Re: Angie & other newcomers

March 24, 2004

hi, well, i have lots of stories. what kind of story would you like me to tell

you? I have some stories of hope, despair, etc. I will tell you last winter I

thought I was dying. A little over a year later, I feel almost back to myself.

the cognitive problems persist.

today my hands were so dry, scaly, and scratching, my husband said it hurt his

skin when I touched him. I'm having a bad couple of days. Most days are TONS

better than this for me.

It's gonna be about getting on the right medication and the right dosage. It may

mean making some changes in your diet. It's gonna be essential that you be

proactive with this disease. You're gonna have to educate yourself, and you're

at a great place to do that. You're gonna need a lot of support, and you have

that here as well. It's a great group of people.

this is a great place to share. people here understand; they really do.

have you done any reading in the archives yet? The reason I ask is after I was

diagnosed last Feb., that's where I started. I read every single post in the

archives of this group. it really helped me a lot.

you and the other newcomers in the past few days...just realize you're not

alone. we can relate to what you're going through.

angie, (is that your name?), why are you on estrogen patches? The reason I ask

is so many times our thyroid can mess up our menstural cycles.

What kind of thyroid medication did your doc prescribe? Did you get the script

filled yet and start taking it?

I will tell you and the others something that, for me, was the single most

important piece of information I was told by the nurse practitioner at my endo's

office. (this information is common knowledge, and when you do your research

about this disease, you will see it a lot).

Thyroid hormones affect EVERY SINGLE CELL IN YOUR BODY. It can affect your skin,

your organs, your emotions, your reproductive system, your libido, your energy

level, your nails, muscles...everything!

the other most important thing I learned (not from my doctor's office) is that

we do NOT have to settle for feeling bad. if i had not been in this group and my

other thyroid group, I would have just settled for what my doctor told me. He

told me " Your labs are great. " Well, I kept asking myself (and him), " If my labs

are so great then why do I feel like SH_T? " Listen to your body; you know it

better than anyone. Symptoms are just as important (if not more important) than

lab values.

I recommend you read the archives.

I also recommend the following two books that I still refer to all the time. I'm

sure they will really help you a lot. There are other good books others will

recommend; I just haven't read them yet.

" Thyroid Power " by Drs. and Karilee Shames is EASY reading. When I read

this book, I just felt like all the pieces were coming together.

" The Thyroid Solution " by Dr. Ridha Arem is also easy to read and provides a

wealth of information that you need to know.

Take care guys and keep in touch! Hugs, Sheila

angiesplacedaycare <angiesplacedaycare@...> wrote:

I am a 28 yr old mother of 4. Two weeks ago i had to go on estrogen

patches now i was told yestraday i have hypothyroidism...I have been

researching it all day....And I guess i just need some real advice

and stories....Can anyone help me

March 25, 2004

-Thank you for this, they put me on estrogen patches due to the lack

of estrogen in my body. I have a lot of women problems...I am on

sythroid/levothroid I have tried to do research. But I am just trying

settle in to the fact that I am going to be on meds for the rest of

my life. Till 8 yrs ago i was a 130lb mother of two slim and ok

looking then I had my two last children. Lost the weight mostly. then

2 yrs ago i started to pile it on, now i weigh 162 and my youngest is

three and i have been dieting for over a year. No weigh lost...Plus i

am tired always. Mestrual is bad.. aand the mood swings hunt me....

my skin is so dry it's nasty my hair which used to be adored my most

is so dry it brakes. I am just looking for some advice and support

friends..-- In hypothyroidism , Kemal Kalajdzic

<kemalandsheila@y...> wrote:

> hi, well, i have lots of stories. what kind of story would you like

me to tell you? I have some stories of hope, despair, etc. I will

tell you last winter I thought I was dying. A little over a year

later, I feel almost back to myself. the cognitive problems persist.

>

> today my hands were so dry, scaly, and scratching, my husband said

it hurt his skin when I touched him. I'm having a bad couple of days.

