New Here, lots of questions!

[Guest guest]

,

I fully agree..however Normal is a setting on a washer, not a blood

test. Too many doctors only use the TSH test. Then they use the old range

for the TSH. They need to test for anti-bodies and the Free T4 and Free

T3. The Free's are the unbound hormone in your system. I have Hashi's and

when my free's are low I feel crummier than normal.

Please take a look at Shoman's website:

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

Use the left hand column.

Kate

Hashi's

AS

At 09:03 AM 10/31/2007, you wrote:

>Hi ,

>

> Welcome to our group! I can completely sympathize with your

> frustration. It's bad enough to have to deal with all these painful and

> mysterious symptoms; it's even worse when you have to deal with a

> difficult doctor who doesn't take you seriously. If possible, find

> yourself a better doctor who will listen to you and be more

> open-minded. I think you should definately insist on getting tested for

> HLA-B27 since it is in your family. Also, I would suggest getting your

> thyroid tested. The reason why I bring it up is that my sister had been

> misdiagnosed many years ago with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. She

> had a host of varied symptoms and wasn't sure about the diagnosis. She

> eventually got a good doctor who was willing to run the full gamut of

> tests on her. She ended up testing negative for HLA-B27 but her thyroid

> function was virtually nill. Hypothyroidism can mimic symptoms of

> chronic fatigue and can cause a host of other symptoms, including to the

> skin, hair,

> and nails. If you're thyroid has already been tested and it's in the

> normal range, then your symptoms very well could be psoriatic arthritis

> or some other spondyloarthropathy. Also, you don't have to be HLA-B27

> positive to get spondies. It just so happens that the majority of people

> with spondies have the gene, but not everyone.

>

> Not sure if any of this helps, but I wish you all the best.

>

> God bless,

>

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have come up with tons of

questions since seeing my Endo.

My last TSH levels were 315 and 299. Isn't that insanely high? I am

on 75mcg of Synthroid. I didn't even know I was hypothyroid, only went

to the Dr. because I was concerned about galactorrhea and prolactin.

I'm not even sure what symptoms are from the thyroid and what is

coincidental. I thought I got fat from Betty Crocker!

How does the medicine work? If I miss a dose, will I feel the

effects?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

It looks like is up to old tricks. I just saw your message today!!

(Saturday)

IMO you are on too low a dose. Your TSH levels differ between labs, so please

post the reference ranges with labs. But, it looks WAY TOO HIGH, if your ranges

are between .3-3.5

You will feel like hell until your levels are right, and IMO synthoid was

horrible for me. I never felt right. Now, I am on Armour, and feel a lot

better, and I am trying to tweak the dose, so it takes time.

Yes, weight gain is a sign, among depression, dry skin, constipation, etc.

Welcome to the group!

Blessings,

flipflop0129 <flipflop0129@...> wrote:

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have come up with tons of

questions since seeing my Endo.

My last TSH levels were 315 and 299. Isn't that insanely high? I am

on 75mcg of Synthroid. I didn't even know I was hypothyroid, only went

to the Dr. because I was concerned about galactorrhea and prolactin.

I'm not even sure what symptoms are from the thyroid and what is

coincidental. I thought I got fat from Betty Crocker!

How does the medicine work? If I miss a dose, will I feel the

effects?

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote:

>

> It looks like is up to old tricks. I just saw your message today!!

I still haven't seen it, except for your response!

flipflop,

You wrote:

> My last TSH levels were 315 and 299. Isn't that insanely high? I am

> on 75mcg of Synthroid. ...

Just to affirm what said, my TSH never got above 8.5, and I'm

on the relatively low dose of 125 mcg. Three of my relatives have been

above 200 mcg. If you have been on only 75 mcg for more than six weeks,

you have been criminally neglected and should immediately find a new doctor.

Such high TSH levels are more an indication of how long you have been

hypoT rather than the level of T4/T3 in your blood. Still, a long period

of hypoT is what causes permanent damage. Please don't delay getting

this treated properly.

> How does the medicine work? If I miss a dose, will I feel the

> effects?

As said, you will probably not feel well until you get in

neighborhood of at least double your current dose. Once your dose is

fine tuned, a single missed dose would be noticeable. In your current

state, you may not feel much difference from a single miss. The half

life of the medicine is about a week, so you are really taking small

" maintenance " amounts. You maintain a level that took weeks to build up,

so a single skip will be a relatively minor perturbation, but that is

still enough to cause symptoms.

It is also important that you follow the directions for taking it, in

detail. There is more on that in our FAQ in the archives.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

I am so glad to have someone to talk to about this stuff, thanks for

your replies!!

I am wondering how much of my weight gain is from eating junk food and

how much is from the hypo. I have gained about 40 pounds in the past

year, but i am 25 and have had 2 children so I attributed the weight to

lifes circumstances. Right now I am 5'9 " and 182 lbs. I should be

closer to 140-150.

I didn't even realize my symptoms were hypo until it was confirmed by

the blood tests. My worst problem has been mental slowness (for lack

of a better term), and mild depression (again for lack of a better

term). I have little episodes where all of a sudden my insides tighten

up, I get emotional, can't think straight, can't focus... Is that from

the hypo or am I just not handling stress well lately?

I wish I knew which of my symptoms are hypo and which are

circumstantial. I actually was thinking that my dose might be too high

because I have been able to stay up fairly late and am waking up much

easier than I used to. I've been much more patient with the kids

lately. I am only 2 weeks in to the synthroid, so I guess I have a lot

to learn... so far just lots of questions and trying to learn as much

as I can.

[Guest guest]

Another question: If that high of a TSH is how long I have been hypo,

then how long do you think ive been this way? My Dr. thought it's

probably been about 6 months... does that sound about right to you?

