Question about Thyroid treatment

[Brucergoldberg]

Hello,

After a couple of months on thyroid treatment and now suffering with some serious ear ringing I have some questions:

If someone has hashimoto's thyroiditis, does that person have to take thyroid?  My TSH is 1.74, all my frees are in range.  When I dont take thyroid my level goes to 5.01.   I am only taking .015.

I was on .015 levo, and the dr. just gave me .015 armour to try to get rid of the ear ringing.  What should I expect?

Also If i take too much medicine is it a possibility that my thyroid level will go to zero ?

thank You

[annamae26]

well i noticed that your ft3 was high in range and that is good for symptoms but that your ft4 was real low and maybe thats why you have the shaking and ringing. i can understand why you're afraid of the amour i know it has a high t3 component i have not ever taken it. i am on levo and lio generic t4 & t3.  i am having problems with ersisting symptoms too and have been in treatment for over a year but i was sick for fifteen yrs and never diagnosed and treated until now. to me. it seems that you may need more t4 but i am not as knowledgeable as others on this board. since your t4 is so low. and your t4 is high they are not balanced. remember it doesn t matter what your tsh is that only matters to doctors. crazy isn t it.....i any event you are not alone   i hope you FEEL WELL TODAY.

[Brucergoldberg]

I had to go to a compound pharmacy and they didnt take insurance.  It was $24.50 for 30 .015.  Im afraid to take it now because im being told that it will raise my t3 too high.  I also am concerned since it was from a compound pharmacy.  I may give it away :)

ALso on the ringing, its always there.  IT seems worse when im beat down tired.  My other big problem is with the shaking and the nervousness.  I think my TSH must go up and down and when its up I shake really bad.  

DO you take armour?

[annamae26]

bruce how are you feeling   your ft4 was low in range and your ft3 was high in range- did you start the armour?  that may be what you need to get symtom relief. but even that will take time. i think we all have one or two symptoms that persist but i hope will go away when we are at the right dose. like barb i have the ringing and don t even hear it unless i think about it and then it seems so loud.  i so share your frustration though, sometimes it seems like it will never end..  take care  let us know how you're doing on the amour.  does insurance pay for it?

[Brucergoldberg]

I just had a test done but did not get my reseults.  I had another test that showed I had hashimotos.   Yesterday I didnt take my levo and thought i was going to die.  Could not get out of bed for 2 hours.  I was exhausted beyond belief.  My tsh really isnt that bad so I dont understand why im having so many issues.  I have a bottle of armour .015 on my counter but have no taken any yet.

Current treatment is .015 levo once a day.

Last test showed

FREE T4  1.10   range 0.73 to 1.95
Free T3  3.7  range 2.3-4.2
TSH  3.68    .30-5.10  (i know its 1.74 now)


Thyroid Peroxidase AB  62    range is <35
Thyroglobulin AB 251.0  range is <40

whatever thyroglbulin is, i didnt do so well on.  ALso positive for hashimotos.

Help??

[Barb135]

The levo is not the source of the ringing.  Quite a few people with hypo/Hashi have that.  When we refer to "the right dose", we mean the right dose for YOU.  That's when your FT's have been adjusted to the point where your symptoms have been alleviated - otherwise known as euthroid; meaning neither hyper or hypo.........

The right dose is not the same for all of us because we each take different med(s) and react differently to it.  You were on 15 mcg; I'm on 88 mcg; others are on still higher doses or doses in between.  

If you are dosing your med only on TSH, you have a disaster in the making.  When you ask about "thyroid level going to zero", are you referring to TSH?  Remember, TSH is a pituitary hormone and is not a a thyroid level, nor is it completely indicative of what the thyroid is doing, since TSH can vary greatly even over the course of a day.  

Some people do better with the tinnitus if they have higher levels of FT3, which is most likely why your doctor put you on armour (T4/T3 combo) instead of the levo, since levo is a T4 only med.  

If you have your latest lab results, it would be great if you could post them, along with the reference ranges, since these are lab specific.

BTW -- I've had tinnitus most of my life; in fact, didn't even know that ringing wasn't supposed to be there until I was in my 40's.  I don't ever expect to get rid of it.  

[Brucergoldberg]

NO, no cancer for me....  You are saying "right dose".  what do you mean.  Everyone says this and I dont understand..  Did you increase your meds?  What are you taking?  My tinnitus is really bad this morning.  It comes and goes.  It seems to be worse when I am tired.  Today im exhausted...  ringing really bad.  I was trying to back off my levo because I feel like it is the source of my ringing..

[MANmom]

Bruce, I seem to remember that you were a cancer patient, is that right?  If so, your doctor would probably want your TSH under .01.  I had ear ringing for a time, but when I got on the right dose I felt better...although now I hear "squish, squish" in my ears, probably a high blood pressure thing...