Which Is The Best Thyroid Drug For Hypothyroidism?docshare01.docshare.tips/files/25621/256214745.pdf · Which Is The Best Thyroid Drug For Hypothyroidism? March 4, 2013 by Dana Trentini

12/02/2015 Which is the best thyroid drug for hypothyroidism?

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Which Is The Best Thyroid DrugFor Hypothyroidism?

March 4, 2013 by Dana Trentini 205 Comments

The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.

-Thomas Merton

Many Hypothyroid Mom readers ask which thyroid drug is best. My answer isalways the same, “I wish there was one thyroid drug that worked for all of us butthe reality is that we each react differently to the different medications. We mustwork closely with our doctor to investigate which treatment is ideal for us andwhat dosage is optimal.” The key is that you must know all the treatmentoptions to ensure your doctor is exploring the options to find what’s right foryou. If you are being treated with thyroid hormone replacement medication butyou still don’t feel well, insist on further exploration. If you are still not feelingwell, get a second opinion, a third opinion, even ten medical opinions until youfind a doctor that explores the options to find what’s right for YOU.

Don’t settle.

Thyroid Drug OptionsT4 DrugsAuthor of the book Living Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn’tTell You…That You Need to Know Mary Shomon included the followinginformation at About.com Thyroid Disease.

Levothyroxine is the generic name for the synthetic form of thyroxine,a thyroid hormone replacement drug. This drug contains the syntheticform of one thyroid hormone, T4. Levothyroxine is the most commonlyprescribed thyroid hormone replacement drug.

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Brand names in the U.S: Synthroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid

Brand names in Canada: Synthroid, Eltroxin, and PMS‑Levothyroxine

Brand names outside U.S.: Euthyrox, Thyroxine, Berlthyrox, Droxine,Eferox, Elthyrone, Eltroxin, Eutirox, Letrox, Levaxin, Levotirox,Levothyrox, Levotiroxina, Oroxine, T4KP, Thevier, Throxinique,Thyradin, Thyradin S, Thyrax, Thyrax Duotab, Thyrex, Thyro‑4,Thyrosit, Thyroxin, Thyroxin‑Natrium, Tiroidine

Mary also included an article on a thyroid medication called Tirosint. Thelevothyroxine in Tirosint is in a liquid form inside a capsule.

T3 DrugsThere are synthetic T3 drugs like Cytomel. Through a compounding pharmacy,there are also prescription compounded T3 drugs including time-released T3.

Natural Desiccated Thyroid

Brands include Forest Lab’s Armour, and Nature-throid and Westhroid by RLCLabs. There is a generic version of NDT made by Acella Pharmaceuticals.Canada’s desiccated thyroid made by Erfa is called Thyroid. There are alsocompounding pharmacies worldwide that produce compounded versions usingthe raw natural desiccated thyroid powder.

Find The Right ThyroidTreatment For YOUWe are each unique with individual sensitivities. Our bodies will NOT all react thesame to these different medications. The dosages that are ideal for each of uswill also vary. Our uniqueness is what makes finding the right thyroid treatmenttricky.

Thyroid hormone replacement drugs are powerful, so powerful they can kill youif not taken properly. This is why it is critical to be under careful medicalsupervision when on these drugs, especially careful when starting a new brandor increasing dosage level. Call your doctor immediately if you experienceadverse reactions.

1. Sensitivities to the fillers used in themedicationsAuthor of the book Your Personal Paleo Code: The 3-Step Plan to Lose Weight,Reverse Disease, and Stay Fit and Healthy for Life Chris Kresser at Medicine ForThe 21st Century wrote a great post 3 Steps To Choosing The Right ThyroidHormone:

Many popular thyroid medications contain common allergens such ascornstarch, lactose and even gluten. As I explained in a previous post,most hypothyroid patients have sensitivities to gluten, and many ofthem also react to corn and dairy (which contains lactose).

Synthroid, which is one of the most popular medications prescribed forhypothyroidism, has both cornstarch and lactose as a filler. Cytomel,which is a popular synthetic T3 hormone, has modified food starch –

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which contains gluten – as a filler.

Even the natural porcine products like Armour suffer from issues withfillers. In 2008, the manufacturers of Armour reformulated the product,reducing the amount of dextrose & increasing the amount ofmethylcellulose in the filler. This may explain the explosion of reportsby patients on internet forums and in doctor’s offices that the new formof Armour was either “miraculous” or “horrible”. Those that hadsensitivities to dextrose were reacting less to the new form, andexperiencing better results, while those that had sensitivities tomethylcellulose were reacting more, and experiencing worse results.

Thyroid Pharmacist Dr. Izabella Wentz, author of the book Hashimoto’sThyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause wrote this information on her Thyroid Lifestyle Facebook page:

Compounded T4/T3 products offer another alternative. Thesemedications also offer the advantage of being made without fillers suchas lactose or gluten, which are present in some thyroid medications andcan be problematic for thyroid patients.

However compounded T4/T3 products need to be prepared by aspecially trained compounding pharmacist. These compounds areusually much more expensive and may need to be refrigerated topreserve activity.

Thyroid compounds are usually prepared in the same physiologicalratio that is found in Armour®, however, physicians can elect tochange the amount of T3/T4, as the compounding pharmacists areliterally making the medications from scratch. This can be a hugeadvantage for those patients that did not feel well on conventionaltreatments or natural desiccated treatments.

2. A gentle start to dosingMy doctor increased my thyroid drug dosage gradually in an incremental fashionuntil she found the dose that was optimal for me. She adjusted my dosages byregularly monitoring my Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies andmost importantly by listening to my symptoms. I contrast that with the stories Ihear from readers of their adverse reactions to their doctor’s prescription forsudden large dosage increases and medication brand switches at high doses. T3drugs such as Cytomel and natural desiccated thyroid have active T3 in themwhich for some people can be stimulating for the heart and cause heartpalpitations. It is critical to have a gentle start.

In the book Thyroid Power: Ten Steps to Total Health, Richard Shames andKarilee Halo Shames wrote:

Some people do not want to take the time to start with a mild dose,adjusting to their medication gradually. However, we have found thatthe slow, step‑by‑step method of reaching your optimal dose is moreeasily tolerated by the body than the “sock it to me” approach socharacteristic of our fast‑paced culture.

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3. The need for T3 treatmentIn mainstream medicine, T4 drugs like Synthroid are the gold standard fortreatment of hypothyroidism. While these drugs work for some, for many of usthese drugs fail to relieve our symptoms. Our bodies need to convert the T4 inthese drugs to the active useable thyroid hormone T3. However for manyhypothyroidism sufferers, our bodies don’t convert the T4 to T3 and we are leftsuffering symptoms. If you are on T4 only drugs and you are still not feelingwell, speak with your doctor about testing your Free T3 levels to determine ifyou would benefit from T3 medication.

Many of us report feeling our best on natural desiccated thyroid. However othersreport not reacting well to NDTs and responding better to synthetic T4 and T3drugs. Even with natural desiccated thyroid, many of us feel great on one brandbut terrible on another. Again we are each unique and it’s about finding whatworks best for you.

4. Finding your optimal thyroid levelsMany hypothyroidism sufferers are not feeling well despite treatment becausetheir lab results are in the “normal” range but not at the optimal level for them.

Mary Shomon included this great article at About.com Thyroid Disease.

Help, I’m Hypothyroid and I Still Don’t Feel Well

More innovative doctors are beginning to believe that a TSH of around1 ‑2 —in the low end of the normal range — is optimal for most peopleto feel well and avoid having hypothyroid or hyperthyroid symptoms.Similarly, some practitioners feel that optimal hypothyroidismtreatment includes Free T4 in the top half of the normal range, and FreeT3 in the top 25th percentile of the normal range.

If you are being treated with thyroid hormone replacement medication but youstill don’t feel well, insist on further exploration. If you are still not feeling well,get a second opinion, a third opinion, even ten medical opinions until you find adoctor that explores the options to find what’s right for YOU – 30 onlineresources to find a good thyroid doctor.

Don’t settle.

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Filed Under: Hypothyroidism Treatment Tagged With: Free T3, Levothyroxine,Natural Desiccated Thyroid, T4

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in memory of the unborn baby I lost to hypothyroidism. Winner of two 2014 WEGOHealth Activist Awards: Health Activist Hero & Best In Show Twitter. *HypothyroidMom includes Affiliate links. Connect with me on Google+

Comments

Yvonne says:March 4, 2013 at 3:54 am

Absolutely, don’t settle! I’m on T3 now (liothyronine sodium) afterdoing lots of research. T4 (levothyroxine) did nothing for me, I can’t seem to useit and may be a ‘non-converter’ so two years were just wasted on thatmedication. The doc just kept increasing my dose until eventually my hair startedfalling out and I was getting all sorts of toxic symptoms. Keep spreading theword.Hypothyroid Mum to one toddler and one baby (need all the energy I can get!)

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Dana Trentini says:March 4, 2013 at 11:26 am

Absolutely Yvonne, Hypothyroid Moms need all the energy we canget! Happy to know you are exploring T3 medication to see what works bestfor you. We are all so different so careful trial and error is how we’ll find what’sright for each of us. Best of luck and welcome to Hypothyroid Mom!

Reply

Cate Harper says:September 21, 2013 at 7:14 am

Hello just found your site. I am 67 and was diagnosed withhypoyroidism in February this year. I take Eutirox because I live in Spain andall info is in Spanish. I have a great doc who sent me for all possible tests. Iwas put on 75mgs for two months and then after blood work am on half atablet a day. I do not have any problems but after taking them I started withsoreness at vaginal entrance. She got me tests in ladies clinic and resultsshow vaginal atrophy. It is awful and made worse with e cream. May go tosee dermatologist. I can’t find out if my eutrinox may have caused this. Itjust seems odd it happened after meds. I am due back for 6 month bloodwork in November. Any info would be great. BTW, oddly enough I had a 2miscarriages and stillbirth in my Thirties and my daughter has RA. Maybe Ihave had this disease for years. Many thanks. Cate

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Lopo says:September 30, 2013 at 11:22 am

Cate, I’m your age on just started on levothyroxine in June.Started at .05, then to .075, and expect an increase tomorrow. I am alsousing estrogen vaginal cream for urinary issues – and it helps. Neither ofthese has caused vaginal soreness for me. The only problem I get thatsounds like yours is candida overgrowth. I live between Florida andYucatan, Mexico, both hot and humid. Have you tried treating it withclotrimazole cream?And P.S., I had Crohn’s Disease in my 30’s which was cured by surgery,but I think that, like the RA, indicates we’re prone to auto-immunediseases, so it looks like now it’s Hashimoto’s. I hope you can find outwhat’s causing that sorenesss. Ugh.

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Shelli says:June 2, 2014 at 9:33 pm

What vaginal cream? Premarin by chance?

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If it is that, you do know what it is made of right?Pregnant Mare (horse) Urine

For any of you seeking creams, seek out those that have naturalestrogen not manmade…..

Joe says:August 5, 2014 at 9:55 am

I read a book called Menopause without HRT and itrecommended inserting Vitamin E capsules for 6 weeks then as andwhen needed. I followed this regime and vaginal dryness is a thing ofthe past. And it’s natural !

Dana Trentini says:October 2, 2013 at 12:41 pm

Cate, I am very sorry to hear about the vaginal soreness. It doesseem too much of a coincidence this happened at the same time youstarted your meds. There are other thyroid drug brands why not try adifferent brand in case that was the issue. Also you mention your daughterhaving RA. I wonder if you and your daughter have had your thyroidantibodies tested for Hashimoto’s? It is considered the leading cause ofhypothyroidism in the world next to iodine deficiency yet thyroidantibodies are not routinely tested sadly. When a person has oneautoimmune condition such as Hashimoto’s they are more vulnerable todevelop others such as RA. Get testing for Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodiesand Thyroglobulin Antibodies.

http://hypothyroidmom.com/hypo-like-a-rock-star-hashimotos/

Reply

Mo says:April 29, 2014 at 3:22 pm

Wow!!I have been glued to the computer last hour reading allthese blogs. Wish I had found this site sooner. I went looking becauseI’ve had Hypothyroidism for years, I was luckily diagnosed and mysymptoms were not dismissed as “just menopause”. But I have been ona huge roller coaster ride with my TSH results, from super low -justrecently @ .0141 to a high of 7.135. just 7 months ago; which of coursecomes with a huge range of symptoms. ( Was so glad to read such athorough list-thanks!! I could check off way too many of thosesymptoms.). My T4 and T3 don’t seem to change that much. I’ve beento an endocrinologist; she came up with her own theories: I have sleepapnea- wrong well that’s questionable too? I now take my pill in themiddle of the night,when I get up to use the bathroom, as she felt I wastaking it too close to eating time. (Who can really take a pill 1st thing inthe a.m. and NOT eat for 2 hours, huh? which was her suggestion!) Sonow I am changing the dosage once again back down to .075. Mydoctor now calls me hyPERthyroid. My symptoms have not changed allthat much and the only hyper’ symptom I’d LOVE to have is the weightloss! I haven’t been able to lose any weight at all; slowly gaining andgaining around my waist! But I’m wondering about the generic vsSynthroid- what have others experienced ? Thanks, Mo

Dana Trentini says:April 30, 2014 at 11:47 am

Hi Mo, Have your thyroid antibodies been tested forHashimoto’s? I ask because in Hashimoto’s it is common for TSH toswing up and down with hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidismsymptoms. Hashimoto’s is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the

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US yet thyroid antibodies are not often tested. Here’s more informationon Hashimoto’s:


Ivonne says:November 26, 2014 at 5:35 pm

I have a family member outside of Barcelona and has a greatdoctor that found the right pill for her. She struggled with the best doctorsuntil one day she decided to try a doctor less popular and not so busy. Shelost weight and look better than ever. I can find out more info for you.

Reply

Pam says:November 28, 2014 at 12:04 pm

Ivonne, I would love to know what she is using. I have been oncompounded T3 for a couple of years now, and still have the sameproblems and symptoms as when I started. I have weight gain, noenergy, some depression, and am now losing my eyelashes. I’m not surewhat to try next!

Jo says:January 26, 2014 at 5:41 pm

Yvonne – please tell me about your toxic symptoms on T4 meds. Itake only T4 and I’m wondering if because I feel so crappy all the time, that Ihave started to accept this at normal. I need to talk to someone about this.

Reply

Tania says:September 11, 2014 at 5:36 pm

I was 6 weeks on synthroid and lost a lot of weight. Had noappetite and my mouth became very sore and tender. I felt like i couldnt doanything. I was like just wanting to hide away. I was only on 25mcg.

Reply

Melissa says:December 5, 2014 at 4:08 am

Hello, What toxic symptoms did you experience ?

Reply

Dana Trentini says:December 5, 2014 at 10:03 am

Hi Melissa, if you mean what hypothyroidism symptoms that Iexperienced here were my primary symptoms (many of them have improvedand some eliminated with optimal thyroid treatment):

chronic fatigue, headaches, hair loss, constipation, dry skin, eczema, dryitchy scalp, irregular menstrual cycles, bloating, miscarriage, brain fog, drycracked heels, frequent infections including cold/flu and urinary tractinfections, kidney stones, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar

Reply

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Sarah Downing says:March 4, 2013 at 5:30 am

Hi Dana,

Thanks for mentioning my site. What a useful article:-). I wanted to ask whereyou got your information about Cytomel not being gluten-free as this is actuallythe first I’ve heard of this and back when I was researching it (as I was onCytomel for a few weeks) I came to the conclusion that it was gluten-free. I thinkI even asked at the pharmacy. Either way, I checked again and it’s on the list ofgluten-free drugs:http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/list.htm

There is a Mexican brand, Cynomel, which according to one forum post I readmay have caused some gluten intolerance reactions with people, but I was underthe impression that this is made with corn, so I’m not entirely sure either.

I think I’m going to do some more research on this as it would be good to knowfor the future. I know some brands of synthetic T4 are notorious for containinggluten. One friend of mine is allergic to corn gluten, so that makes it eventougher for her (although Nature-Throid and West-Throid – essentially the samething) are corn-free, but do contain lactose, which can cause problems for someother people.