[Guest guest]

It takes time to tweak Synthroid as well, until one is optimally dosed

Dusty

Re: New Here, lots of questions!

Hi,

It looks like is up to old tricks. I just saw your message today!!

(Saturday)

IMO you are on too low a dose. Your TSH levels differ between labs, so

please post the reference ranges with labs. But, it looks WAY TOO HIGH, if

your ranges are between .3-3.5

You will feel like hell until your levels are right, and IMO synthoid was

horrible for me. I never felt right. Now, I am on Armour, and feel a lot

better, and I am trying to tweak the dose, so it takes time.

Yes, weight gain is a sign, among depression, dry skin, constipation, etc.

Welcome to the group!

Blessings,

flipflop0129 <flipflop0129@ <mailto:flipflop0129%40aol.com> aol.com> wrote:

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have come up with tons of

questions since seeing my Endo.

My last TSH levels were 315 and 299. Isn't that insanely high? I am

on 75mcg of Synthroid. I didn't even know I was hypothyroid, only went

to the Dr. because I was concerned about galactorrhea and prolactin.

I'm not even sure what symptoms are from the thyroid and what is

coincidental. I thought I got fat from Betty Crocker!

How does the medicine work? If I miss a dose, will I feel the

effects?

[Guest guest]

Hello, are you sure those numbers are right? And that it wasn't a TSH of 31.5

or 29.9? If you're right about the numbers, that is crazy high.  What are your

free T4 and T3 numbers?

New Here, lots of questions!

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism and have come up with tons of

questions since seeing my Endo.

My last TSH levels were 315 and 299. Isn't that insanely high? I am

on 75mcg of Synthroid. I didn't even know I was hypothyroid, only went

to the Dr. because I was concerned about galactorrhea and prolactin.

I'm not even sure what symptoms are from the thyroid and what is

coincidental. I thought I got fat from Betty Crocker!

How does the medicine work? If I miss a dose, will I feel the

effects?

________________________________________________________________________

More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! -

http://webmail.aol.com

[Guest guest]

I think most ppl suffer for years and years with untreated hypo. Go by

symptoms, not

#s. I lost 30 years of my life after partial thyroidectomy and no treatment.

Gracia

Another question: If that high of a TSH is how long I have been hypo,

then how long do you think ive been this way? My Dr. thought it's

probably been about 6 months... does that sound about right to you?

[Guest guest]

there are some good books on hypothyroidism. Look for books by Shomon,

Brownstein MD--he has a website. Hypothyroidism the Unsuspected Illness

by Broda MD is a great one.

Gracia

I am so glad to have someone to talk to about this stuff, thanks for

your replies!!

I am wondering how much of my weight gain is from eating junk food and

how much is from the hypo. I have gained about 40 pounds in the past

year, but i am 25 and have had 2 children so I attributed the weight to

lifes circumstances. Right now I am 5'9 " and 182 lbs. I should be

closer to 140-150.

I didn't even realize my symptoms were hypo until it was confirmed by

the blood tests. My worst problem has been mental slowness (for lack

of a better term), and mild depression (again for lack of a better

term). I have little episodes where all of a sudden my insides tighten

up, I get emotional, can't think straight, can't focus... Is that from

the hypo or am I just not handling stress well lately?

I wish I knew which of my symptoms are hypo and which are

circumstantial. I actually was thinking that my dose might be too high

because I have been able to stay up fairly late and am waking up much

easier than I used to. I've been much more patient with the kids

lately. I am only 2 weeks in to the synthroid, so I guess I have a lot

to learn... so far just lots of questions and trying to learn as much

as I can.

[Guest guest]

No, my first TSH was 315.490 and the second was 299.390. I can't find

where anyone else has ever had levels that high. My GYN was shocked.

My T4 was .10 and my T3 was .34 both very low.

Also, my prolactin was 37.55 in a range of 3.34 - 26.72

[Guest guest]

flipflop0129,

Welcome to the list. Your symptoms are classic. Most of us have been

there and have the t-shirt.

You wrote:

> ... My worst problem has been mental slowness (for lack

> of a better term), and mild depression (again for lack of a better

> term)....

We call that " brain fog, " a key indicator that your medication is not

yet sufficient.

>...I have little episodes where all of a sudden my insides tighten

> up, I get emotional, can't think straight, can't focus... Is that from

> the hypo or am I just not handling stress well lately?

Both. HypoT affects the way we respond to stress.

>... I actually was thinking that my dose might be too high

> because I have been able to stay up fairly late and am waking up much

> easier than I used to. I've been much more patient with the kids

> lately. I am only 2 weeks in to the synthroid,...

Your blood levels can actually fluctuate a bit while you adjust to the

medication, which is why they used to recommend a six week interval

between dosage changes.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

flipflop0129 wrote:

>

>

> Another question: If that high of a TSH is how long I have been hypo,

> then how long do you think ive been this way? My Dr. thought it's

> probably been about 6 months... does that sound about right to you?

Hard to tell because it is a product of both severity and time. If your

thyroid just shut down completely, six months could well be right. OTOH,

if it gradually deteriorated (typical of Hashimoto's), it could be more

like a year or even longer. If you have an annual physical, that

brackets it to between six months and the last blood test.

Chuck

[Guest guest]

I would say that you've probably had some degree of hypoT for a long long time.

For me, I didn't realize how sick I was until I got better, and then thinking

about the symptoms, thought back to when they started.? Perhaps you will be able

to do this too.

Re: New Here, lots of questions!

No, my first TSH was 315.490 and the second was 299.390. I can't find

where anyone else has ever had levels that high. My GYN was shocked.

My T4 was .10 and my T3 was .34 both very low.

Also, my prolactin was 37.55 in a range of 3.34 - 26.72

________________________________________________________________________

More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! -

http://webmail.aol.com