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Realizing that my thyroid is the root cause
I have been on this forum years ago when my thyroid numbers were way out of wack. It caused me to go to the emergency room with severe anxiety, confusion, fear whatever. They sent me to the hospital (a different one) to their psychiatric ward for treatment. The er told me after testing me that this was caused from my thyroid. I had already years ago been diagnosed with hashimoto and had my thyroid radiated because of nodules. It didn't work and the nodules or the thyroid is still producing at times. I changed doctors as I couldn't get any satisfaction out of the one I was going to. The new doctor does talk to me and I can understand her better but I was still just going along with what they said and not trying to take my life under my control. I am presently on 1/2 75 mcg synthroid 4 days and 1 whole 75 mcg 3 days. I am feeling some better in that I can think more clearly at times. I have noticed that I feel bad, don't know how to exactly explain it but my body just feels bad and pressure in my head and I have to push through my thoughts which I should be able to let go and can't do anything but push through them. I noticed that all of the sudden I feel better. I have never noticed this before. This is a recent thing. I am starting to realize that my out of wack body, stomach pain, diagnosed with severe gastritis, body aches, high blood pressure at times, memory problems at times, emotional instability at times, are all being caused by one thing - root problem- my THYROID. I have been reading this site and others and finally have seen the symtoms that I have are not my fault, there is nothing wrong with me but it is something wrong with my body. The endocrinologist has been trying to get my tsh stabile and the last blood test (I don't have the test in front of me, I will post later)seemed to be staying stabile, it had been going up and up. I think I feel better on the lower side of normal. BUT I have finally realized that I DON"T FEEL GOOD and this is not stabile for me. She told me to come back in 6 months but I have called her to come in sooner and to test for T3. She sent me the blood test but I don't think it is for the free T3. I also think I have the symptoms for low cortisol. I am encouraged that I am finally beginning to see what is really wrong with me and am headed to get it right. I am leaving out a lot of stuff as you can't write your entire life here but hope I have given you enough that someone can encourage me that I am not on the wrong track but finally on the right tract. I would like to go to a holistic doctor but they are so expensive and insurance doesn't cover them. If this upcoming appontment doesn't help me I am going to have to seek out one that will take me the right direction. I also have very low Vit D, osteropedia, gluten intolerant and ???. I guess I am scared that what I am thinking is not right but I feel in my heart that I am right and that I should seek to get my thyroid under real control, with T3 and maybe not even on synthroid. I was on the generic but absolutely felt better on synthroid. I presently am not taking much in the way of supplement but probiotics, digestive product, supposed to take 50,000 vit. D but having been doing it. I had been taking so much that I just stopped and want to get it straight just what to take. Anybody out there who has had similar revelation or am I just extrememly slow. I believe there is a time for everything (so God says) and this is my time to get straightened out. I am 72 years very young. I have a lot of living to do and want to do it feeling good. I am tired of this stuff. I presently still work at home taking care of 3 elderly ladies, Adult Foster Care. Stressful but I love taking care of them. It would help to feel better so I can enjoy it more. Thanks
Med Health has asked me to pick a top answerer and of course it is you. I don't know how to do that. I have looked around and don't see how. Can you help me. Of course I thank you soooo much for your detailed answers to my questions. blessings, Linda
What you don't know sure can hurt you. I get nauseous from drinking water also. I didn't know that about the probotics. I take my vitamins 4 hours after my synthroid. I do get pain after taking the synthroid though. I might ask my doctor what could cause that. Thank you so much for all you answers. They are sure helping me. I can't wait to be doing things the way I should and start feeling better. I am doing a program called Great Taste No Pain, Sherry Bresia. The one I am using is the Gluten Free. This is to help your body to get more alkaline. It is combining foods. I know this will help to cure my stomach but it is hard for me to make myself do it. This is one of the things I must also work on. You can check it out on the internet. The first time I did it I lost immediately 30 lbs. and didn't even try. Of course I gained a good amount of it back as I got sick and didn't bother to combine right. It isn't hard, just have to get myself to do it. I am taking the calcium, magnesium, fish oil, vit. D, muskadine grape seed and liquid organic tart cherry juice. Thank you again for getting me started on the right track.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I don't know what the pain in your stomach could be, unless it's a reaction to fillers/binders, as the actual medication in synthroid is identical to what your body would produce if it could. I sometimes get nauseous, from drinking that cup of water on an empty stomach.