Thanks for the great article!

Sarah

Reply


Sarah, Thank you for commenting. Love your blog “Butterflies &Phoenixes” about thyroid and chronic illness.

http://sarahjdowning.com/

That quote regarding Cytomel comes from Chris Kresser. I’ve attached his posthere below for you. I believe Chris is a person to follow for thyroid health.When I read this post it struck me hard because I’ve been contacted by somany readers who have terrible terrible reactions to different thyroid drugsincluding Cytomel and I set off on a rampage to find out what might be goingon. Of course the issue of over medication is possible and adrenal andferritin/iron issues which I plan to write more about. However this idea ofsensitivities to the ingredients especially gluten in these products struck me. Icontacted Chris with that same question of which ingredients in Cytomel inparticular are gluten and I hope to hear back from him. In the meantime, I hopethat this post will catch the eye of thyroid experts to take a closer look at eachingredient in these drugs. It’s time a complete review of each drug is done toensure they don’t contain allergic components especially gluten given oursensitivities to it. It’s time for new drugs to be created that are truly gluten-free and hypoallergenic. It’s time for change.


Reply

kathy iftody says:August 26, 2013 at 11:17 am

I recently under the supervision of my doctor has switched fromcytomel to syntrhoid. He intially took me off everything cold turkey because ihave hasimoto’s and my number reading were 100. I crashed severely andslept for an entire week day and night. He wanted me to stay off allmedication for 4 weeks so he could get a proper reading I couldn’t handlewhat was happening so he started me on synthroid 0..125 mg once a day. Inthree days i did notice my fatigue had gone away and the heaviness in my


http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/list.htm

http://www.sarahjdowning.com/


http://sarahjdowning.com/




arms but my eyes are so badly puffy dark and baggy. Is this normal thingthat could happen. I seriously look like i am dying. lol I am also glutenintolerate and was wondering if this medication has gluten in it. I also haveNHL Non hodgkins lymphoma but have not been in treatment for the past 4years. Was diagnosed in 2006.

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Yvonne says:August 26, 2013 at 3:20 pm

Hi there, I was really having loads of allergy type symptomswhen I was on levo and later found out I wasn’t processing it but I thinksomething in the tablets was also causing allergies. The only one thatwasn’t so bad for that turned out to be the only one that was low efficacyand later withdrawn so perhaps it was just the levo itself, I don’t know. Itis possible to be allergic to the fillers used in them. Puffy eyes, eczemabreak outs and just that allergy feeling (hard to describe). I feel really tiredwhen I am having an allergic reaction and it is a sort of different tirednessto thyroid tiredness.

Reply

Dana Trentini says:August 31, 2013 at 3:00 pm

Hi Yvonne,

Absolutely you can have allergic reactions to the different fillers,binding agents and dyes used in the different brands. I’ve had manyreaders react terribly to certain brands then do great on others. Ifyou’ve tried different brands and you can’t find one that’s good for you,another option is to look into compounded thyroid medications createdby compounding pharmacies. They created thyroid meds without all thefillers, binding agents that others use.


Hi Kathy,

I am so sorry to hear what’s happened. We are all different in how ourbodies react to the different fillers, binding agents and dyes in thedifferent thyroid drug brands so absolutely it’s possible that you reactedto your medication. I included a quote from one of Chris Kresser’s websitearticle about Cytomel containing gluten. So it’s possible that you werereacting to the gluten in this medication too. I assume this happenedwhen you started your medication?

I wonder too if there are underlying issues causing your Hashimoto’s thatare not being addressed. Dr. Izabella Wentz wrote a great new book aboutlifestyle changes to reduce antibodies including diet changes andsupplements. Her website is also very helpful.

http://www.thyroidlifestyle.com

It seems that 4 weeks would be a long time to be taken off thyroidmedication. Get a second medical opinion. Best wishes to you.


Reply

http://www.thyroidlifestyle.com/







jackie says:January 26, 2014 at 11:58 am

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 15 years ago at 41. I started withsynthroid( don’t we all?) but my symptoms came back after 2 years. I was oncytomel for 11 years. 50mcg per day. Then 75 mcg per day. For the last 2years I could feel myself crashing….getting more tired, more depressed, morebloated! I had ordered some cynomel from Mexico mainly because of theincredible price, but I was afraid to change medications and slip further in theabyss known as hypothyroidism! Well, I finally ran out of cytomel and couldn’tafford to renew my prescription so I started my cynomel. 75 mcg divided into 3doses 5 hours apart. What a transformation!!!! I’m not sure what is in(or not in)the cynomel but it sure works for me! And 2/3rds cheaper than cytomel!

Reply

Julie says:January 24, 2015 at 4:06 am

Hi Jackie

I have been treating myself for the last 4 years with the mexican T3 onlydrug, Cynomel.

Here in England we have very few options available to us for hormonereplacement drugs. Partly because our health system is stuck in the ice age,with very few tests ever offered by our GPs, incredible resistance to theprescription of unlicensed drugs like Armour and equal resistance to theprescription of the only T3 drug available in this country because it costs toomuch. Complicating health factors like adrenal insufficiency are neveracknowledged by main stream medics and we also don’t have anycompounding pharmacies.

This all adds up to a bit of a disaster for us long suffering hypothyroidiansand consequently, we are beginning to take our health into our own hands.

I take 75mcgs of Cynomel divided into three doses and have been feelingvery well on this for the last 3 years. I am very gluten and dairy intolerantand maintain an allergen free, low GI, Paleo lifestyle and have found thatonly this strict regimen keeps me well.

I also have adrenal insufficiency (self diagnosed by symptoms) and treat thisby taking my first dose of T3 at 3.00am (The CT3M) – a protocol invented byPaul Robinson and outlined in his books, Recovering With T3 and The CT3Mhandbook.

I would personally recommend that anyone interested in learning about theuse of T3 only medications or wanting to treat adrenal insufficiency withoutadrenal glandulars or HC, check out the website or Facebook pages forRecovering With T3.

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Dawn Miles says:January 26, 2015 at 2:00 am

I am very interested in the website by Paul Robinson. I havesuffered from hypothyrodism for over 12 yrs and still am just asexhausted as I was when I was first diagnosed.I have a Dr. appt. tomorrow with my Dr. and I will be asking him about thisnew medication (well, new to me)the cynomel and the cytomel.Thank you so much for posting this very exciting information on theinternet. Hopefully this will be the medication I’ve been missing all along.Thank you,Dawn Miles, R.N.

Reply

http://thect3m/






Sarah Downing says:March 4, 2013 at 12:57 pm

Hi Dana,

Thanks for looking into this. I posted a question on it on the STTM forumbecause this is honestly the first I’ve heard about it and it really concerns me as Iwas actually on Cytomel for a short time even though I’m supposed to be gluten-free. I did think I had done my due diligence, but we shall see.

Thanks again for raising awareness!

Sarah

Reply

Dana Trentini says:March 4, 2013 at 1:11 pm

Great Sarah. Yes please let me know whatever you find aboutCytomel. My suspicion is that a closer look is needed at all the common thyroiddrugs.

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Jill says:September 26, 2014 at 3:08 pm

Cytomel has a gluten filler. There is a generic T3, Paddocks (I thinkI spelled that right) is the manufacturer. I take brand Cytomel and do ok withit. I am not GF though and don’t notice.

Reply


No doubt you’re right, Dana. My first instinct would be to contact themanufacturer and ask them, so I may just do that once I get a chance.

BTW: I also really like Chris Kresser.

Will keep you posted!

Sarah

Reply


Excellent idea Sarah!

Reply


I just sent an email to King Pharmaceuticals/Pfizer, the manufacturerof Cytomel, and am awaiting their reply as to what allergens this medicationcontains and whether or not it does in fact contain gluten. Hopefully, I can getan answer “straight from the horse’s mouth”.

Cheers,

Sarah











Reply


Great Sarah. It will be great to hear straight from them.

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Julie says:January 24, 2015 at 4:18 am

Dana, I also follow the writings of Chris Kresser but he wrote anarticle a while ago where he stated that a below normal TSH reading meansthat a patient is taking too much hormone and they are hyperthyroid. Thisreally concerned me because I know from personal experience, that a totallysuppressed TSH in some patients on T3 only medication can be completelynormal and the only real test of a euthyroid state is to judge one’s symptoms.

Reply

Joan says:March 4, 2013 at 6:04 pm

I am a 56 year old woman who has spent the last 4 years as a medicalnomad going from doctor to doctor seeking help. I have explained that I amexhausted all of the time, have shortness of breath on the tennis court,insomnia…including 4 or 5 all nighters every month where no matter what I do ortake, I can not sleep.

I have recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, Diabetes, Zero B-12, and wildlyfluctuating hormones after undergoing a radical hysterectomy last April. I amwearing a hormone patch but I have days which I feel like I am totally about toloose it to days.

I am on my 2nd day of Levothyroxine…taking 1/2 a 75 MCG pill for the first weekthen moving up to taking the entire 75MCG dose. Last night… I think I slept 2hours. I’m sure when I move up to the 75MCG dose I will be awake all night.

My biggest fear is being able to continue successfully functioning in my highstress, deadline oriented marketing firm. In the last year, my thinking hasbecome so foggy and I have struggled at time trying to keep all the balls in theair. Would love any and all advise from anyone who has been on this journeyahead of me/

Joan

Reply


Joan, You would be surprised by my post attached below 300+Hypothyroidism Symptoms…Yes REALLY” because your symptoms are all there.I’m not sure what testing you’ve had done but it’s essential to have your FreeT4, Free T3 and reverse T3 levels tested as well as thyroid antibodies (althoughsince you’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s I assume your thyroidantibodies have already been tested). The issue is that often times mainstreamrelies on one test TSH to diagnose and treat hypothyroidism but it doesn’tprovide a complete picture of the issue so the above testing will helpdetermine the type of treatment you need. While Levothyroxine works forsome, for many this does not relieve our symptoms which is why I includedabove T3 treatment. For many of us our bodies don’t convert the T4 hormonein Levothyroxine to the T3 we need, and we benefit from adding T3 treatment.By testing your Free T3 levels you will know if it is low in the range that you willbenefit from T3 treatment. If you do not feel well on your Levothyroxine speakwith your doctor about all the treatment options. In addition, you should test







for issues that may underlie your Hashimoto’s. I’ve included below two postswith points to also discuss with your doctor. Best of luck to you Joan!




Reply

trendfriendpa says:October 6, 2014 at 9:47 am

When you do have your FreeT3, Free T4 tested along with theReverse T3, take the Free T3 x 10 divide by your Free T3. The minimalacceptable result is 1.8 – 2.0. Below 2.0 may contribute to hypo symptoms.

These are optimal levels I have seen posted on other sites for hypo orpatients with no thyroid on thyroid medication.Ratio of T3 to T4 is 4 to 1Free T3 – upper half to top third of range;Free T4 – approx 50% of range;TSH >1<;Ferritin – 70-90 minimum;Vit D – 50-80 min in range;Serum iron 110; B12 – upper range of 200-1100

Reply

Liz says:March 6, 2013 at 1:48 am

Thank you so much for your website Dana!

I am trying to get a referral to see an endocrinologist. I have a huge number ofhypothyroid symptoms, many of them severe. I am currently existing, rather thanliving.

I have done a fair bit of reading about thyroid issues, and am aware of thecontroversy as to what constitutes a normal range for TSH. With my recent (6weeks ago) TSH of 4.4 and free T4 of 0.8, I was all set to push an endocrinologistto treat my hypothyroid symptoms despite the numbers. I still feel terrible, buthad bloodwork done today. Confused as to my TSH being 2.8 and T4 1.0… I havenever taken any thyroid meds.

Do you have any advice for me? Thanks so much!

Reply


Hi Liz,One of the biggest issues for thyroid sufferers is the “normal” TSH range usedin mainstream medicine. Most mainstream doctors use a range around 0.5 to5.0 depending on the laboratory and area where you live. As you’ve read thereis a push by thyroid advocates to narrow that range with many thyroid expertsrecommending a TSH range between 1 and 2. See thyroid advoate MaryShomon’s article attached below. Of course in your reading you probably havecome across the fact that TSH alone does not provide a complete picture ofthyroid function and you need a doctor to test also your Free T4, Free T3,Reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies. What’s interesting is to see your TSHfluctuating like that. Of course there may be other reasons for your TSHchange, however one thing to check closely are your thyroid antibody levels inparticular the antibodies associated with Hashimoto’s – called TPO-Ab and









TgAb. People with this autoimmune condition often cycle up and down withTSH going up and down and their labs in the early stages can appear normalbut their antibodies are sky high. Please be sure to get your thyroid antibodiestested to double check. Best of luck to you.


Reply

Liz says:March 6, 2013 at 4:57 pm

Thanks so much for your reply Dana. I saw a new doc in January,supposedly a specialist in integrative medicine, and he tested for two thyroidantibodies in addition to TSH, T3 and T4. I was told the antibody tests werenormal and that they ruled out both Graves and Hashimoto’s…

Our medical clinic has gone digital and I can see blood work results as farback as early 2008. My TSH has fluctuated from 4.0 to 1.8 during that time.Most recently: June ’12 it was 2.8, Oct ’12 4.1, Jan ’13 4.4, two weeks later3.8, and March ’13 2.8. I’ve only had 4 T4 results, beginning in Oct ’12: 0.8,0.8, 1.1, 1.0.

My symptoms are screaming HYPOTHYROID, however, having weaned off of9 year regimen of Zoloft in August 2012, docs I see want me to take anotheranti-D. I started to feel like I was coming back to life when lowering andthen off of the Zoloft, was then slammed with several stressful physicalailments from August-now, after 2 very stressful years dealing with amentally ill colleague. Stress level in my life has been huge and I think thedepressive symptoms I have now are a symptom, not the root cause of myillness. I don’t want a bandaid fix. It is sooo hard to find a doc who will reallylisten to me with an open mind. Still have my fingers crossed for the referralto an endocrinologist to come through.. it is pending approval by theendocrinologist at the moment. No idea what criterion he will use to decidewhether or not to accept me as a patient…

I plan to do a lot more reading on your website. THANK YOU VERY MUCH forall of the information you provide. (And this Ontario born and raised galthinks it’s cool you got your undergrad degree at U of T.)

I don;t know if this is addressed on your site, but is throat pain a commoncomplaint of hypothyroid patients? I had an ENT doc scope my throat and tellme there is no tumor… but I’m not sure exactly what he was ruling out. Thepain I have is almost always on the right side of my throat and often a sharpstabbing pain once in a while. Other times it is a general ache. The feelingthat there is something “wrong’ in my throat is constant…

Reply


WOW Liz so great to have an Ontario born hypothyroid mom onmy site!! Born and raised in Toronto and my family all lives there still. Myhusband and I moved to the US in 2000 and never went home. We love ithere but miss our family and Toronto too! So much to consider. First,there are Hashimoto’s sufferers who show up with negative thyroidantibodies but who have the condition and thyroid ultrasound canconfirm. Here is a link to that below. Your pain in the throat is somethingI’ve experienced before and absolutely because the thyroid is located atthe base of our neck, it can affect your neck and mouth. Have you beenchecked for a goiter which is an enlargement of the thyroid, which is alsocharacteristic of Hashimoto’s? Also unfortunately many hypothyroidsufferer are misdiagnosed with depression. Turns out many have low FreeT3 levels and that Free T3 treatment helps with the depression. See linkbelow. So please ask for a thyroid ultrasound and Free T3 testing.

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/hashivshypo.htm




http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/hashivshypo.htm



http://thyroidbook.com/blog/unraveling-thyroid-antibodies/

http://www.holtorfmed.com/blog/thyroid-dysfunction-as-cause-of-depression/

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Shari says:July 6, 2013 at 6:00 pm

I would love to be in contact with Liz as her comment is sosimilar to my situation and to see what she finds out. Awesome article.

