Re: New to this with lots of questions???

[Guest guest]

Hi Kate,

Welcome to the forum.

Sometimes the full effects of thyroid hormone replacement take many

months to resolve themselves, even when they appear to have given a

rapid boost in sense of well-being.

The transcription of messenger (m)RNA can take time to stabilise and

the knock-on effects of these changes will affect other transcription

processes further down the line.

mRNA is the precursor to further protein production making up the

basic biological materials, of which, enzymes are only one of them

(but vital).

If you need a further increase in L-T4, that may be only for a while

to allow your system to re-establish a new equilibrium.

The main reason for taking it easy increasing L-T4 is that your heart

muscle takes time to re-adjust its sensitivity to the presence of

extra thyroid hormones.

Mood and feelings of wellness will fluctuate for a while and that may

be up to a year, as you adjust all the other parameters that change

when you become hypothyroid.

Hope that gets you started on your learning curve.

Those symptoms will subside as your body returns to 'normal', but

each one of us is an individual and the symptoms may not disappear in

the same order that they do for someone else.

Season and temperature will affect your responses to extra thyroid

medications, so, approaching Xmas is as likely to make a difference

as anything else.

best wishes

Bob

>

> Hello Everybody,I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid

> for the last 15 months. I was sooo ill before i started

> levothyroxine and within a few weeks noticed a few improvements

> but quickly felt ill again gradually my medication went up to 125mg

> at which i must say i felt about 90% better for about 6 months... 8

> weeks before xmas i started to feel really tired, hair thinning,

> brain gone to mush,

[Guest guest]

Hello

Kate - and welcome to our forum where I hope you get the support you need.

There is lots of information about hypothyroidism and the reasons some of us

are not able to get well again on levothyroxine, and you should read all the

information in our FILES and LINKS on this forum and also the information on

our website.

It

might help you if I explain that levothyroxine (T4) is only one hormone which

is a mainly inactive hormone - and it has to convert through the liver and

kidneys and other organs to the active hormone Triiodothyronine (T3). T3 is

needed by every cell in your body and brain to make them function. There are

many reasons why levothyroxine suddenly doesn't work well anymore, though NHS

doctors have not been taught about these - and some doctors don't even know

about T3 - which is quite appalling, because T3 is the DOMINANT thyroid

hormone. Without it, we cannot exist. If you look at the Patient Information

Leaflet that is in your packet of levothyroxine tablets, you will see that it

tells you to tell your doctor if you have low adrenal reserve, and that if this

is the case, you should start on steroids to boost your adrenals before

starting levothyroxine. Now doctors believe this means if you are suffering

's disease - but it doesn't mean that. Having low adrenal reserve will

stop your thyroid hormone from being absorbed so this must be treated before

starting thyroid medication.

There

are other associated conditions that you should read about. Go to our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk

and under 'Hypothyroidism' click on 'Associated Conditions' and read all about

them. Ask your GP to test your ferritin level (stored iron), your vitamin B12,

your vitamin D, your zinc, magnesium and copper levels. Any of these if they

are low could be stopping your thyroid hormone replacement being absorbed and

MUST be treated immediately. At the same time, ask your GP to test your Free T3

level to see if this is low. If it is, you may need to start taking some

synthetic T3 (Liothyronine) with your levothyroxine to get the right balance of

thyroid hormones your body requires, but your GP may want to refer you to an

endocrinologist for his recommendation regarding this.

Let

us know what you think after you have read about these conditions and ask as

many questions as you feel is necessary.

Luv -

Sheila

Hello Everybody, I have been diagnosed with an

underactive thyroid for

the last 15 months. I was sooo ill before i started levothyroxine and

with in a few weeks noticed a few improvements but quickly felt ill

again gradually my medication went up to 125mg at which i must say i

felt about 90% better for about 6 months... 8 weeks before xmas i

started to feel really tired, hair thinning,brain gone to mush, hands

really rough ,pains in my arms and legs,joint pains weight gain etc,

etc... so went back to doctors had blood test and tsh back up to 5.6

(was 0.6 when i was feeling well again) soo my doctor increased

medication to 150mg.... its been about 9 weeks now on 150 mg and i feel

a slight imrovement but not like i was before. Would love any

feedback ....Do you think i will be better with another increase as

there is a slight improvement or do you think i need more tests???Have

been looking over this site and it seems like there are so many tests

and other things to look out for??? thank you for listening.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Bob and Sheila

That is helpful.Have been back to doctors and then on to hospital for 7 more blood tests.

