Re: Post surgery questions

July 23, 2004

Can anyone help?

> Hi! I haven't posted here in awhile. I had hyperthyroidism due to a

> golf ball sized " hot " nodule. I had a partial thryoidectomy, removing

> the nodule and a little over half my thyroid on June 11 of this year.

>

> I was sent for my first set of labs on June 25. For some reason, the

> lab only tested my T3 which was 182 (230-420). My Endo said that the

> T3 wasn't important and retested me on July 15. She didn't test my T3

> this time...just my TSH and T4. My TSH was 2.27 (.4-4.0) and T4 was

> 1.1 (.8-1.9). She said I am completely normal and that the labs were

> " perfect " . I am wondering why I don't feel perfect. I am so very

> emotional, fatigued, cranky, etc. And also, my blood pressure at my

> last visit on July 15 was 106/60. Is this normal? Is it possibly

> related to my thyroid? Could it be the reason I am so tired? My Endo

> didn't mention my blood pressure to me and I failed to ask her about

> it. She gave me an order to go get my labs checked whenever I feel

> the need and basically said... " have a nice life " and didn't want to

> see me again unless labs said otherwise.

>

> Does anyone have any feedback for me? Why is the T3 not important.

> One more thing...the labs order she wrote for me only includes TSH and

> T4 for future testing.

>

> Thanks in advance for any help. I hope all of this makes sense as I

> feel I am babbling all over the place...lol!

>

July 23, 2004

Hi Jules... I was wondering how you were doing.

Now that you've had the partial, it's VERY important to get thorough testing. You have to see how your body is adjusting to the reduced size of your thyroid gland.

At first there will be a period of time during which your body will be using up the excess stored hormone.. once that is used up you will very likely dip hypo.. from there the remaining portion of gland will be getting the signals, via TSH, to kick up production. At this point you need close monitoring to see how much that remaining gland is able to produce. It my be able to kick out enough to compensate and all is well.. but it may still kick out too much.. or, more likely, not produce enough.

So.. you need to know what it is doing to determine if hormone supplementation is needed.

Even though my endo was into Synthroid, her only fault, but I didn't know it at the time, she was and excellent doc... I was tested every two weeks for the first six months after my RAI, to determine if the gland was going to kick in. Once she was sure that there was NO output and that it wasn't going to come back, then she started me on meds and testing was then every month.... She was thorough in determining remaining function BEFORE adding meds.

I tend to think that is the best approach. To determine remaining function before starting meds. That way you are aware of how much affect that natural production will have on the meds being given.

Remember. Adding replacement hormone to a system where the thyroid is still producing will reduce the out put from the gland. What that means is that as you increase the dosage on the meds, the gland will decrease output.. if you are aware of that you will understand that an increase of meds will cause an improvement at first, then you may slip back a bit as the thyroid slows.. then you increase the meds a bit... and watch to see if the thyroid again slows...

It's a bit of a hassle to do that.. but the end result is that your body suffers FAR LESS than it would from more extremes.. such as waiting 3 or 6 months for a test, then adding meds.. not knowing what to expect and then waiting 6 months to a year for the next test.. that is a LONG time to wait if the body is slipping backwards and things aren't being watched...

As far as T3.. remember the basics: T4 is the storage hormone. T3 is the active hormone. T4 is converted to T3 which is then used by the body. If you do not test the T3 levels you do not know how well your body is converting. That was my horror on T4 only meds, only I didn't know it at the time, I'm a lousy converter. So with no T3 testing my TSH and T4 could look really good.. but I'd feel like 'recycled dog food'...

My magic for dealing with that is to take selenium, which is required for conversion, and to dose my Natural thyroid multiple times a day - 5 times when I'm doing 2.5 grain and 6 times when doing 3 grain.

I'm doing 3 grain for a week at a time, as needed when I'm I'll, or like now, this problem that I'm having with my leg.

