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The Thyroid Thread

90K views 1K replies 227 participants last post by  shelley4 
#1 ·
Link to The Thyroid Thread (Part II)

Can we get a tribe of mommas with thyroid problems (hypo/hyper/Hashimoto's/Graves) started? I've searched the archives and noticed that a lot of the thyroid posts get very few responses. Maybe if we keep it all in one thead we can compile a great list of resources for mommas looking for answers. Good idea?

If you know of any links that provide exceptional information on thryoid problems please post them and I'll continually edit the first post to reflect changes in the list.
 
#1,002 ·
Since the endo I went to see wouldn't give me armour, I had to schedule another appointment with another doc. who I can't get in to see for two months. In the meantime, I figured I'd take the levothyroxine the first doc. prescribed... He told me to take 37.5 mg once a day, which I've done for about two weeks. I cannot believe how absolutely horrible I have felt. Physically, it's been like I have a hangover- and I've been way more irritable... to the point that I'm almost homicidal (no worries... I absolutely will not act upon it!). I cut the dose to half over the past week and don't feel quite as bad. Does anyone know if this is typical? I figured that even though it was synthetic, the levothyroxine is still something that is very close to what's naturally in your body, so I have no idea why I'd have such negative side effects.
 
#1,003 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by 3kidsclmr View Post
Since the endo I went to see wouldn't give me armour, I had to schedule another appointment with another doc. who I can't get in to see for two months. In the meantime, I figured I'd take the levothyroxine the first doc. prescribed... He told me to take 37.5 mg once a day, which I've done for about two weeks. I cannot believe how absolutely horrible I have felt. Physically, it's been like I have a hangover- and I've been way more irritable... to the point that I'm almost homicidal (no worries... I absolutely will not act upon it!). I cut the dose to half over the past week and don't feel quite as bad. Does anyone know if this is typical? I figured that even though it was synthetic, the levothyroxine is still something that is very close to what's naturally in your body, so I have no idea why I'd have such negative side effects.

I've never had a dr just start me right where I was supposed to be. They have always started at like a quarter of the dose, then gone up to half the dose, then 3 quarters, then full dose. I bet you felt bad it must have been a heck of a shock to your system!
 
#1,004 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Celtain View Post
I've never had a dr just start me right where I was supposed to be. They have always started at like a quarter of the dose, then gone up to half the dose, then 3 quarters, then full dose. I bet you felt bad it must have been a heck of a shock to your system!
Yeah, that. The basic reason is that they don't *know* where you should be without wiggling the dose around. It's dependent on so many things.

Levo is a long-term drug so altering your dose isn't being helpful at all...your next blood draw won't be accurate since you're not ingesting the same amount each time.
 
#1,005 ·
Any quick words of wisdom for me? I have a doctors appointment today and I"m going to bring up thyroid testing. In the past year I have gained 12 lbs even though I work out 1500-3000 minutes per month (usually 60-90 minutes a day using a heart rate monitor to keep me in a training zone and doing heavy weight lifting three times a week) and have gone up 1-2 clothing sizes. I eat very healthy and am still nursing, and I have to get under 1400 calories/day to loose weight (and then it comes right back on as soon as I eat normally again). Doesn't that seem a bit extreme? I also have been more tired than usual, I don't remember the last time I made it through a movie without falling asleep, either at home or at the theater. I've always had terribly dry skin, there's not been a change there. I've also been struggling with depression, though super-high levels of fish oil seem to be helping a little. My basal body temperature never seems to get above 98 degrees.

I'm a bit worried, because I've been taking an iodine supplement (100% recommended amount, twice a day) and I worry that will skew thyroid tests. Will it?
 
#1,006 ·
I don't know if iodine will skew results, but I'd imagine many other women in this thread do.

As for advice: just tell your physician that you'd like a full thyroid panel (including TSH, T3, T4). Explain why. It's your body and you get to make your own medical decisions.

Good luck!
 
#1,007 ·
I'm not sure either if iodine will skew results. What it *will* do is provide your body with a necessary building block to produce T4 and flush bromide, chloride and fluoride out of your body- into your nursling.
It certainly sounds like you may be having thyroid problems, although I never would have been able to exercise for 1 minute even when I was at my worst. Just unloading a dishwasher or walking 2 feet put me out of breath.
I would suggest also getting antibody tests done along with the TSH, T3 and T4 (and make sure those are FREE T3 and FREE T4). From what I understand, some women start feeling effects of Hashimoto's before the thyroid hormone levels are affected.
Hopefully others can give you a more direct answer about iodine and maybe some more info on Hashi's.
 
#1,009 ·
Quote:
I'm a bit worried, because I've been taking an iodine supplement (100% recommended amount, twice a day) and I worry that will skew thyroid tests. Will it?
Iodine relieved some of my symptoms, but I was taking a much higher dose--several milligrams per day (1 Iodoral). You're just taking 150mcg 2x/day? Hope I'm remembering the RDA correctly. I would think that low an amt would not mess up test results (it's still within the range of what you could get from food), but like a pp said, iodine does mobilize various nasties (including mercury, my personal nemesis).
 
