Guest guest Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 Has anyone here heard of Ascites? I believe I have that condition as my abdomen is very large (much larger than normal), and I am short of breath. I have had problems with high TSH numbers for quite a long time. Recently, I have been taking Armour Thyroid with TSH's of 20, then dr. added Levoxyl (.75). Before, I was taking Synthroid (.325) for about 15 years. Recently, I had a stress test done and the scan showed fluid in the belly area. I am wondering if it could be Ascites. If so, has anyone experienced it and did you have to have it drained? I researched it and found that myexdema - hypothroidism is one of the causes of Ascites. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 Ascites is simply a name given to abnormal fluid in the abdomen. I believe many hypothyroid women have it. I feel certain, though no doctor has ever said so, that I do. as my abdomen is distended and hard to the touch. You say you were on Armour, how much? Your TSH shows that you simply are not getting enough thyroid hormones and that could be the cause all by itself. Too much or too little cortisol can also cause this, and these are common in thyroid disease. *Artistic Grooming * Hurricane, WVFat cat? Diabetes? Listowner for overweight or hypothyroid catshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/hypokitties/ No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.7.2 - Release Date: 1/21/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 I was taking 4 grains of Armour and 75 mcg of Levoxyl daily. The abdomen swelling started a few months before I started Armour and Levoxyl though. My dr. is now gradually taking me off of Armour. He says that he doesn't think pigs and humans are similar enough to take tha medicine. In fact, he says Armour is not metabolized very well in humans. He prefers synthetic thyroid drugs. My TSH went from 19 down to 3.4 in 2 months, so I thought it was working fine. I know I am not feeling very well though as I am exhausted all the time, sleep a lot and feel very irritable. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2005 Report Share Posted January 25, 2005 Well your doctor is uninformed. Armour works wonders for many of us, myself included. I do have to take 5 grains AND Cytomel as I am thyroid resistant probably from 25 years on synthetic thyroid that I almost died on. I was headed for myxedema coma even on 500 mcg Synthroid. I have since learned that by doing Free T3 and Free T4 tests that my T4 levels were in normal ranges but my Free T3 was way below range, though none of my doctors ever tested it. Since taking my medication into my own hands, I have dropped all blood pressure meds, and have recently opened my own successful pet grooming business. I am able to work and run my home alone and without the crushing pain and fatigue I did have on Synthroid. My swelling is going away, slowly. I do believe some of us also need adrenal supplementation to heal especially if you have been under medicated for a long time as I was. *Artistic Grooming * Hurricane, WVFat cat? Diabetes? Listowner for overweight or hypothyroid catshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/hypokitties/ No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.7.2 - Release Date: 1/21/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 > I was taking 4 grains of Armour and 75 mcg of Levoxyl daily. The > abdomen swelling started a few months before I started Armour and > Levoxyl though. My dr. is now gradually taking me off of Armour. He > says that he doesn't think pigs and humans are similar enough to take > tha medicine. In fact, he says Armour is not metabolized very well > in humans. He prefers synthetic thyroid drugs. My TSH went from 19 > down to 3.4 in 2 months, so I thought it was working fine. I know I > am not feeling very well though as I am exhausted all the time, sleep > a lot and feel very irritable. > > Peggy That's very uneducated for him to make these statements, he certainly isn't in the know on thyroid at all! Reason being that they are using piggy parts to replace human heart valves ALL the time. Doesn't he know this? And you need to know what the thyroid hormone values are, not just the pituitary hormone value, Free T3 and Free T4, those are the thyroid hormones. Once you're taking thyroid hormone on your own and you are hypo, the pituitary usually isn't like it was when all the body cells were healthy. Some peoples' never was working right, from the beginning of life, so that is very unreliable. It is pretty obvious, though, that you are very hypo. You need to find a doctor who knows what they are doing, if you can afford it. I am self treating out of desperation, for the last 1 and 1/2 yrs, and I may not be feeling optimal, but I'm certainly feeling better than what I was for the last 4 yrs or so. Decent thyroid docs are few and far between. This one doesn't know what he/she is doing, and needs to be educated, but it sounds like you may not have time for that, as you need to be corrected very rapidly. Yea, Armour!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.