hypothryoidism

[sadnconfused42]

I was recently diagnoised with hypothyroidism and I am beyond depressed, scared, mad and confused. I take pretty good care of myself workout, trying to eat pretty good many vitamins and supplements and good sleep. it is in my family history but I have had normal levels for the last few years and now this year my tsh levels are high. at 5.8 what?

my dr just throws me on levothyroxine at 12.5 mg and I don't and am so tired of being on drugs and want to go do it all natural with herbs or homeopathic ways. can someone guide me and help me.

and to top It off my cholesterol and ldl and tryglycerides elevated this year. what the hell!


very sad sad and confused!

[LazyMoose]

Dont be scared.

At this point you are going by TSH - not very accurate and T4. As other said you need Free t3 and thyroid antibodies.

If you do have hypothyroid, you need to know if its autoimmune by testing TGab and TPO. Drs will treat it the same. But Hashimoto autoimmune seems to have more symptoms than just basic hypothyroid and some symptoms that thyroid med might not help much can be helped by some supplements.  I personally know people with both, the Hashi people seem to be in worse health till they learn more about it.

There is no other replacement for daily thyroid hormone (if you need it) regardless of what you might read.

Continue to learn here - way more info than any Dr ever has to say.

LM

[Carla75]

I feel your pain.  I was blindsided with Hypothyroidism almost a year and a half ago and it turned my life upside down before I was properly diagnosed.  I don't like taking medications, but have to agree with everyone else here that this is something that needs to be taken.  I, however, do not like Levothyroxine.  Just my personal feelings.  I spent about a year on it before I was switched to a dessicated thyroid hormone.  I believe someone mentioned Armour in an earlier post.  I'm on NP Thyroid.  While I was on Levothyroxine I continued to have anxiety, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, etc. and these are the symptoms I had when I was diagnosed after 12 weeks of being diagnosed as Vitamin D Deficient!  It frustrates me because a lot of doctors rely solely on the TSH test.  Definitely make sure they always go the route of T3 and T4 FREE!  If after a good period of time on Levothyroxine and you still don't feel any different ask about dessicated thyroid.  There are webpages, facebook pages, and forums full of information on it.  It has completely changed my life and allowed me to take off some weight (and keep it off) that I had gained over the last two years due to this CRAPPY condition.  It will get better!  Good Luck :)

[goolarra]

Your FT4 is very much normal.  As you suggest, the next step would be to check your FT3.  T4 is produced by the thyroid and is the "storage" form of the thyroid hormones.  However, before it can be used by cells, T4 has to be converted to T3, the "active" form.  Some people convert slowly, so even though FT4 levels are adequate, they don't have enough FT3 at the cellular level.

TSH is a very indirect measure of thyroid status.  High TSH with adequate FT3 and FT4 levels could signal a pituitary issue.

Besides the elevated lipid panel, do you have other hypo symptoms?

[sadnconfused42]

ok let me take a look and see what it is all I know is the dr said my TSH IS HIGH and yet my T4 IS normal and I will take that. TSH 5.24 (normal range) 0.27 - 4.20  and my T4 is   Free T4  1.39     normal range  0.90 - 1.60   I am still researching on the diff of my T4 and T3 I know theser are the 2 horomones that are produced from the thyroid

[Shiny76]

Can you share with us your T4 (free or total?) value and the range that goes with it?   One thing I've learned so far in my thyroid journey is that "normal" is no longer a complete answer to how things are....always get the details.   You could be .2 above the bottom of the range and that's why you feel bad but you'd still technically be in range and the doc could call it normal - still with your TSH at 5.8 there is no way that your FT4 and FT3 are not too low for you to feel well even if they do fall within range.

[sadnconfused42]

ohhh thank you I have been taking some of my vitamins along with the levo thanks so much

[sadnconfused42]

as of now my T4 was normal thank god

[goolarra]

I agree that when it comes to thyroid disease, there is absolutely no substitute for prescription thyroid hormone replaacement.  High cholesterol is a symptom of hypo, as stated, and should improve once your meds are adjusted properly.

Further testing is indicated, and be sure your doctor tests FREE T3 and FREE T4 as well as TSH.  There are two other tests called total T3 and total T4.  These are considered obsolete and of limited value.  Insist on the FREEs.  Antibody tests to determine if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is the most prevalent cause fo hypo in the developed world, are TPOab (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) and TGab (thyroglobulin antibodies).  You need both of them.

"It's vital to find out as soon as possible if you have a thyroid disease while it is still treatable with diet and nutritional intervention. If detected too late, and there is already thyroid damage, you will need to take thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of your life."

If we are already hypo and labs have gone out of reference range, that indicates that there IS already thyroid damage, i.e. it's too late.

Depending on the cause of your hypo, you may or may not need meds for the rest of your life.  If you have Hashi's, then yes, you will.  However, there are other causes of hypo, and some are "temporary".  

Be sure to separate all your vitamins and supplements from your levo by 3-4 hours or they could affect absorption.
.

[Red_Star]

Dr Sandra Cabot (Australian MD who prefers holistic solutions as a first line of treatment) shot to fame after her first book "The Liver Cleansing Diet" became a worldwide best seller. I have a few of her books including a book she co authored with Margaret Jasinska ND called: "Your Thyroid Problems Solved - Holistic Solutions To Improve Your Thyroid". Excerpt from her book:

"It's vital to find out as soon as possible if you have a thyroid disease while it is still treatable with diet and nutritional intervention. If detected too late, and there is already thyroid damage, you will need to take thyroid hormone replacement for the rest of your life."

[Gibbon1]

I would say that if TSH is slightly high, then you should be tested for T4, free T3, and thyroid antibody panel.  Otherwise you don't have a clear picture of exactly what is going on.

[Shiny76]

Hugs to you sadandconfused!   Thyroid disease ***** no doubt on it.   Your cholesterol and lipids are high because you are hypo - once that is corrected they should get better.    I too am a natural healing type of gal but thyroid is the one area where we really do need conventional medicine - please go ahead and take the levothyroxine.   You may in time need changes in the dose or even to try natural thyroid like Armour instead.    Acupuncture has been known to be some help with hypo so you could look into that too, but know that as long as you are hypo it is actively damaging your mental and physical health.   Good luck to you.