Body will no longer taking Synthroid by itself

[irishgal]

Hi Everyone -  I guess I should give you a little background first.  At 11 yrs old I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease/Hyperactive.  At 15 yrs old I had Radiation because they could not get my thyroid undercontrol with PTU.  Also, my thyroid was 6x its normal size.  Can we say GOITER!!!!  About 3 months after the treatment it was determined that I had switched to Hypothyroid and have been on Synthroid ever since.  I am currently 28 years old and have been dealing with this disease for 17 years now.  Last year during my pregnancy, my OB had a hard time regulating my levels with my medication.  My T3, T4 and TSH levels were off the charts...dangerous levels.  By the time I got to my Endo I was on 300mg of Synthroid....I was literally being overdosing and feeling like ****!!!  My Endo said that basically, although it is very rare, my body is no longer taking the T4 hormone.  In order for it take it I need to be taking T3 hormone, i.e. cytomel.  After a few weeks being on my cocktail my thyroid seemed to get back under control.  I am at the moment feeling really yucky and having a lot of my symtoms rearing their ugly little heads again.  I was just wondering if anybody else has had this problem or if anybody has any ideas why this is happening?  The only thing I was told by the Dr is that my body is naturally made up to function with Grave's disease/Hyperactive now that I am Hypo with Grave's its gonna be harder to treat.  Does this seem right?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Your situation is somewhat unusual.  Sometimes if synthroid (t4) is not absorbed, you will become severely hypothyroid which in turn causes decreased intestinal function (worsening absorption further) - in this case short-term t3 therapy can help.  Perhaps a combo of t4/t3 will be best for you in the long term.  At this point, you have hypothyroidism and presumably not hyper (ie, Graves) - were you treated with I-131?  But the "Graves" may still be present in the form of antibodies in the system, which on rare occasion can attack the T4.

[irishgal]

Hello -  Thank you for responding.  The Drs used the term "sever hypothyroid" when they saw my levels.  My levels were TSH=46, T4=226.  I was at risk for Thyroid Storm...basically a walking time bomb due to the fact that it had already been 7 months at these levels.  Currently I am at 200mg of Synthroid and 25mg of Cytomel and I still feel pretty crappy.  They told me that my thyroid is basically dead due to the Radioactive Iodine I had as a teenager.  But they did say that Grave's Disease was still active.  Only that my body is a little confused because I am now Hypothyroid yet it still wants to function as though I am Hyper.  I was told by all my doctors that there is no cure for Grave's Disease they can only treat the Hyper or Hypo condition.  I will always have this disease...it can go into remission but can and will very likely become active.  I just find it really strange that after all these years my body has now stopped absorbing the Synthroid.  It just makes me wonder if there is something else going on?  Its kinda scary.

[katchetab]

Irishgal,  OH hon I have the same problems!!!!!   it is scary.  I am not sure where to turn at this point.  with all the reading i've been doing seemed to point to armour a t4 and t3 combo. but it wasnt for me.  or maybe i did it wrong.  I wanted it to work so much.. Its like getting a great pair of heals that are perfect but they are a half size too small LOL.  try to wear them a few times as you know the leather will stretch LOL but instead of the leather stretching you get big blisters LMAO!! I'm just glad i've found you all!!!
hugs and kisses