Hypothyroidism Support Group
Hypothyroidism is the disease state caused by insufficient production of thyrohormone by the thyroid gland. There are several distinct causes for chronic hypothyroidism, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism following radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism. Advanced hypothyroidism may cause severe complications, the most serious one of which is...
Hi..I am new to this site...am hopeful for any advice. I had RAI 7 1/2 years ago for graves, now hypo. Have been on synthroid since. The first few years seemed ok...but I have noticed a decline in my well being lately. My skin is brutal. Itchy most of the time, red and dry. Acne, hair falls out periodically, half of my eye brow is gone. Do not handle temp changes well at all. The winter is brutal but summer not so good either. Told I have rosacea, but another doc is not conviced... the redness comes and goes. Nails...forget it. Can't lose the weight I have gained either. Never had allergies or sinus trouble til the past year and a half. Moods are probably the hardest symptom to handle. I go through these spells of overwhelming sadness and tears. Very emotional. Some times shake or tremor, anxiety attacks. I started on .50 mcg 7 years ago now up to .137 mcg. been up and down with doses for the past several years due to miscarriages. Had significant work up by docs, neuros, fertility, osteos, PCP, etc. Praise God.... My endo tells me now, that i am just crazy and that synthroid has nothing to do with it. Things have gotten worse since the increase yet, the increase has helped my muscles aches and pain. I used to be very active, physically fit. My skin, oh my skin..... it is just terrible. I now see on here there are certain foods that can affect things... I asked my endo this and he said there is no issue, take your synthroid and move on. Ask you pcp for antidepressant. That is all any of these guys have been trying to give me. Can anyone give me some sort of guidance of a direction to take? Also my TSH has been 5, then 4.5, then 1.9, then 3.9, then 2.8... T3 was 90 and T4 was at very top of range. I kept running the tests to see, but my doc only does tsh and t4. I made him run the T3, but not sure what any of this means. All other blood work is good, CBC, BMP, Rheumi Factors, ANA, Hormones, Vitamins, etc... all good! I feel so alone, everyone just thinks I am crazy. I am so sorry for the long winded message and greatly appreciate anyones response.
Thank you and God Bless!
Thank you and God Bless!
With your TSH being that high, I bet your Ft3 is low.
Your T4 would need to be lowered and add some T3, or you could switch to dessicated thyroid which has T3 and T4 in it. The dessicated such as naturethroid, Armour thyroid.
I had 15 millicures of RAI in Feb. 2004
Thank you for the clarification. You would think at this stage I would know more. I had my RAI March 2003. I believe, if this sounds correct, 9 millicures. Again, I was fine up until more recent years. If you don't mind me asking, what med do you take? I have read good and bad about all of these drugs. The concern with Armour is reading about more cardiac issues. Though I suppose with thyroid conditions we are no greater risk then any other group as long as we take care of ourselves. What are the particular foods you stay away from. I am finding after my coffee in the morning, my face is a mess. I have to say, my ignorance has gotten me here. I honestly just trusted my doctor 100% and never thought to question him. Until now. and now he is just getting upset with me. So lowering my synthroid, how will that help lower th tsh. or is it if I get a T3 supplement, this will help. Please forgive all of my questions. It's just that my doctor will not talk to me about any of this. My pcp just hands out the anti's and sends me on my way. I don't mean to bother any of you on here with so much. I am just in awe at how ignorant I have been!
What I have found to take is selenium to convert my T4 to T3. It does work for me. But did find out that taking 200 mcgs a day made me hyper. So taking 100mcgs of selenium a day has made me feel great.
I do my bloodtesting through ZRT labs because I do not have a healthcheck USA close to me. Yep I am my own doctor because they always kept me sick.
If I were you, would not lower the T4 but add selenium 100mcgs a day and a good vitamin mineral supplement if you are not taking one. Make sure to take these 4 to 6 hours from your T4 dose.
I also take B12 sublingual 1000mcgs a day and vitamin C.
Now you are scared away from me right?LOL
I also order the twinlab B12 dots that taste like cherry and are sublingual. The vitamin C is one from walmart with rosehips.
All of this makes me feel good. Oh yeah you might not feel the effects of the selenium for a week or two. It took me about a week to feel hyper from taking the Twinlab daily caps, taking one a day. Started getting stomach cramps, frequent bowel movements, shaky, high pulse rate.
God bless you too and if you need any advice or whatever dont be afraid to post.
Good luck in lowering down the T4 - Synthroid since I believe it's too high for you. If you can get your doctor to order the Free T3, this will be great.
If not, definitely as bm55 says, healthcheckusa.com (use code 12345 for 15% off) and get the Free T3, Free T4, and TSH. Here's a link with them:
http://www.healthcheckusa.com/lab_tests/Thyroid_Screenings/Thyroid_Panel_II_with_TSH
{{{hugs}}} :-)
Well, as I knew, my doc called and told me labs were fine. He didn't know I had a copy already. He said they looked good, FT4 was a tad high, but to stay on my meds and he will see me in 6 months. My heart just sunk. So, I think at this point there are two things to do, find a new endo and try the multi's. I would like to find a multi with 100mcg of selenium... not sure that is possible. THere are so many out there, you just don't know what to choose. I feel all my numbers except the T3 need to come down to feel my best and to get my T3 up. This has all been such an eye opener for me. I am very grateful to you both. The information you both have given me in two days is more then I have gotten in 8 years. {{{{hugs}}}} Let's see what happens
I know if it were me, I'd want my Free T4 around mid range because that is where I feel my best. I also like my FT3 around mid range.
Consider trying Selenium by itself with a little bit of vitamin E (as it helps the Selenium to do its job):
http://www.vitacost.com/Country-Life-Selenium-100-mcg-180-Tablets
http://www.vitacost.com/Country-Life-Vitamin-E-Complex-200-IU-100-Softgels
It's hard to find vitamin E without Soy (which is not good for those with thyroid problems) without paying huge prices to be without it.
{{{hugs}}}
I do have a question...what ratio of vitamin E to selenium does one take. I was going to try and find a multi and add 50 mcg of selenium. But I feel that might be too low! And is it important for us to stay away from iodine? I found mixed info on the foods.