Another Thyroid Thread.... (Redux)

[indysteel]

Gosh, Edna. What an ordeal. I hope your new endo is able to help. As for not trusting everything you read on the Internet: I get that, and I try to keep that in mind as I'm reading. But I find the kind of general information found at a site like Mayo to be fairly useless when it comes to understanding anything but the basics. It offers very little guidance on the nuts and bolts of managing thyroid disease.

[redrhodie]

How is everyone doing on thyroid meds these days? I am doing well on mine. My hair has stopped falling out and is regrowing. If anyone has this happen to them, it takes about 3 months to stop once your meds are correct.

Thank God I was diagnosed before my brother's heart attack, because I really don't think I could have handled the stress or the drive to the hospital as I was.

[Blueberry]

I felt great at first, but I'm now feeling really hypo again. To the point that those around me have noticed. Now that I've had a taste of feeling good, I'm not very happy about it!

My doc scheduled blood work at the 6 week mark, and I had it drawn on Friday. It was another couple of weeks before I could get back in with her, so I'll probably get the results just before Thanksgiving (unless she sends them electronically - but I still won't have a new dosage until then).

Glad to hear you're feeling better!!

[solobiker]

I have been having huge problems with sleeping lately. I been a poor sleeper for many years...it has been pretty bad the past couple of weeks. I got to bed around 9/930 and wake up by 2am and can not fall back to sleep. Heck, one time last week I woke up at 11pm. :-( Instead of staying in bed I just get up and ride my spin bike for 45-60 min then start to get ready for work. I am planning on calling the Dr this week to see if I can have my blood levels tested.

[indysteel]

Red, I'm glad your hair has stopped falling out! Yay!

Blueberry, it's not uncommon for the initial dosage to be insufficient. I expect your doc will bump it up for you, but if you're feeling lousy, call her to find out the results in advance of your appointment to see if a dosage change is warranted. There's no reason you should have to wait until she physically sees you.

I've now been off Synthroid for about five weeks. I saw a new endo a few weeks ago. It's too soon to tell whether I'll like her any better than the last one, but she did have a slightly different take on what might be wrong with me. There's a chance I have both Graves' and Hashi's, which might explain why I'm cycling between hyper and hypo. I get my blood drawn in a week, so I'm eager to see where I am. I feel pretty good though. In fact I feel about as normal as I've felt in a while. I've been able to work out nearly every day, I sleep through the night minus my usual potty breaks. I may be slightly hypo, but if I go on synthroid again, it likely won't be a daily dose.

I keep meaning to make an appointment with a nurse practioner recommended to me who does holistic hormone testing. I'd like to know where things stand across the board as far as hormone levels.

[Red Rock]

Well I went to my endo today. So far good/great news. I have been on 10mg of Methimazole. My FT4 and FT3 were within range. So he wants me to stay on my 10 mg until January. Then on 1 January, he wants me to drop the dose to 5 mg and continue until we do another reading in February. See where my numbers are and then either stop(preferred method) or continue in order to keep my levels up. I feel like myself again. That part is the best. Now, I just have to gradually get myself back on the bike and start riding again. I think I have zero aerobic capacity right now.

[Catrin]

It is so good to hear that you are feeling better Red Rock! Yayyyyyy! Have fun on the bike now

[indysteel]

Well I went to my endo today. So far good/great news. I have been on 10mg of Methimazole. My FT4 and FT3 were within range. So he wants me to stay on my 10 mg until January. Then on 1 January, he wants me to drop the dose to 5 mg and continue until we do another reading in February. See where my numbers are and then either stop(preferred method) or continue in order to keep my levels up. I feel like myself again. That part is the best. Now, I just have to gradually get myself back on the bike and start riding again. I think I have zero aerobic capacity right now.

I'm glad you're feeling better. I am curious though as to what you mean by stopping the drug as the "preferred method." Based on everything I've read, most people have to stay on methimazole for at least 18 months to induce a remission, and remission only occurs in about 20% of patients. Typically, once patients get within healthy T3/T4 ranges, they only have to take a very minimal dose of the drug, but some dose is necessary unless and until they're in remission. Some docs are comfortable dosing with methimazole over longer terms; some prefer RAI as a longterm solution.

I'm not suggesting I'm an expert on any of this; I'm only going off nearly everything I've read about methimazole. I came off of it in less than a year, but my situation may be atypical if my new doctor is correct that I have both Graves and Hashis. I'm not really convinced I'm in remission.