hypothyroid

[Grits]

I went back and read a lot of the old threads about hypo and hyper thyroid, so I know there are quite a few of you on the forum.

I had routine blood work done as part of a yearly physical with a new MD who also tested thyroid function. To my surprise, it came back abnormal (6.440). She wants to do another test before starting meds, so I go back next week for that.

I find myself almost glad (weird I know) that I might have this. When I was riding this summer, I found myself so fatigued during the ride and struggling to keep up, which I blamed on everyone being stronger than me even though I was riding more than most of them. Maybe it was because of my thyroid? See, I'm looking for a scapegoat here! I would wonder if there was something wrong with me physically, but then would just convince myself that I needed to train harder, was getting older, etc. etc.

So many of the symptoms can be attributed to menopause or peri-menopause, I can see this going undiagnosed very frequently. My hairdresser commented that I seemed to be losing more hair than normal when she shampooed, and I blew that off (I have a lot of hair. I can afford to lose some.) I would struggle to stay awake while waiting for appointments.
In hindsight, I can see the symptoms, but they are so vague and could be caused by so many different things.

I'm so glad I broke up with my old MD. The new one was much more thorough.

[indysteel]

As someone dealing with a hyperactive thyroid, I feel for you. Hopefully, you'll be able to get it under control quickly.

[crazycanuck]

Hey, have you read "Why do i still have thyroid symptoms when my lab tests are normal" by Dr Kharrazian?

Also have you thought about changing your diet and going wheat free? Here are some links
http://drknews.com/
http://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection
If you have itunes etc, listen to the paleo podcast #98 or 99 (have to go n check) where Rob discusses the book "wheat belly"
Underground wellness radio interview with Dr Tom O'bryan (UWR is a bit too over the top for me but this one was recommended to me by my physio)

[Ursula745]

A TSH in your range isn't too bad, actually. Enough for treatment, yes, but it isn't horrible. Mine was around 5.8 and is considered very mild. I am on 75mcg of Synthroid. I do feel better and the weight is coming off, but still slowly for me. I feel better, but it's not a miracle or anything like that. So, just a heads up. If you get meds, 1) don't expect and immediate result, and 2) don't expect a huge improvement. It won't make you feel like you are super energetic. For me, I just kind of "forgot" about being tired, because I wasn't anymore. I didn't notice a super increase of energy or metabolism. I just started to feel normal I guess. Good luck. I hope your doc gets you on the right meds/dose soon.

[Grits]

Yes, Ursula, good points. The MD said it was mild, so at best I would expect mild improvement.

CC,thanks for your suggestions. Since I am not really having any significant problems, I'm not motivated to make any big lifestyle/diet changes, and I would really need to be highly motivated to do that! I'm sure that would change if I felt worse. I hope that a low dose of meds will do the trick.

Now I am waiting for DH to get back with my favorite energy boost - a Chai Latte:D

[Dannielle]

Oh gosh, I feel absolutely hideous with my TSH as high as yours is. When mine was in the 3.5-5 range I was being checked for lupus, arthritis, MS, etc due to all the symptoms I was experiencing (and was eventually given the broad "fibromyalgia" diagnosis). It all cleared up when I went to an endocrinologist who treated my hypothyroidism more aggressively.

[Grits]

Dannielle, Isn't it funny how our bodies react so differently to things? If I hadn't gotten this routine screening, I never would have thought to get checked for the mild symptoms I am having, while you were having much more extreme symptoms with better test results.

As I am telling friends about my test results, so many of them are saying that they are exhausted all the time. I guess doctors hear it so much, or women don't even bother to report it, that hypothyroid gets undiagnosed a lot. I'm telling them if they really do feel tired a lot, got ahead and ask for some blood work, for pete's sake, and get their thyroid function and iron level checked. It is a shame to not feel the best you can for lack of a simple test.

I'm glad you were able to get on the right meds and dosage and get some relief.

[Flyneagle]

This is a great thread I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism last month and started on 75 mcg of synthroid. I was feeling really drained and just felt off and gained a lot of weight over the past year. I told my gyn dr at the beginning of the year how I was feeling and we ran my TSH and other hormones all in normal range. Well I'm a medical laboratory scientist and last month I was at work and felt awful so ran my TSH again and this time it was 7. Needless to say family doc agreed that was definitely my issue. I'm so glad to finally have a reason to why I felt the way I do.
Now the synthroid at first was making me feel really amped up...like I was going a hundred miles an hour! I think I'm finally getting use to it but my doc wants me to go up to 125mcg and then check my TSH again around the 25th. So that's my thyroid story :)

[Dannielle]

the weight gain part is a booger, too! Since I spent years with undertreated hypothyroidism I packed on quite a bit of extra weight. Once everything got worked out I was finally able to lose but still had to work to lose it (it didn't just melt away lol). It took me 4yrs to lose a little over 200lbs but it's finally gone. Bike riding helps quite a bit :)

[Grits]

Dannielle, That is an incredible weight loss - good work!

Flyneagle, Is your MD upping the dosage because you have been retested and your levels were still not where they needed to be? It is interesting that they went from normal to 7 over a period of months, but you were already having the symptoms when they were still normal

[Flyneagle]

No...he just upped it 2 weeks before retesting. It's funny how you can have symptoms for a while before you see the increase in the lab results...but I will say that when the thyroid is out of whack it sure affects everything :s

[Dogmama]

I've been on synthroid for 20 years & just recently (last year) had it increased just a little. My doc says peri & menopausal women are often hypothyroid & can use some help. I'm not a big proponent of pills but I wouldn't go without my synthroid. The generic is incredibly cheap & works for me.

[Catrin]

I admit that I am suspicious over the claims that XYZ diet can address a malfunctioning thyroid. Then again, that suspicion is probably over someone trying to convince me that removing wheat from my diet would address MY thyroid issues....apparently the news that I do not HAVE a thyroid at all didn't change her mind at all.

To me it was kind of like the old adage - if the only tool you have is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. Nothing wrong with checking out different options, but there is so much differing information out there.

[indysteel]

I admit that I am suspicious over the claims that XYZ diet can address a malfunctioning thyroid. Then again, that suspicion is probably over someone trying to convince me that removing wheat from my diet would address MY thyroid issues....apparently the news that I do not HAVE a thyroid at all didn't change her mind at all.

To me it was kind of like the old adage - if the only tool you have is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. Nothing wrong with checking out different options, but there is so much differing information out there.

I'm suspicious as well. But I do want to clarify something in your post. As it relates to hyper or hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune disease, it is not the thyroid, itself, that is malfunctioning. Rather, it's the autoantibodies in your body attacking your thyroid (and often your eyes) that is root of the problem. By removing the thyroid (or in my case, taking antithyroid medicine), you are not eliminating the autoantibodies. Rather, you merely eliminate or alter the gland that they are attacking.

So, I suppose there are other things one could do--although I'm not sure diet is one of them--that could potentially eliminate or reduce the autoantibodies that are the root cause of Graves' and Hashimotos. Clearly, though; once you've had your thyroid removed or radiated, I would presume you have to take a drug to replace the otherwise missing thyroid hormone. No change in diet is going to create hormones from a now nonexistent gland.

[Catrin]

I'm suspicious as well. But I do want to clarify something in your post. As it relates to hyper or hypothyroidism caused by autoimmune disease, it is not the thyroid, itself, that is malfunctioning. Rather, it's the autoantibodies in your body attacking your thyroid (and often your eyes) that is root of the problem. By removing the thyroid (or in my case, taking antithyroid medicine), you are not eliminating the autoantibodies. Rather, you merely eliminate or alter the gland that they are attacking.

So, I suppose there are other things one could do--although I'm not sure diet is one of them--that could potentially eliminate or reduce the autoantibodies that are the root cause of Graves' and Hashimotos. Clearly, though; once you've had your thyroid removed or radiated, I would presume you have to take a drug to replace the otherwise missing thyroid hormone. No change in diet is going to create hormones from a now nonexistent gland.

Very good points, and I think the clarification was important. Of course we still need those hormones, and I've been taking that 1 pill a day since 1984...though sometimes I still forget :rolleyes: It was just perplexing to me how little that person actually heard when we were discussing this - it was like she couldn't even hear what I was actually saying.

I hope you are starting to feel better?

[indysteel]

Very good points, and I think the clarification was important. Of course we still need those hormones, and I've been taking that 1 pill a day since 1984...though sometimes I still forget :rolleyes: It was just perplexing to me how little that person actually heard when we were discussing this - it was like she couldn't even hear what I was actually saying.

I hope you are starting to feel better?

Was this an endo or what?

