Another Thyroid Thread.... (Redux)

[indysteel]

I self-adjust my medication pretty often. My weight fluctuates 20 pounds depending on how much I am riding, how well I am monitoring eating, etc. And since thryoid dosing is weight related, it has an effect. What about breaking the pill and taking half?

I let mine get out of control this year - I got sick and didn't ride in the spring, gained some weight, started feeling very tired and didn't even think about it. Had blood work done 2 weeks ago and TSH is 8! Working on upping the dosage, taking it at night when it won't be interfered with by morning latte, etc. I don't know why I didn't get it checked sooner.

Blueberry on your original question - I think if YOU Are having symptoms at those numbers you should treat it. I don't know that others' experiences are going to be as helpful - and it is certainly a jump from your normal range.

Thanks for chiming in. I could split the dose pretty easily. It's a 25 mcg does (which is quite low as it is). I think I might start with taking 5 days of my regular dose and two at a half dose and see how I feel. I'd love to see how I feel at about a 1.0 TSH. If I could just sleep through the night, I'd be thrilled.

Of course, there's also a chance that I wasn't really in remission for my Graves' Disease and it's starting to rear its ugly head. I sure hope not.

Stupid thyroid!

[lisathew8lifter]

hello,
i have been on thyroid meds for years, and i was at 3.92 for TSH. i felt so much better after starting the meds and i lost weight and was able to keep it off for awhile. my tsh now is at about .16 and i'm not entirely sure how i feel about that. finding an endocrinologist that will listen to me is very difficult and i've already switched to the top doc here in MN. i don't feel like going through a bunch of bs to try to find another one, only to wind up with one i like less.

[Catrin]

In my experience, once those levels get off it can take some time to get them back on track. Now I must also say that I don't HAVE a thyroid so my experience may well not be the norm.

It is hard to be patient with something that makes you tired, or that keeps your heart racing, or...any of the myriad symptoms of thyroid problems. It is good that there is so much information available these days and you are able to take a more proactive role in your treatment. Back in the early 80's when I had out of control Graves there was much less information available.

[indysteel]

I think what I'm finding is that I must be extremely sensitive to the meds. I was on a tiny dose of anti-thyroid meds, and it quickly put me in a mildly hypo state right from the get go. We reduced to the point of negligible and I was still hypo. The same thing is seemingly happening on Synthroid. So, I'm just going to play around with it in the five weeks before my next appointment and see if I can't find a happy medium. The good news is that I'm mostly fine at my current level, but my hair is frustratingly limp, I'm waking up too early and I sometimes feel jittery. That's still an improvement.

[Catrin]

I think what I'm finding is that I must be extremely sensitive to the meds. I was on a tiny dose of anti-thyroid meds, and it quickly put me in a mildly hypo state right from the get go. We reduced to the point of negligible and I was still hypo. The same thing is seemingly happening on Synthroid. So, I'm just going to play around with it in the five weeks before my next appointment and see if I can't find a happy medium. The good news is that I'm mostly fine at my current level, but my hair is frustratingly limp, I'm waking up too early and I sometimes feel jittery. That's still an improvement.

(((Indy))), that doesn't sounds like much fun - hope this calms down over your vacation. That jittery feeling is for the birds

[indysteel]

(((Indy))), that doesn't sounds like much fun - hope this calms down over your vacation. That jittery feeling is for the birds

Thanks. I think it'll be okay. I just need to experiment. I just wish you could test your TSH in the same way you can test glucose and make adjustments on the fly. Even though I think my HR has been running a few beats higher, I've had zero exercise intolerance, so that's good. Last year, it was a little touch 'n go.

To anybody else (Blueberry and Red) reading this who is just starting out on this journey, I think it's important to make note of how you're feeling day to day as you get your levels stabilized. It will help you determine your ideal level. Don't dismiss even mild symptoms, because they can be telling.

[Blueberry]

Thank you all for responding. I'm really hopeful that I'll start feeling better once medicated, as I've felt bad for a long time and I have not accepted that I just feel like this. I do plan to ask for treatment - but I wanted to be as armed as possible as I fear that docs will have a tendency to say "don't treat" at these levels.

So...would you stick with primary care, or go ahead and make a back up appt with an endocrinologist?