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Dana Trentini says:July 6, 2013 at 7:27 pm

Hi Shari, try replying to her comment right under hercomment is the “reply” button. There is greater chance she will see yourcomment that way. I hope Liz checks the comments to see yourmessage. I too agree I would love to hear from her to see what she findsout too.

Jessica says:March 25, 2013 at 12:49 pm

I am a long time Hypo/Hashi patient. I was diagnosed approx 10-14yrsago but had symptoms for about 3yrs leading up to becoming full blown Hypo. Iam been on Armour for the majority of that time but, for the last 1-1.5yrs havebeen seen symptoms crop up again. My hair started slowly falling out a little overa year ago. I saw my doctor in Jan of 2012 and he up my dosage from 1 grain to1.5 grains. The hair loss continued at a slow pace until late last year. I’ve lostabout half my hair in whole and it is falling out by the bulb. I have more soundsleep nights but do experience a night or two a week where I am tired but justcan’t stay asleep the entire night. My skin is becoming crepey, I’ve been sickmore often over the last few months than I’ve been in the last 2yrs. I am seeingmy doctor in a week but need to better understand what some options could befor me from an RX perspective. I am not convinced that soley uping my Armourdosage is the answer and I want to be ready to have this discussion with my doc.

Thank you very much Dana!

Reply


Oh Jessica, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I know howimportant our hair is to a woman so I can only imagine how hard this is foryou. Absolutely you need to see your doctor. Hashimoto’s can worsen overtime so it’s possible that your thyroid is functioning less optimally and that youneed an increase in your medication. You need to see your doctor and gettesting to know what’s happening. The fact that your doctor is open to Armourmakes me think he/she will be open to additional testing. First off be sure yourFree T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 are tested. There are also many potentialunderlying issues with Hashimoto’s that should be tested including sexhormone levels, vitamin D and selenium. Also adrenals are very important forthyroid health, so ask if your doctor will give you a saliva test for cortisol levelsto test your adrenals as well full blood panel for iron including ferritin. Inaddition, there is a great deal of research on the connection between glutenand Hashimoto’s as well as other food sensitivities. It is worth a try to gogluten free for a few weeks to see how you feel. Here is a link to a post onHashimoto’s, as well Mary Shomon wrote a book on hair loss for thyroid




http://thyroidbook.com/blog/unraveling-thyroid-antibodies/

http://www.holtorfmed.com/blog/thyroid-dysfunction-as-cause-of-depression/



sufferers. Best of luck to you.


http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hairloss/a/hairloss.htm

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/hairloss.htm

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Nicole Guilfoyle says:March 28, 2013 at 12:15 am

Hi …I am so happy I found your site. I was diagnosed withhypothyroidism 3 years ago when I was pregnant. I was given very littleinformation and still at times feel uninformed. They took me off my medicine(synthroid) right after I had my baby. This lead me down a difficult path and nowlooking back I am not sure if it was baby blues or side affects from the thyroid.Long story short I was depressed thought it was the baby blues, lost a ton of hairagain could be either post baby hormones or the thyroid, and finally had a hardtime producing enough milk. At my 6 week post baby check up my obgyn finallyreferred me to an endocrinologist. I was put back on synthroid and went on withlife. Recently I have noticed some changes, I have a cysts in one of my breast, myskin and head are extremely dry, and the most alarming symptom is I haveshortness of breath and a tightening in my chest ( was not sure if i was having apanic attack or just a symptom) I am still tired all the time, my hair is brittle, andtruly the depression has not gon away fully. I was wondering if you could give meyour insight on my situation and if there are any other medication or tests Ishould have done.

Thank you so much

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Hi Nicole, your symptoms of baby blues, hair loss, not producingenough breast milk, dry skin, chest pain and depression all sound so much likehypothyroidism symptoms. You must look more closely with your doctor athow you are being treated. It may just mean a change in your dosage ofSynthroid is needed, however as this article points out there are many peoplewho don’t do well on Synthroid. There are some of us that our bodies justdon’t convert the T4 in Synthroid to the active T3 our bodies need. You can tellthat by testing your Free T3 levels, so be sure that’s tested. Please speak withyour doctor about testing your Free T4, Free T3, Reverse, T3, thyroidantibodies (TPO-Ab, TgAb) and adrenals. Hashimoto’s is one of the leadingcauses of hypothyroidism and many hypothyroidism sufferers don’t realizethey have it because thyroid antibodies are not routinely tested. Please be sureto ask for all those tests so that you have a complete picture of your condition.Ideally your testing would also include iron and ferritin, vitamin B12, D3,magnesium, zinc, selenium, as well as sex hormone levels and any other testsyour doctor recommends. If your doctor won’t do all these tests, then it’s timeto find a new doctor. Best of luck to you.


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Janna Johnson says:April 15, 2013 at 11:51 am

I was diagnosed on 1/3/13 w/Hashimoto’s after hitting a wall rightbefore Thanksgiving. I have always been an energetic, happy, confident individualand now I am the complete opposite. Things starting to go downhill w/my health



http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hairloss/a/hairloss.htm



http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/hairloss.htm




in 08/2012 but I chalked it up to my hormones. 2 days before Thanksgiving I hadthe worst panic attack of my life. The brain fog came on (which I would describeexactly the way the definition of it is), fatigue, I was debilitated. I couldn’t eventake care of my own children much less myself. After the Hashimoto’s diagnosis,which was diagnosed because my right lobe was enlarged, I was put on 50mcg ofTirosint. It didn’t do much. 8 weeks later I was put on Armour and I had a badreaction to it (worsening symptoms), which I assumed were the fillers. I went to aholistic doctor who ran more thyroid test other than TSH and T4 and come to findout my body is not converting T4 to T3. He said I was just hypo and didn’t haveHashi’s. Since then. which was 3 1/2 weeks ago I have been on T3 only (4.5mcgin am and 4.5 in pm). My symptoms are better but still there. I DO NOT feel likemyself!! I feel out of my own body, no focus, detached from everything, milddepression, anxiety, and horrific brain fog!! Has anyone else felt this way? If so,what did you do to get better and how long did it take? I honestly feel like I willnever be better!! I have a 2 1/2yr old and a 4 1/2yr old and a husband. I want mylife back!!

I did go see a new DO last week who did more blood work and I gave her all of theinfo on the new Wes-throid -P. I am hoping it works but I don’t go back to seeher for 2 weeks and then I hope she prescribes it.

I welcome any and all feedback. Thank you!!!!

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Janna Johnson says:April 19, 2013 at 11:41 am

Looking for some advice and inspiration please!!

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Dana Trentini says:April 19, 2013 at 2:36 pm

There is hope Janna!

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Janna, Is there a reason your doctor put you on T3 only? While somepatients are on T3 only treatment for various reasons the majority are on acombination of T4 and T3. The first step is you need to be sure to havecomprehensive done. Get a copy of your lab results. Ask your doctor to testyour Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, thyroid antibodies for Hashimoto’s (TPO-Aband TgAb) and thyroid antibodies for Graves since some people have both(TSI), ask for full iron panel including ferritin, sex hormones includingtestosterone, vitamin D3, B12, zinc, magnesium, selenium, as well as adrenaltesting. All these factors could underlie your condition. Also many hypothyroidsufferers report doing well on a gluten free diet. I found my symptomsimproved going gluten free. Try it for 30 days to see if it makes a difference.The good news Janna is that there is hope to live well despite your thyroidcondition. Thanks to finding a great thyroid doctor, I feel better at 42 years oldthan I did at 20!


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Janna Johnson says:June 3, 2013 at 3:30 pm

sorry for late reply! I did T3 only just to see how I would do. butIonly did it for 3 weeks and then tried Armour again but by chewing it thistime. That made a world of difference to me. I got my sex hormones tested








and adrenals. I am working on all of it and hope to feel “normal” again soon.I have been gluten free for 2yrs but recently cut out sugar, soy, and dairy.

Thanks!!

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Dana Trentini says:June 4, 2013 at 2:25 pm

Hi Janna, sounds like you on the road to wellness. Best wishes.

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Jennifer Lopreato says:May 31, 2013 at 12:04 am

Jana, I have been feeling the same way for 9 months now. I have beentrying to find the cause of this myself! I too have a 3 yr old son and 15 yr olddaughter. It has been a living nightmare, as you know. I reely haven’t comeacross anyone that has felt this way. I have been going from dr. To dr to findout what the heck is going on with me. Please, if you find out anything that canbe causing this, let me know. I will do the same! You are not alone!!!

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Janna Johnson says:June 3, 2013 at 3:27 pm

I am so sorry to hear that you are also feeling this way Jennifer! Itis a very awful feeling to have. I have had days that I didn’t care if I was hereor not. I kept reading that chewing Armour before swallowing works reallywell, so about 6 weeks ago I tried it and started to feel better w/in 3 days.Now it wasn’t a lot better but I could tell I was on the right path. I alsofigured out I have low cortisol which are the same symptoms ofhypothyroidism. I have started taking adrenal supplement and just eatingreally clean. I have been gluten free for about 2yrs but recently I cut outdairy, sugar, and soy. I also don’t drink caffeine. I have candida as well and italso has the same darn symptoms. http://www.candidadiet.com has rellygood info and a symptoms list. I did finally find a really good doctor alsothat listens to my symptoms and does all of the correct tests. Reading theSTTM book and website multiple times have instrumental to me. Janie hasinvaulable info on adrenals, thryoid, and more. I highly recommend that. Ialso joined her yahoo group, Natural Thyroid Hormone, as well and thepeople there have been great support. There I learned about the MTHFRgene defect and started taking methyl-B12 and methyl-folate vitamins whichhave made a HUGE difference for me. I started at 1 grain of Armour and haveupped by 1/4 grain every 10-14 days. You typicall woulld up by 1/2 grainbut my body is sensitive to T3. I have finally started to feel better about 2weeks ago. The depression and anxiety are lifting, slowly. I still have awfulcystic acne on back and face and dry hair/skin but they are the least of myworries. I am not 100% but I will get there. I finally feel I am on the right paththough.

I know you probably have a lot of questions and I probably have a ton of infoto give so feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Stay strong!Janna

Reply


Hi Janna, Thanks for sharing your story. I love the Stop TheThyroid Madness site! So happy you are doing well.


http://www.candidadiet.com/



mailto:[email protected]

http://facebook/




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Jennifer Lopreato says:May 31, 2013 at 12:04 am

Jana, I have been feeling the same way for 9 months now. I have beentrying to find the cause of this myself! I too have a 3 yr old son and 15 yr olddaughter. It has been a living nightmare, as you know. I reely haven’t comeacross anyone that has felt this way. I have been going from dr. To dr to findout what the heck is going on with me. Please, if you find out anything that canbe causing this, let me know. I will do the same! You are not alone!!!

Reply


Jennifer, I put together a list of the top resources to help readersfind good thyroid doctors. That really is the key to be in the hands of adoctor who really gets it!


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Teresa R. says:August 8, 2013 at 6:57 pm

I hear the frustration. I too have been tired, I think all my life, butafter giving birth to my last/2nd child, she took everything out of me. I askedmy doctor to put me on desiccated Thyroid (here in Canada) when my TSH was3.59. Well that’s been a couple of years now and a couple of days ago, I got aTSH result of 4.19. When I’d first started to take “Thyroid” (Afra) I had to godown to 7.5mg as my heart was beating hard. I increased it the last couple ofdays to the full 30mg and yesterday and today I’ve been breathless, gaspingfor breath, with little exersion and my heart is beating more rapid. Dana, Am Ihaving an allergy to the desiccated “Thyroid”?Thanks,Teresa

Reply


Teresa,

Be sure to contact your doctor whenever you are having any strange reactionto a new medication or increase in dosage. It may an issue of dosage. It mayalso be your body’s sensitivity to an ingredient in that particular thyroid drugbrand because we’re all different in how our bodies react. Also T3 can bestimulating to the heart for some people so it’s recommended to increaseslowly in increments to give the body time to adjust. Also there are two othervery common reasons why people react badly to thyroid meds includingnatural desiccated thyroid: Poor adrenals (best test is saliva for cortisol) andpoor iron levels (be sure to get a full iron panel including ferritin). Thyroidadvocate Janie Bowthorpe from Stop the Thyroid Madness writes about thisvery thing you are describing.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ndt-doesnt-work-for-me/

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make/

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101/

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make/


http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101/

http://facebook/








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Gina says:April 17, 2013 at 5:32 pm

Hi,I have been on Synthroid (75) for about 3 years. My job does “wellness” bloodworks every year which I do. Last year my TSH level was 1.3. This year my TSHlevel was 4.9. so I went to Dr. and showed my PA. (I have gained 20 pounds in thelast 4 months and have not been feeling well.) But I do have other diseases. MyDr. took another TSH test and it came back 4.1. She said it looked great, innormal levels. After visiting your website I am thinking about going to anotherDr. Is that a big jump in TSH levels in a year? Should I push this? Thank you foryour advice.

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Gina, absolutely push this push this push this! Hmmm did I insistenough! The average TSH range in most areas is about 0.5 to 5.0 but there isgreat controversy over this with thyroid advocates pushing to narrow thatrange.

Thyroid advocate Mary Shomon wrote: “More innovative doctors are beginningto believe that a TSH of around 1 – 2 — in the low end of the normal range —is optimal for most people to feel well and avoid having hypothyroid orhyperthyroid symptoms. Similarly, some practitioners feel that optimalhypothyroidism treatment includes Free T4 in the top half of the normal range,and Free T3 in the top 25th percentil of the normal range.” Your TSH 4.9 or 4.1is high. Also you need your Free T4 and Free T3 tests done. Check where yourscores fall relative to the range. You can have normal TSH for example but verylow Free T3 levels and that would explain your symptoms.

Go to your doctor and ask for testing your Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 andthyroid antibodies (TPO-Ab and TgAb). If your doctor won’t test these, find adoctor who will.


Best of luck.

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Judy says:April 19, 2013 at 6:46 am

I was diagnosed w/full blown hashi and as a result hypothyroid . I thinkI have been hypo/hyper for years. Like one of the posts I hit the wallThanksgiving and have been trying to recover ever since. I have gone fromSynthroid 125 to 88 in combination w/5 cytomel. Thought I was improving butsymptoms seem to be coming back. Any advice on how to balance meds? Seem tobe going from hypo/hyper in 2 week intervals. My Dr is working with me but wecan’t find the balance. I just want to be myself again. At 57 now and feel like 67!It has been a roller coaster and there just doesn’t seem to be an answer. I shareall of the symptoms of those posted above. Hair Loss weight gain, pale skin,puffy face on and off, exhaustion but can’t sleep….etc….any advice? My daughteris getting married in 6 months and I just want to show up as me per diagnosis!

Reply









Judy, It is common with Hashimoto’s to swing up and down in TSHwith hyper and hypo symptoms and back and forth. First off you may not beoptimally treated for your condition. It’s great your doctor was open to addingcytomel so maybe your doctor woudl be open to more investigation. Have youdiscussed with your doctor your dosages as well as whether or not switching toa natural desiccated thyroid would work for you. Speak with your doctor abouthow you are not doing well on your medications on those dosages and askwhat options there are for you. It may mean getting a second medical opinionfrom someone who works with many Hashimoto’s sufferers. There are alsomany potential underlying issues with Hashimoto’s so be sure to have yourFree T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, iron/ferritin, B12, D3, magnesium, zinc,selenium, sex hormones including testosterone, and adrenals. All of theseissues could potentially be worsening your condition. Also there is a great dealof material written on the link between gluten and Hashimoto’s so it’s worth itto try going gluten free for 30 days to see if it is helpful for you. Best of luck toyou.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/hashimotos/



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Judy says:April 19, 2013 at 7:24 pm

Thank you for the response . I went for a blood test today so ill havea better idea of what’s happening. Dr increased cytomel another 5 mcg so now88 synthroid and 10 mcg of cytomel. Time will tell. As for B12, I have beengetting injections for several years due to low levels of B12. I am also takingvitamin D as prescribed my Dr. The truth is I was in pretty bad shape whendiagnosed going from normal to no thyroid function at all in months. Can ittake more than 5 months to get back to normal? It has been a rough roadback.

