Help! Can i take synthroid irregularly?

[helen1207]

I am suffering! i was diagnosed as Hashi half year ago. I am swinging in between hypo and hyper, i was prescribed 50MCG Synthroid, it seemed like if i took one pill on daily basis, after 2-4weeks, i became a hyper, then if i lowerred it to half pill a day, i was still hyper, i had to stop. after stopping for 2-4 weeks, i became a hypo, tired all day long. i am in the circle back and forth in the past 6m and i am exhausted!

does anybody know,  is it safe to take synthroid irregularly like i am doing?
my doctor wouldn't give me a straight answer.

[stella5349]

Cardio issues can be a symptom of both Hyper and hypo. I think if they are bothersome to you - you should call the office and let them know.

[helen1207]

another symptom i have been having is irregular heart beating, mostly on the slow side. at first, i thought my heart was beating too fast, because it felt very strong, later i realized actually it's very slow(50 something per min), but it certainly felt strong, like all blood got flushed to my brain. it happened more often when i was sitting down, then if i got up and walked around, i might fix it. i am having this symptom these day and for a long while today, i couldn't sit down.

anybody share the same thing?

[helen1207]

thank you all for your replied. i called the doc' office, the nurse told me all my blood test are normal, still waiting for 24h urine rest. i didn't get to speak with the doc yet so i don't know what he has to say. what i am thinking these days is that for Hashi disease, especailly at early stage, the anti-body protein didn't damage our thyroid gland too much yet, so our body is still producing adequate hormone. that's why the lab work is in the normal range, but the thing is, that though we have enough T4 or T3 in our blood, it's not working because of the anti-body, that's why we feel how we feel. So, how do docs evaluate our meds? based on what? apparently blood test is not going to tell him much.

that depresses me, if they don't have a bench mark, how do they find the solution?

what do you my friends here think?

[mom_in_training]

Geeze thats crazy, I am glad you are doing better now. That is appalling that 9 Drs all said the same thing. This is what I worry about with my daughters future care following her surgery. I want a Dr that will be willing to listen to her and take action. I guess i'll have to become a warrier here and I will have no problem doing so if need be. Lol!! Thank god for your friend and the Dr that helped you. Thank you for responding.

[GravesLady]

Yes, levels can be normal and yet have symptoms.  But symptoms are not necessarily exclusive to thyroid.  Your doctor is correct in testing you for other possible issues. Stopping meds. when levels are normal can bring on more problems or worse problems than you are already experiencing when on them.

Dosing can be done by skipping one day, or taking one dose 6 days and another on the 7th day and so on.  I don't like splitting unless there are no other options. When splitting meds. have a little crumble to them, even with a pill cutter, so one might get more or less of a pill dosage from day to day and not know exactly what or how much you are truling.  This might be enough to cause levels to fluctuate and a ping pong effect with med. dosages.

Beings your doctor is testing you for other health issues, I am sure he will come up with the correct diagnose and solution.  Just hange in there and be positive :o)

GL,

February is:
American Heart Month,
National Women's Heart Day - Go Red For Women,
14th National Have-A-Heart Day
Hyper/Graves' can become serious if not treated properly.  Life is too precious and short to fool around with scientifically unproven, unconventional, so called treatments.

[stella5349]

Well it took 9 doctors which all said to stay on synthetic. I nearly went into HYPO coma and was basically dying.

I have a friend who is a lab tech that saw how bad I was and she one day dragged me to a physician MD to her office and said please help her. Blood was drawn that day but he put me on armour also. I don't remeber my counts. I don't remember really much of the visit that day. My doctor and I talk now about it and he told me what was going on.

I am grateful for him - he gave me my life back - now I have to correct the damage so many others did to me.

I say after 4 years and almost dying I don't care where or what numbers were

what -- Medication wise and symptoms - I feel alive again.

[mom_in_training]

"Me on the other hand could not have sucess converting that synthetic T4 so I was never regulated"

I have read of many that have a problem converting the synthetic T-4. I have read up on Armour and see that a vast amount of people do much better once they start taking it. I know everybody is different but I have also realized from doing my research that many prople go on for years dealing with all of the ill effects not knowing that they are not producing enough T-3. I question why the Drs rely on these labs testing for the T-3, T-4 and TSH when in fact they seem to always come out just fine despite the ill effects that people are having to live with on a day to day basis. My daughter for example has had these very labs done and she has a 9 CM mass with nodules, Has been experiencing a lil fatigue, dry skin, heavy periods just recently but her labs are fine. She will be having surgery on the 15th to remove the whole thyroid gland.

Thyroxine    1.1

TSH            1.84

Stella, How long did it take for you and your Dr to discover that you were not producing enough T-3? And along with the symptoms that you were having to endure was it proven through doing the antibody test or saliva?  

[stella5349]

I thought that way too - pop a pill everyday and I'll be fine---wrong.

