(Not so) brief intro

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

My name is Rhonda, and I signed up two days ago. I thought it would be polite to send a brief message, and let you know I'm here reading over your collective shoulders.

I live in Coppell, and I am 51 years old. I was first diagnosed hypo when I was 14. Unfortunately, I was non-compliant (teenager, y'know?), and the diagnosis got lost in one of many moves. I was symptomatic but undiagnosed for 12 years, and then the Hashimoto's symptoms started. My bizarre and varied complaints apparently convinced every doctor who saw me that I was hypo, indeed--as in hypochondriac.

Eight years after that, one of those doctors diagnosed multiple sclerosis. I walked out of his office and never went back. At my first consultation with his replacement, some impulse compelled me to demand a thyroid panel. The doctor made it very clear that he believed me to be a loon, but he ordered the labs anyway, and to his credit, he checked my antibodies. It took several years and several more doctors to get an appropriate dose of medicine. Finally, after I moved from New Jersey to Florida, I found a good endo (who was also hypo), and for the first time in many years, I felt pretty good.

Since returning to New Jersey in 2006, however, it has all gone downhill. Since moving here last September, I have a doctor (actually a physician's assistant) who recognized what the doctors (4 of 'em) in New Jersey did not--I can't function on a T4-only regimen. By the time I saw the PA, I had become anemic and I was falling apart physically and mentally. Unfortunately, this PA seems wed to Armour, and the last time I tried it (from Levoxyl 150 ug to Armour 120 mg), I ended up with a TSH of 64. The PA started me on 180 mg, and it took about two months for me to start feeling a little hyper. Since Tuesday, the dose has been reduced to 150 mg. I just think it's too much T3 for me, and depending on what happens two months from now when we retest, I may look for another practitioner. I know I do fine on the combination of Synthroid 200 ug/Cytomel 5 ug, but even with old labs in hand, I must not be very convincing.

I already participate in two other thyroid forums--a usenet group and a mailing list--but I thought a local group would be helpful, especially if I need to go doctor hunting again.

To those of you who have read this far, I apologize for the length. I've never been very good at making a long story short.

Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries