<p>Any updates from anyone?</p>
<p>I’m due for blood work at the end of this month after 6 months on thyroid med. He started me on small dose, so it’s pretty likely I’ll get bumped up. He told me that the dose I was on was probably not enough, but he likes sneaking up on it rather than clobbering someone with too much right out of the gate. </p>
<p>Dry, cracked skin has completely cleared up, but I still feel like I get chilly pretty easily.</p>
<p>I’m four months post my thyroidectomy this week. TSH level post surgery was 12.97 so Endo Doc increased synthroid initially to .146 (.137 daily and 1 1/2 tabs once a week) which brought TSH down into the 7s. Have now been on .161 (.150 daily and 1 1/2 tabs once a week) for about 5 weeks. </p>
<p>The worst part is that I have gained 26 pounds after being at the best weight of my adult life (somewhere between HS and college weight) prior to the surgery. My metabolism feels like it has just shut down…lots of fatigue and feel like I could sleep all day if l let myself do it.</p>
<p>I have blood work scheduled for next week so we’ll have to see where I am headed. Endo Doc had said he would not be surprised to see me at .175 but wanted to ease me up to that level not make the sudden jump from a pre-op .137 level.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having with this. (sarcasm font needed here ;))</p>
<p>My health and mood have stabilized. I wish I could lose weight, though. I am struggling through menopause, which my endo says makes insulin-resistance almost a likelihood. He also has me on a full dose of metformin (1000mg bfast & 1000mg dinner Glumetza, a time-release version) to prevent me from getting full-blown Type 2 diabetes.
I am taking an unusual new formulation of thyroxine (Tirosint, a gel-cap made in Switz) to prevent any filler allergies, and to minimize the back-up into the gall-bladder and liver (my mom just died of cancer in this area). It is possible that the faster absorption makes dosing easier to control.
I wait at least one hour after I take the Tirosint and my Cytomel before consuming anything- when I was not doing that, the supplementation did not work.</p>
<p>My Endo uses thyroxine therapy to put the thyroid gland to sleep completely. This avoids removal surgery and radioactive therapy. It is the same as putting the ovaries to sleep with BCP. If the thyroid is healthy, it would come back to life if you stopped the thryoxine.</p>
<p>Why does he do this? Because he feels that those of us with thyroid problems have inflammation of the gland and our output varies quite a bit, sometimes to the point of being hypo sometimes and hyper others, making it impossible to correctly dose a supplementation. Once the outside thyroxine puts the gland to sleep, the doses from the outside give us a level amount of what we should need by size, and then he adjusts for symptoms and checks the blood levels of all pieces in the thyroid pathway, as well.</p>
<p>I am curious about Dr Brownstein and his iodine therapy. My endo feels that iodine is INITIALLY very effective in juicing up the thyroid gland, but that it does not cure the thyroid, and the problems eventually return, even while on the iodine. He feels that high levels of iodine actually screw up the thyroid over the long term, based on having a large increase of patients with thyroid issues come in after local drought periods, when the concentration of iodine in soil and water goes up…
Has anyone been on iodine therapy for more than a year or even two?? How has that gone???</p>
<p>I am trying to adjust to the idea that I am permanently on this medication. It is second-nature for me to take it now after 4 years, but it does hit me that this is “forever.”
It is worth it- I am feeling a lot better!</p>
<p>p.s. Vit D is a pre-cursor to thryoid hormone. A MUST for us hypos. I feel sooooooo much better on it, I cannot tell you.</p>
<p>p.p.s. If you are having trouble healing or getting over infections, OR if your cholesterol is high- have your thyroid numbers checked. These are symptoms. So is low body temp- measure it every AM when you wake up- that was what proved it to my MD (I was at 96 degrees). I am sure I have been hypo all my life. But my blood values were always “at the low end of normal” LOL… Also, post-preganancy and during menopause are common times for the thyroid to go out of whack, sometimes temporarily. Low fertility is also a symptom.
As for young people and kids, my D was hypo for years, we now realize, like me. It bloomed into PCOS when she put on a few pounds last year, and now her fertility is at risk. Very sad.</p>
<p>It strikes me that, a hundred years ago (probably even fewer), people were chronically tired and run down because of low thyroid. That’s why in the olden days, women used to be washed up by their mid-40s. They were probably all hypothyroid!</p>
<p>Probably many fewer years ago!
Many people had Cushings and Addisons, too, without knowing it.
However, the inflammatory nature of our lifestyle has gone way up in the last 10-15 years, all contributing to greater levels of thyroid problem.
