Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give an update and ask a few more questions.

Update:

My dr increased me back in June to 112mcg of levothyroxine. she wanted to switch me to synthroid but my insurance won't allow it (i even tried to get special permission to have it and they denied it). she's open to taking me up in dosage but wants to go slowly. she ordered blood work for my next visit, including free T3 and checking out estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, as was suggested by members here. she's open to using cytomel and also switching to armour if upping my levo doesn't work. she's reordering tests for lupus because my light allergy is so extreme and she's suspicious. she's also down to recommend me to an endocrinologist. we will go over bloodwork when i get back from my vacation in august. i do feel like she's listening to me.

she had a thyroid ultrasound done and told me that my thyroid doesn't have any nodules but is consistent with how a thyroid suffering from hashimoto's looks. i was a big confused bc i thought nodules were how hashimoto's were diagnosed? she told me that she can tell by how my thyroid looks that the medicine isn't working and we'll talk about it when i get back from my trip. i asked for clarification on what the difference btwn hashimoto's and hypothyroidism was. she said hashimoto's is a cause of hypothyroid, that means the disease originates from the thyroid it's self and not from a tumor or the pituitary gland.

as suggested by this group, i started taking my levo at night (dr was also cool with this) and what i noticed right away (sorry for the TMI) is that it really, really helped with my constipation. i also noticed my nails look stronger and shinier, grow faster, when they have been dull and paper thin for years.

i have been speaking with my old therapist back in minnesota again since we already have a shared history. my depression has improved with the increase to 112mcg levy but i am having problems with "crashing" where i feel like i can manage and then have a total mood swing one day a week about where i wish i was dead and get stuck there for about 24hrs. he thinks this is indicative of my medication dosage not being right yet as mood swings are not characteristic of my psychological history.

i am still struggling with weight gain, exhaustion and brain fog. i sleep about 10 hrs a night and often still need a 2 hour nap not long after waking up. T_T

Questions:

i wanted to ask this group if anyone else has had or heard of sun allergies or light sensitivity as part of hypo?

i have very bad heat sensitivity as well (not fun for an east coast summer) that is made so much worse by the fact that i have to stay covered in the sun which in turn causes me to sweat more which makes my eczema worse. great! i hear about cold sensitivity but not heat sensitivity so much. anyone else dealing with that?

i am a bit confused on hashimoto's as i thought hashimoto's needs to be treated differently than regular hypothyroid. can anyone enlighten me on this?

does anyone else struggle with legs/arms falling asleep too much? a pins and needle feeling in feet and hands?

at my last dr apt it showed i had gained 5lbs since my last viz which is weird bc i had been working out more and stopped eating gluten and gone vegan. i have since developed a knee problem and decided to scale back on pushing my work out to help the knee recover and since extra work outs don't seem to be helping weight loss anyway. i know with weight loss, i'm in the for long con and it isn't going to happen overnight. i'm struggling with what kind of exercise to do now bc the things i was doing don't seem to be working. i bought a trampoline as that seems to be recommended for thyroid a lot but am waiting for the knee to heal. what do you guys do? any routines or methods work for you? what can you do when your exhausted?

here are the supplements i'm currently taking:
b12
fish oil
evening prim rose oil (just added this about 6 wks ago)
magnesium (just added this about 6 wks ago)
probiotic
vitamin c
ashwaghanda
cranberry pills (i get UTI's extremely easily)
zyrtec about 40mg a day

any crucial supplements that have worked well for people that i'm missing?

bless this group. you guys have helped me so much already.