Guest guest Posted June 1, 2004 Report Share Posted June 1, 2004 Welcome, Anita! I think you are the only other one in SF besides me.. Miaja is not far, as she said, and I know we have some LA members lurking.. or used to. Anyway, I have not had great success here with thyroid docs... and I've tried a total of 4 docs that were referred as " top docs " on Shomon's site (thyroid-info.com). So I can tell you I wouldn't recommend Dr. Kimmerling, Dr. Myers, Dr. Woeber (he is very good at physically examining your thyroid, but thinks labs are the bible), or Dr. Cherlin in Los Gatos. I needed a new GP anyway so I ended up looking up referring docs on Armour's Web site and am now seeing Dr. Jerome Franz in the Mission. Only had one appt. so far... I actually didn't want to switch to Armour right off the bat, but to try increasing my Levoxyl despite what the labs said.. and he hemmed and hawed a bit but eventually upped my dosage. I am starting to feel better, more energetic and I've lost 4 pounds. I'll keep you posted. I had a nightmarish time when I was first diagnosed.. even wound up in Stanford Hospital (I was living in Palo Alto at the time). Now every time I'm asked to describe my puzzling and somewhat lousy experience at Stanford, all my docs say " oh Stanford, I went there, great school. " So I don't even bother telling them much about it. Thankfully Levoxyl has greatly stabilized me if not made me perfect.. but if I ever start feeling as bad as I did 2 years ago, I might head to LA to that Dr. Friedman... I liked what he had to say. > Hi: > > I'm new to this group and am glad to know one like this exists! I live in San Francisco and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's last year after being sick for a while. Unfortunately, prior to that I wasn't getting much help from doctors and was completely baffled by what was happening to me. I literallly felt like my body was falling apart. After seeing a few gastroenterlogist doctors who checked me for every imaginable digestive disease, I happened to learn about thyroid disorders and that they run in my family. At that point I went to an endocrinologist and it all made sense (digestive troubles, severe pms, sore throats on only one side of my neck, shivering from cold but feeling to the touch like I have a fever, anxiety, panic attacks, feeling so lousy like I have the flu much of the time). > > I wonder what experience anyone living in San Francisco or the Bay Area has with doctors here? Mine haven't been terribly positive so any information would be great. I've even seen about 3 alternative doctors who didn't seem to understand what I've been going through either. I hate to admit it, but Hashimoto's has changed me and my life to some degree and I'm trying to find my old self again. > > Thanks for any input you have on SF or Bay area doctors. > > Anita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 > This is a great article. I am one of those persons described who has been in emergency rooms, has lost weight, and has been prescribed antidepressants as no cardiac troubles could be found. Me too! Well the ER and mystery about cardiac troubles part. The losing weight part, no, unfortunately, I've had to work at that. I had a bad night last night... racing heart, panicky. I have cut back a little on my T4 but now I'm wondering if something else is triggering it. I've been drinking these 'meal replacement' multi-vitamin mixes... I swear I can't take anything with multi-vitamins in it. I'm hoping that's it as I was doing really well at these dosages of Levoxyl and Armour. How is the Chinese Medicine Doctor working out, Anita?? ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2004 Report Share Posted September 19, 2004 > I had a bad night last night... racing heart, panicky. I have cut back a little on my T4 but > now I'm wondering if something else is triggering it. I've been drinking these 'meal > replacement' multi-vitamin mixes... I swear I can't take anything with multi-vitamins in it. > I'm hoping that's it as I was doing really well at these dosages of Levoxyl and Armour. > > ~ , is there by any chance any soy in this drink mix. I swear, you have to take a magnifying glass with you when shop for any of this stuff any more. There also may be something in there that is just too much for you also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 I agree with , you could be hyper. Can you remind us if you have Hashimoto's? When I was hyper, I felt the worst ever - and had panick attacks and terrible digestive issues. Unfortunately, no doctor ever picked up on that for a long while and when I started learning more, I said goodbye to each bad doc (and there were plenty). Eventually the hyper subsided into hypo and that doesn't feel good either. I had bad fatigue with both hyper and hypo. Another issue could be you have low adrenal function and that makes taking thyroid feel unbearable. Do you have sensitivity to light, sunlight? That can show an adrenal symptom if so. Also, did you happen to withdraw from any antidepressants as well? I have heard bad reactions in relation to withdrawing antidepressants/bipolar meds and starting thyroid meds as well. Keep us posted and hang in there - having a thyroid problem start 3 yrs ago is about the toughest thing I've ever gone through - it really takes its toll on you physically and mentally so most of us understand your situation very much. ~Anita wrote: >. That's when you can start to feel hyper but you more likely have weak adrenals than are truly hype on such a low doser. This has been my experience.> could you elaborate on this? suz richardson Yahoo! for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 > I agree with , you could be hyper. Can you remind us if you have Hashimoto's? My regular doctor said Hashi's but the endo refuses to say anything but thyroiditis. That is why I asked if having elevated antibodies is defintive Hashi. I am more and more disappointed in this endo. No I have not ever taken antidepressants or mood drugs, SSRI or anything like that. I WAS hyper when the first TSH came back abnormal. We fully expected it to go opposite into hyPO and it did. I am not hyper as of this point. As for adrenal problems, I don't have any symptoms that match what I read about s and Cushings. At best (worst?) I could have challenged or tired adrenals I guess. I am post menopausal and one of my major issues is with horrible hot flashes that BEGIN with a 30 second to 1 minute shot of adrenaline that makes me want to jump and jiggle. Makes me nauseous too. Then after that comes the hot flash. I have these a lot during the day and they wake me up at night. Horrible feeling, that adrenaline overload! UGH suz richardson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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