I am starting to feel better. I cut my dose from 5 mg to 2.5 mg and am wondering if it's now just a bit too low of a dose. I'm going to play around with taking a full dose every other day/every two days. My original TSH was .135 when they first spotted the problem. After about five weeks on the antithyroid drug, my TSH was up to 3. The doc would like to find a happier medium than that, as 3 is borderline hypo. Still, 3 was better than the alternative. She's also hopeful that because my case is mild and I'm able to tolerate the drug that we can bring it into remission. That generally takes a year or two, however.

My eyes, while very dry some days, are not showing any signs yet of disease. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with that aspect of things. For as mild of a case I have, I'm hopeful.

[Catrin]

Was this an endo or what?

I am starting to feel better. I cut my dose from 5 mg to 2.5 mg and am wondering if it's now just a bit too low of a dose. I'm going to play around with taking a full dose every other day/every two days. My original TSH was .135 when they first spotted the problem. After about five weeks on the antithyroid drug, my TSH was up to 3. The doc would like to find a happier medium than that, as 3 is borderline hypo. Still, 3 was better than the alternative. She's also hopeful that because my case is mild and I'm able to tolerate the drug that we can bring it into remission. That generally takes a year or two, however.

My eyes, while very dry some days, are not showing any signs yet of disease. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with that aspect of things. For as mild of a case I have, I'm hopeful.

It was a GP who seemed to think that diet solved most anything - though, indeed, diet certainly does help a lot.

For me, once my thyroid levels get out of whack (normally because I've forgotten to take it for a time...) it can take 4-5 months to get things to settle down. Now, my experience may not be the norm since I don't actually have a thyroid, but I've heard from others that it takes them some time as well to get things settled down.

When I had Graves, it was so advanced that I had the bulging eyes and the huge goiter. According to my eye dr. one eye still actually bulges, but it is so minor that no one else can tell. I was also quite heavy for someone with advanced Graves...and I can vouch for how strong an effect it can have on our moods and emotional state. I pretty much lost my 20's to it so my heart goes out to anyone dealing with it. These days I think they are much better at detecting and treating it.

[indysteel]

Catrin,

Have you ever looked into whether you were having a T4 to T3 to conversion problem? I know some people don't do well with just T4 supplementation; they also need T3 supplementation, often through a combination drug like Armour. If you've had blood work done recently, you might want to if your T3 values are in the normal range or, if they are, if they're on the low end of normal. And if you're relying only on TSH, it often shows as normal, even if T3 is low.

Beyond that, you gotta take your drug every day!!! I hate to see you frustated about your weight only to read that you sometimes miss doses of your thyroid replacement.

[Dannielle]

Catrin, my heart just broke reading that you pretty much lost your 20s to this. :( I can absolutely relate as someone who lost her 30s to this.

It definitely makes you embrace life a whole lot more fully after you've come through the other side, huh?

[Catrin]

Catrin,

Have you ever looked into whether you were having a T4 to T3 to conversion problem? I know some people don't do well with just T4 supplementation; they also need T3 supplementation, often through a combination drug like Armour. If you've had blood work done recently, you might want to if your T3 values are in the normal range or, if they are, if they're on the low end of normal. And if you're relying only on TSH, it often shows as normal, even if T3 is low.

Beyond that, you gotta take your drug every day!!! I hate to see you frustated about your weight only to read that you sometimes miss doses of your thyroid replacement.

Every year when we do the test I insist they do the full thyroid panel, I've learned about that...it is also not enough to make certain you take it daily, but that it is taken properly. So many things can cause it to not be absorbed by your body, can't take it with a Vitamin C supplement (or is it calcium? I never can remember). Better to just take it on as empty a stomach as you can, so many things interfere with that.

Yes, I do need to take it every day, this has been a struggle for the last 27 years...sigh

[snapdragen]

Every year when we do the test I insist they do the full thyroid panel, I've learned about that...it is also not enough to make certain you take it daily, but that it is taken properly. So many things can cause it to not be absorbed by your body, can't take it with a Vitamin C supplement (or is it calcium? I never can remember). Better to just take it on as empty a stomach as you can, so many things interfere with that.

Yes, I do need to take it every day, this has been a struggle for the last 27 years...sigh

It's calcium. I had a couple of years of yoyo thyroid levels. I finally discovered I should not be taking my calcium at the same time as my levothyroxine. :rolleyes:

[nscrbug]

I literally wake myself up at 3:30 AM in order to take my 88mcg of levoxyl on an empty stomach then fall back asleep for another hour...because I wake up at 4:30 and eat something right away. It's a PITA, but it's the only time that I can take it without something else interfering with it.