Taking the probiotic that close to taking your synthroid could prevent the synthroid from being absorbed properly. You might want to either take it at night or with the rest of your vitamins later in the day. When I take probiotics, I always take them at night.
Taking the probiotic that close to taking your synthroid could prevent the synthroid from being absorbed properly. You might want to either take it at night or with the rest of your vitamins later in the day. When I take probiotics, I always take them at night.
I would like to know if anybody else has pain in stomach after taking their synthroid. About 10 - 15 minutes after I take my synthroid with water I get pain in my stomach. Does anybody have a solution. I wait about an hour before I eat. I also take a probiotic about 1/2 hr after the synthroid and the rest of my vits. about 4 hours after the synthroid.
I didn't realize that the Vit. D. was so important. I will start taking it again. I have a hard time finding a calcium that I will continue take. I needed to hear your comments so I take the vit. again. I guess I was waiting for a doctor to tell me exactly what to take. I feel I am finally able to take charge of all of this stuff with the thyroid. I am so tired of feeling bad and blaming it on myself and my life. I have been so busy getting off the psych drugs and needed a break. I am ready to step up to the plate and do what I need to do to feel better. Answering your question, yes I was tested for gluten. At first they said I had Celiac and so many allergies to almost everything I ate. Over the years I have gone back and forth on the food. I had an endoscopy 2 years ago and they said I did not have celiac although my holistic doctor said I did. I was again blood tested a few months ago and I do not have according to the blood test celiac. I have been eating totally gluten free for about 3 months and I can't tell you how much better I feel. I will try the vitamins and getting myself better in that way. I will post my test results when I get them. I always get a copy of my tests. Thank you for answering as I am glad to get input from people that are going through what I do on a daily basis. thank you - thank you
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hello there, I've seen your name on posts in the past, but nothing for a long time. Welcome back.
To begin with, your thyroid can completely wreak havoc with your entire body, including moods, thought processes, etc, so what you've been experiencing is quite likely thyroid issues.
Many of us have been through what you are experiencing, so you aren't alone.
While it often feels like we turn into a bunch of "pill poppers", there are certain vitamins/minerals that are very important and that many with hypothyroidism are deficient in.
Just so you understand the process: with Hashimoto's, your body sees your thyroid as foreign, and produces antibodies to "kill" it. This process happens over a period of time, and eventually the thyroid can no longer produce hormones on its own, leaving us hypo, and totally dependent on medication. Radiation also "kills" the thyroid, which simply gets the process over more quickly, and also leaves you hypo and dependent on medication. Even though you say the radiation didn't work, I'm sure the process was much quicker for you than for many of us. I don't know how long ago all this was, but most likely, by now, your thyroid is "dead" and probably not producing hormones any longer, though it did in the early stages.
The first thing we will need to know is your levels of Free T3 (FT3), Free T4 (FT4) and TSH. Free T3 and Free T4 (always make sure to specify "FREE" or "F", otherwise, you will get total which is not the same) are the actual usable hormones.
Free T4 is a storage hormone and must be converted to Free T3, prior to use, while Free T3 is the hormone used directly by the cells, and is the most important. TSH is an "indicator" at best, so you should never try to regulate thyroid hormones based solely on TSH; in fact, many of us can't even go by TSH at all.
When you get the blood tests for the FT3, FT4 and TSH, also ask your doctor to test vitamin B12, D, selenium, calcium and magnesium. Many hypo/Hashi's are deficient in one or more of these vitamins/minerals. I've actually been low on all of them, at one time or another and have to supplement to keep my levels high enough. I also have Pernicious Anemia (B12 deficiency), which is another autoimmune disease, and have to inject weekly)
You said you are deficient in vitamin D, but stopped taking the supplements. Deficiency of vitamin D can cause a whole set of symptoms, by itself, many of which mimic hypothyroidism. You should get your levels retested and begin supplementing again.
You also said you have osteopenia, which is a forerunner to osteoporosis. In this case, you should be supplementing with calcium to try to build your levels back up. In order for calcium to be absorbed properly, you need adequate amounts of magnesium and vitamin D. I've had osteopenia for well over 10 yrs and have been able to rebuild lost bone by supplementing with calcium.
Gluten intolerance. Have you actually been tested for this and are you on a gluten free diet?
As for going to a holistic doctor, for the most part, I'd say "save your money". While some of them may be very good and have only the patient's best interest at heart, there are quite a few of them that are only in it for the money. You'd be just as well off to find a good thyroid doctor. This can be a primary care physician, an internist, and endo or whatever, just as long as s/he will test and treat you in such a way, as to alleviate your symptoms.
