Hypothyroidism-Do any of you have it?

[omerkm1]

I was diagnosed a couple of years ago with hypothyroidism. Been on a high dose of Levothyroxin ever since. I have been racing professionally during the time before and after. It took about 2yrs for the Levo to build up in my system so I could notice a difference/change. You have to eat, train etc differently than someone without thyroid problems. I would be happy to chat about it offline with anyone interested. omerkm1@yahoo.com.

[Red Rock]

How nice to find this thread. I think this is happening to me. Ugh. I must be getting older or something...I came back borderline today, will go back in 3 months for a recheck. No meds yet.

How do you deal with taking vitamins and supplememnts on this med? Exercise and diet changes? How do you deal with all of that?

Thanks for your help.

Red Rock

[JennK13]

Oh my, where to start!
Hashi's here also - if they didnt test you for autoimmune disease and only took your TSH, get your antibodies checked. I went almost 10 years on levoxyl for "just being" hypo when I do indeed have Hashi's. Although the medication is the same, the "treatment" should be different and finding a Dr to do so can be very difficult.
The medication doesnt affect my ability to exercise other than allowing me to do so, but my disease does affect me. My hashi's is pretty severe with a LOW antibody count of 900+ - I was almost 3,000 when diagnosed. Supplements and food choices do make a difference if it's autoimmune as opposed to functional hypothyroidism, so you do need to know.
Good luck, and PM me if you'd like further info. I've done tons of research to try to get well after being told I was "CRAZY" by one Dr, and several visits to the ER following my change to a new Dr as he helped me get better.

[Red Rock]

I guess I am a new student to all of this. More learning to do. I've been reading the threads on here about all of this. It is kind of scary. Diabetes and thyroid are connected? Argh. I certainly do not want that! I do have a good diet and have to have a sugar fix now and then. I hope this is not anything to major. It would be nice if it was just the thyroid.

[sarahspins]

Diabetes and thyroid are connected?

Autoimmune diabetes (type 1, which is less common) and Autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's and Grave's) are more strongly related than T2 diabetes (the more common kind) is.. because by having one autoimmune disorder someone is at a higher risk of getting another (which also includes things like Lupus, RA, Celiac, Addison's, etc).

I have both diabetes (type 1) and a Hashimoto's.. I was diabetic before I ever had a thyroid problem though, but I wasn't surprised when I was diagnosed with Hashi's. I'm sort of expecting to add at least another one at some point in the future.. not that I want to, but it won't be a big shock.

[Chile Pepper]

I've been taking a low dose for just over a year. I was very skeptical at first, as my doctor said I have subclinical hypothyroidism. It sounded like she just wanted to put me on something. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I hit the six week mark and--bam!--I felt really, really great for the first time in years. I was also able to lose weight remarkable easily (I had to work at it, but my body responded more than it had before). So, I'm a believer now. I forget a lot of things, but I never miss my morning tablet.

[Red Rock]

Since I posted, I since found out a lot more on this.

First of all I'm subclinical hyperthyroid and my doc is not giving me any treatment. I do not know if this is good or bad. I have another appt 2 months from now to check blood levels. My hair is beginning to fall out. I did a run/walk for a mile and quarter and was totally exhausted that afternoon and into the next day. I mentioned these things and the Medical Assistant (who is not the doc) said that it basically didn't matter, the doc was not going to treat anything until all of my levels dropped off. So I am very frustrated.

Red Rock

[JennK13]

Lol - i didnt realize the age of the original thread!
There is a lot that interferes with your body's absorption of the medication. Most Drs will recommend that you take it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (unless it's Armour, which can be taken with food to slow its absorption since it's a combo med)
Iron hinders absorption. I'm also anemic and take my iron in the evening with dinner.
Soy has also been shown to have an impact, and if you're autoimmune, gluten can affect you - that's why I previously said it's important to know if you're functional or autoimmune. A lot of people will recommend iodine/kelp, but again that depends on why you're hypo. Iodine can adversely affect you depending on the reason for your thyroid dysfunction.
At any rate, I take my meds right when i wake up. I avoid soy. I take my vitamins with breakfast about 2 hrs after my medication, and my iron with dinner.

[JennK13]

Unfortunately, hypothyroidism is connected to a bunch of different things, as a symptom, a result of something else, or a "companion". I have a few "minor" issues affiliated with it, and when it flares up new things present and my Dr runs new tests checking for other autoimmune diseases as it's very common for Hashis patients to have something else. Diabetes hasnt been any issue for me, though.

[Catrin]

I have surgical hypothyroidism, my thyroid was removed a little over 20 years ago because of an aggressive case of Graves Disease (auto-immune thing that attacks the thyroid).

It is certainly true that it matters a lot when you take the thyroid replacement. It seems like everything effects the absorption of the medication, too close to a meal, soy products - also be careful with calcium supplements. You can take them, just not at the same time

Sometimes I take my thyroid medication when I get up, or right before I go to bed. That empty stomach is important, because it seems that ANYTHING interferes with your body absorbing it properly. That is a little overstatement, but not much - I've learned the hard way over the 23 years since my surgery.

I have always had an occasional problem with hypoglycemia. I now have diabetes that I am managing with diet/exercise (it isn't really improving but it isn't getting worse). I do not know if there was any real connection with my thyroid, or lack thereof. Thankfully I have an endo who is very supportive with my efforts to control this without medication for as long as I can.

There are many reasons for hypothyroidism, and how you manage this will be determined by that. They do know a lot more these days than they did 23 years ago when I had surgery.

[Red Rock]

Thanks for all of the collective input on this. I really apprecaite it very much.
I will continue to ask questions and do more research on all of this. I guess my body had other plans for myself oh, well.