[indysteel]

Linda, you are one disciplined woman! I would find it challenging enough to get up at 4:30, let alone to wake up at 3:30 to take a pill!!!

[sookiesue]

For anyone using synthroid who is having any negative effects, I suggest you try the Armour thyroid. It is naturally (pig) derived and I have recently heard they have a generic out there now - I have not tried the generic, I don't want to mess with what I know works for me, and Armour is not that expensive. I tried synthroid for a time and it made me nauseated so I went back to Armour.

[snapdragen]

Armour didn't work well for me, my levels would never stabilize.

[VeganBikeChick]

I liked Armour but had a problem with it ethically so am back to Synthroid.

[RubyTuesday]

Can someone explain the normal values for TSH. Mine has always been in the normal range according to my doctor at 3.89. I do have many symptoms of a thyroid issue and both my sisters and my Mother were on synthroid.

[indysteel]

Can someone explain the normal values for TSH. Mine has always been in the normal range according to my doctor at 3.89. I do have many symptoms of a thyroid issue and both my sisters and my Mother were on synthroid.

It depends on which guidelines you use, but by at least one signfiicant guideline, you are hypothyroid. This article (http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/normaltshlevel.htm) might help.

I would discuss that article and your symptoms with your doctor and ask for a full thyroid blood screening that measures not just TSH, but free T3 and T4 and antibodies. If yoru doc is unwilling to treat you, then ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.

Prior to my TSH coming back as low, previous bloodtests showed that I was on the high end of normal, with some readings over 3. None of my docs every mentioned this to me. I really wish they had.

[Dannielle]

the older guidelines for normal tsh are 0.5-5.0....the newer guidelines are 0.3-3.0. My endo says most people feel best under 2 (so not as high as the newest guideline of 3) so that's his average treatment goal. I've been treated for thyroid cancer so my tsh levels need to be a little extra suppressed.

[RubyTuesday]

Thanks indysteel and Dannielle. I think my endo uses the .5 to 5.0 guidelines. I already see and endocrinologist because I have type one diabetes. You would think my endo who is the head of the endocrinology dept for UCD in the Sacramento area.

I will ask him for the more extensive test. Thank you!

[Grits]

Started taking my dose of levoxyl yesterday. I know not to take calcium, multivitamin or iron supplements within 4 hours or to eat for one hour, but what about my OJ with calcium? Can I drink that in an hour with my breakfast, or does that count as a calcium supplement?

[Dannielle]

that counts.

I take my thyroid meds right before bed since I don't eat after dinner. I used to do first thing in the morning but I like my coffee first thing (and I don't drink it black) and I hated waiting to be able to eat breakfast lol.

[Grits]

Why didn't I think of that, Dannielle? Before bed would work much better for me. I did a little research, and at least one study indicated better absorption at bedtime vs. morning for levoxyl.

[nscrbug]

Hmmm...that's actually a pretty good idea about taking it at bedtime. So how long after the last meal would one have to wait before taking it at bedtime? I generally try and eat dinner/last snack by 7:30pm...so if I took it right before bed, that generally puts me at right around 10pm. Would that be okay?

[Grits]

Everything I read said at least two hours after eating. The only problem I can think of is that I sometimes do like to have a glass of wine after dinner, so I'm not sure how that is going to work for me.

[Grits]

Did my six week blood work last week, and my results are in the normal range. (don't know exact level, but should get written results in mail soon).

The only real difference I have felt is on my bike rides. You might know from some other threads that I broke my foot about 11 weeks ago so have been limited to some stationary biking since then. I have just gotten back on the road in the past week and have done three 20 - 24 mile rides - and I felt great! In fact, to my surprise I have lost very little speed and endurance.

Before the accident, I was having some really bad rides. My legs would get very fatigued much sooner than they should, and I had a hard time keeping up even though I was riding more miles per week than anyone else. I blamed it on being one of the older riders and menopause, or maybe I wasn't really training hard enough, but I was secretly a little worried that something worse might be going on. I have felt much better and had more energy on these rides, even being out of training, than I had all summer. I hope it continues and isn't just the adrenaline from being back out on the road!

[Ursula745]

I take my synthroid at night with no problems.

FYI, you also cannot take it close to eating soy or walnuts.