Susie,
I am certainly not an expert on the levels so will let those more knowledgable help with that. But, good for you for calling your therapist - sometimes just having some coping tools will help you get through these swings of emotions as it were. I know it definitely helped me - I went to therapy for anxiety well before I was ever diagnosed with Graves and believe me those tools have come in handy many many times through the course of getting everything undercontrol.
Hang in there!!!
Huggs,
Cindee

You still have things on your to do list, I'm sure, so hang in there, Susie. I know it sucks to have everything happen at once, especially when you don't feel well, but things will improve.

I started having anxiety attacks about the time when my husband started showing symptoms of Graves (long long before diagnosis) and the dr prescribed xanax for me. She prescribed .50 but I have almost always taken half the dose, and only intermittently, coinciding with the day to day atmosphere.

Susie:

I am sorry you are having problems. You are going to need to be proactive here and take the next steps to help you with your thyroid recovery.

If it were me, I would find another doctor who orders the Free T3 and the Free T4 and doses all types of thyroid meds according to how the Free Ts are doing and what kind of a thyroid problem one has.

So many people posting at many thyroid forums are finding out that they have to work on their own to find the right kind of doctor to be dosed properly in order to feel well.

Going through several doctors is probably going to happen. So many people have been on the fourth, fifth, or more doctors until they find the right one to help them.

If I went by looking at your Total Ts, I can see these are low and very likely your Free Ts will be way off.

Hang in there and lots of {{{hugs}}} to you.

Yes i agree with Mm. the "free" tests aren't bound to proteins or other hormones and will give a more accurate picture of your true thyroid hormone levels. Maybe if you found some articles on this they would run these tests. Your levels are probably too low for you. Docs more often than not, overdose Graves patients to keep them hypo cause they think it's safe but it makes you feel like crap. How much are you taking and how long have you been on the dose?

When I was suffering from anxiety attacks (when I was hyper), xanax did nothing for me but the propranolol (beta blocker) worked wonders for my anxiety... maybe try that?

Hi everyone, thanks for you comments! I have an appointment on Nov. 6th with a new Endo. She, at least, will test me Free T's and I believe anything else I ask. I do hope we hit it off. I know something is not right because of the way I am feeling but, hopefully, we can get to to bottom of it. Just wish the appointment was closer! ;)

Thanks again.

Oh good,as long as she tests the frees, you'll get a better picture for sure. My doc thinks any other tests for thyroid function other than the frees are a waste.Hope everything goes well. It'll be here before you know it!

I was just wondering - I had on Oct 19th a contrast CT scan of my kidneys and I asked the technician if the contrast contained iodine. She asked the radiologist who said the contrast contained "bound iodine". I don't know what that is but it is still iodine and I started to feel real funky after the test!. I am feeling much better today and cannot wait to see the new endo!
Thanks again and again and again,

Susie

Susie:

I suggest you read up at our thyroid expert lady's site:

www.elaine-moore.com

She has articles on the Iodine-based dyes which are no nos for those with thyroid disease.

I am happy to read you are feeling better from the kidney scan.

{{{hugs}}}

Thanks mmztcass. I just joined Elaine Moore's site and posted a question about the scan but an answer has not appeared yet. I wish I had known about the iodine-base dyes before the CT scan, I would have said no to the contrast. It sure did make me feel terrible and I won't do that again! lol

Susie

Dear Susie. I had the same thoughts when I was real bad 3 years ago and after getting treatment and more. The thoughts faded and I feel much better now. Please listen to the members in this group. They helped me a lot when I was going through bad times. I walk now about 2 miles a day and this past summer I was bike riding 5 miles a day. I get my levels checked now every 3 months and see my doc this week. Please be strong and things will get better. Smiles and Take Care.. Bobby

When I went for a CT that was supposed to have contrast I told the tech I had Graves. He asked the doctor and the doctor said no to the contrast. So I had the CT without. The reading tells more with contrast but I would have to be in serious need before I had any contrast.

Betty V.

Susie, what meds are you on for your thyroid, and how much? How long has it been since you were diagnosed?

To me the levels only tell one thing, but if you see how you are changing within the levels it can help explain how you feel. I felt a lot better when I went from hypo to low normal than going from high normal to low normal.

Also, if the changes come quickly you might not have time to adapt to the normal and have hyper and hypo symptoms simultaneously.

Thanks everyone for you replies and concern. I has taken about one week for me to feel normal. I went and had labs done 6 days after the CT scan and they are supposedly "normal". I have yet to figure out what my "normal" is. Elaine Moore confirmed that we should stay away from the iodine in contrast dye. I will never take that again! Betty V., I did ask the nurse whom I knew if the dye had iodine in it and she went and talked to the radiologist who said the Iodine was "bound" and should not be a problem. Well it was a problem. And now I will never take anything with iodine in it as it obviously effects me tremendously.

Susie

I am not sure about the iodine prohibition. I know iodine is part of the process for creating thyroxine in the body, so it stands to reason it should be avoided by hyper-thyroid patients, but [perhaps when I was over-treated] I had a test using the iodine contrast and I was briefly on top of the world again. I live in an iodine poor region, though, and wasn't using iodized salt for a while.

There are a lot of things to consider.

There is a lot of talk here about being over-treated, and I just read an article saying that women, particularly run a higher risk of heart disease if their thyroid levels are in the lower part of the normal range. I wonder if my doctor read about that study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443261

Conclusion: "Thyrotropin levels within the reference range were positively and linearly associated with CHD mortality in women. The results indicate that relatively low but clinically normal thyroid function may increase the risk of fatal CHD."

Thyrotropin is TSH, and it seems like this study is saying the higher the TSH [which assumes lower thyroid function] the greater the risk for heart disease.