I am on the Armour now for 4 months. I attempted Synthroid for 4 years and felt extremely ill. It is very controversal the Synthroid / Armour "war" I call it.

Drug companies are very much a part of keeping Armour off the popular list.

Synthroid is a T4 component only and some people are fine since a "normal thyroid knows how to convert T4 into T3.

Me on the other hand could not have sucess converting that synthetic T4 so I was never regulated.  I stumbled across Armour therapy and opted to try it. I have a very giving doctor willing to try these things and thankful he did. Many doctors won't use Armour for their patients. So what you don't know - won't hurt you.

Keep watching your tests - and if you notice you are not getting factual results ALONG with continued symptoms - rest assured their are other meds to help you instead of Synthroid.

[helen1207]

thank you all for your comments. i believe you are right Stella, i felt like once i started to take the pill, i should be fixed. now i start to realize this is more complecated than i thought. i read that a lot of people felt much better after they switched to armour. any opinion? why doctors wouldn't put us on that at the first place, if it's indeed a better solution?

[ChitChatNine]

Unless a person is exhibiting major symptoms on the dose 6 weeks is optimal time for full absorption of med into body.  If mj. symptoms creep in there before the 6 weeks sometimes they will test just to be certain nothing major has changed too fast (up.down, etc.) necessitating an interim adjustment.

C~

[stella5349]

Helen -

I am not sure how much your have researched your Synthroid and your Dx. Above -  Graves Lady said 2 to 4 weeks  on a med dose is not long enough to judge your preformance on your Synthyroid. That is in fact correct for a large percent of patients.

When a med dosage is changed - to find a complete accurate blood count you "should" take the new dose and have a new blood work - up in 4 to 6 weeks. That will give enough time to see if you blood levels are stabilized. If they ware still abnormal - another med dose may be needed.

I think we are all at the beginning in a "rush" to get this fixed and want to move on. The reality of thyroid disease is that this usually is not a quick fix and could take years to regulate. This means : following your doctors orders and following the steps to get your thyroid balanced. We are an impatient society and want results now - this most of the time does not happen for us and our bodies changes alot during the process. Most - not for the best until we understand what is going on.  

It is wise - and I say this all the time  - to make a daily journal on your symptoms each day. This helps you and your doctor keep a track record on your progress and if something isn't working  - you can try other meds and such to get better. Keeping the journal -  verses "Playing with your med dose" is a more accurate way to figure out how you feel between tests.

Ask for all your blood work and test records and keep it by date in this journal. As you begin to understand your ups and downs you have the results right in front of you.

AND read all you can on your specific concerns. "google" was my best friend for two years.

I am a bit of a radical when it comes to thyroid issues. Most members here probably have figured that out. I am not a by the book "always" person.  I believe there are answers medically and holistically and they have to work together to find the proper balance.

[kooky734]

i wish i knew more to tell you stella seems to know alot in here. i hope new doc works for u from what ive seen we needtosee an endocronologist i know i cant afford it and that just adds to the frustration. Helps out there for a price.

[helen1207]

I was taking or stopping the pill by my symptoms,i thought that's what we shall do, as a lot of people say the lab test can be normal but you can feel like hell. i did go see a new doctor last week and he sent me for a whole bunch of tests(he even suspect that i might have other immune system problem), I should have the result tomorrow, hope that will tell me something. I guess it will be a long journey to figure out exactly what will work and at what dose.

what happens if your dose is in between? cut your bill in half?

thank you all for your reply.

[kooky734]

this is my first day here and the people in here seem very nice and helpful, but im tellin ya listen to what your body is telling you and tell this to your doctor. Never be afraid to question your doctor if u feel something is not right . I feel srongly that your body should not act negatively to a medication if its helping, but thats just my opinion. I wish u luck

[kooky734]

i m going through the exact same thing you put it in a nut shell better than i could. I didnt realize thats what was happening i also go from hypo to hyper after taking synthroid or levoxy the generic brand. It doesnt matter which brand i take. Good luck getting a straight answer ive been going through this freakin merrygo round for 7 years and still know nothing, its hard to find a patient doctor. I ignored it as much as i could for as long as i could but now the symptoms are so bad i searching like mad for answrs.

[GravesLady]

2 or even 4 weeks is too soon for med. dose to work and test should not be done any sooner, nor med. dose adjustments.
Is your hyper (and hypo) verified by Lab test or just by symptoms.  Symptoms can be foolers in that you might feel hyper where Labs might show hypo or visa versa. That has happened to me. You need test done so you know which direction dose should go. Then it might take time with a few test anda few dose adjustments to know for sure if doses needs to go up or down and by how much.  Then after that, it might be a matter of math to figure if you are between two dosages, like 25 and 50 or 50 and 75, etc.

You need to work with your doctor and not second guess your condition or symptoms.

GL,

February is American Heart Month, National Women's Heart Day,
and 14th National Have-A-Heart Day

[stella5349]

It has been done - but you have to be monitored by your doctor. Not a good idea to be experimenting without help if you need it