Reply


Judy, it is a process for you and your doctor to find the rightdosage for you however the fact that you have a doctor who is listening toyou is a step in the right direction. Best of luck to you.

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Gina says:April 23, 2013 at 11:23 am

Thank you Dana!!!! I will call and ask my Dr. to take a look at thebloodwork and see when they tested me last for 3 and 4. I am 43 and should takemore control over my care, I guess. LOL.Thanks again.

Reply


Best of luck Gina!

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http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/hashimotos/










Nadine D. says:May 9, 2013 at 1:43 pm

Dana, I never thought the thyroid can be such a pain!i have had 3 m/c already and my previous doctor never mentioned that my TSHlevels were a bit High.Fortunately my actual doctor tested my thyroid and prescribed Synthroid, Istarted it 3 months ago and my TSh levels are normal now.My ferritine levels are low but Dr said he won’t care about it as long as i’m takingmy prenatal vitamines .I’m now 5 weeks pregnant, I’m still freaked out especially that I’m diagnosed withinsuline resistance as well. I hope this time my pregnancy will end with a healthybaby. Thank you again for your articles.Good luck for everyone.

Reply

Dana Trentini says:May 10, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Nadine,

Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you haven’t already contact your doctortoday to get your thyroid levels tested. TSH can rise quickly in pregnancy soyou want to test as soon as possible. Many times thyroid sufferers need anincrease in dosage during pregnancy to meet the needs of the baby. Your babyrelies on your in the early part of pregnancy for thyroid hormone for growthand development. Also the American Thyroid Association recommends a TSHless than 2.5 in the first trimester and recommends you be tested every 4weeks to monitor your thyroid levels. Bring a copy of the attached guidelinesby the American Thyroid Association because many doctors have not readthese guidelines. Best wishes to you and your baby.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3472679/

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kate says:May 9, 2013 at 7:59 pm

I’m struggling. In two and a half years since being diagnosed, I’ve notfound my drug routine that gives me enough energy. Wondering what the statsare for what drugs work best for people. I know we’re all different, but it wouldbe great to have an article or website that shows just the drug stats… trinosetworks for 65 percent of people who go on it, synthroid 35 percent, etc. Verycurious if natural or synthetic T3 work best for what percentages. I’ve read abunch on this. I think of this every single day, and yet there seems to be so muchmystery to medicating. Really mind-blowing how messy the endocrine info is. It’sall over the place. I’m so disheartened. Will I ever feel normal, clear headed again?

Reply


Kate,

Now that would make for a very interesting research paper for any researcherson my site. I would love to know the percentage of people who do well on thedifferent thyroid medications. I can’t say that I’ve come across information likethat. All I can say is that the majority of my readers do not do well onLevothyroxine drugs like Synthroid alone. I have a mix of people who do beston Levothyroxine drugs like Synthroid combined with Cytomel, then anothergroup that does best on natural desiccated thyroid. Even within the group thatdoes best on NDTs some do better on Armour others on Nature-throid. Ipersonally do my best on Nature-throid. Should you find an article thatprovides the information you are asking please share it with me. The bottom


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3472679/





line is if you aren’t feeling well on your medication then you are not beingoptimally treated. It may be the drug brand, type, dosage, or it may be that youhaven’t been full tested for other factors that can interfere with thyroidfunction such as adrenals, iron, sex hormones, vitamin D3, B12, magnesium,zinc, selenium. Be sure to have them tested along with your Free T4, Free T3,Reverse T3.

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Marjan says:May 23, 2013 at 7:31 pm

Hi Dana,

My mom is taking levothyroxine sodium for about two years. She had a mildarrhythmia before but she believes that after taking levothyroxine she is gettingworse and can’t sleep at nights. I did a research and found out that levothyroxineincreases arrhythmia in some cases. Would it be possible to let me know whetherthere is any replacement for levothyroxine. Please advise.

Thanks,Marjan

Reply


Hi Marjan,

Thyroid advocate Mary Shomon includes a list of brands of Levothyroxine.


Best wishes for good health to your mother.

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Amie says:May 24, 2013 at 12:25 pm

Dana,

What an interesting page.I had a horrible time having children. We m/c the first two, then had a daughterat 26 weeks because the placenta had infarcted (she fied a week later). Mysuccessful pregnancies (#4 and #5) resulted in low birth weight kiddos withpartially infarcted placentas. I’m lucky to have my kids, though, as I was toldthere was no reason to think I could ever carry them to term.I’ve been on Synthroid for six years, and in the last two years it has been useless.I have gained twenty pounds – while on a strict calorie counting diet with dailystrenuous exercise! Coincidentally, I also had breast cancer during this period.Bad to worse…My dose has been increased all the way to the 200mcg without significant labchanges and no change in symptoms. Just this week I switched to Armour. Weshall see. I will be forty this fall, but I feel eighty. Between the mibd numbingfatigue, forgetfulness and weight gain, I might as well be.I’m curious if my collection of reproductive issues (including the cancer) follows apattern you’ve seen. I’m also having a hard time finding a list of doctors in theDallas area that are not just Synthroid pushers. As a twenty year RN, I find myselfbasically doing the research FOR my current doctor. Thankfully, she is openminded , but this isn’t optimal.Thanks for all you do!Amie

Reply









Amie, the issues you had having children sounds all so eerily likepotential hypothyroidism symptoms. Here are resources to help you find agood thyroid doctor.


http://www.thyroidchange.org/patient-recommended-doctor-list-us.html

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SRemele says:January 20, 2015 at 9:10 pm

amie, your post is old as i am reading this on 1/20/15. howver, i livein dallas and found a great PA in Irving that only deals with thyroid/hormones.it took me 5 mths to finally get in to see him. Michael Sullivan is his name.Tiena Health Group

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Susan says:June 28, 2013 at 7:13 am

Hello, I’m so excited that a dear friend recommended your website! I’vehad Hoshimotos for about 15 years, and in the past 3 months my symptoms havegotten so much more severe. I’ve gained about 20 pounds (mostly in the waist)and feel foggy and tired all the time. I also have body aches and irritability. Mylast tsh # was 4.8, which my Dr. considered “normal”. I’m in search of anendocrinologist in the Putnam/Westchester NY area, and wonder if you couldsuggest a physician and also recommend what additional tests are necessary toproperly diagnose my condition. Thanks so much.

Reply


Hi Susan,

So happy your friend recommended Hypothyroid Mom. Welcome. Often timesTSH is the only test done and Levothyroxine drugs like Synthroid are often theonly drugs prescribed but this medical model fails many of us.


Testing should include TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, adrenals (best test issaliva for cortisol levels), full iron panel including ferritin, sex hormonesincluding testosterone, D3, B12, magnesium, zinc, selenium, food sensitivities.So much written about the connection between gluten and Hashimoto’s thatit’s worth it to go gluten-free 3-4 weeks to see if it helps your symptoms.


Resources to help you find a great doctor.


If you are willing to travel to NYC, Dr. David Borenstein is often a guest speakerfor thyroid advocate Mary Shomon’s workshops at the New York Open Center. Ihad the pleasure of meeting him and he not only knows Hashimoto’s treatmentbut he’s also a kind person. He is in NYC.

http://www.thyroidchange.org/patient-recommended-doctor-list-us.html










http://www.davidborensteinmd.com

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Bessie says:July 1, 2013 at 11:55 am

Was put on Synthroid several months ago. Started having ringing inears, fluid in eyes, not tears, blurred vision, slurred speach and feeling of beingdrugged or drunk. balance was effected. The worse time was after a meal. Thiswould happen for about 2-3 hours after a meal. Blood sugar readings went up.Started falling sleepy all the time. I still worked and cusomers coming in thought Iwas drinking on the job. Don’t drink. I am 81 . I take Zocor and Cozar. Dr tookme off Blood Pressure meds for blood presure dropped too low. I just stoppedtaking Synthroid. He told me go back on them. SYNTHROID was the only newmed and nothing else could be causing the things that were happening to me. Igo back to doctor july 7 but I will not go back on this medication, I feel like I amdying when I take it. I cant live like that. Had a flu shost last Septemer andimmediately my knees swelled up and I could barely walk For the first time in mylife I had adnormal thyroid blood test. To be ttuthful. I would rather die than takeSynthroid wth all the side effects. I think I am allergic to it. I forgot to take it oneday and started feeling better and the next day 30 minutes after I took it I startedfeeling drunk and disorientated.

Reply


Bessie,

I am sorry that happened to you. I appreciate you sharing your experiencehere. Your story shows so clearly what I mean when I say we are each differentin how our bodies react to the ingredients, fillers and binding agents in thedifferent thyroid drug brands. This goes for all supplements and medicationsof any kind. Listen to your body. You may be very right and your body may besensitive or even allergic to an ingredient in that brand. At the same time thereis concern about going off your medication because hypothyroidism can causeserious even life-threatening complications like heart disease and diabetes.There are other thyroid drug brands and I hope you’ll go back to your doctoror find a new doctor who will explore them carefully with you.


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Christine says:July 3, 2013 at 2:14 pm

I had an interesting experience with Erfa Thyroid that so many patientspraise. I was so hopeful when starting on it a few months ago but, after a fewdays on it, my whole body started itching. I could wake up with blood on thesheets from scratching myself in my sleep to get some relief. I also ended up withsome clear hyper symptoms (rapid heartbeat, profuse sweating, insomnia), whilegaining weight and bloating (usually hypo symptoms). Labs 24 h after latest doseshowed an FT4 of 0.9 (ref 0.8-1.8) and an FT3 of 3.3 (ref 2.2-4.2).

My doctor suggested we try Armour instead, and I just got the delivery from thepharmacy. Tomorrow will be my first day on Armour, and I’m both excited andnervous at the same time…I hope it will provide the same symptom relief Erfadid, although my FTs were borderline low. I have been off Erfa for the past coupleof days, and the itching is all but gone, so I must have been reacting tosomething in Erfa.

It would be interesting to know if anyone else has had the same or other





http://www.davidborensteinmd.com/



problems with Erfa Thyroid, or is everyone happy with it except me? I almosthesitate to critizise Erfa after reading so many glowing reviews by patients statingthat Erfa gave them their life back after Armour’s reformulation…

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Hi Christine,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the NDT thyroid drug from Erfa. Yourexperience shows so clearly how we are each unique in how our bodies react tothe different ingredients, fillers, binding agents in the different thyroid drugmedications. This is why there is no one perfect thyroid drug for everyone. I’veheard from many who have negative reactions to the various brands more thanlikely due to sensitivity to one or more of the ingredients. I’ve heard good andbad about all the brands, so you see one person will do great on one brand butanother person tries it and doesn’t do well. For example, I did not do well onArmour. All my symptoms worsened when the manufacturers changed theingredients back in 2009 and thankfully my doctor switched me to Nature-throid and I do great on it. Then I have readers who do terribly on Nature-throid and prefer Armour, then others who have tried all the NDTs and just dobetter on synthetics. It’s all about having a doctor who is open to explore thedifferent brands with you to find what’s right for you.

The other possibility for the hyper like symptoms is that if the dosage isstarted too high, many people have heart sensitivity to T3 and need to start ata low dose and increment increases in dosage over time to give the body toadjust. There are two other common reasons why people experiencehyperthyroid symptoms like heart palpitations, insomnia, shakiness,nervousness – poor adrenal function (best tests is saliva for cortisol levels) andlow iron (request full iron panel including ferritin). Thyroid advocate JanieBowthorpe wrote a great article about the various reasons why patients don’tdo well on T3 or NDT medications.


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Mia says:July 16, 2013 at 4:52 pm

Hi,I have a question.. I do not have a thyroid any longer and with this recent issuewith the manufacturer’s recalling of thyroid meds the medication I’ve been on forthe last 10 years is no longer available. the only medication that I can get on issynthroid or the generic levothyroxine, unfortunately that medication does notwork for me I am having a huge issue getting my hands on any other type ofthyroid medication, I’ve spoken to my doctor about this because my levels arecompletely whacked out I’m exhausted my hairs falling out and I feel like I’mgoing to have a huge medical issue if I don’t find something that works for mereally soon my levels have been really off for the last 4 months. do you know ofany other Siri medications besides the synthroid and it’s generic? I am in the USAand I am willing to buy from Canada if needed! My Dr. had told me of anothermedication out there but no one has it and now I can’t remember the name ofit… my memory is really going on me due to my level being so low I think he isgetting worse by the day and I really really need to get this under control soon. Iactually am starting to feel panic at this point. any suggestions would behelpful…thanks, Mia

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Mia,







I am sorry this is happening to you. I was very upset to hear about the shortageof Levoxyl and Levothyroid. I assume that’s the drug you mean. Thyroidadvocate Mary Shomon wrote an article on the various drug options to considerfor people facing the shortages.

http://nahypothyroidism.org/thyroid-patients-facing-unavailability-of-levoxyl-and-levothroid/

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JaQe says:July 18, 2013 at 9:34 pm

I live in Ontario, Canada and i think I need Cytomil but my endo won’tprescribe it.

TSH: 3.66 (0.35-4.94)Free T3 : 3.1 (3.8-6.0)Free T4: 10 (8-15)

Any suggestions on how to convince. My previous would not prescribe eitherdespite my feelings of fatigue.Thanks

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Hi JaQe,

Thyroid Advocate Mary Shomon has a list of thyroid doctors including doctorsin Ontario Canada. I was born in Toronto, Canada and moved to the US in2000. Always happy to connect with Canadians. Welcome!

http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/canada.htm

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Elizabeth says:August 20, 2013 at 5:30 pm

The reason why Armour is no longer working as well as it used to isbecause the FDA (under pressure by Synthroid’s manufacturer) changed theregulations overseeing this medication that had been grandfathered in. In otherwords, desiccated porcine (pig) thyroid extract (which is Armour) was developedin the late 19th century and used with great success.

Then in the 1960s Synthroid was heavily marketed as the synthetic version of T4by Abbott Laboratories, and doctors started to prescribe Synthroid instead ofArmour. Since Armour is a natural formulation (hence not patentable for bigprofits), its manufacturer. this medication doesn’t have the big pockets toconvince doctors or the FDA.

However, due to the advent of the Internet, hypothyroid sufferers rallied andshared their horror stories of losing hair, concentration, energy, etc withSynthroid. Not only that, they shared how they came back to life with Armour.

Then in 2009, Synthroid manufacturer heaviliy lobbied the FDA to change itsregulation of Armour (which had worked wonderfully with no recalls for morethan 100 years) and require an extended shelf life.

So Forest Pharmaceuticals reformulated Armour, and people who took the NEWformulation of Armour never felt the same again – they started suffering from thesame (and even worse) symptoms than Synthroid. Then Abbott Laboratoriesfinanced studies showing how Armour (the new version) is not better thanSynthroid – nu duh!


http://nahypothyroidism.org/thyroid-patients-facing-unavailability-of-levoxyl-and-levothroid/


http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/canada.htm




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Elizabeth,

Thank you for sharing this. This explains why I was doing great on the oldArmour until 2009 and then my symptoms started coming back. My doctor hadmany patients complaining on the newly formulated Armour and she switchedher patients to Nature-throid. I’m doing great on it. It’s scary the power of bigpharmaceutical companies.

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Desiccated Thyroid became a commercial treatment option in 1934with Westhroid[citation needed], and has to this day, never been recalled forinstability. In the early 1960s, desiccated thyroid hormones (thyroid extract)began to be replaced by levothyroxine (T4), or by combinations of T4 and T3.Replacement occurred faster in the United Kingdom than in North America, butby the 1980s more patients were being prescribed levothyroxine or T4/T3combinations than desiccated thyroid extract.

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Wikipedia:

Synthroid, one of the most successful brand names in pharmaceutical marketinghistory, became as synonymous with thyroid replacement to generations ofAmerican primary care doctors as Kleenex or Xerox became with their respectiveproducts.

