Who are you with THYROID???

[stella5349]

As a refresher for members and an invitation to ALL -

How did you come to the thyroid board here at Med Help?  Let us know what conditions you have and what you went through so far.

Do you have a parathyroid disorder? Do you - or did you - have cancer and have had your thyroid removed? Are you autoimmune and struggling?

So many - visit here and a thread like this is so important to know what's up.

We as Leaders and members would like to know what has brought you to this board so we and others can direct you to the best resources available.

Thanks and Happy Health!

NikkiP/Stella

[rockyboy65]

My daughter was 14 when she had real bad periods, so I put her on the pill. She was doing fine except started having headaches, so they switched, now she became very ill. She had her tsh checked it was 4.2 or 4.5. I read being on the pill can raise your TSH, so I had her get off the pill. Thyroid level dropped,but it wasn't until she started kelp for 2 weeks, started iodized salt and having seaweed that her thyroid level is now normal. She didn't have hashimoto, so she was missing iodine  in her body.Sometimes are body is trying to tell us something is missing. I did this on my own, but check with your doctor to see what he recommends.Now she just makes sure she has iodized salt or seaweed at least every other day.

[gimel]

Thanks for taking the time to relate all that.  You have really been through it.  Glad to hear that things have improved so much.  I am curious as to what your thyroid test results look like now, along with their reference ranges.  Also, since many hypothyroid patients are low in other areas as well, have you been tested for Vitamin A, D, B12, ferritin, and a full iron test panel?

[pat8144]

I never took the old Armour but the new one is my replacement for Levothyroxin.  This is the best I have felt in years.  

[pat8144]

I just turned 60 on July 3rd.  I grew up competing athletically with 5 brothers (so that I would not be called a sissy).  As a child I grew erratically, lost clumps of hair but always competed successfully.  I never expected my 60th to find me like my mother.  She always said she just wasn't a "sport".  She took me to the dr as a child and asked why I was so hard.  She had so little muscle, she did not recognize it!  Because I was not growing in height (no growth from age 3 to 8) they looked at thyroid.  l seems that I was always on the low side of normal.  I started growing at record pace when I was 8 and stopped at age 13, at exactly 5 feet tall in spite of coming from a tall family.

In 2005 I was rebuilding my house after a hurricane and holding my own with the much younger men doing construction work.

In 2006 I realized I had grown 2 inches since 1985 (from age 33 to age 52). I was having jaw and ear pain.  One brother had just recovered from a pituitary tumor. I started seeing a local pcp.  The first thing I told him was that I thought I needed to see an endo.  He ran some blood work and found that my TSH was high and T4 was low.  He put me on levothyroxin and periodically retested.  He adjusted the dose once.  In all the years since, I feel that I have gone downhill. I lost all the hair on my arms and legs, my stamina was gone, my skin was dying, my hair was dry.

I was diagnosed with RA in 2007.  My blood pressure went totally out of control in 2009 despite 5 different bp meds.  My arms developed purple spots that would begin with and itch and end with blotches of broken capillaries for no apparent reason. I was functional 3 or 4 days a week while the rest of the time was spent recovering from a day of activity.

I was put on medication for ADD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety disorder as well as the meds for RA.

A few months ago I switched doctors because my skin was dying over large areas of broken capillaries.  On the first visit he diagnosed enlarged thyroid with palpable nodules.  He sent me for an immediate ultrasound and referred me to an endocrinologist. The ultrasound and minimal, but new, labs confirmed another immune disorder, Hashimoto's He warned me that the endo was not very talkative but he was smart.

Last week those two doctors actually talked about me.  They switched me to Armour at a very low dose.  Within 3 days I started to feel like what I used to think of as normal.  I have a better appetite than I have had for years but lost 2 pounds in 3 days?!?

I am scheduled to have complete labs run 5 weeks after starting the Armour.  I am scheduled to have another ultrasound and probably fine needle biopsy in November.  In the meantime my blood pressure seems to have normalized on 2 medications.

What do I think?  I think I have at least 1 (of 3) thyroid nodule that dumps hormone into my system in a batch which is adequate to give me hyperthyroid symptoms, such as high blood pressure and palpitations.  I think my body does not convert T4 to T3 normally leaving many of my cells in hypothyroid state. I think the T4 has ramped up my heart. I think the unconverted T4 is passing through my bloodstream unused all while showing normal levels on TSH and T4.

All of the research I have done does not answer the question "What is the function of T1 and T2?"  

It is kind of funny that it took an old, old-school physician to say that if nature creates it, we probably need it, even if we do not know why.  I AM curious but most of all I am just happy to have hope that I may make a real comeback.

Funny story...I showed my cardiologist my bicep (flexed).  He asked if I had been working out.  I said no, this is what is left after two years of being afraid my heart would explode.  Now I am looking for a good, cheap treadmill or elliptical so I can work on getting the rest of my life back from the comfort of my air conditioned living room.

People can have both hypo and hyper symptoms.  I can not stand heat and never have a problem with cold.

[Bella_Renee]

I was diagnosed with Papillary (thyroid) cancer when I was 18. They had to remove my entire thyroid and they had me take different medications until they set on levoxyl. I was not the best with keeping track of my medication and often would miss dosages. It became at bit out of hand with my irresponsibility that my TSH levels increased dramatically. I even had my endo tell me that I could take a whole weeks worth of pills at the start of the week however,  he end the converststion with he "wouldn't recommend it." Needless to say I've been doubling up on my pills if I miss taking a dosage due to my memory or insurance companies which has manage to bring my levels down. Can this be dangerous to my health  in the long run?

[elly157]

I am new here and ran across your post. I also beleive Levo is dangerous. Can you give me an update to your health? I have Graves and TED terrible. Had Rai131 in 2009 and its been hell ever since. On 100 mcg of levo and still hyper. Please reply.thanks