Re: Hashimoto's Thyroid questions

[Guest guest]

Welcome to our list, !

I'll try to answer your q's as best I can below...

do know it can take a little while for the Synthroid

to kick in.. but if you don't start feeling better

in a few weeks, you have every right to start asking

to try or add a different med.

> What foods do I need to avoid now that I am taking synthroid? I know to avoid

OJ, iron,

magnesium, etc for 2-3 hours, but I also heard I can't eat brocolli, oats or

spinach. Does

anyone know if this is true?

The food question comes up fairly often here...

so I've posted this in our Links section:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george & dbid=47

Basically, soy is the worst, although I've recently

heard from a doc that it isn't soy itself but the way

it's often grown that makes it not good for us.

Honestly, I don't worry overmuch about any of it.

Hmm... I've never heard to avoid anything but

calcium supplements for 2-3 hours after a thyroid

pill... where did you get that info. on the OJ, etc?

> I have been having bad muscle spasms and muscle cramps in my legs and back.

Will this

go away once the synthroid starts working?

It's likely. Thyroid does affect muscles.. my first

sign that something is wrong is a side/back ache.

> I had an ultrasound done since I have an enlarged thyroid gland. How often

should I

have this repeated? My endo said in 6 months and my GP said in 3 months. I was

planning

to go back to my endo, but I want to make sure she is being proactive enough in

my

followup treatment.

I think it's up to you. An enlarged gland is not

unusual with Hashi's and doesn't necessarily mean

anything bad... if you feel it growing so big that

you have trouble breathing or swallowing, you'll

want to see someone asap.

>

> Lastly, my ultrasound showed a 'thickening of the thyroid isthmus'. Does

anyone know

what this means? Is it something I should worry about? I did go to an endo, but

forgot to

ask her about this since I had so many other questions.

>

Just looked up " isthmus. " It's the part that

connects your two thyroid lobes (like the

body of the butterfly between the wings). My

best guess is that's just part of the swelling of

the overall gland... I know with Hashi's our

thyroids often get swollen and irregular (even

bumpy) in various ways... they were probably

being very thorough in the description of your

gland. Wouldn't hurt asking though.. and letting

us know!

Hope that helps a little!

~

[Guest guest]

...

>>Lastly, my ultrasound showed a 'thickening of the thyroid isthmus'. Does anyone know what this means? Is it something I should worry about? I did go to an endo, but forgot to ask her about this since I had so many other questions.<<

Not sure if this would apply or not but when my Endo did an ultrasound of my thyroid she diagnosed me with Hashi's from the ultrasound alone. She said she could tell by the texture of my thyroid that it was Hashi's. She also said the same thing about a thickening of the isthmus.

If you aren't feeling any better after three weeks don't worry about it yet. I have learned that it takes a good 6-10 weeks before you can really see a total difference in labs. Your doc typically won't even draw labs until at least 4 weeks has gone by and my Endo feels 10 weeks is best. It takes time for one type of hormone to convert to another. Also, if you are a newbie like me they start you out on a fairly low dose and slowly work up from there. I started out at 75mcg of Levoxyl about 6-7 weeks ago and although I can see a difference, I know there is more room for improvement. I'm not choking on my thyroid anymore, it isn't making me nuts by feeling like there is a golf ball in my throat yet I can still feel lumps when I run my hand down the front of my neck/throat.

Give it time and remember, your doc likely started you out on a low dose. Maybe you'll find you simply need a higher dose or maybe you need a different type of hormone replacement.__________________________________________________