#1,011 ·
Hypo here - wow theres lots of posts i only got thru the first 2 pages will hae to come back later lol

I have always supsected i have it and so did my previous family dr. I had and enlarged thyroid gland in my neck that he monitored but when he sent me for blood work it would always fall within a normal enough range that he would just monitor it and never medicated me.

Well i moved and never had a family dr for s afew years till i got preggo with my first though nothing ever came up in my blood work till this time around. Im on baby #3. And for my routine 15 week blood work it was noted that I have Hypothyroidism so FINALLY i am on synthroid for this.

Since being put on it my enlarged thyroid has almost dimished.

Something I later found out was that just because my levels come back as normal accourding to their charts they may not be normal for ME.

My current dr is having me testing reg. while im preggo and will continue to do so after the birth. Its hard to tell how things are different now from being on the meds as i was leaving that horrid first trimester and entering blissful tri #2 when the meds really kicked in.

I dont eat A LOT and my diet has not changed much over the years but i was putting on a lot of weight despite not eating anything. However my first 2 pregnancies i lost an avereage of 20lbs in the first trimester whereas this time around i didnt lose anything just gained despite my morning sickness and lack of eating so i guess my thryoid just finally gave up all together.
 
#1,012 ·
Hypothyroid and Allergies? I have recently been diagnosed, and deciding how to proceed. It is not super high, nor do I think I have symptoms. Except... I have been increasingly struggling with what seems to be seasonal allergies that last most of the year, reoccurring bronchitis, and this year two episodes that I would describe as asthma. This year I finally jumped on the bandwagon and fully medicated myself for allergies to bar against having to take an antibiotic for bronchitis, and it didn't scratch the surface.

Anyone find allergy relief from treating their thyroid?
 
#1,013 ·
It could be your thyroid, but it could also be low cortisol. Did you have any labs done, like the four-times-a-day salivary panel?
 
#1,015 ·
Interesting, have never heard of low cortisol and salivary panels.
If your doctor uses Labcorp, the test can be done by them. However, it's been my experience that many doctors don't ask for this test, only anti-aging and holistic-minded ones.

As you can imagine, my hopes and dreams are that I avoid the pills.
I hear ya! For years I tried to avoid the inevitable by trying this and that diet, supplement, herb, etc. Unfortunately my hypothyroidism only responds to desiccated thyroid medications.

But it's worth trying the other stuff while monitoring your thyroid with labs and by how you feel.
 
#1,016 ·
hi everyone, i'm new to this whole thyroid thing and pretty darn confused. as background... i'm currently acting as a surrogate for a cousin.. as a part of getting ready to do this, her fertility doctors ordered a whole slew of blood tests. everything except my TSH came back normal.. but my TSH was 6.9. when i asked the doctor what the heck that meant, he would only tell me that it was 'high' and that i'd have to take pills for a while. i continued asking more questions, but he pretty much refused to answer, and it was very frustrating.

when i went to fill my prescription (synthroid), the pharmacist was very helpful, and explained that the TSH being so high actually means that my thyroid function was low.. and that i had hypothyroidism, and would likely be on these pills forever. when i went home and did some online research, that all made sense.

when i spoke to the fertility docs again (different one), he was very insistent that i do NOT have hypothyroidism, which i really don't understand at all. is it possible to have high TSH without having hypothyroidism??

follow up blood work brought my TSH down to better levels.. 2.4 within two weeks of being on a tiny dose.. 0.05/day, and at my last blood draw, i was down to 1.65. since i am now pregnant, it is being monitored by an actual endocrinologist. i had thought that the endo would give me a better understanding of what is going on, but when i had my appointment with her a week or so ago, i left feeling pretty much as confused as i do now. i asked her straight out if i had hypothyroidism, but she kind of danced around the issue.. she even said that if i was not pregnant, she would not treat a TSH of 6.9 .. that she only treats 10 and higher (?!?!?!). from what i've read, TSH should be under 5, and even that is considered crazy high by most people, that under 3 is more reasonable. during the pregnancy, i know i need to keep it under 2.5. i know that there are other test results that usually go along with TSH (free T4 or something???), but i have no idea what those results might be, or if the tests were even ordered. oh, i should add that she has scheduled me for a thyroid ultrasound.. she doesn't think it's necessary, but she wants to have 'complete records', so i do that the first week of september.

as for other symptoms, well, that's hard to say. i have three children, i have worked full time doing home daycare (read 5 toddlers everyday!!) for the last 12 years... of course i'm tired. over the last few years, i have gained weight while not really changing what i eat... in fact, in the first two weeks of being on meds, i lost 7 lbs without exercise/diet changes. this whole TSH has come out of the blue for me.. if it weren't for the initial blood tests, i would have had no idea that anything was going on. i have been under alot of stress for the last few years, so i've now quit my job, and between that and my meds, i feel that i am getting more sleep and have less stress in general. the pregnancy is going well.

the only thing other than my meds that i am taking for my thyroid is this blend of sea veg added to my daily smoothies.. i've read that natural sources of iodine can be helpful. would love any additional advice.
 
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