Hypothyroid and Vitamin D

[jjohnson5409]

I have been going to every doctor to try and figure out what is wrong w/ me.  My TSH was fine at 0.94 but the FT4 and FT3 was low.  he did a coritsol test bcause it could be my adrenals .  well yes it was low at 6 in 8am.  did stimulation test and responded to 6, 18, 20.  he said since I responded that my adrenals were fine.  No MRI of pittuiatary bcause that is to rare??  anyway he did a Vit D test.  in the meantime i went to my GP with some info from this site (THANK YOU) and sites you guys recommended and he decided to give me synthroid 0.50mg.  It has been 4 days and I already feel like a new person.  I am now living in the bubble that i have been looking outside in for 2 years.   I got a call from the Endo who ran the vit D test and it was 18,  He did deny me of my request for thyroid meds. at the time of my appointment.  He did that a Vitamin D insuff. even in the slightest can make your thyroid hormones low.  and have ALL the symptoms as Hypo.   he did prescribe me 50,000IU x once a week for 4 weeks.  he said I should feel like me old self.  I did not tell him about the synthroid (YET) because I feel so good I was scared he would call the GP to canx it.  so now what should I do?   wait until I see the GP in 6 weeks to see how my FREEs are?   or stop taking the synthroid and hope the vit D works?  I hear synthroid causes weight gain and Vit D cause wt loss.  I cant' gain anymore!!!!   I also live in Sunny Florida!!  Go figure.  

[gimel]

Personally I think I would continue with both meds and maybe transfer responsibility for monitoring  FT3 and FT4 as well as Vitamin D, to your GP.  No reason the GP can't prescribe the amount of Vit D you need and he seems like he may be receptive to treating you properly.  In my opinion this means testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 levels with meds, as required to alleviate symptoms.  Symptoms are what it should be all about, not just getting your test results to a level that the doctor thinks is okay.

I would not be overly concerned with Synthroid causing weight gain.  Other than the possible problems of overeating and under exercising, weight gain is predominantly due to low metabolism related to hypothyroidism.  So, if your FT3 and FT4 levels were low, then taking thyroid meds is sure the right direction.  You should be aware that when taking a T4 drug like Synthroid, it frequently takes 6-8 weeks to build up to maximum level in the blood.  Also, you should be aware that the ranges for FT3 and FT4 are very broad, so that many patients report that they needed for their FT3 and FT4 levels to be in the upper part of their range in order to alleviate symptoms.  In my opinion the very best way to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust the actual , biologically active thyroid hormones ( FT3 and FT4), with meds as required to alleviate symptoms, regardless of the TSH level.  

I think you might find this article to be worthwhile reading.

http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html