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I am very angry – FDA making such a corrupt, short-sighted decision! Ihave been reading online about how Armour worked miracles for hypothyroidismin the past but now is on par or worse than Synthroid.

I have taken Synthroid for almost 20 years and never once did any of my doctorsor endocrinologists mention Armour as an alternative. I feel like my youth wasstolen from me – hair loss (wearing a wig for more than 10 years), fogginess, lossof concentration, depression, weight gain, difficulty to lose weight.

It just makes me so sad and angry – it’s not fair! I don’t see why the FDA had tokowtow to a money-grubbing pharmaceutical firm’s blatant ploy to eliminatecompetition from a more effective, cheaper, natural, time-proven alternative (thatjust so happens not to have a large army of pharmaceutical reps pushing it ondoctors). I’m angry that this information is not widely known.

Since our Supreme Court has ruled that corporations have the same rights as aperson, then this company should be put on trial for taking away the lives ofmillions of hypothyroid sufferers – the loss of income and livelihood, theeconomic and emotional cost of wearing wigs, the compromised health ofmillions.

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Elizabeth, thyroid hormone replacement is madness absolutemadness. I have heard from countless readers that their doctors refuse to treatwith anything but Levothyroxine drugs like Synthroid. The internet has made itpossible for thyroid patients to come together and voice our stories. The morewe share what’s happened to us the more attention we will receive. Of coursewe have a hard road up against big money companies but it’s worth a try.

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doris says:August 21, 2013 at 1:17 pm

my doctor prescribed levothyroxine .005 , after only a few days i hadsevere hair loss.is there another drug that does not have that side effect

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Yvonne says:August 25, 2013 at 6:22 pm

Yes, hair loss is a listed side-effect of levo. I was on it and it didn’tmake my hypothyroidism any better but when the hair loss just got worse andworse it was so upsetting. Doc didn’t have any answers so I said I wasn’twilling to stay on it with all the side effects. natural desiccated thyroid didn’tagree with me either (although hair loss stopped) so I am on T3 now. Turns outI can’t process levo nor the T4 (which is levo) component of NDT. Maybe you’relike me, maybe you can’t process levo. Don’t just put up with it if you’re feelingrotten and having lots of hair loss. Docs will say that will stop and it is justshort term but it isn’t, it can keep falling out. My hair got so thin I had it all cutoff, 18 inches, I was so upset to see my scalp through at the sides when inbright light. Good luck and really, don’t put up with it as it is right there on theinfo sheet that comes with the levo. You can’t stay on something that’s givingyou side effects.

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Hi Yvonne,

I’ve heard from several readers that experienced massive hair loss when theystarted certain brands of thyroid medication. You’re right that we’re alldifferent in terms of how our bodies react to the different medications andit’s about finding what’s right for you.


I too cut off all my hair to a pixie cut length for the hair loss and now thanksto proper thyroid treatment and testing and treating of my low ferritin myhair is growing back in healthy.

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Hi Doris, everyone reacts differently to the binding agents, fillers anddyes used in the different brands. I’ve heard from several readers who had hairloss when they started certain thyroid drug brands. There are other brands totry. Levothyroxine is a T4 only drug. Synthroid is the most common brandname, although I’ve heard from readers who complained of hair loss with this








yet others didn’t have that same reaction. So again we’re all different. Here isan article attached with the different thyroid drug brand options.


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Faith says:August 27, 2013 at 3:23 pm

Had fantastic results with Synthroid for 1st 2 months in energy andmetabolism but then some side effects causing me to inform PCP I wished todiscontinue ie headaches, sweating, appetite, itching, swelling. I’m thinking that Ihave unmedicated, high blood pressure that perhaps a sodium free option maywork better-what is there proven on the market as sodium free synthroid option?

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Hi Faith,

It’s possible to have an allergic reaction to one of the binding agents, fillers, ordyes in the thyroid drug. I have many readers who have bad reactions to aparticular thyroid drug then try a different brand and do better. We’re alldifferent in how we react to the different brands so it’s about finding the onethat’s right for you. Unfortunately I am not aware of which brands are sodiumfree or not. I wish I did to tell you. Perhaps calling the manufacturer of thebrand to ask if they are sodium free or not.

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Spencer says:September 8, 2013 at 2:22 pm

Hi,

OK, so I am 40 yr old man and was diagnosed with Hasimoto’s about 1.5 yearsago. My TSH was through the roof – 56 and I wasn’t really experiencing anysymptoms. I started taking Euthyrox (100mg per day) and my body went intoshock. Went down to 50 and then back up to 100 after I got used to it. Ever sincetaking it I have been having issues with my heart. Palpitations, couplets etc. hadeverything checked out and nothing serious going on. Any idea how to help stopthe heart paps? Now I am on 100mg per day for more than a year my TSH issteady under 5 – floats between 2 & 5.

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Dana Trentini says:September 28, 2013 at 5:20 pm

Spencer,

Euthyrox is a type of Levothyroxine drug that contains T4 hormone only. Thesedrugs are the number one prescribed for hypothyroidism but they don’t workfor all of us. We’re also all different in how our bodies react to the differentfillers, binding agents and dyes in the different brands, so you should know allthe drug options and find a doctor who is open to exploring them to findwhat’s right for you.


Testing should include at a very minimum Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3,adrenals, and full iron panel. Poor adrenals and poor iron levels are two









common reasons why people experience hyperthyroid symptoms like heartpalpitations on thyroid medication. There is a concept called “pooling” that youshould read by thyroid advocate Janie Bowthorpe.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/pooling/

Also your heart palpitations may be due to your Hashimoto’s. Thyroidmedication is an important factor in slowing down the autoimmune attack inHashimoto’s however it is equally important to identify and treat the rootcauses that triggered your Hashimoto’s in the first place. Potential triggersinclude food intolerances (I have readers who went gluten free and theirthyroid antibodies reduced to normal), nutrient deficiencies includingselenium, D3, B12, zinc, blood sugar issues, abnormal sex hormone levels,bacteria/viral infections, Candida, heavy metal toxicity and digestion issues.There is a great new book by Dr. Izabella Wentz that goes over all the triggersfor Hashimoto’s and what you can do about them.


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Amy says:September 19, 2013 at 9:25 pm

Hi. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism almost 8 years ago. I wasalways thin and very active, but within the past few years I have gained 70 lbs. Itis so frustrating. I work out 4-5 days a week and eat very healthy. I am onsynthroid. I go for blood tests every 6 months, my doctor says my levels arewithin the normal range, but I feel awful. Some days I feel like I am dieing,because of the lack of energy. I want my life back, I have 2 small children, and Ifeel like I can’t keep up with them. I am so tired of feeling this way. I am thinkingof trying the gluten free diet, has anybody had any experience with this.

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Dana Trentini says:September 28, 2013 at 8:19 pm

Amy,

TSH is often the only test run for thyroid patients but this one test does notgive a full picture. Testing should include at a minimum Free T4, Free T3,Reverse T3, thyroid antibodies, adrenals, full iron panel and D3.


Synthroid is the number one drug prescribed but it doesn’t work for all of us.This may be the issue.


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Barbara says:November 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm

Hi Amy,

If you are gluten intolerant, eliminating it will make a HUGE difference in howyou feel and look! When I gave up wheat, which is a challenge to do, the firstgift was improved eyesight (my nightblindness disappeared). My digestionimproved, fibromyalgia gone and my energy significantly improved. Myhair/skin improved too.




http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/pooling/






You might want to check out the recent Gluten Summithttp://theglutensummit.com/

If you don’t already cook regular meals for yourself, this is a big change butabsolutely worth the effort. You have to build a new gluten free pantry but thepayoff is BIG. People seem to think the fast food/prepacked dinner route isfaster but once you are organized, you can bang out amazing meals in lesstime than running to the fast food joint. Once you start eating real food (glutenfree/organic/nomGMO) you won’t want to eat the other stuff. I just had anomlette of pasture raised chicken eggs, spinach, parmesan, garlic, smashedtomatoes that was awesome. Took me 5 mins.

I could go on and on. I would also recommend this site if you are looking toeducate yourself. I’m taking her course which set me back several hundreddollars but in the grand scheme of things, will save me thousands in medicalcost and untold suffering.http://www.thewholejourney.com

Good luck.

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ZAPPED says:September 19, 2013 at 9:52 pm

Amy – I feel you. I am so foggy headed. And I’m on Tirosint andArmour. Just started testosterone to the mix. Might – just might – go have myHGH (human growth hormone) tested. I hear it’s expensive and if I need the stuff– means shots for the rest of my life. But, I, like you am so tired of feeling tired. Isuggest you try T3, before all else, if you haven’t tried it. I’m already on it andstill struggling, but I do believe it helps a lot of people.

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Susan says:September 29, 2013 at 8:40 am

I just wanted to thank you for recommending Dr. Borenstein. I saw himon Monday, and am so excited at the prospect of feeling good again! Thanksagain- will keep you posted, but I’m really encouraged.!

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Susan, happy you found a good doctor who really gets it. Bestwishes.

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Michelle Hale says:October 7, 2013 at 4:27 pm

I am 42 years old and started on synthroid 3 months ago. At first I feltgreat but now I have stared gaining weight even despite my efforts of reducingcalories and excersising. Is there any other option out there for me?

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Hi Michelle,

You know from this article that Synthroid is the number one drug prescribedbut it fails to help many of us. Synthroid contains T4 hormone only and our




http://www.thewholejourney.com/



http://theglutensummit.com/



bodies are supposed to convert it to the active T3 hormone our cells need butfor many of us our bodies don’t convert it properly leaving us with low T3 andsymptoms. The thyroid controls metabolism so you bet weight gain is asymptom. Many of us benefit from a combination of T4 and T3 treatment as Iwrite about in this article. The first step is speaking to your doctor about theseT3 medications such as natural desiccated thyroid. If your doctor is not open tothese medications, then find a doctor who will explore them with you to seewhat’s best for you. There are options besides Synthroid. Also testing shouldinclude not just TSH but also Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, Thyroid PeroxidaseAntibodies, Thyroglobulin Antibodies, Adrenals, full iron panel includingFerritin, and D3 at a minimum.



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Patty says:October 29, 2013 at 4:37 pm

My hair started to fall out right after my doctor increased mylevothyroxin. I have since gone back to my original dosage. Will my hair growback now that my dosage has changed back? Does anyone have any personalexperience with this?

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Hi Patty, some people lose hair in reaction to certain thyroid drugbrands so be sure to tell your doctor this happened because there are variousbrands. Also be sure your ferritin and sex hormones are tested because in mycase these factors played a role in my hair loss too.

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geddy says:November 18, 2013 at 4:49 pm

Hi there i need your help plz my free t4 & free t3 are all normal and mytsh but my symptoms are getting getting bad my mental is bad. I got my 2 of myantibody tested and came back very high. My doctor put me on sythriod but i stillfeel the same even tho blood work is normal free t4 and free t3 what is going onwith me and what can i do thank you.

My adrenal and vit D are all good everything is all good in my blood.

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Dana Trentini says:November 27, 2013 at 5:32 pm

Hi Geddy, “normal” blood tests doesn’t necessarily mean “optimal”.Thyroid advocate Mary Shomon shared the “optimal” blood ranges on her FBpage.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151719609086481&set=a.382208591480.164472.377405846480&type=1

I still feel terrible with my Free T3 “normal” for me I only feel well when my FreeT3 is top quarter of the normal range. See more about it here:












Every part of the body including the brain requires proper thyroid hormone forfunctioning. T3 is critically important to mental health.


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kate says:November 18, 2013 at 5:01 pm

Geddy – Synthroid did nothing for me. I’m on a compounding pharmacyversion of T3 and 100mcg of Tironsint. It’s what works best for me. Get the bookby Kenneth Blanchard “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About You aboutHypothyroid.” He looks at symptoms and not only bloodwork. I know it’sfrustrating. Hang in there. And be your own advocate. Go seen another doctor ifthe one you’re seeing isn’t helping you.

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Julie Doerr says:November 20, 2013 at 7:21 pm

i was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 16 years ago. was told i neededto take a radiation pill so they machine could scan my throat for thyroid activity.found out later that the radiation pill KILLS the thyroid glands. after many years iwent to an endocrinologist complaining i wasn’t feeling any better with the“synthetic thyroid medications” . she decided to take an ultrasound to see whatwas going on with my thryroid glands. low and behold! the radiation had killedmy thyroid glands and was left with only specks of hormone in my throat. i didsome research and found a natural medicine called armour. ive been taking thatsince 2009. although i feel much better, i still get depressed and i have moodswings. thank you for sharing , because i had no idea that thyroid disorders couldlead to unhealthy brains..

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Julie, I’m sorry all that you’ve been through. I’m on a naturaldesiccated thyroid like Armour, but the brand I take is Nature-throid. Dosageis key for me. I feel terrible if my Free T3 is low. I only feel well when mydosage is high enough to get my Free T3 top quarter of the range. Here’s how.


Be sure testing includes Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, adrenals, full iron panel,sex hormones, blood sugar, and nutrient deficiencies like D3, B12,magnesium, zinc and selenium.

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Erika Donaldson says:November 22, 2013 at 5:08 am

HelloI was recently diagnosed with secondary hypothyroidism, so the issue is less mythyroid gland and more my pituitary gland. This Todd over a year of advocatingto find out. My T4 was low so the endo prescribed synthroid about three monthsago. I felt better initially after a dose increase but now I feel like I’m crashing. mysymptoms are slowly returning. She once tested my T3 which was normal, but notthe free T3. I think I will ask her to do so. I’m really concerned because we neverfound the cause of my pituitary issue. An MRI was done and came back normal.Which should I investigate more, my thyroid hormone levels outer my brain?Thanks









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Hi Erika,

The thyroid is a puzzle with many possible factors to consider. First it may be adosage issue and that your dosage is not right for you. However as you knowfrom my article the majority of us do better on a combination of T4 and T3medication and Synthroid is only T4. Then it’s important to have a doctor whowill test Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies,Thyroglobulin Antibodies, adrenals, full iron panel, sex hormones, bloodsugar, nutrient deficiencies including D3, B12, magnesium, zinc, selenium. Geta second medical opinion to be sure all factors have been considered.


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Jessa Holtsclaw says:November 25, 2013 at 8:53 am

Every doctor that I have been to will not listen to me when I tell themthat I know my Levothyroxin isn’t working. It makes me so sick but they will notswitch me. It’s so upsetting when they won’t listen to me. I’m going there fortheir help but all I’m getting is try this diet and take these pills. =( I’m 23 and Iconstantly flip flop between hypo and hyper on top of having PCOS.

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Julie Doerr says:November 25, 2013 at 11:41 am

I had that issue . But that is why i went to an endocrinologist becausethey specialize in diabetes and thyroid disorders. you have to be really direct tothe doctor. tell them you want to be put on a different medication. dont askthem. for years i had felt horrible despite using medication. because they weresynthetic my body rejected them. so i did some research and found a naturalmedication called “armour”. since then, i have felt so much better. if thedoctors you are going to dont give you the answer you want, go to another. buti highly suggest you go to a professional . because family practice doctors dontunderstand the kind of tests and levels of the thyroid.

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Jessa,

You have to find a new doctor one who is open to thyroid meds outside ofLevothyroxine. Here are resources to help you find one. Also the fact you fliphypo to hyper and have PCOS are signs of Hashimoto’s which is considered thenumber one cause of hypothyroidism yet thyroid antibodies are not routinelytested so you need them tested. There are two tests you need: ThyroidPeroxidase Antibodies and Thyroglobulin Antibodies.



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http://www.facebook.com/jessa.holtsclaw



Jennifer Padden says:December 6, 2013 at 11:40 am

I have hypo/Hashimoto’s and have so many symptoms for the last 20years that I thought it was just from ageing.

I have been see sawing between hyper and hypo for about 7 years & my dr wasalways just adjusting dosages. Now he has me alternating doses of 0.088 mg and0.10 mg. I haven’t felt well foryears.

