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Update on starting Tirosint! Barb are you in too??
Hi ALL! I am starting my 6th week of Tirosint. I have to say that I feel great and no longer have that foggy feeling I use to get about 2 hrs after taking my synthroid. I will be going in at the end of this week for labs to see how they look. I feel pretty darn good! I am working ....going to college full time....raising my daughter....etc....etc!
All I can say is how THANKFUL I am to feel good again!!
I am on 125 mcg Tirosint and 20 mcg Cytomel.
Barb- How are you doing on this med??
All I can say is how THANKFUL I am to feel good again!!
I am on 125 mcg Tirosint and 20 mcg Cytomel.
Barb- How are you doing on this med??
She/we have been struggling to find any Dr in our HMO that our insurance plan will pay for. This has pissed me off more than any single thing.
Tried to get to see an endo. The endo clinic said they needed a referral from a PCP. Got the referral. Endo wrote a letter back saying they would not see my wife because the PCP is treating her appropriately. Yet was I think only doing TSH.
We begged, and begged to get the frees and the anti body test and as you see in my post above we got FT4 but TOTAL T3 and refusal to do the antibody tests.
This is absolutely maddening!
All that being said, her current Dr. has been open to continuing to raise her med dosage and my wife seems to be pretty much symptom free. So in one aspect we are upset, on the other hand she (the Dr.) has treated her to relieve my wife's symptoms. It would be nice however to know what the Free's are so that we have a baseline as to where my wife feels good. So that if it is Hashi's or some debilitating thyroid condition where the thyroid continues to be less and less effective, then we at least know where to adjust to get back to where she is today.
Maybe that $85 private lab will be the way to go. I doubt my insurance would cover that but having the baseline may be worth every penny of that $85.
Tried to get to see an endo. The endo clinic said they needed a referral from a PCP. Got the referral. Endo wrote a letter back saying they would not see my wife because the PCP is treating her appropriately. Yet was I think only doing TSH.
We begged, and begged to get the frees and the anti body test and as you see in my post above we got FT4 but TOTAL T3 and refusal to do the antibody tests.
This is absolutely maddening!
All that being said, her current Dr. has been open to continuing to raise her med dosage and my wife seems to be pretty much symptom free. So in one aspect we are upset, on the other hand she (the Dr.) has treated her to relieve my wife's symptoms. It would be nice however to know what the Free's are so that we have a baseline as to where my wife feels good. So that if it is Hashi's or some debilitating thyroid condition where the thyroid continues to be less and less effective, then we at least know where to adjust to get back to where she is today.
Maybe that $85 private lab will be the way to go. I doubt my insurance would cover that but having the baseline may be worth every penny of that $85.
COMMUNITY LEADER
If your doctor refuses FT3 test, you can order it online. I've had good luck with healthcheckusa, but there are other sites, as well. With healthcheckusa, you order the test online, they send (via e-mail) a lab order for a reputable lab in your area, you go get the blood drawn - choose the option for the TSH, FT3 and FT4 (cost me $85, which insurance did not cover (yours might), but well worth it). About 2 days after the blood draw, you are e-mailed the results, followed with a hard copy mailed to you. You can then take this to your doctor; if he still refuses to consider the FT3 result, it might be time to find a different doctor.
Your doctor is sort of right about the antibody issue - I had (notice I said HAD) a doctor who thought that way too, because a Hashi dx doesn't usually change the treatment, but Hashi can make hypothyroidism harder to control, due to inflammation, etc. It's advantageous to know what's causing the hypothyroidism. Refusal to test the antibodies is one more reason to find a different doctor, because that indicates that he may not be well versed in thyroid issues.
There are things you can do to help, such as some vitamins/minerals, etc.
Stella is right - changing from synthroid or levo to Tirosint, could mean that your dosage would change. I actually raised mine when I switched, but that's because my levels were way too low to begin with; but, because of the better absorption, I think most people would be better off going to the next lower dose for a few weeks, then retest, going up slowly.
Your doctor is sort of right about the antibody issue - I had (notice I said HAD) a doctor who thought that way too, because a Hashi dx doesn't usually change the treatment, but Hashi can make hypothyroidism harder to control, due to inflammation, etc. It's advantageous to know what's causing the hypothyroidism. Refusal to test the antibodies is one more reason to find a different doctor, because that indicates that he may not be well versed in thyroid issues.
There are things you can do to help, such as some vitamins/minerals, etc.
