in to a gym for a low daily fee without a membership. Also Dr. Oz has a buddy plan challenge thing going on. You can partner with a buddy across the country and motivate each other.

Ok everyone yell at me:)

But I think you will feel better overall if you can incorporate exercise and perhaps lose some weight. It will help with some of the joint pain especially is you are sitting for longs period in the truck. If you have a higher fat% than muscle you are going to burn less calories during the day and burn muscle stores vs fat stores.

I know the days I don't go the gym I am more tired. The days I go I feel more energized and over all feel better about myself.

As far as the med adjustment no idea.........

I rechecked November and it states what I put here. There will be no gym for awhile cause my husband lost his job this week over the minor accident we had almost 2weeks ago. He has been driving 36 years without an accident and we lose our job over the first one. As for stopping at the gym it's hard. You see we are on an electronic clock, once you start your day you have 11hours to drive and 4 for unloading,reloading and fueling. You are prettiny much on the clock and moving till it is time for your 10 hour break. Most of the time it falls at night. But for a few weeks or how long it takes us to find a new job I will be walking.

Oops dadburnit you were right OK here goes TSH 0.025 0.40-5.50
Ft4 1.3. 0.7-1.7

Sorry things are not good in my head right now.

Sorry to hear that!

If you can walk that would be great and bet will make you feel a bit better:)

Snippy:

Thanks for letting us know your exercise and work routine. I'm sorry your husband lost his job, hopefully another one can be found soon.

Sorry to be a pain, but check again with the Free T4 and TSH numbers and the ranges for October and November.

Did your FT4 slip below the range then for November? If that's the case, bumping up the ATD dosage to 10 mg will make you slip further hypO.

Then I wonder if your doctor is looking at the TSH to come up?

Or is it the TSH that is 0.024 and the FT4 is 1.3 for November?

{{{hugs}}} :-)

Okay thank you.

Your doctor is dosing to get your TSH to come up. Increasing to 10 mg will make things worst. Leaving at 5 mg is better.

Do talk with your doctor and tell her that the TSH is not to be dosed because it is affected by thyroid antibodies. Instead she should be looking at the FT4.

If she refuses, I suggest you run away from this doctor and look for another one. It does not have to be another Endo.

{{{hugs again}}}

Walking I will do,I'm not one to spend money when none is coming in

Hi Snippy,

I'm to sorry to hear about the turn of events. My across the street neighbors were a truck driving couple, and the subject of possible accidents / tickets was a constant worry. Trouble is accidents happen to the very best.. they are accidental. The wife stayed home and worked till retirement then traveled with the husband for years. yes.. she married a younger man. :) He just retired this past year.

So your new labs show you are much closer to right.
TSH 0.025 0.40-5.50
Ft4 1.3. 0.7-1.7

As Linda said, the low TSH is normal for a Graves' patient. Our antibodies work in place of TSH.

This FT4 of 1.3 is not bad. Mid point on that range is 1.2, a minimum of where you are most likely to end up feeling right. We vary. This would be much too hypo for me, but just right for a few others.

But.. please don't be discouraged. It is normal to not feel great after all you have been through. This doctor severely overdosed you, and your body was not able to properly use the nutrients in your food.. one becomes malnourished when in a hyper or a hypo state. This affects every cell in the body, and is not magically corrected at the moment we reach a better thyroid level.

Think of it like if you had taken in a poor malnourished child. Feed him a couple good meals and expect him to be perfectly normal ? He will still be tired, weak muscles, have trouble with school work and behaviors. No..it takes time to heal. We need to be kind to ourselves and allow positive changes to take place gradually.

The problem here is this doctor wanting you to raise the dose to double what your taking. That will dramatically lower the thyroid levels you have waited so long to achieve and what positive changes have only just had a chance to begin, will be delayed again.

This poor dose instruction coupled with the stress of the job loss ( and extra family right now I think ? ) is a bad mix.

I wonder.. do you have a trusted family doctor or such. This would be a good time to see him/ her and find some better help.

As far as weight.. right now I would concentrate on maintaining and not worry about loss. Lots of time for that when you are healthier. Once your muscles have a change to strengthen exercise will feel good, instead of harmful.

Walking is great. When I was too hypo it left me very depressed and I tried several things, but getting out and having natural sunlight on my face everyday for at least 20 minutes and walking around the neighborhood watching people gardens was my first step in getting better. Some days it felt impossible to go out.. but if I didn't I did feel worse.. so I forced myself out everyday. Eventually my time out alone walking became my reward during each day. Funny how things change.

I just don,t know how to call a doctor and tell her she is wrong. I have never even told her about this site

How do you feel Snippy, better than when you had your last labs? Your 1.3 is really a lot better than the .5 something you had with the free t-4. I bet that things will settle more and you might go down a bit with the FT4. I think it was the big change in the dose that made it go up like this and the tsh to go down. You were clearly overdosed before. How about trying 7.5 for a month and then labs again? That would be a 5 and a half of a 5.It's maybe a safer route and one where the doc won't probably know you did but it might keep you from going too hypo? You don't have to tell the doc she's wrong til after LOL!