My dr refuses to do proper testing – just does the T4 and one antibody test.

My latest symptoms of this downward spiral are Atypical Ductal Hyperplasiawhich is a precancer & I had 10 biopsies of my right breast & finally alumpectomy on October 2/13. I am now considered high risk for breast cancerwith lifetime risk 66%-73% due to already having ADH and family history of Breastcancer.

About 3 years ago I began having vaginal pain with intercourse & I haven’t beenable to having intercourse since. Drs could not find a problem but did believe itwas atrophy and put me on Premarin cream just this past August /13. In Nov/13,a gyneo said I have scar tissue build up due to vaginal deliveries of my children &believes it’s been there for years but the pain of it is the atrophy & bag dryness.He wants me to try 1 mg of the Premarin for 3. months. I expressed my concernsdue to being high risk for breast cancer but he said its very low risk.

I just feel like there’s just so many issues & signs that my body is breaking down.I have Osteopenia, Vit D def, wrist & neck & jaw pain, weak ankles, troubleswallowing which is getting progressively worse, facial pain, aching teeth, swollen& bleeding g gums, hearing & vision problems, either freezing cold or extremelyhot, indigestion, constipation, fatigue, chronic insomnia, no motivation, coldnodule on thyroid, etc etc.

I will say that since my dr has me alternating doses of the Levothyroxine that I’mno longer constipated but all other symyoms have remained the same.

I am 56 years old & feel like this has taken over me. I can’t shake it. Does anyoneknow of a good Thyroid dr who will do proper Lab tests on me. I feel like my lifedepends on it. I LIVE IN ONTARIO.

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Dana Trentini says:January 29, 2014 at 1:55 pm

Oh Jennifer, I am sorry all you have been through. Please pleaseplease find a doctor who will look more closely at your thyroid health. Someonewho will do all the right tests including Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, thyroidantibodies, adrenals, full iron panel including ferritin, D3, B12, magnesium,zinc, selenium, food sensitivities and sex hormones. There are so many piecesto thyroid health that should be checked. As you know from this articleLevothyroxine drugs do not work for everyone. For many of us we do better ona combo of T4 and T3 meds. Here are resources to help you locate a gooddoctor. In particular the link to Mary Shomon’s list if you scroll down that pageyou’ll see a list of doctors for Canada. Also if you click on the ThyroidChangelist there is a list of Canadian doctors too. Best wishes to you.


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Tasha says:December 8, 2013 at 5:20 am

CAN SOMEONE PLZ JUST HELP ME! Can hypo/Hashimoto mess with yourthoughts like can it mess with your irrational thinking and make you irrational






paranoia? and give you delusion thoughts!? schizophrenia too? PLZ someone helpme i never had this before till i found out i was hypo/has just came out of nowhere and NO i do not have any mental health in my fam nothing like that ! im onsythriod right now 25mcg and i dont feel good mentally and all this TSH free T3& Free t4 blood tests keep coming back normal ! like what should i do can T3help me get my normal mental and irrational thinking back? PLZ SOMEONE HELPME !

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Tasha, I’m so sorry to hear all you are going through. I am sorry forthe delay in responding. The months of December and January I had 4 millionpeople weekly on my site and Hypothyroid Mom Facebook page that I’vestruggled to get to everyone but here I am reading your comment and so upsetto not get to you sooner. I’m sorry. Yes Yes Yes thyroid health can affect yourmental health. Every cell of the body including in the brain requires thyroidhormone for proper functioning. Here are two articles from my blog on thistopic.



As you know from this article, Synthroid does not work for all of us. For manyof us we do better on a combination of T4 and T3 meds whether that bethrough synthetics or natural desiccated thyroid. Half the battle is finding agood doctor who gets it and who listens to your symptoms and bases decisionson you the person and not strictly on your labs. There are good doctors outthere and they are worth searching for. Here are resources to help you locate agood doctor.


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Susan says:May 28, 2014 at 11:49 am

B12 deficiency can cause psychiatric symptoms, in fact there is apaper which is available online called Megaloblastic Madness from 1960. Beaware that the serum B12 test misses up to 35% of people with a deficiencyand neuropsychiatric symptoms can start well before any changes to the blood.Also about 50% of people with a thyroid disorder will have a B12 deficiency as Ido.

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Virginia Bake says:December 15, 2013 at 10:45 pm

I have been on Levothyroxine(25 mcg) for about a year. I haveshortness of breath, fatigue, muscle weakness & trouble sleeping. the Dr. saysmy labs are OK now. I’m not sure what to ask him to do. After reading most ofthese I’m still confused. If the med. is working, should I insist on tryingsomething else? What should it be? I’m thinking I need a second opinion, butdon’t know where to go. I have an HMO & it has to be within their providers.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvEizypoyO0









Hi Virginia, if you are still suffering symptoms despite dosagechanges and efforts by your doctor on your medication, then it’s time toexplore the different thyroid drug options. Many of us do better on acombination of T4 and T3 meds. First try speaking with your doctor about thisand if not then search for a doctor who will discuss these options.


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Breeayn says:December 28, 2013 at 3:37 am

Hi Dana, I am going to begin treating my hypothyroidism with thyroidsupplement. I am still breastfeeding my baby and was wondering if you had anyinformation on the safety of taking the natural desiccated thyroid supplementwhile breastfeeding. I know that it is “safe” to take levothyroxine whilebreastfeeding, that is, it’s okay for baby and it shouldn’t deplete milk supply.After reading your blog it seems like it would be better to try the naturalsupplement but I can’t find any information on taking that while breastfeeding.Thank you for this wonderful resource!

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Dana Trentini says:February 7, 2014 at 11:34 am

Hi Breeayn, Here is an article from thyroid advocate Mary Shomonabout the safety of thyroid medication while breastfeeding. Now she does notspecify which thyroid medications are safe or not safe. I personally tookNature-throid, a natural desiccated thyroid, while breastfeeding. Of course it’simportant to be under close supervision by your doctor to be sure you aretaking the right dosage for you.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/breastfeeding/f/thyroiddrugs.htm

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Rachel says:January 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

Thank you so much for posting all this information. I am trying to learnas much as I can and all these stories mean so much. It seems all sooverwhelming but I am so glad you wrote it.

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Tiffany says:January 18, 2014 at 2:03 pm

I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 7 years ago and drank radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid. Of course I immediately became hypo. I have beenon levo ever since. My levels have fluctuated so much I almost expect the resultsto be abnormal each time I see my endo. Recently though, my TSH was 32.0. I amnow on 200 mcg of levo. I am not even sure where to go from here. I have twolittle girls and teach kindergarten. It’s exhausting. I need help. I don’t know whatto even ask the dr for. Do you have any advice on what I should ask for or whattests I should be receiving? Thank you so much. Hopeful…

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http://thyroid.about.com/od/breastfeeding/f/thyroiddrugs.htm





MariahPacheco says:January 25, 2014 at 9:05 am

Hello my names Mariah I just found out Im hypo and I feel as of my lifejust ended im not a pill person just because im very scared of the side affects Imay get K went to get cheked out bc of how weak and tired and felt dead all thetime I have a soon to be 3 year old and a one year old and I cant keep up withthem . I have no Doc I found out threw the Er room I Have so many questionsabout this levo pill and so affraid to take it im driving my self nuts ive beencrying alot im 21 years old and feel li ke a Child affarid of a monster lol . Should Ifind a doctor before I take this pill? Ive been reading about peoples effects likeracing heart beat cant sleep and so on and thats on a 25 mg pill the sameamount given to me … please help I feel like my family dont understand the fear Ihave right now the last pill I have took was back in 2010 and did a naturalchildbirth to skip the meds and now im on a pill for the rest of my life… sorry forsounding like a big spoiled brat or something but its 647am I woke up out of mysleep with butterflys its driving me nuts !!!! Thank you for anybody who kindaknows what im going threw and for the advice .

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MariahPacheco says:January 25, 2014 at 9:14 am

Hello my names Mariah I just found out Im hypo and I feel as of my lifejust ended im not a pill person just because im very scared of the side affects Imay get K went to get cheked out bc of how weak and tired and felt dead all thetime I have a soon to be 3 year old and a one year old and I cant keep up withthem . I have no Doc I found out threw the Er room I Have so many questionsabout this levo pill and so affraid to take it im driving my self nuts ive beencrying alot im 21 years old and feel li ke a Child affarid of a monster lol . Should Ifind a doctor before I take this pill? Ive been reading about peoples effects likeracing heart beat cant sleep and so on and thats on a 25 mg pill the sameamount given to me … please help I feel like my family dont understand the fear Ihave right now the last pill I have took was back in 201and did a naturalchildbirth to skip the meds and now im on a pill for the rest of my life… sorry forsounding like a big spoiled brat or something but its 647am I woke up out of mysleep with butterflys its driving me nuts !!!! Thank you for anybody who kindaknows what im going threw and for the advice

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Sandra says:January 28, 2014 at 9:36 pm

Thank you for your interesting website. I was diagnosed with hypoabout 10years and it has taken me many years to get my dosage to what I believeseems to be working for me. I have had to ask my Dr to mark my presc genericonly after being given non-generic (my dosage is a 6mth supply) by the chemistcausing fogginess in the brain, exhaustion then one incident of complete memoryloss (very frightening) I have since found out that non-generic have a shortershelf life and also the ingredients are the same but caseing and fillers can be verydifferent. You have also written about this so I have decided I am not going nuts.Anyway after 3mths of being back on “Oroxine” I am generally feeling muchbetter. My only other query is that the Dr says I must take the tablet first thing inthe morning as it has to be take on an empty stomach but this clashes with myonly cup of coffee for the day is when I first hit the ground each morning so Ihave set my alarm and take my 100mg at 4pm each day as this is when mystomach is empty an hour before and after do you thonk this is okay? As it seemsto work for me. Thanks for all the help

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Linda says:February 3, 2014 at 4:25 pm

I am so glad that I just found this website. I have been onLevothyroxine for 10 years now. I still have brain fog and forgetfulness which is



http://[email protected]/




very embarrassing at times. I can’t even remember simple things some times. Mydr. only orders test for the TSH and never tests the free T3 or any other thyroidtests. Because my range for the TSH is in a normal range a little above a 2, thenthey don’t do the other tests. I am wondering if this is ok or not. I cannotconvince my Dr. to test those. I have had three drs. and they only do the TSH.

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Dana Trentini says:February 3, 2014 at 6:33 pm

Hi Linda, TSH doesn’t give a full picture of thyroid health which iswhy testing Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies is soimportant. In addition the issue of what is considered “normal” TSH and“optimal” is very different. Thyroid advocate Mary Shomon from the siteAbout.com Thyroid has this list of recommended tests on her Facebook pagethat includes optimal ranges. You will see that she writes optimal TSH is 1 to 2so even by that alone you should seek out a doctor to do fuller testing for you.If you do not have access to Facebook and cannot open this link to her postplease let me know. I will also post a list of resources to help you locate adoctor for a second opinion.

Levothyroxine while it works for some does not work for us all. Many of us dobetter on a combination of T4 and T3. This may be an important issue for youif you continue to have symptoms on your treatment.



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Kristina says:February 5, 2014 at 6:19 pm

2002 I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, put on levo, very low dose.But it did the trick went to feeling relatively normal for a mom with 3 kids, jobetc. by 2005 my little girl, 10 y/o got diagnosed with hyper. She was givenradioactive iodine and went hypo, like most. So heart wrenching for a motherwatch as her 12 y/o now gained 80 lbs in 4 months after being hypo and beingtreated with levo. Then youngest daughter in 2009, 9 y/o diagnosed hyper withmore pronounced eye disease and I think given what damage the dr did to theother daughter she just decided to treat the hyper with increasing methimazole.Now both girls one 18 one 14 both are hypo but stable but both 250 & 220 lbsso on to me again. Totally freaky but started having heart racing and feeling like Isomeone was choking me. I called 911, when enroutetothehospital I could notberate and they decided to intubate me. They did tests to find out I was in themidst of a thyroid storm. So they tried to keep me sedated for 6 days while theywere aggressively trying to bring the level down to a manageable level and thendo surgery to take it out. They did the surgery. My thyroid was double the weightof a normal person and no signs of cancer which is apparently unusual for a 43y/o woman with hypothyroidism. They sent every student to the pathology lab Iwas told. I developed pneumonia and was in in intensive care for 12 days. It washorrible, that was when he’ll just began. I lost 8% muscle mass each day of beingin bed. I lost 20 lbs which made me partly happy until I realized it was all muscleand I couldn’t hardly walk and definitely could not go up the stairs to my ownbedroom. Post op they started me right away on 137 mcg levo then 6 weeks laterdropped it down to 112 then to 88 then back up to 125. Two weeks beforeChristmas I started to become overwhelmingly depressed and 3/4 of my hair fellout. I felt like a peacock that had its feathers taken away. Depression and anxietywere extreme. I put that 20 lbs back on plus 10 in one week. I begged my dr toswitch me to armour as I had read so many people getting relief from that drugvs the one I was on. That’s when I went on a rampage looking for a dr. And madeseveral consult appointments and explained that I pay for my healthcare and Ithey only were going to look at the numbers and not consider how I felt that they







were not going to be my dr. I found one and when igot my blood drawn a weekago, I asked her if I could try the armour and she agreed but said that she wasgoing to go slow and that there are only 5 strengths to the medications so it canhave limitations. I have now been on it since February 3 rd and it is too soon toknow if it will be the right strength or if she will ad something to make up for T3.I am vitamin d deficient since the surgery and take that also. My hair is so thinand wispy. Luckily I walked into this salon next to my pharmacy crying and thebeautiful girl behind the counter said you will be fine you just need to go to SallyBeauty Supply and get some clip in extensions, she showed me that she herselfhad them in her beautiful hair. It was huge! Got the extensions, which were pricey100$ and did not look like much but man oh man. I clip them in and no oneknows that it is not my hair. I have even tested this and told people and they areshocked and amazed it’s not my hair. I want you to know I have never written onany posts before now and I wanted to share my story. I am hoping to feel normalagain. And another thing that made me fire the first endo was gaining 10 lbs in aweek and losing that much hair and having them tell me that it was no big deal,that I just overate during the holidays and the stress of the surgery is what mademy hair fall out. Sorry, NOPE! Not with what I was reading and the way I felt in mygut that something was just wrong. I am happy you have this and maybe my storywill help someone else, even if just one person reads this and decides to questionhow they feel and how they deserve proper care, money or no money. I live in theUSA, served my country for our freedoms and am a disabled veteran. All politicsaside, I hope this makes a difference.

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me says:February 5, 2014 at 6:26 pm

Kristina – Your story is tough to read. Why are so many of us havingthis issue with our thyroid? Is that planet just so poisoned now?

The best thing to work for me has been compounding pharmacy T3 (desiccatedpig thyroid) and Tirosint.

If your doctor won’t put you on a NATURAL type of T3 – FIRE THEM. And find adoctor who will.

Good luck to all.

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Sherry says:March 2, 2014 at 10:49 pm

Hi! I recently found your page after being diagnosed withhypothyroidism just a few weeks ago. My lab results showed a TSH level of 374which from what I have read seems drastically high. My physician so far is nottreating my condition as anything unusual and just the normal hypo condition tobe treated with the medication Levothyroxine. I have always read on your siteabout the correlation between miscarriages/stillbirth and thyroid conditions. Ihad never seemed to have any symptoms of this condition until after I suffered astillbirth of our daughter (3rd child) last June at almost 41 weeks. It looked likeher death was due to a cord compression accident with the cord presentingbefore her head and being compressed during labor. I am now worried that herdeath may have actually had something to do with my condition. I am scheduledto go back to the doctor this month for a recheck to see how I doing on themedication and if it needs adjusting. I am suspecting I will need to increase mydosage since it seems my levels were very high and I am still exhibiting the samesymptoms of swollen neck, increased weight that isn’t coming off, lack of energy,and no menstrual cycle for several months. Do you think the stillbirth of ourdaughter could be related to my condition since I wasn’t diagnosed with thecondition until after the birth? Do you think I could have developed the conditionpostpartum? My husband and I were really hoping to be able to try to conceiveagain, but I am worried that I will not be able to do so now or that my conditionwill cause me to lose another baby. After what we went through, I just don’t thinkI could handle another loss like that. Thank you so much for all of this

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information!