Stella is right - changing from synthroid or levo to Tirosint, could mean that your dosage would change. I actually raised mine when I switched, but that's because my levels were way too low to begin with; but, because of the better absorption, I think most people would be better off going to the next lower dose for a few weeks, then retest, going up slowly.
No. the lab has access to the Free T3. Its the doctor usually that debunks it.
... sometimes you just have to tell them that YOU are the patient paying and YOu want this lab done! - period.
If you not getting the right labs then what's the purpose of anything?
Push for the free or find someone that will run it.
Also Tirosint comes is a large amount of different dosages. What you may be on with Synthroid or Levo - may not be the right dose with Tirosint.
Also if anyone attempts to add T3 meds in.. then the dosages of T4 meds should change too.
... sometimes you just have to tell them that YOU are the patient paying and YOu want this lab done! - period.
If you not getting the right labs then what's the purpose of anything?
Push for the free or find someone that will run it.
Also Tirosint comes is a large amount of different dosages. What you may be on with Synthroid or Levo - may not be the right dose with Tirosint.
Also if anyone attempts to add T3 meds in.. then the dosages of T4 meds should change too.
The grass greener on the other side is just how I thought of it.....I was scared I was going to mess everything up and then I'd have to start all over but it worked out for me in the end.
Everybody reacts different to these meds and what works for one may not work for another. Flying fool I hope your wife has great sucess with her current treatment!!
So far we have been unable to get a FT3 test. We begged and begged and begged to get the FT3 & FT4. Test came back as FT4 but TOTAL T3.
It may be possible that the lab used can't test for FT3. As I've heard that can happen at some labs. But that doesn't make sense to me if they can test for free T4 then why cant they test for free T3????
The Dr. refused testing for the Hashi's two antibody's. Dr. said it doesn't make any difference now that she is being treated as the treatment wouldn't change. Which maybe true to some extent. But if you find out if she has Hashi's you can ensure testing every 6 months if not every 3 months may be warranted. Whereas without Hashi's maybe once a year would be fine.
I think with her feeling good, I doubt she would be too interested in changing meds. And I don't blame her. Just what you don't know if she is missing the ability to possibly feel even better???
I guess it is a grass is always greener type of thing. When you get to the other side you may find complete heaven. Or you may get to the other side you find out that it is just a manure field of AstroTurf.
It may be possible that the lab used can't test for FT3. As I've heard that can happen at some labs. But that doesn't make sense to me if they can test for free T4 then why cant they test for free T3????
The Dr. refused testing for the Hashi's two antibody's. Dr. said it doesn't make any difference now that she is being treated as the treatment wouldn't change. Which maybe true to some extent. But if you find out if she has Hashi's you can ensure testing every 6 months if not every 3 months may be warranted. Whereas without Hashi's maybe once a year would be fine.
I think with her feeling good, I doubt she would be too interested in changing meds. And I don't blame her. Just what you don't know if she is missing the ability to possibly feel even better???
I guess it is a grass is always greener type of thing. When you get to the other side you may find complete heaven. Or you may get to the other side you find out that it is just a manure field of AstroTurf.
Thanks Barb I truly feel a lot better! I will get blood work done in another month to see where I am at.
Flyingfool-I was on 200mcg of synthroid for 6 days and then 100mcg on Sunday. My Free T4 and T3's were looking good but I still felt like I wasnt there yet...the sweet spot if you will. My endo and I discussed Tirosint and I decided to give it a shot. Because of the better absorbtion she started me at 175mcg everyday. It has been 4 weeks and I feel great as I stated before :). Blood work in a month or so to see if all is well. I do have to purchase 2 boxes a month a 100 and a 75 script for now but my endo said they are going to be expanding there dosage range. At my pharmacy (which is through where I work) I only pay $15 a box. Also now that I am finally loosing some weight I will most likely have to drop soon anyways....so maybe 1 box of 150mcg a month is in my future :).
Vicky
Flyingfool-I was on 200mcg of synthroid for 6 days and then 100mcg on Sunday. My Free T4 and T3's were looking good but I still felt like I wasnt there yet...the sweet spot if you will. My endo and I discussed Tirosint and I decided to give it a shot. Because of the better absorbtion she started me at 175mcg everyday. It has been 4 weeks and I feel great as I stated before :). Blood work in a month or so to see if all is well. I do have to purchase 2 boxes a month a 100 and a 75 script for now but my endo said they are going to be expanding there dosage range. At my pharmacy (which is through where I work) I only pay $15 a box. Also now that I am finally loosing some weight I will most likely have to drop soon anyways....so maybe 1 box of 150mcg a month is in my future :).
Vicky
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