Again, a reminder. When you take T3 (which is in naturals) it peak is at about 2 hours and it's 95% used up in about 4 hours.. so I dose every 3 to 4 hours to keep my levels as even as possible. I take my first dose when I wake and my last dose as I crawl into bed... I'm only 'dependant' on conversion for a few hours during the night when I sleep.

I have read a few reasons for poor conversion rates. There are many.. the one that sparks me is that prolonged hyperthyroid or hypothyroid states can mess up receptors and therefore affect the conversion... I'd not be surprised that that is what happened to me.

That's why I push all of you to get a diagnosis and proper tests to allow you to be able to make educated decisions on your care and treatment. Going into this blind, as I and many others here have, just costs you down the road. The cost is your health and quality of life - depending on how much damage your body endured.

IMHO, of course.

Topper ()

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 20:46:13 -0000 "jules_4827" writes:

Hi! I haven't posted here in awhile. I had hyperthyroidism due to agolf ball sized "hot" nodule. I had a partial thryoidectomy, removingthe nodule and a little over half my thyroid on June 11 of this year. I was sent for my first set of labs on June 25. For some reason, thelab only tested my T3 which was 182 (230-420). My Endo said that theT3 wasn't important and retested me on July 15. She didn't test my T3this time...just my TSH and T4. My TSH was 2.27 (.4-4.0) and T4 was1.1 (.8-1.9). She said I am completely normal and that the labs were"perfect". I am wondering why I don't feel perfect. I am so veryemotional, fatigued, cranky, etc. And also, my blood pressure at mylast visit on July 15 was 106/60. Is this normal? Is it possiblyrelated to my thyroid? Could it be the reason I am so tired? My Endodidn't mention my blood pressure to me and I failed to ask her aboutit. She gave me an order to go get my labs checked whenever I feelthe need and basically said..."have a nice life" and didn't want tosee me again unless labs said otherwise. Does anyone have any feedback for me? Why is the T3 not important. One more thing...the labs order she wrote for me only includes TSH andT4 for future testing. Thanks in advance for any help. I hope all of this makes sense as Ifeel I am babbling all over the place...lol!

July 23, 2004

These labs are far, far from perfect and any doctor doesn't even believe

T3 should be tested is not a doctor you wanna have anyway. New doctor,

right now.

Thyroid can cause the fatigue, crankiness, blood pressure.

The T3 is very important - it is the active form of thyroid hormone. The

most important test of all is Free T3. Free T4 is important too. The

Totals are a bit more useless.

You make a lot of sense, but if you don't get proper treatment soon, you

will not make sense any longer, heehee. So new doctor new doctor new doctor.

Jan

jules_4827 wrote:

>Hi! I haven't posted here in awhile. I had hyperthyroidism due to a

>golf ball sized " hot " nodule. I had a partial thryoidectomy, removing

>the nodule and a little over half my thyroid on June 11 of this year.

>

>I was sent for my first set of labs on June 25. For some reason, the

>lab only tested my T3 which was 182 (230-420). My Endo said that the

>T3 wasn't important and retested me on July 15. She didn't test my T3

>this time...just my TSH and T4. My TSH was 2.27 (.4-4.0) and T4 was

>1.1 (.8-1.9). She said I am completely normal and that the labs were

> " perfect " . I am wondering why I don't feel perfect. I am so very

>emotional, fatigued, cranky, etc. And also, my blood pressure at my

>last visit on July 15 was 106/60. Is this normal? Is it possibly

>related to my thyroid? Could it be the reason I am so tired? My Endo

>didn't mention my blood pressure to me and I failed to ask her about

>it. She gave me an order to go get my labs checked whenever I feel

>the need and basically said... " have a nice life " and didn't want to

>see me again unless labs said otherwise.

>

>Does anyone have any feedback for me? Why is the T3 not important.

>One more thing...the labs order she wrote for me only includes TSH and

>T4 for future testing.