My father, his sister and brother all were diagnosed with zero thyroid hormone at the age of 58, when they were in the hospital for other emergencies- amazing! That means they had been walking around with lower and lower levels for many many years. Sure, the emergencies probably pushed the levels even lower, but a real genetic pattern there.</p>
<p>An area that needs MUCH more research is the adrenal glands and all their issues. They really do relate to sugar and insulin, and also thyroid function, but basically modern medicine is not there yet.</p>
<p>I was on iodine when I was a teenager. My pediatrician tried that before moving to synthetic thyroid, but it didn’t work. </p>
<p>I went 7 months without taking thyroid, my first break since I was 16. I had been concerned because my doctor had not altered my dose even when I hit menopause. I wanted a clean slate for a new doctor. This doctor was surprised I could even get out of bed, my levels were so low … she put me on a lower dose than I had previously been prescribed, and she will check me at the end of this month (about 90 days on the meds). If necessary, she will up the dose.</p>
<p>I do feel pretty good. My new job may have something to do with that, but I know that there is more to it. I started walking at lunch every day right about the time I started back on the Levothyroxin, and I felt like my legs were made of lead. After a few weeks, I felt much better … and I am walking a 6 mile leg of a marathon relay next month. So things are going well.</p>
<p>I have been diagnosed for about 2 years and was taking 100 mcg’s of Levothyroxine. Then out of no where I became tired, cracked elbows, etc. I had my levels tested and was at 12 something so they moved me to 112 mcg’s. I get retested in a month, but I think my solution will be the every other day 100/112 because I feel a little too energized at 112! </p>
<p>What angers me is that I always seem to gain weight and my sisters and friends all lose weight from the medication! </p>
<p>Before S2 left for college I had him tested because he seemed more tired than usual. Thyroid was fine, but iron levels were low. When I was chatting with his doctor he mentioned that he would enter the insurance code for the thyriod test as “genetic factor” and voila…it was covered.</p>
<p>First of all, thanks to those that clarified that thyroid medication must be taken 2 hours before any food. I’ve been on thyroid medication for 25 years and didn’t know this! Will take it now before bedtime…</p>
<p>About weight loss issues. Before my hysterectomy (I also have POCS) I walked 5 miles a day. It made little difference. I happened upon an old inch loss book by Greer Childers on Amazon for one cent. IT HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING! Along with the book, I looked up old videos on You Tube. I do these goofy breathing exercises with old high school gym class exercises. I’ve lost 11.5 inches in 5 weeks from 5 different spots from above the waist to the thighs. It takes 10 minutes a day. I feel hope! I am close to fitting into some jeans I’ve kept for 10 years!</p>
<p>If anyone would PM me, I’ll send links.</p>
<p>POCS is strongly correlated with insulin resistance (and therefore the potential for type 2 diabetes). Anyone with POCS should take a hard look at reducing carb intake.</p>
<p>Right interesteddad! The diet that works best for me is Weight Watchers. I’m kinda a professional carb watcher…</p>
<p>Many years ago a collegue figured out I was pregnant because I ate a piece of bread in front of her!</p>
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<p>This is incorrect. Vitamin D is a steroid. Thyroxine is not a steroid nor derived from steroids. It is derived from the amino acid tyrosine. </p>
<p>It’s still a good idea for hypothyroid patients (and everyone else for that matter) to get plenty of vitamin D, but not for that reason.</p>
<p>I wasn’t in this thread before, jumping in now.</p>
<p>Two months ago, my PCP put me on Levothyroxine 25 mcg; my thyroid was “a little low.” The complaint that drove me to see her was hair loss, and it hasn’t abated since being on the meds; if anything it’s worse. </p>
<p>So yesterday I saw an endo, and he thinks it’s possible the thyroid has nothing to do with the hair loss. I have literally none of the other symptoms of hypothyroid. My bloodwork yesterday showed I’m now within normal limits, but barely. We’re going to try doubling the medication to 50 mcg, and check again in 2 months. At that point, if the thyroid is fine but the hair loss is continuing, he’s going to send me to a dermatologist.</p>
<p>I’m blessed that I had ALOT of hair to begin with, and it’s curly and fairly short, so with some persuasion, I can get it to appear normally full. It’s not obvious to anyone but me that there’s less than there used to be – yet. I hope we can get this figured out before it is obvious. :(</p>
<p>Good luck, LasMa!!!
Biotin can help with the hair and nails.
Seasonal change can cause a pick up in hair loss.
Stress, hormonal shifts, a big change in diet and lifestyle can cause hair loss, as can an overdose of a supplement or other chemical.
There are lots of other possible causes, including genetics.
Is your hair loss in patches? At the hairline? Or all over???</p>
<p>My hair falls out if I’m too high…my hair falls out if I’m too low. Thankfully I entered adulthood with a ton of hair because I’ve lost quite abit that has never returned. It takes quite a while for my thyroid to stablize and for the hair to cease falling out when my dose is changed.</p>
<p>The hypo symptom that was really driving me crazy last winter was insanely bad cracked skin on my fingers, hands, and feet. I was going thru hand lotion by the bucket and nothing helped. That immediately cleared up, although it will be interesting to see if it returns this winter. I thought it was just one of those signs of age.</p>
<p>I found out last spring that my thyroid was way out of whack. I was put on 50 mcg of synthroid and within 3 months my level was normal. I too am having hair loss. I am trying the biotin and a special shampoo that I got at the drug store. It seems to have slowed down a little but I am still losing more hair than I would like to.</p>
<p>High LDL cholesterol readings are also a symptom of hypothyroid. Thyroid function seems to be tied in with fat metabolism.</p>
<p>I can’t tell how old you are from your posts (!), so don’t be offended by the question: Are you approaching menopause? That could be your issue. (Along with stress, etc as mentioned earlier)</p>
<p>interesteddad - that is interesting about the high LDL and hypothyroid. I struggle with this even though I take a statin.</p>