Only in certain, relatively rare, circumstances are patients treated with a T3 only medication, then not on a permanent basis; however, many of us don't convert the T4 to T3 well enough, so we have to supplement our T4 medication with a T3 medication, such as cytomel or generic T3. Some people do well, only on desiccated hormones, such as Armour, Canadian ERFA, etc. These are T4/T3 combos, produced from porcine thyroid.
All of this said, your first step is to get the testing mentioned above, done, making sure you get a copy of the report for your own records, then post the results, with reference ranges here, so members can help assess the adequacy of your treatment.
Some doctors resist testing the FT3 and FT4, but don't take no for an answer. If your doctor refuses, find another who will understand the importance of these tests. Some members have had to go through several doctors before they found one willing to test and treat properly.
To begin with, your thyroid can completely wreak havoc with your entire body, including moods, thought processes, etc, so what you've been experiencing is quite likely thyroid issues.
Many of us have been through what you are experiencing, so you aren't alone.
While it often feels like we turn into a bunch of "pill poppers", there are certain vitamins/minerals that are very important and that many with hypothyroidism are deficient in.
Just so you understand the process: with Hashimoto's, your body sees your thyroid as foreign, and produces antibodies to "kill" it. This process happens over a period of time, and eventually the thyroid can no longer produce hormones on its own, leaving us hypo, and totally dependent on medication. Radiation also "kills" the thyroid, which simply gets the process over more quickly, and also leaves you hypo and dependent on medication. Even though you say the radiation didn't work, I'm sure the process was much quicker for you than for many of us. I don't know how long ago all this was, but most likely, by now, your thyroid is "dead" and probably not producing hormones any longer, though it did in the early stages.
The first thing we will need to know is your levels of Free T3 (FT3), Free T4 (FT4) and TSH. Free T3 and Free T4 (always make sure to specify "FREE" or "F", otherwise, you will get total which is not the same) are the actual usable hormones.
Free T4 is a storage hormone and must be converted to Free T3, prior to use, while Free T3 is the hormone used directly by the cells, and is the most important. TSH is an "indicator" at best, so you should never try to regulate thyroid hormones based solely on TSH; in fact, many of us can't even go by TSH at all.
When you get the blood tests for the FT3, FT4 and TSH, also ask your doctor to test vitamin B12, D, selenium, calcium and magnesium. Many hypo/Hashi's are deficient in one or more of these vitamins/minerals. I've actually been low on all of them, at one time or another and have to supplement to keep my levels high enough. I also have Pernicious Anemia (B12 deficiency), which is another autoimmune disease, and have to inject weekly)
You said you are deficient in vitamin D, but stopped taking the supplements. Deficiency of vitamin D can cause a whole set of symptoms, by itself, many of which mimic hypothyroidism. You should get your levels retested and begin supplementing again.
You also said you have osteopenia, which is a forerunner to osteoporosis. In this case, you should be supplementing with calcium to try to build your levels back up. In order for calcium to be absorbed properly, you need adequate amounts of magnesium and vitamin D. I've had osteopenia for well over 10 yrs and have been able to rebuild lost bone by supplementing with calcium.
Gluten intolerance. Have you actually been tested for this and are you on a gluten free diet?
As for going to a holistic doctor, for the most part, I'd say "save your money". While some of them may be very good and have only the patient's best interest at heart, there are quite a few of them that are only in it for the money. You'd be just as well off to find a good thyroid doctor. This can be a primary care physician, an internist, and endo or whatever, just as long as s/he will test and treat you in such a way, as to alleviate your symptoms.
Only in certain, relatively rare, circumstances are patients treated with a T3 only medication, then not on a permanent basis; however, many of us don't convert the T4 to T3 well enough, so we have to supplement our T4 medication with a T3 medication, such as cytomel or generic T3. Some people do well, only on desiccated hormones, such as Armour, Canadian ERFA, etc. These are T4/T3 combos, produced from porcine thyroid.
All of this said, your first step is to get the testing mentioned above, done, making sure you get a copy of the report for your own records, then post the results, with reference ranges here, so members can help assess the adequacy of your treatment.
Some doctors resist testing the FT3 and FT4, but don't take no for an answer. If your doctor refuses, find another who will understand the importance of these tests. Some members have had to go through several doctors before they found one willing to test and treat properly.
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