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Jen says:March 3, 2014 at 8:20 pm

So I went to my doc five weeks ago and she said my thyroid levels weretoo low despite my levothyroxine, and so she upped the dosage (I’ve beenreceiving treatment for about seven years, and just got a new doc). I’m thinking,“Great! Maybe now I’ll get some relief!” Instead, I think my symptoms have gottenworse. Is that possible, or is it just a coincidence?

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Hi Jen, ask your doctor if she would be open to trying other optionswith you including a combo of synthetic T4 and T3 or natural desiccatedthyroid to see how you do.

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Christie says:March 4, 2014 at 7:06 pm

I was born with hypothyroidism and have been on synthroid my wholelife, from day 1. I had no idea there were other options for medication and havefinally found a doctor who is willing to try me on something else – I don’t feel bador good – mainly because I don’t know anything different. I am hoping by tryingsome other options I will learn what it feels like to have more energy and possiblykeep my weight at a fairly regular level!!

thanks for the awesome work you’re doing – so glad I stumbled upon your site<3

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All the best to you Christie and good luck.

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Lisa says:March 4, 2014 at 9:03 pm

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos last week and started off with Amourthyroid 30mg. I took one tablet for 2 days and experiences intense itching on myface, swelling of the tounge and lips. I shared this with my doc and she put meon Natures Thyroid and while the allergic reaction isn’t quite as bad I’m stillfeeling swelling of the eye lids and a burning sensation in my throat and at theback of my mouth. Kind of like I’ve been eating hot peppers. Any body else havethese wierd reactions? Did they go away in time?

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Teresa R says:March 5, 2014 at 9:26 am

I was having problems with the pig thyroid too. I was only on a 1/4of a 1mg tab as anything higher caused my heart to beat fast, and a sorenessin my left arm (tho’t I was heading for a heart attack!). Went off it for 6 months,onto an herbal support, but now my TSH is even worse & I felt it, worse! So,tho’ I hate synthetic I was desperate & switched to Synthroid (Levoxin sp?). I’m@ .05mg with no reaction, feeling a bit better. Retesting in 5 weeks. I









understand that going on a “thyroid diet” also looks promising. I’m currentlydoing a blend of the GAPS/Maker’s diet/Nourishing Traditions WAPF, for myson’s tummy issues, but even avoiding eating broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage inthe raw state, I noticed this made an amazing difference last fall! I believe whatu eat & how it’s prepared makes a difference in our overall health! Blessings tou all!

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Hi Teresa, there are several reasons why some people react as youdid to natural desiccated thyroid. You should read this article and ask yourdoctor to have them tested:


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Hi Lisa, there are different fillers, binding agents and dyes in thedifferent brands of thyroid meds and why our bodies are all different in termsof how we react to them. You may be sensitive to something in these twodrugs. There are other options to discuss with your doctor including WPThyroid by RLC Labs or having a compounding pharmacy custom make thyroidmeds without the ingredients to which you are sensitive.

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Dagmar says:March 11, 2014 at 4:51 pm

Hi. Is there anybody out there who has converted Hashimoto withoutusing medication?

My daughter got diagnosed in January and I would so much like to find away forher without medication. Has any of you any experience concerning this?

Gtatitude. Dagmar

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karen young says:March 11, 2014 at 11:56 pm

I buy my thyroid and bio-identical hormones at CVS. They keep adatabase if you tell them your allergens and they will inform you if they cannotfulfill a script based on your profile. I accidentally didn’t tell them I’m allergic tosoy and peanuts and purchased the progesterone before reading the bottle. Ireally found it hard to believe that soy and peanuts would be a part of the mfg.process. They let me return it one time, but once you pay for it, they normally willnot return it once you leave the premise. This was a 50.00 error. I’m better offgetting a compounded script, for just a little more money.

I’m trying tirosint/cytomel which seem very expensive and hoping for results.Armour gave me a serious sinus infection. Naturethoid did not work at all. I’m ona paleo diet and rest a lot, but I’ve been on tirosint on a few days and I feel tired.Perhaps 50 mcg to start is too low. Can anyone tell me if you’ve had similarissues? I went to a specialist and she put my on low dose naltrexone at our firstappointment and it’s doing a beautiful job lowering my antibodies down to 100from 700 in just two months. Google LDN, I was disappointed when I found outmy regular GP knows about it and didn’t once recommend it to me in over a yearafter I told her my antibodies were elevated and the Naturethoid does nothing.




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Kellie says:March 12, 2014 at 5:59 pm

Hi, Lisa. I have been on Synthroid/Levothyroxine for over 5 years. Myrecent bloodwork has my TSH level at 0.441 and my Free T4 level at 1.9 andflagged as HIGH. Should I be concerned? My endocrinologist thinks it’s all good. Iam having some thinking issues and have gained weight recently. I am allergic toiodine and avoid all iodine products. Could that be influencing how my thyroid isworking?Thanks.

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Cindy says:March 12, 2014 at 8:13 pm

Hello, I’ve been diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few days ago becauseI went to see my doc about my enlarged thyroid. Seen him the same day I calledto make an appointment did blood work and a cpl days later my TSH was 40.0.Got more blood work done to check for Hashi’s (I’ll know by Friday) and had anultrasound done (which will take a bit longer for the results to come back) Heprescribed me Eltroxin 0.1mg but he don’t want me to take it until he knows if itshashimotos that’s causing hypo! And tbh I’m kinda scared to take it because ofall the horror stories I’ve read! Lol

Anyways, my symptoms seem like a mixture of both hypo and hyper. Like feelsand looks like I’m losing weight, I am tired but I get spurts of energy, also cantsleep at night! I get hot flashes, sweat when I actually sleep, there was only a cpltimes I’ve felt really cold! Slow heart rate w/ palpitations, Im not experienceingany hair loss or brittle nails (I take biotin) eye and ear pain (had that for over ayear) my eyes are becoming more sensitive….and have had bad aching bones andjoints and stiffness….but the achiness has gone for now and the brain fog andforgetfulness is starting to set in lol….I wonder if this is just the start or if I’vebeen hypo for a few years! Cuz of other symptoms but I won’t go there cause thispost is getting too long lol

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catherine kostelec says:March 17, 2014 at 5:46 pm

Since using Cytomel my numbers and energy is better but my hair hasturned to wispy baby fine hair and falling out -has anyone had this experience

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Hi Catherine, let your doctor know this reaction to Cytomel. I’veheard from readers reporting hair loss when starting various thyroidmedications. Our bodies are all different in terms of how we react to thedifferent fillers, binding agents and dyes. There are other options includingnatural desiccated thyroid that contains both T4 and T3. There are alsocompounded T3 meds that can be produced by compounding pharmacieswithout the ingredients to which you are sensitive. So different options todiscuss with your doctor.

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kayla says:March 19, 2014 at 9:26 pm

Hi, I’m 23, I went to the doctor a little over two weeks ago to get testedfor hypothyroidism. My hair had been falling out and I was always exhausted. My








blood test came back positive for hypothyroidism and I have been onLevothyroxine since.

My hair is still falling out and I can’t stand waiting as it gets worse. I am alsotaking biotin and a liquid b12 complex. The medicine has also caused moodswings from crying to anger.My doctor told me to take the medicine for a month.

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Joanne says:March 20, 2014 at 9:48 pm

Hello Dana:I have hypothyroid symptoms and am on Erfa Thyroid right now. I am on 90 mg.one day they 120 mg the next day…then 90..then 120. I have insomnia, hotflashes, light headedness, fibrilations, foggy thinking, unable to loose weight,thinning hair, etc. My last blood work was Free T3 was 6.5 (high end of range)Free T4 was 16 (mid range) and my TSH was 0.02 (low end of range which makesme hyperthyroid). My doctor will not increase my thyroid meds. I am also onProgesterone cream, Estrogen Cream and Testosterone Cream. I have had a RightHemithyroidectomy done in 1991 for nodules. I have been on Levothyroxin 0.1mg for many years but that dose did give me palpitations so dose was decreasedto 0.05mg but that was not enough. I did have a mitral valve prolapse which wasrepaired in 2005. I went back on Levothyroxin 0.1 mg but that eventually startedmy arrythmias again. Started on Erfa Thyroid about 1 year ago. Started on 15 mgthen slowly increased. Not as fast as the “Stopthethyroidmadness” websiterecommends and I am now at the dose mentioned above. I now have arrythmiasagain. PLEASE HELP ME. I would love to find a doctor in my area to help me anddo all the blood work necessary to give me a proper diagnosis. My grandfatherhad and my mother also has thyroid issues. Look forward to hearing from youSOON!

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p b kansagara says:March 21, 2014 at 2:52 am

I have Hypothyrodism TSH is found 6.67 how much mcg tablet shouldbe taken everyday

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Liz says:March 21, 2014 at 11:22 am

I’m going nuts with this Hashimoto diagnosis and treatment! I am 56now and I just don’t feel like I will ever be anything near “normal” again. Everytime I go in and have my levels tested, they tell me they are within the normalrange. But I feel as if I am not anywhere near who I once was. I can gain 5 poundsin a matter of days! and not be eating anything different than I was the weekbefore!! That is so discouraging! I have gained a total of almost 60 pounds overthe course of about 10 years…about the time I was finally diagnosed. Getting thatdiagnosis took me almost being totally out! I kept complaining I had no energyand all of the normal symptoms…but mainly no energy. It got to the point that Icould hardly work. I remodel houses and I would be on site but would just laydown and answer questions like that. It was just awful. They finally did the re-uptake and then they freaked! It’s a shame that it went that far. I weighed about110-120 most all of my life until I was about 42. Now I weigh 190!!!!!! I take acluster of all kinds of meds that I am sure that I would not need to take if I couldlose this weight! but I can’t get it off. I take 50mcg of levothyroxine. Whenever Imake a suggestion that maybe I need to increase my dose, I get told that I don’tunderstand how my thyroid works. argh! Any and all help and advice will begreatly appreciated.

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http://www.hypothyroidmom.com/



Kim says:March 23, 2014 at 4:59 pm

I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s / Hypothyroid. My goitersgrew extremely fast and began affecting my voice, breathing, and swallowing. MyENT (who has had thyroid cancer and a thyroidectomy) tried me on 3 months ofSynthroid 75, which did nothing. As the goiters grew, he finally recommendedthyroidectomy. I had my thyroid out just about a month ago. Since then, I’ve beenon Synthroid 125 plus Calcium and Vitamin D. The Synthroid is doing NOTHING,as I still have hair falling out, uncontrollable body temps, mood swings, noenergy, brain fog, dry skin, can’t sleep…and many other issues. I go back for my1st increase (had blood work done last week, but don’t have results yet) in a fewdays. I just want to know what I’m to be expecting. Without my thyroid, am I stillconsidered to have Hashimoto’s?? I can tell I’m not on enough medicine and needto feel better. I felt better before surgery. How long should I wait once themedicine is increased to start feeling better?? Any help would be appreciated. Kim

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Ron says:May 4, 2014 at 12:42 pm

I am slightly hypothyroid so my physician put me on Levothyroxine…25mg. My blood pressure went from a historic 117 over 72 range to low 140’s over82. I cut the Levothyroxine to 12.5 mg and my blood pressure still is high in themid to upper 130’s over low 70’s and my pulse is down to low to mid 50’s.Thoughts? Thank you!!

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Lainey says:May 15, 2014 at 12:10 am

Hi, I hope someone out there in Hypothyroid Land hears me and canmaybe offer me some advise. Since at 59 and have felt so lousy for so manyyears, once I came across this wonderful thyroid site, I decided damnit……this isthe year that I am going to do something about feeling lousy starting with mythyroid. I was 35 and 6 weeks post-partum when my OB doc noticed that I had agoiter…..well I admit to being as dumb as a box of rocks when it came toknowing anything about goiters or thyroid. I remember it was the size of a golfball,attractive too. I had never had any thyroid problems prev. I now know afterresearching, that this is not uncommon post-partum. Ok, so he ordered an USand labs. T he US was negative, I never questioned the labs but he started me onLevo or S ynthroid. Now 20-some years later, gradually I begun to havesymptoms extreme lethargy,fatigue,memory loss,zero energy,apathy, saw my PCP,given an antidepressant and told to workout more. That was 15 years or so ago.Now I am 59 and feel 79…hate my life, hate myself…..oh and lets not forget tomention massive weight gain and guess where?? all in the front/belly, I look like Iam 9months pregnant with twins and I am not exaggerating. Altho I don’t expectto weigh what I did in my 30’s,I know that all of the weight gain going to myabdomen is just not right, I have never had any stomach even after 2 kids. Andgetting bigger all the time, I now have high blood pressure. I begged my PCP toswitch me from Synthroid to Armour, she was clueless as to how go about thisconversion wise, so I contacted my Pharm. and he used his conversion chart totell me what dose of Armour would be equal to Synthroid, I gave this info. to myPCP and ended up on ARMOUR 90mg.(in one tab) and ARMOUR 15mg.(in anothertab). This worried me since I knew she didn’t know anything about all of this, butout of shear desperation, I began the Armour. Meanwhile 1 month later I hadtalked her into ordering the labs I had read about in ThyroidMom info. Withoutthe doctor herself calling me to come in or anything, she has her CMA call me totell me that my TSH was too low and that the antibodies were way high nothingwas mentioned about all of the additional thryoid tests I had done that day withthe exception of the Cortisol test that couldn’t be performed due to insufficientspecimen…..thats because my mouth is cotton-dry all of the time. So I said tomyself….self……youneed to see a good Endo. Hell, I’ll even see a bad Endo. atthis point, I realize I sound like I’m joking but the truth is I am scared to death ofwhats happening to me and my body not to mention my mind and it amazes me

http://none/





the total lack of interest the MEDICAL FIELD with regards to anything thyroid….asfar as they concerned, we women are just a bunch of nutcases. Anyway, I trulydidn’t mean to go on and on this long and because I have I doubt anyone will beable to stay awake through it. However, if ther is anyone out there that wouldhave ANY ideas, advise, I am completely open to their stories as well. Thank youso much for your time IF you did make it this far! Lainey Jacobson

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Anna says:May 16, 2014 at 12:33 pm

So in your opinion (or your readers’ opinion), which is the best NDTdrug currently available? There are so many; Armour, Naturethroid, Westhroid, WPThyroid, NP Thyroid, Thyroid by Erfa, plus the Thai brands and probably manyothers…I admit to being completely confused, and would really appreciate yourinput. Some say Naturethroid apparently isn’t as bad as Armour although it wasalso reformulated in a similar way, others say Erfa has a consistency problem,some claim that NP Thyroid is like old Armour, while others say it’s much weakerso they need a lot more…the confusion is total?!??!

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Leetha says:May 16, 2014 at 3:44 pm

I was changed to synthroid after they quit making the medicine I usedto take. I went from .75 to .50. I still get really tired and have a bit of a side effectI don’t hear about. When my thyroid isn’t right my heart slows down. Quite a bitreally. from 40 to 50 beats a minutes. I really don’t like this new medicine but mynew doctor sent me to a cardiologist. He thinks this is just who I am. I just wantto get back to normal.

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DarnButterfly says:June 2, 2014 at 4:03 pm

I am 35, dx with Hashimoto after having my baby at age 33. My“hypothyroidism” if that is all I have (which cannot be!) is a little different fromwhat I hear. I do get the tiredness, ugly hair, saggy skin, big belly, constipation,edema, puffy eyes, extreme brain fog, personality changes that i like to call“autistic phase” since I have difficulty interacting with others, I concentrate onone activity (but only one at a time) and I don’t call or talk to anybody. My braincannot process people talking to me, it really annoys me and frustrate me. Icannot find the words to talk anyways and start to say some words when i wantto say others…But of all of these symptoms (and i have all 300 and more) the ones that botherme the most are these:– ALLERGIES to everything i eat that leave me dizzy, confused, leg pains,exhausted (specially when dose becomes too high)-EDEMA in my whole body (including brain i guess) and the tone of my skin nowis red, my fingers leave an impression-Impossibility to KEEP A DOSE since they work very well for a week or two andthen it is too much making me sick. Some time i have to stop taking the pill or iget really sick. then for a few days I’m great and all of the sudden i cannot standup and I’m all swollen.-EXTREME HUNGER 20 min after i take the pill and throughout the day-MY TSH HAS TO BE BETWEEN 0.10 and 0.20 for me to feel better (I’m red at thatpoint and my body aches, but that’s only 2 symptoms out of the 300)I don’t have time to go on but, just want to add that i have been on NATURETHROID for almost a year now and i really think it gives me allergic reactions. Iwas on ARMOUR for almost a year as well and same results. AND before that iwas on Synthroid (and before that on levo) and it made me swell and couldn’tbreathe. In other words, IM ALLERGIC TO ALL of these pills! I don’t feel fine onany of them. Any suggestions???Right now i started a bottle of transfer factor in a pathetic attempt to fix the






immune system instead of replacing the hormone, which doesn’t work for me.

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Lisa Pavin says:June 9, 2014 at 10:24 pm

Hi – I love that you have this site to help so many with different issuessince we all aren’t the same. I’ve been struggling with finding the “right” doctorhere in the LA area. I feel like I’ve been bounced around to one extreme toanother. One that goes purely by textbook and numbers to another one that ispurely holistic without much backup. I’m getting a tad frustrated to say the least.Can you recommend a site or know of where I can find a list of doctors that aren’tso restricted in their findings, researches, and most importantly, their diagnosis?Any help would be so much appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

Lisa

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Sharon Blutcher says:July 10, 2014 at 4:22 pm

Hi – I’m a type 1 diabetic on an insulin pump with hypothyroid andceliac disease. I’ve been trying to loose weight and not having much luck. I eatpretty clean since I’m gluten free and follow a low card, high protein diet. I’mvery active as well, exercising 4-5 days a week. I just saw my endo, my TSH cameback at 3.74. I’ve been on levothyroxine for years but asked my dr if I could goon Armor Thryoid, she told me now but put me on a T3 pill liothyroxine. I’mhoping the combo will help me loose weight. Does anyone else take these twopills? What has your experience been. Also is my TSH # too high?

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noushin maneshi says:August 2, 2014 at 5:28 pm

My daughter is born with congenital hypothyroidism. She is currentlytaking syntheroid but I am wondering if there is anything out there that containsno chemical fillers? Any information helps. Thanks kindly.

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Amy Vance says:August 6, 2014 at 4:18 pm

So I had a complete thyroidectomy at age 13 due to Graves Dx. I have 5year old twins and the last 7 years have been exhausting. My levels seem to be onthe low side of normal but I’m always exhausted. I work full time as an RN andwas also diagnosed with SLE-lupus about 7-8 years ago. I’m looking more intoArmour due to the energy people seem to get from stitching. I’ve been onSynthroid for 23 years…I just don’t know where to start.;) thanks for anysuggestions, insite.

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kelly w says:August 13, 2014 at 12:09 am

WOW. I’m curious if anyone can give some insight on labinterpretations. October 2013 I went in for a full-check up because I was offkilter mentally and something was wrong. That’s when I found out about mythyroid. I’ve been hesitant to jump prescription medication and have beenworking with a naturpath using various supplements. I’m taking 12 supplementsdaily (which is extreme in my opinion).

Here’s the breakdown, I start with high TSH then drop to the other end of thespectrum with a low TSH and get a low positive for antibodies that haven’t been








present before. T4 has been pretty constant. Any insights or similar experiences?Can someone interpret these results on what’s happening with my thyroid?

OCT 2013 (diagnosis hypothyroidism w/o Hashimoto)TSH: 4.780T4: .96TPO: 11Triiodothyronine: no resultReverse T3: no resultAntithyroglobulin Ab: no result

FEB 2014 (vitamin supplements)TSH: 2.710T4: .93TPO: no resultTriiodothyronine: 3.1Reverse T3: no resultAntithyroglobulin Ab: no result

AUG 2014 (vitamin supplements)TSH: 1.380T4: .98TPO: <6Triiodothyronine: 3.0Reverse T3: 25Antithyroglobulin Ab: low positive <1.0

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Olga Martins says:November 19, 2014 at 8:40 pm

Kelly, it is great that you are working with natural supplements. Istrongly belief it must be our first choice of defense. I use essential oils andess oil based supplements to keep Grave’s disease at bay without any syntheticmedication. I am so glad I did not do the surgery or radiation treatment. Ipersonally know 2 people who got completely opposite effect after radiation.Now they have low thyroid function and have to take synthetic hormones.I was under Endocrinologist supervision for two years. This January shereleased me. I am all set. As long as I give my body enough rest and do notwork late hours I am fine. I even do not use ess oils as often as I used to. Keeptrying; it worth it. Be healthy. Olga

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Anna Sanders says:September 7, 2014 at 1:07 pm

Dana,

Thank you for a great website and priceless info;-)

I wanted to ask you something: you mentioned in a previous post that you arenow taking Naturethroid and doing great on it, although it too was reformulatedshortly after Armour. But, in your opinion, is Naturethroid still working? If that isthe case, I might try that, because Armour did not work at all. Was Naturethroidnot reformulated just like Armour, that is, dextrose was reduced, and celluloseraised…?

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SP Graham says:November 5, 2014 at 7:21 pm

Thank you so very much for your fine, thoughtful, informative approachto sharing precious data regarding one very difficult subject. Your article is oneof the best I’ve come across in years of research in the ever challenging arena of

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medicine. The fact is that we are all ‘zebras’, not ‘horses’; as my health-careindustry sister speaks of our fellow humans.Generalizations do not assist those suffering the ups and downs of medicinalswings. It has been 14 years since my once blessed thyroid gland was removed. 6or 7 different doctors have tried to wangle the ‘right’ medicine to assist my bodyto its return to something resembling ‘normal’. Eventually there may be asolution. One shouldn’t give up.Trial and error seems to be one of the only ways to get things closer to the returnreally good health.Your suggestion regarding second and third opinions or diagnoses is spot-on. Itcould be a matter of life or death. I’ve experienced A-fib caused by a doctor’slack of communication regarding an important thyroid blood testing result; theexperience far less than fun and cost a lot to be medically corrected at localhospital ER. I now receive my own blood testing results, sometimes before myfamily practitioner.Here’s hoping that more HypothyroidDads or GrandDads review your site morefor the wisdom shared, even though evidence seems to show that fewer mensuffer from problematic thyroid glands then the female gender.Continued success on your web site. Best wishes.

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Nkechi obi says:November 10, 2014 at 2:53 pm

My TSH is 18.340 uIU/ml, my T4 is 55.41nmol/lit and T3 is1.44nmol/lit.I am currently on 75 mg. but feel very sick. My bp is very high. I feel worse when Iincreased dosage to 100mg and 88mg. What do you advise I do.

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Anna Sanders says:November 14, 2014 at 1:07 pm

I have been doing fine on Erfa Thyroid for the past three years,although I have been itching terribly lately on 30 + 60 mg pills…I have nowswitched to 125 mg pills, and the itching is all but gone. I read somewhere thatthe different strength pills contain different fillers and binders, but I neverbelieved it until now…

I’d like to know if anyone else has noticed this? I have several friends doing greaton Armour Thyroid, and I have considered switching to it too, but the fact that Ihave been doing great on Erfa (besides the itching) makes me hesitate…if it ain’tbroken, don’t try to fix it, right…?

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Catherine says:November 16, 2014 at 4:44 am

I have also been having terrible itching on Erfa lately. I ordered newbottles in September, and they look different (the labels are no longer whiteand blue, but white and green and pink and green depending on strength). Thenew pills look slightly different too compared to the older ones (the new onesare brighter) when I hold them under a lamp…

I have been waiting for the itching to subside, hoping it was just temporary andthat I needed to get used to new fillers…but it is getting worse, it even keepsme awake at night. I have been on Erfa for the past three years with noproblems at all, and now this…not sure what to do?! I have been consideringtrying Armour Thyroid instead, but all the negative reviews about thereformulated Armour, and the return of a host of hypo symptoms in many,make me hesitant….would NP Thyroid be an alternative? I read somewhere thatit is exactly like Armour was before it was reformulated…

Reply







Le says:November 28, 2014 at 4:03 pm

Hi everyone,

I’m in the UK and just wanted to say what a god send your site is.

What a horrible journey most of us seem to be on I’m a 33yr old mum of two little ones. I went to my dr initially with back pain andfeeling exhausted (but I believe I have felt that way a long time but blamedwork/kids etc) my initial bloods showed two abnormal patterns -tsh was 18 and Ihad elevated creatinine (84 I believe) although my t4 was not under.Forward a few months of living hell where I felt so ill I couldn’t stop crying andhad lots of weird symptoms. I eventually saw a diff Dr who told me I testedpositive for antibodies & later on an endo confirmed I had enlarged thyroid glad.Started on 25 levothyroxine & now up to 75mg.The good news my latest bloods showed my tsh was down to 2.0 – I wasgobsmacked when she told me as I still feel as dreadful as ever.I, like many others just want the old me back it’s s hard living each day as anuphill struggle & I refuse to believe this is my life forever.Has anybody else had their hypo affect their kidneys/liver/electrolytes.. It worriesme that I’m young and always looked after myself.. I’m healthy weight etc yet myvital organs are being affected. They hadn’t improved despite the normal tshrange & I still feel fatigued/back pain/anxious. (Should point out I had lots ofblood work/urine test and nothing obvious showing e.g infection) I’ve also beengluten free for few months.Sorry for the long post, would love to hear from you guys.Thanks,

Le x

Reply

treat acne says:December 4, 2014 at 5:40 pm

Appreciating the commitment you put intoyour website and detailed information you offer. It’s awesome to come across ablog every once in a whilethat isn’t the same outdated rehashed information.Wonderful read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feedsto my Google account.

Reply

MITZI says:December 6, 2014 at 9:14 am

I’ve been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and was prescribedLiothyronine Tab 25MCG one a day. I took this for a month and was first week ofmy second month and stopped. Taking in the mornings I suffered panic attacks,which I was already struggling with so I started taking at bedtime. I felt great atfirst but about three weeks into taking the medicine, I started feeling worse. Likea wrung out dish cloth! My Dr. stated he may have given me the wrongmedication and it was burning up to much of my energy. He then prescribedLevothyroxine .025mg tab. one a day. I can’t take this at all as it makes me feelhorrible.

I don’t understand the test results and wonder if I even need to be on meds. I dohave most of the symptoms, but was wondering if results are low enough to beon meds and maybe that is why I feel worse when I take them rather than better.My main symptoms are severe fatigue, weight gain, especially in my stomach, dryskin, trouble staying asleep, severe depression and mood swings ( also beingtreated for bi-polar II)

July test resultsFree T3-2.4Total T4 – 5.0

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TSH – 2.084

November resultsFree T3-3.1Total T4 – 3.9TSH – 2.223

My doctor never mentioned Hypothyroidism until November even after all mycomplaints previously. The last visit in November, I told him again of being sotired, not being able to lose weight and heavy and aching legs. any suggestions?

Reply

mitzi hill says:December 6, 2014 at 9:31 am

I’ve been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and was prescribedLiothyronine Tab 25MCG one a day. I took this for a month and was first week ofmy second month and stopped. Taking in the mornings I suffered panic attacks,which I was already struggling with so I started taking at bedtime. I felt great atfirst but about three weeks into taking the medicine, I started feeling worse. Likea wrung out dish cloth! My Dr. stated he may have given me the wrongmedication and it was burning up to much of my energy. He then prescribedLevothyroxine .025mg tab. one a day. I can’t take this at all as it makes me feelhorrible.

I don’t understand the test results and wonder if I even need to be on meds. I dohave most of the symptoms, but was wondering if results are low enough to beon meds and maybe that is why I feel worse when I take them rather than better.My main symptoms are severe fatigue, weight gain, especially in my stomach, dryskin, trouble staying asleep, severe depression and mood swings ( also beingtreated for bi-polar II)

July test resultsFree T3-2.4Total T4 – 5.0TSH – 2.084

November resultsFree T3-3.1Total T4 – 3.9TSH – 2.223

My doctor never mentioned Hypothyroidism until November even after all mycomplaints previously. The last visit in November, I told him again of being sotired, not being able to lose weight and heavy and aching legs. any suggestions?

Reply

Mickey says:December 26, 2014 at 2:46 pm

I just found your website – very informative. I am 62 and have had lowthyroid for 15 years. TSH was 20.2 then – put on 100 Synthroid and then it waslowered to 88. Had all the usual symtoms (except for weight gain, I lost and wasdown to about 100 lbs.), took close to a year to feel normal again. I felt fine forabout 14 years after that. Then this past August got a stomach flu, then a sinusinfection (on antibiotics) and finally a terrible head cold and cough that lastedweeks. Couldn’t seem to get better. One night I felt like my blood sugar was off –I have a Type 1 diabetic sister who had given me an extra blood sugar monitor. Itended to hypoglycemia when my thyroid went wacky in the beginning. Much tomy surprise my sugar was HIGH (240) when I tested it! I made an appointmentwith my family doctor who did blood work and pronounced me pre-diabetic. Atthat time in September my thyroid was perfect at 1.2. I decided to do what afriend of mine did and cut out all white carbs, excess sugars, etc. to lower herlevels and avoid having to take medication. Within a month started feelingHORRIBLE and knew the symtoms only too well – I was convinced it was my





thyroid again and it was. Tested again and was then at 9.1. Doctor upped mydosage to 100. That was beginning of December but it only seemed to get worse.Went to see my sister’s endocrinologist who ran many tests, including most ofthe ones mentioned in these comments. Only know that my TSH is now12.2 – rest of results not back yet. So, I now test my blood sugars which go upand then drop dramatically – have to eat something every 2 hours, sometimesmore and still feel awful all the time. Anybody else have the sugar problems aswell as thyroid????

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Jesslyn Michel says:December 27, 2014 at 10:40 pm

Hi there:) I’m new to this site and I recently had my thyroid removed atthe end of September due to nodules on my thyroid and am now onLevothyroxine 0.15 mg is my dosage. I have noticed that a week before mymenstrual cycle my hormones are out of whack more then usual and I’m veryanxious. I don’t feel this way all the time it comes and it goes. I don’t have thelathargic symptoms as much. I’m 31 and have a 19 month old and I’ve noticedhandling stress is much more difficult at times. Just wondering if by not having aThyroid anymore I am Hypothyroid and is it easier to find the right dosage or is itthe same as anyone?

Reply

Sabrina says:January 7, 2015 at 10:00 am

hi!,I like your writing so much! proportion we keep in touchmore aboout your post on AOL? I require aan expert in this area to solve myproblem.Maybe that is you! Having a look ahead to see you.

Reply

Angle Iron Bracket says:February 7, 2015 at 7:42 pm

Very soon this website will be famous among all blogging and site-building people,due to it’s pleasant articles or reviews

Reply

drshalini says:February 11, 2015 at 4:57 pm

i have completed my degree in homoeopathy BHMS (INDIA,CHENNAI).iam seeing a lot of patient getting cure not just thyroid levels control as bloodtest..patient are becoming as a person ..so if you need giudeness and treatmentdo ask me .. i am able to reach you in [email protected]

Reply

drshalini says:February 11, 2015 at 5:00 pm

do contact me at 9677284511 and mail id [email protected] forthyroid problem.

Reply

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Skin signs of thyroid disease says:February 8, 2015 at 5:22 pm

[…] that I spent over one year researching the causes of hair loss to save myown hair. Thankfully with optimal thyroid treatment many of my skin issueshave improved and I have found solutions for my thyroid hair […]Reply

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