just accepting hashimotos diagnosis.... tons of questions.

[Guest guest]

i thought i was having a hard time recovering from my pregnancy,

and a blood test turned up a big thyroid problem. i started taking

levoxyl yesterday (breaking the 50mg pills in half to start). i am

dealing with anxiety, depression, fatigue, ringing in ears, all on

top of taking care of my toddler....

so afraid that my body is deteriorating.

how long to feel decent? i feel like my heart is going to stop.

doctor was so blasé about it and it is a huge fright to me.

any words of advice to someone just coming to terms with this

news? thanks.

looking for things i can do/eat to help my body with this disorder.

(ie: yoga shoulder stand)

[Guest guest]

If the Levoxyl is the right thyroid med for you, it will probably take

several weeks to know the difference, so please, hang in there. However,

there are some of us who have done better on a T3 plus T4 combination or on

natural thyroid, as in Armour, or even some on OTC thyroid supplements

(Nutri-Meds is one reputable example). I changed from Levoxyl, Synthroid,

etc....to Armour around 7 months ago, and I feel so much better. Initially,

between 10 and 11 yrs ago, I felt fine on the T4s, but eventually,

evidently, must have developed cellular resistance or something like it, and

felt horrible for several yrs, until I made this change. Could you give us

a picture of the #s on your thyroid labs with the normal lab reference

ranges with them? I believe in treating with taking body temps before

rising from bed in the morning, coupled with the lab values of Free T3, Free

T4 (the two most important to me), and TSH (the least important to me), but

many doctors will not run these first two tests (more expensive, and they do

not understand these two tests either). If your doctor will not run them,

you can get them done through www.healthcheckusa.com. What is your

diagnosis, as far as antibodies? Nutrients to consider are the antioxidants

A, C, E, and Selenium (for better conversion from T4 to T3), no soy foods,

at least not regularly, and none at all while you're going through this

transition period, a low iodine diet (for Hashi's patients), and also the B

vitamins, in particular, B6, B12, B5, and Folic Acid. I take a liquid form,

starting just recently, and I have noticed tremendous improvement over the

last couple of weeks or so. Also, goitrogen foods in only low

amts----cabbage family, like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips also.

The shade plants also should only be eaten in low amts---potatoes, carrots,

I believe. There are many other foods, but can't think of them all. Do you

have nodules, or could you give us a little more history?

just accepting hashimotos diagnosis.... tons of

questions.

> i thought i was having a hard time recovering from my pregnancy,

> and a blood test turned up a big thyroid problem. i started taking

> levoxyl yesterday (breaking the 50mg pills in half to start). i am

> dealing with anxiety, depression, fatigue, ringing in ears, all on

> top of taking care of my toddler....

>

> so afraid that my body is deteriorating.

>

> how long to feel decent? i feel like my heart is going to stop.

> doctor was so blasé about it and it is a huge fright to me.

>

> any words of advice to someone just coming to terms with this

> news? thanks.

>

> looking for things i can do/eat to help my body with this disorder.

> (ie: yoga shoulder stand)

[Guest guest]

wow. thanks for the fast first response. that is a lot of info.

i did ask my endocrinologist if there was a chance i could take

the non-synthetic pills (from the pig?) and he scoffed and said

that was otdated and no body did that (i got that info from a quick

search on dr. weil's webpage for thyroid disorder. i think his

natural philosophy is great) so now that you mention SO MANY

options in things to take to trat it it worries me that i have a bad dr

(supposed to be one of the best in NYC for thyroids).

anyway, i need to do more research here and elsewhere before i

jump the gun and switch doctors.

i had a thyroid scan and the only result the technician gave me

was that there were no nodules. if there was anything else she

didn't say.

i had my thyroid checked as a teenager, but everything was

within range (the sympton then was an irregular menst. cycle)

anyway, i had a super healthy pregnancy without any meds or

intervention or problems. after that i just happened to go to the dr

for a lower stomach pain and on the blood test i got high

numbers and wound up at an endocrinologist looking at taking

medication for a lifetime i guess?

here are the results:

TSH 10.73

T4 FREE 1

T4 TOTAL 7.1

T3 UPTAKE 30.2

T4 FREE CALCULATED 2

T3 TOTAL 117

and very high antibodies (45-50 range)

i am still breastfeeding and not getting sleep. i am almost a tear

post-pardum.

sorry for any typos. my computer screen is very messed up and i

can barely see what i type tonight.

thanks in advance for any positive outlooks.

[Guest guest]

i eat lots of soy! we are having something tonight with

soy cheese! yikes! i guess i'll cut that out of my diet.

this is going to be so hard!

i am not overweight, actually very tiny, i eat very

healthy, pretty much vegetarian. ithere is not much room

for cutting things out of my mainly veg diet, but i will

do it now for sure. probably will start eating more

chicken and less soy.

thank you so much for the diet info.

i'll really want to look into the supplement reccomendations you

gave me mary. thanks again.

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Lacey and " Mountain WildFlowers " ! That's a pretty name but if it's=

not your real

one, let us know!

Please don't worry about " clogging " the boards.. we all learn so much from =

each other

here!

One of the first things you'll learn is while there are commonalities, this=

is a pretty

individualized disease, much more than the typical doc tends to think... ea=

ch one of us

experiences a different set of symptoms and responds differently to supplem=

ents,

although probably all of us have had fatigue at some point.

So Mountn... you are doing the right thing starting out slowly on the Levox=

yl and building

up. That will give your body a chance to adjust to the new hormone... the s=

icker you are in

the beginning, the less likely you'll be able to hop right on the dosage yo=

u need without

bad side effects. So your doc is guiding you well there at least. As far as=

the anxiety and

feeling like your heart will stop... I can TOTALLy relate... first, know th=

at even if it feels

that way, it won't happen. Second, Ativan (a mild sedative) and Paxil helpe=

d me greatly

with the anxiety and palpitations. Not stuff you want to stay on forever in=

many people's

opinions, but I think absolutely fine for your transition (Paxil is also an=

antidepressant).

Ativan can be taken whenever you need it as long as you don't load up befor=

e driving...

one or two before bedtime was the only way I slept in the beginning. With a=

combination

of your hormone and one or both of these or whatever else you choose for an=

xiety, you

should notice some improvement in a couple of weeks... it may take months b=

efore you're

100%... depending on how sick you are.

Eating healthy foods with lots of natural vitamins is especially important =

for us, for our

immune systems. Whole grains and fresh veggies work best for me. Building m=

uscle is also

critical.. do some weight training if you can.

Hope that helps to start. Don't despair, it isn't the worst disease for sur=

e... and we're

always here to listen.

Take care,

--- In Thyroiditis , " mountn_wildflowerz " <kristing@p...> wr=

ote:

> i thought i was having a hard time recovering from my pregnancy,

> and a blood test turned up a big thyroid problem. i started taking

> levoxyl yesterday (breaking the 50mg pills in half to start). i am

> dealing with anxiety, depression, fatigue, ringing in ears, all on

> top of taking care of my toddler....

>

> so afraid that my body is deteriorating.

>

> how long to feel decent? i feel like my heart is going to stop.

> doctor was so blasé about it and it is a huge fright to me.

>

> any words of advice to someone just coming to terms with this

> news? thanks.

>

> looking for things i can do/eat to help my body with this disorder.

> (ie: yoga shoulder stand)