Most days are TONS better than this for me.

>

> It's gonna be about getting on the right medication and the right

dosage. It may mean making some changes in your diet. It's gonna be

essential that you be proactive with this disease. You're gonna have

to educate yourself, and you're at a great place to do that. You're

gonna need a lot of support, and you have that here as well. It's a

great group of people.

>

> this is a great place to share. people here understand; they really

do.

>

> have you done any reading in the archives yet? The reason I ask is

after I was diagnosed last Feb., that's where I started. I read every

single post in the archives of this group. it really helped me a lot.

>

> you and the other newcomers in the past few days...just realize

you're not alone. we can relate to what you're going through.

>

> angie, (is that your name?), why are you on estrogen patches? The

reason I ask is so many times our thyroid can mess up our menstural

cycles.

>

> What kind of thyroid medication did your doc prescribe? Did you get

the script filled yet and start taking it?

>

> I will tell you and the others something that, for me, was the

single most important piece of information I was told by the nurse

practitioner at my endo's office. (this information is common

knowledge, and when you do your research about this disease, you will

see it a lot).

>

> Thyroid hormones affect EVERY SINGLE CELL IN YOUR BODY. It can

affect your skin, your organs, your emotions, your reproductive

system, your libido, your energy level, your nails,

muscles...everything!

>

> the other most important thing I learned (not from my doctor's

office) is that we do NOT have to settle for feeling bad. if i had

not been in this group and my other thyroid group, I would have just

settled for what my doctor told me. He told me " Your labs are great. "

Well, I kept asking myself (and him), " If my labs are so great then

why do I feel like SH_T? " Listen to your body; you know it better

than anyone. Symptoms are just as important (if not more important)

than lab values.

>

> I recommend you read the archives.

>

> I also recommend the following two books that I still refer to all

the time. I'm sure they will really help you a lot. There are other

good books others will recommend; I just haven't read them yet.

>

> " Thyroid Power " by Drs. and Karilee Shames is EASY reading.

When I read this book, I just felt like all the pieces were coming

together.

>

> " The Thyroid Solution " by Dr. Ridha Arem is also easy to read and

provides a wealth of information that you need to know.

>

> Take care guys and keep in touch! Hugs, Sheila

>

> angiesplacedaycare <angiesplacedaycare@y...> wrote:

> I am a 28 yr old mother of 4. Two weeks ago i had to go on estrogen

> patches now i was told yestraday i have hypothyroidism...I have

been

> researching it all day....And I guess i just need some real advice

> and stories....Can anyone help me

>

March 25, 2004

hi angie,

it can be very difficult to realize you have to take meds the rest of your life.

for me though, i felt relief by just knowing what was wrong and how to treat it.

did your doc tell you what kind of hypothyroidism you have? Do you have

Hashimoto's disease (also called chronic thyroiditis).

what dosage of synthroid are you starting on?

i can relate to the symptoms you're having. I started feeling better once I

started on the meds and I lost the weight. But even though I was feeling better,

I still had symptoms. We tried a Levoxyl/Cytomel combo after initially just

starting on Levoxyl. That combo made a big difference. Still I was having

symptoms, and I switch to Armour. I have felt much, much better since going on

that medication, and many of my symptoms were resolved.

I had a lot of problems with my menstrual cycle. It all cleared up when I

started on Armour.

did your doctor or pharmacist warn you about how calcium can interfere with your

thyroid hormones? You should make sure there's like 2-4 hours between the time

you take your thyroid hormones and calcium.

Here's some beginning information you and the others might like. You may already

know some of this since you've been doing research. The last link will tell you

what foods/drugs to watch out for that can interfere with thyroid hormones. The

second link is a GREAT source of information. You can just stay here and learn

tons. The first link is good place to get you started.

Take care, and keep in touch! hugs, sheila

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/index.htm

http://www.thyroid-info.com/index.htm

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/thyroid-drug-faq.htm

Angie <angiesplacedaycare@...> wrote: