Thank you Gerri & Ann

[Guest guest]

Hello Gerri and Ann,

I want to thank you both very much for posting those wonderful links about

thyroid disorders. I found them extremely helpful and will discuss a blood

test with my doctor at my next appointment. I had no idea how prevalent

hypothyroidism is in women. And after reading the links, it is definitely

possible that there is a connection between fibroids and low levels of TSH.

I have every symptom of hypothyroidism listed in those links, but they

coincide with anemic symptoms and side effects from bc pills, so I never

thought to ask about checking the thyroid gland.

Do either of you have a low functioning thrroid gland or some type of

hypothyroidism? And if you do, do you take TSH replacement therapies? Do

these daily pills help? If my doctor happens to find that my TSH levels are

low, in your opinion... would taking the replacement pill be the best route

of treatment?

Thanks for your advice and support.

Hugs,

Sonja

[Guest guest]

My mother has hypothyroidism that was discovered when she started

having children back in the 60's. She had three miscarriages and then

they put her on pills. She has taken Synthroid for years, actually

due to when she started taking the pills her dosage was much higher

than they do today (they did the same thing with birth control pills,

remember). Her endocrinologist dropped her dosage in the past 5 years

to a more moderate amount but that has resulted in some weight gain.

I doubt that a similar situation would happen today.

She also had a fibroid, but closer to menopause (I'm only 33 and my

sister only 30 and we've both had fibroids already). My great-aunt

had thyroid problems and a fibroid. I had one blood test last fall

that came back normal for thyroid functioning, I don't really have

any of the symptoms other than a little tendency to be cold. I was

having a problem with circulation in my toes that looked like

Reynaud's Syndrome, something my mom has, but with my naturopathic

treatment and wearing wool tights and socks in the winter it appears

to have gone away.

You could check out a book called " Thyroid Power " that explains a lot

about how to help your body heal from low thyroid. The writer is a

strong advocate for putting everyone on thyroid meds but I think you

should definately consider first improving your health first to see

if that helps. I'm all for the meds, just make sure that you need

them first.

Good luck.

Ann

> Do either of you have a low functioning thrroid gland or some type

of hypothyroidism?

[Guest guest]

Hi Sonja-

I am hypothyroid and take replacement hormone. To my

knowledge there is no other way to treat hypothyroid disease

other than adding thyroid hormone! You can't eat anything, drink

anything, and there are no alternative methods or supplements

that provide the hormone other than the hormone itself. What you

do have is a choice about whether to go synthetic or natural. I

think that you already know about Synthroid and other T4 drugs

like Levoxyl, synthetic T3 (Cytomel) and Armour, the natural

hormone that contains both T4 and T3, but it tricky to get right.

What am I saying - they're ALL tricky to get right! Trial and error is

the only way to find out what will work best for your body.

Most conventional endos prescribe Synthroid right off the bat. I

am trying that and have had my dosage increased three times

this year and may add Cytomel if the results of today's blood

tests show that I am still not converting the T4 to T3 sufficiently. I

will try this before switching to Armour as I don't want a huge

disruption in my system and I am not feeling that badly to begin

with. My current endo believes in choices and is very

open-minded and luckily prescribes Armour; if you are in NYC I'd

be happy to recommend him.

I take Synthroid every day and have spent the last 10 months

trying to find the right dosage. I became hypo after surgery to

correct a not very common hyperthyroid condition called " T3

toxicosis " - a nodule grew in the left lobe of my thyroid and

overproduced the T3 hormone, causing hyper symptoms, which

were most unpleasant. But I have been hypo before.

I didn't re-check the replies to your first post, but I remember that

you got some good links that are informative. There are also

some excellent books out there: Shomon's " Living Well

With Hypothyroidism " and Ridha Arem's " The Thyroid Solution " .

I know that when I went hypo my bleeding got much heavier and

my fibroid situation worsened rapidly, necessitating fibroid

surgery in May, five months after my thyroid surgery! I don't

mention this to scare you but I think that I am living proof that

endocrine hormonal imbalance seriously impacts the delicate

balance of our female hormones.

Did anyone mention that the " normal " TSH range has recently

been narrowed to around 0.3 to 3.0? I don't remember the exact

numbers. The AACE made this determination but I have yet to

see a lab reflect this new range and I have used two, including

the big one, Quest. It's possible that not all endos are heeding

this recommendation, or even know about it! So if your TSH

bloodwork comes back at 5 or even 4, you would be within the

old range of " normal " yet you would really be hypothyroid and

need treatment. but the endo might refuse to treat you.

BTW, the higher your TSH is, the more hypo you are. When I was

hyper, my TSH was suppressed at 0.03. I've read that the ideal

range for optimal thyroid health puts the TSH at around 1, but

everyone is different as to where they feel the best. I know that I

feel lousy at 3. The sooner you start on the treatment, the sooner

you will feel better!

Best wishes-

Jan

>Do either of you have a low functioning thyroid gland or some

type of hypothyroidism? And if you do, do you take TSH

replacement therapies? Do these daily pills help? If my doctor

happens to find that my TSH levels are low, in your opinion...

would taking the replacement pill be the best route of

treatment?<