i still haven't had the chance to read through your stich, printed and in my drawer for now, hoping to catch up while kids sleep tonight and I am lazy too, cut and copied for your enjoyment here's the basics of my thyroid stich: H decided that I was a hypocondriac and that was one more thing that he left me b/c of. Not to make excuses, almost two years ago when he was involved in his first A (that I know of) and I was pregnant and diagnosed with cancer, I was told that I could abort so that procedures could potentially save my life, or if I chose not to, then if I was lucky I could make it 10 years. Basically I had a Dr. with no bed side manner. I made the right choice, my baby is perfect, and I have no "drop dead date"
I'm screwing with my thyroid meds due to ins issues. love the take this or die attitude, I take mine about every 3-5 days.
Shocked - Don't mess with your thyroid meds like that. I assume you are taking hormone replacement? The only way to figure out how much you need is to take it consistently, so that your blood tests will be accurate - and by consistently, I mean not just daily, but also roughly the same time every day, on an empty stomach, so that absorption isn't varying.
Generics are cheap - if finances are a problem, it's okay to take generic. But don't cut down your dosage - just the risk of depression alone (not to mention weight gain - YUCK!) - should be enough to keep you on it. (I'm surprised you don't feel terrible on such a low dose - could it be that your dose was too high before, or that your diagnosis is incorrect?)
I'll always remember a patient I saw once. Her daughter brought her in, said her mom was having an assortment of problems. The woman was in her early 50s, but looked about 70, and was real slow and confused, like an elderly person. I ran a panel of tests, and low and behold her thyroid was the lowest I'd ever seen on a non-comatose person! At the next visit she remembered 'oh yeah, I was on thyroid once" but couldn't say how or why she'd stopped. Once we got her hormone levels back to normal, I swear, the woman looked and acted like a 40 year old.
First dosage was too high. I didn't sleep for weeks, got alot done though. Goiter still grew basically Dr. said, "hmm don't understand that. That's no good." After the blood test came back he lowered my dose. I was good, every morning same time empty stomach, even after the bomb. But my Dr. doesn't take my ins. so it's the visit itself that I can't afford. Switched Dr. on referal of Primary, he's too far away, and currently I can't get time off from work to get there while I have a sitter. through my h's ins (still on it for now) scripts are free. I know that I am crazy. but until I can get my through some other issues I really don't have a choice. Levoxyl. The depression/other emotions are an issue, but I try to realize what I am doing and I can and will be positive. Weight gain is not an issue. I'm 6 foot even, and 120#. Weight has never been an issue for me, something about the way I eat I am sure, but its genetic too.
Hey!! Something must be going around! I'm feeling really bloated, overweight, etc., and no matter how much exercise I do, I'm still gaining weight ... and I have this really strange, uncontrollable growth on my belly!!
Just checking in with you, Ellie. Obviously, you're the medical guru, so nothing for me to post. But I wanted you know I'm making my own little rounds tonight and wanted to stop by to say hello.
But just to join in the conversation here, my mom has thyroid issues, too. That's what my doctor thought I had in August because I was so tired, and none of my preggo tests came back positive. But she checked my thyroid, and everything came back normal. Of course a blood preggo test later revealed my true dilemma. But I've always wondered if I had a thyroid problem because I just can't seem to lose wait past a certain point. It freakin' sucks!
PD&B - Just a heads up about thyroid problems - they do run in families, and mild cases can easily get overlooked. My sister went for years with symptoms being told her tests were "normal" (while she had 2 siblings with hyperthyroidism) - finally was diagnosed as low thyroid, but a few years ago, the endocrine society changed what they considered "normal" range - if they'd done that years ago, she would have been diagnosed years ago.
My advice for someone in your sitch: insist on a FULL panel - TSH, T4, T3, AND thyroid antibodies. Most thyroid disease is autoimmune, and while the presence of antibodies doesn't necessarily mean you will develop thyroid disease, it's a pretty good indicator if you are also having symptoms. TSH should be under 3, even though the "normal" range in some labs can be up to 5. For someone with symptoms and family history, though, anything above 3 would be suspect.
Shocked - your primary doctor should be able to prescribe you pills for you in the interim - most doctors would rather you didn't go off your meds. As for being so thin - you might think about asking your doctor to check you for celiac disease. A simple blood test can screen for this. It causes poor absorption of nutrients due to damage to the intestinal lining from an immune reaction to the gluten in wheat and other grains. Sometimes associated with thyroid conditions or diabetes. If you want to post or email me any more details I can try to figure out what they are doing with you. Sounds a little atypical with the goiter and all.
The one thing that I noticed, once they got me on the meds, I changed. I have twins 3yrs old. I was told that it probably happened while I was pregnant with them. I only wish that my H had a clue as to how my thyroid effected me and how I was acting. I'll pull out some of the info that they gave me. The goiters, which were originally diagnosed as cancer were 7cm and 2cm, after being on too high a dose I moved to I believe 9.5cm and the other I think measured in MM, can't remember the number, that's when they biopsied and figured out that it wasn't likely cancer. I don't know about anything else. My father has a minimal, not being treated goiter and my mother has a parathyroid thing which she has been treating for for about 5 or 6 years.
kml all the details, my dosage is 50mcg other than that, I cannot find any of the lab reports with my levels. but that is the dosage that got my levels in acceptable range. I think that I threw all that stuff out when I decided to "self medicate" b/c of my stich. I got to tell you I am the most offended by those that "self medicate" I am not talking illegal drugs, but things that true medical professionals should take care of. My parents are classic self medicators. My father went from his army physical at 18 until age 70 w/o seeing a Dr for anything other than emergencies, and this year for the first time in his life he went to the eye dr. no more dime store glasses. And he has always had good insurance. When I was about 20 my mom called me at work one day, she was hemroging and could "see something" it had been hurting for a while. She had a bladder suspension the same day. I always promised myself that I would never be like that. Hah
Was your thyroid actually low when they started you on thyroid replacement, or were they simply trying to suppress the goiter? (You can have a goiter without being low thyroid sometimes - still treat by giving thyroid replacement, in an attempt to "shut down" the thyroid gland and get it to shrink.)
