Re: Endo visit coming up on Tuesday

[Guest guest]

I get a case of endophobia just thinking about your upcoming visit.Betsy Grimm wrote: I'm starting to get a little anxious about it. Haven't seen him since RAI in October when he prescribed Synthroid for me. Of course, I stopped taking that when Dr. R. gave me my Armour. Sure hope he doesn't fire me, as I'm not keen on finding another endo for scans and such.I finally got a couple of nights of good sleep in the last week. I've been so tired after the holidays. During the Xmas break (I was off for 10 days), I started going to the gym several times a week instead of once. Then once work started again, it was longer than usual hours and very busy. I finally called Dr. R's office last Monday and got

my Armour increased to 3 grains. Hope it helps.Other than that, things are going pretty well. But I sure wish it would RAIN!

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[Guest guest]

Jan wrote:

> I get a case of endophobia just thinking about your upcoming visit.

>

> */Betsy Grimm /* wrote:

>

> I'm starting to get a little anxious about it. Haven't seen him since

> RAI in October when he prescribed Synthroid for me. Of course, I

> stopped

> taking that when Dr. R. gave me my Armour. Sure hope he doesn't

> fire me,

> as I'm not keen on finding another endo for scans and such.

>

>

Gee, Jan, that makes me feel better! :-)

[Guest guest]

Well, that was a pleasant visit - especially compared to my fears about it.

I wasn't going to say anything about what I was taking if the subject

didn't come up, but of course the nurse asked what meds I was on, so I

was stuck. When the doc came in, he asked what dosage I was on, and I

said 3 grains of Armour, and he just went on with his questions and

comments! He did ask twice about heart palps, but I think he got

sidetracked. He also thought my hands were shaking a bit, but that was

probably nervousness (and sugar from too many party goodies at the

office!). At the end, he said that his only reservation about Amour was

that there isn't a way to vary the dosage enough (pointing to the

multi-colored chart of Synthroid dosages on his wall). But that was it.

I was flabbergasted.

Otherwise, he was pleased with the test results:

TSH .04

Free T4 .92 (range .61 - 1.76)

Tg .5

TgAB <20

Now *I* think the T4 is low, but I didn't expect him to think it's bad.

Next visit in 6 months, including an ultrasound.

Jan wrote:

> I get a case of endophobia just thinking about your upcoming visit.

>

> *//*

[Guest guest]

The larger question is How do you FEEL with that low T4? Do you feel well?

If you feel good, then it must be right for you. If you don't, then you

need to search the situation, i.e., if you feel sick, then not saying

anything to the doctor is going to keep you right where you are.

Re: Endo visit coming up on Tuesday

> Well, that was a pleasant visit - especially compared to my fears about

it.

>

> I wasn't going to say anything about what I was taking if the subject

> didn't come up, but of course the nurse asked what meds I was on, so I

> was stuck. When the doc came in, he asked what dosage I was on, and I

> said 3 grains of Armour, and he just went on with his questions and

> comments! He did ask twice about heart palps, but I think he got

> sidetracked. He also thought my hands were shaking a bit, but that was

> probably nervousness (and sugar from too many party goodies at the

> office!). At the end, he said that his only reservation about Amour was

> that there isn't a way to vary the dosage enough (pointing to the

> multi-colored chart of Synthroid dosages on his wall). But that was it.

> I was flabbergasted.

>

> Otherwise, he was pleased with the test results:

>

> TSH .04

> Free T4 .92 (range .61 - 1.76)

> Tg .5

> TgAB <20

>

> Now *I* think the T4 is low, but I didn't expect him to think it's bad.

>

> Next visit in 6 months, including an ultrasound.

[Guest guest]

, Dr. just raised my Armour dose right around the time

these labs were drawn, so there's not much point in worrying about it

now. I don't feel great, but I do feel better than two weeks ago when I

whined to and got the dose increased. I've been on T4 meds (as

opposed to Cytomel) only since October, and switched from Synthroid to

Armour in December, so we're still tinkering.

Obviously, the endo is useless in this regard, since he thinks things

are fine. From the cancer standpoint, he's probably (hopefully) right,

and that's all I care about with respect to him. I rely on Dr. R. to

help me feel good.

Betsy

wrote:

> The larger question is How do you FEEL with that low T4? Do you feel well?

> If you feel good, then it must be right for you. If you don't, then you

> need to search the situation, i.e., if you feel sick, then not saying

> anything to the doctor is going to keep you right where you are.