>

>Thanks in advance for any help. I hope all of this makes sense as I

>feel I am babbling all over the place...lol!

>

July 23, 2004

Thank you so much, , for your very valuable information. You

were very thorough and informative and I appreciate that!!

Thanks again,

> Hi Jules... I was wondering how you were doing.

>

> Now that you've had the partial, it's VERY important to get thorough

> testing. You have to see how your body is adjusting to the reduced size

> of your thyroid gland.

>

> At first there will be a period of time during which your body will be

> using up the excess stored hormone.. once that is used up you will very

> likely dip hypo.. from there the remaining portion of gland will be

> getting the signals, via TSH, to kick up production. At this point you

> need close monitoring to see how much that remaining gland is able to

> produce. It my be able to kick out enough to compensate and all is

well..

> but it may still kick out too much.. or, more likely, not produce

enough.

>

> So.. you need to know what it is doing to determine if hormone

> supplementation is needed.

>

> Even though my endo was into Synthroid, her only fault, but I didn't

> know it at the time, she was and excellent doc... I was tested every two

> weeks for the first six months after my RAI, to determine if the gland

> was going to kick in. Once she was sure that there was NO output and

that

> it wasn't going to come back, then she started me on meds and

testing was

> then every month.... She was thorough in determining remaining function

> BEFORE adding meds.

>

> I tend to think that is the best approach. To determine remaining

> function before starting meds. That way you are aware of how much affect

> that natural production will have on the meds being given.

>

> Remember. Adding replacement hormone to a system where the thyroid is

> still producing will reduce the out put from the gland. What that means

> is that as you increase the dosage on the meds, the gland will decrease

> output.. if you are aware of that you will understand that an

increase of

> meds will cause an improvement at first, then you may slip back a bit as

> the thyroid slows.. then you increase the meds a bit... and watch to see

> if the thyroid again slows...

>

> It's a bit of a hassle to do that.. but the end result is that your body

> suffers FAR LESS than it would from more extremes.. such as waiting 3 or

> 6 months for a test, then adding meds.. not knowing what to expect and

> then waiting 6 months to a year for the next test.. that is a LONG time

> to wait if the body is slipping backwards and things aren't being

> watched...

>

> As far as T3.. remember the basics: T4 is the storage hormone. T3 is the

> active hormone. T4 is converted to T3 which is then used by the body. If

> you do not test the T3 levels you do not know how well your body is

> converting. That was my horror on T4 only meds, only I didn't know it at

> the time, I'm a lousy converter. So with no T3 testing my TSH and T4

> could look really good.. but I'd feel like 'recycled dog food'...

>

> My magic for dealing with that is to take selenium, which is

required for

> conversion, and to dose my Natural thyroid multiple times a day - 5

times

> when I'm doing 2.5 grain and 6 times when doing 3 grain.

>

> I'm doing 3 grain for a week at a time, as needed when I'm I'll, or like

> now, this problem that I'm having with my leg.

>

> Again, a reminder. When you take T3 (which is in naturals) it peak is at

> about 2 hours and it's 95% used up in about 4 hours.. so I dose every 3

> to 4 hours to keep my levels as even as possible. I take my first dose

> when I wake and my last dose as I crawl into bed... I'm only 'dependant'

> on conversion for a few hours during the night when I sleep.

>

> I have read a few reasons for poor conversion rates. There are

many.. the

> one that sparks me is that prolonged hyperthyroid or hypothyroid states

> can mess up receptors and therefore affect the conversion... I'd not be

> surprised that that is what happened to me.

>

> That's why I push all of you to get a diagnosis and proper tests to

allow

> you to be able to make educated decisions on your care and treatment.

> Going into this blind, as I and many others here have, just costs you

> down the road. The cost is your health and quality of life -

depending on

> how much damage your body endured.

>

> IMHO, of course.

>

> Topper ()

>

> On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 20:46:13 -0000 " jules_4827 " <jules_4827@y...>

> writes: