Re: Re: Help.... I'm a mess! (Topper)

[Guest guest]

Hi Topper,

that was the reason that I decided to give up my job. I was so tired of people

eyeing me suspiciously and saying how well I looked when I felt as though I was

dying inside.

I think part of the problem is that I had always been able to manage a bigger

workload that anyone else and then when I became ill part of me couldn't accept

that I couldn't manage like I could before. Compounded by the fact that

although I wasn't coping, due to cutting down on staff numbers, I was given an

even bigger workload - it was just like they were saying " oh, Lynda's great, she

can manage anything " even though I was telling them that I wasn't coping

Lynda (in the UK)

" ....and I'm told Bulls**t there's nothing wrong with you and it's time you

quit making

excuses.... "

[Guest guest]

Hi Janet,

I can empathize too. I seem to do the same, increase my dose, feel better for

a few days and then crash again. However, when I increased this time that

didn't happen. I can only put it down to 2 things - I have been taking 5mg

cortef 4 times a day since November, so maybe now my adrenals are getting

stronger. I have also been taking iron for about 2 months, so perhaps that is

helping too.

I really do feel that you need adrenal support and I don't think the f to f is

strong enough to begin with. I would go with either cortef or isocort.

I can also identify with what you are saying about living alone - although I do

have a husband, I hardly ever venture out of the house except to buy food so I

feel cut off from society. Most of that is down to me, I have definitely

become more withdrawn.

Lynda (in the UK)

Re: Help.... I'm a mess! (Topper)

Good point, . Really good point.

What do YOU take? I would prefer taking something more " pure " than F to F,

which

had other things in it besides just adrenal extract. Maybe I was just

sensitive to

something else in it??

[Guest guest]

First thing you need to know is that if your ferritin is low, you will be a poor

converter. Mine was 20 and I was unable to convert. Now 4 months later at 325 mg

3x a day, I am up to 50.

Re: Help.... I'm a mess! (Topper)

Thanks !

I KNOW I'm a poor converter. Synthroid did absolutely nothing for me and even

made

me feel worse. The only time I felt any effect was when I started Cytomel,

too. And

that I started at 25mcg. I understand the concept of allowing things to

build. But is

it normal that I should fall off after just a few days of feeling a little

better? It's the

ups and low, low downs that get me. I'm Hashi's, but have never had a goiter

of any

size and have never really felt hyper -- if I even know what that feels like.

But I know

there's an underlying anxiety that comes along well after I've started my day.

Will the iron still bind the Armour even if I'm taking it SL? I know some is

eventually going into the gut despite being careful keeping the saliva away

from the

Armour. Do I still need to wait the 2+ hours between Armour & iron? I know

it

should be more like 6 hours when swallowing both. Just don't know for sure

how it

relates when sublinging the Armour.

With the walking, it feels fine to be doing it. I'm not as short of breath as

I was before

starting the iron, I'm not very sore at all the next day and in general, I

don't feel I'm

having to push myself either to do it (look forward to it!) and the increase

yesterday

just seemed " natual. " Do you think I should back down to the original

distance and

just stay there until my overall status is better?

In regard to my adrenals, see my explanation to Gossimer just up the list a

bit. I

finally bit the dust and charged a saliva test to my credit card (ARGGGG!)

Got it today

and will be doing this tomorrow. Will also be testing my progesterone and

estrogen,

which the doc failed to order with these last tests. Will get another DHEA-S

along

with all these. The DHEA-S he ordered came back at 130 (44-352). Cortisol

(serum)

was 11 (3-17) at about 4pm when the blood was drawn.

The sleep issue...... I don't know that I sleep deeply enough although my

dreaming is

a lot less. Up until about a month ago, it seemed like I was dreaming all the

time and

they were so vivid and often somewhat disturbing. I don't know exactly why I

wake

up after the 5 or so hours. I take 0.5 of lorazepam and 25mg of trazodone

before

bed, as I have for a few years now. If I try to go back to sleep and am

successful, it

takes a good hour or so. I'm thinking perhaps it's anxiety -- worry about a

lot of

things. I'm not ruminating as much as I used to but still have pressing

issues to deal

with. I thought the exercise would help cause me to be a little bit more

" tired " as I

haven't done much of anything for over 3 months. Just too " sick " to do much.

This lip burning thing really bugs me and I know it's related to the cortisol

" dump " I

feel after being up for about 8-10 hours. Actually anywhere from 8-14 hours.

Some

days, I get up feeling pretty good energy. Some days I drag and drag. Energy

level is

very variable. Foggy thinking has been back since about Tuesday after having

been

fairly good for about a month. Noticed the short-term memory loss thing again

last

night.

I just " know " there's a problem with my adrenals. Have from the very

beginning of

this nightmare. But getting any doctor to acknowledge it without hard data is

difficult

as is usual. Would be open to low dose hydrocortisone in a heartbeat if I

knew that it

wouldn't make the old " cortisol dump " worse or knew that the worsening

wouldn't

last the whole course of the med. I would have no problem even doing it on my

own,

getting the hydrocortisone from an online source. It just scares me that I'll

freak out

or do myself more harm than good. My cortisol problem doesn't seem to be a

volume problem but rather a timing problem. Tests I've had were all " normal "

(have

the actual values reported from the labs) but I'm also aware that those just

test either

one point in the day or else a whole 24 hours. No one has checked ACTH or

other

stuff related to hormonal regulation from the brain side of things. Blood

sugars have

been good and my Hgb A1C (long-term glucose control) was right in the middle

of

the normal range. I'm anxious to see about this diurnal cortisol,

progesterone,

estrogen and DHEA-S from saliva. But this could be another couple of weeks.

Sorry so long. Please feel free to ask other questions or offer other

comments --

anyone. It's hard trying to figure this all out by myself.

Janet

> Janet....

>

> In my opinion your frees are still too low in that last test... assuming

> that you increased to 2.5 grains 13 days ago.. that still isnt' enough

> time for the T4 to build... As it builds in the tissues the conversion

> increases and the T3 should come up as well... unless you're a poor

> converter...

>

> Sunday you starting dosing sublingually... that will increase your

> absorption rate over swallowing.. so that should help your levels come up

> a bit more.. and help you feel better... It's hard to wait to see how it

> is going to go.. but sometimes you have to try to be a bit patient.. the

> closer that you get to your optimal dose the smaller your increases

> should be... and you need to give your body time to adjust to the

> dosage....

>

> With your iron.. that could cause some binding problems... how are you

> dosing that in comparison to your thyroid?

>

> When you are going on your walks... are you feeling good about the

> walking, or are you pushing yourself to do more? I wonder if your body is

> fatigued from the physical activity and not coping so well?

>

> How are you adrenals? For some, increasing thyroid can bring to light

> adrenal issues that just didnt' show before, as the cope with all the

> extra activity...

>

> You mention being short on sleep, that in itself can make you feel worse

> and worse each day.. you need to get enough restorative sleep for your

> body to heal and grow (new skin, new muscle, etc).... What is keeping you

> from sleeping?

>

> Talk to us some more about what you are feeling.. maybe someone can spot

> a pattern or cause-and-effect that will lesson some of what you're going

> through..

>

> Topper () *who over did it today and wants to crawl under a rock -

> over exertion is NOT a good thing*