>

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: " Betsy Grimm

> <snip>

>>

>> TSH .04

>> Free T4 .92 (range .61 - 1.76)

>> Tg .5

>> TgAB <20

>>

[Guest guest]

A suppressed TSH is not the only thing that matters in preventing the cancer from returning. I no longer have the links and references, but I found quite a bit of info to the effect that high levels of T3 are associated with less cancer of almost all kinds. The only exceptions were prostate cancer and certain genetic breast cancers. It is good that the endo did not freak about your being on Armour. But he needs to know that it is easier to fine tune doses of T3 with Armour than with Cytomel. 15 mg of Armour contains just 2.25 mcg of T3 and 9 mcg of T4. The smallest Cytomel pill is 5 mcg. Betsy Grimm wrote: , Dr. just raised my Armour dose right around the time these labs were drawn, so there's not much point in worrying about it now. I don't feel great, but I do feel better than two weeks ago when I whined to and got the dose increased. I've been on T4 meds (as opposed to Cytomel) only since October, and switched from Synthroid to Armour in December, so we're still tinkering.Obviously, the endo is useless in this regard, since he thinks things are fine. From the cancer standpoint, he's probably (hopefully) right, and that's all I care about with respect to him. I rely on Dr. R. to help me feel good.Betsy wrote:> The larger question is How do you FEEL with that low T4? Do you feel well?> If you feel good, then it must be right for you. If you don't, then you> need to search the situation, i.e., if you feel sick, then not saying> anything to the doctor

is going to keep you right where you are.>> >> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Betsy Grimm> <snip>>>>> TSH .04>> Free T4 .92 (range .61 - 1.76)>> Tg .5>> TgAB <20

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[Guest guest]

I think you wrote that before about the T3; I had forgotten it (along

with everything else these days).

I don't think he prescribes Cytomel except when going on/off meds for

RAI or scans, so being able to fine tune it would be irrelevant to him.

Notice he didn't test it.

Jan wrote:

> A suppressed TSH is not the only thing that matters in preventing the

> cancer from returning. I no longer have the links and references, but

> I found quite a bit of info to the effect that high levels of T3 are

> associated with less cancer of almost all kinds. The only exceptions

> were prostate cancer and certain genetic breast cancers.

>

> It is good that the endo did not freak about your being on Armour. But

> he needs to know that it is easier to fine tune doses of T3 with

> Armour than with Cytomel. 15 mg of Armour contains just 2.25 mcg of T3

> and 9 mcg of T4. The smallest Cytomel pill is 5 mcg.

[Guest guest]

Thinking about his comments on fine-tuning. I would guess that he is thinking in terms of TSH staying between 0.10 down to any measurable TSH. He may freak if your TSH gets completely suppressed, which may very well happen after you are on Armour for awhile.Betsy Grimm wrote: Well, that was a pleasant visit - especially compared to my fears about it.I wasn't going to say anything about what I was taking if the subject didn't come up, but of course the nurse asked what meds I was on, so I was stuck. When the doc came in, he asked what dosage I was on, and I said 3 grains of Armour, and he just went on with his questions and comments! He did ask twice about heart palps, but I think he got sidetracked. He

also thought my hands were shaking a bit, but that was probably nervousness (and sugar from too many party goodies at the office!). At the end, he said that his only reservation about Amour was that there isn't a way to vary the dosage enough (pointing to the multi-colored chart of Synthroid dosages on his wall). But that was it. I was flabbergasted.Otherwise, he was pleased with the test results: TSH .04 Free T4 .92 (range .61 - 1.76) Tg .5 TgAB <20Now *I* think the T4 is low, but I didn't

expect him to think it's bad.Next visit in 6 months, including an ultrasound.Jan wrote:> I get a case of endophobia just thinking about your upcoming visit.

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[Guest guest]

You may be right, Jan. He did mention something about letting the TSH

target come up a bit later if test results continue to be good. I

imagine he's thinking of osteoporosis and who knows what else (all the

excuses to keep people under-medicated).

Jan wrote:

> Thinking about his comments on fine-tuning. I would guess that he is

> thinking in terms of TSH staying between 0.10 down to any measurable

> TSH. He may freak if your TSH gets completely suppressed, which may very

> well happen after you are on Armour for awhile.

>

> */Betsy Grimm /* wrote:

>

> Well, that was a pleasant visit - especially compared to my fears

> about it.

> <snip>

[Guest guest]

Betsy Grimm wrote: You may be right, Jan. He did mention something about letting the TSH target come up a bit later if test results continue to be good. I imagine he's thinking of osteoporosis and who knows what else (all the excuses to keep people under-medicated).Jan wrote:> Thinking about his comments on fine-tuning. I would guess that he is > thinking in terms of TSH staying between 0.10 down to any measurable > TSH. He may freak if your TSH gets completely suppressed, which may very > well happen after you are on Armour for awhile.> > */Betsy Grimm /* wrote:> > Well, that was a pleasant visit

- especially compared to my fears> about it.> <snip>

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