So will post my results later in the week.

Thanks again, Kate

thyroid treatment From: sheila@...Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:51:00 +0000Subject: RE: New to this with lots of questions???

Hello Kate - and welcome to our forum where I hope you get the support you need. There is lots of information about hypothyroidism and the reasons some of us are not able to get well again on levothyroxine, and you should read all the information in our FILES and LINKS on this forum and also the information on our website.

It might help you if I explain that levothyroxine (T4) is only one hormone which is a mainly inactive hormone - and it has to convert through the liver and kidneys and other organs to the active hormone Triiodothyronine (T3). T3 is needed by every cell in your body and brain to make them function. There are many reasons why levothyroxine suddenly doesn't work well anymore, though NHS doctors have not been taught about these - and some doctors don't even know about T3 - which is quite appalling, because T3 is the DOMINANT thyroid hormone. Without it, we cannot exist. If you look at the Patient Information Leaflet that is in your packet of levothyroxine tablets, you will see that it tells you to tell your doctor if you have low adrenal reserve, and that if this is the case, you should start on steroids to boost your adrenals before starting levothyroxine. Now doctors believe this means if you are suffering 's disease - but it doesn't mean that. Having low adrenal reserve will stop your thyroid hormone from being absorbed so this must be treated before starting thyroid medication.

There are other associated conditions that you should read about. Go to our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk and under 'Hypothyroidism' click on 'Associated Conditions' and read all about them. Ask your GP to test your ferritin level (stored iron), your vitamin B12, your vitamin D, your zinc, magnesium and copper levels. Any of these if they are low could be stopping your thyroid hormone replacement being absorbed and MUST be treated immediately. At the same time, ask your GP to test your Free T3 level to see if this is low. If it is, you may need to start taking some synthetic T3 (Liothyronine) with your levothyroxine to get the right balance of thyroid hormones your body requires, but your GP may want to refer you to an endocrinologist for his recommendation regarding this.

Let us know what you think after you have read about these conditions and ask as many questions as you feel is necessary.

Luv - Sheila

Hello Everybody, I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid for the last 15 months. I was sooo ill before i started levothyroxine and with in a few weeks noticed a few improvements but quickly felt ill again gradually my medication went up to 125mg at which i must say i felt about 90% better for about 6 months... 8 weeks before xmas i started to feel really tired, hair thinning,brain gone to mush, hands really rough ,pains in my arms and legs,joint pains weight gain etc, etc... so went back to doctors had blood test and tsh back up to 5.6(was 0.6 when i was feeling well again) soo my doctor increased medication to 150mg.... its been about 9 weeks now on 150 mg and i feel a slight imrovement but not like i was before. Would love any feedback ....Do you think i will be better with another increase as there is a slight improvement or do you think i need more tests???Have been looking over this site and it seems like there are so many tests and other things to look out for??? thank you for listening.

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[Guest guest]

Hi,

Best to get another test! Try to get TSH free FT4 and FT3 -I bet

they don't catually do the T3 although it's the most important hormone

the NHS seems reluctant to admit to this. T4 is inert and it's main

purpose seems to be to reduce TSH levels, it has to convert to T3-mostly

in the liver- before it can be utilised. If you're not well on 150mcg

then it is likely that your have a post thyroid deficiency- ie can't

convert the T4 to T3 and there fore will need part of the T4 replaced by

T3 or even better a natural thyroid replacement such as Armour which

contains all the hormones a healthy thyroid produces.

Subject: New to this with lots of questions???

my medication went up to 125mg at which i must say i

felt about 90% better for about 6 months... 8 weeks before xmas i

started to feel really tired, hair thinning,brain gone to mush, hands

really rough ,pains in my arms and legs,joint pains weight gain etc,

Would love any

feedback ....Do you think i will be better with another increase as

there is a slight improvement or do you think i need more tests???Have

been looking over this site and it seems like there are so many tests

and other things to look out for??? thank you for listening.

------------------------------------

TPA is not medically qualified. Consult with a qualified medical

practitioner before changing medication.