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Avatar universal

Thyroid Medication

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 2003 and have been struggling with fatigue, weight gain and other typical symptoms for the majority of this time. I have been to several doctors, including a naturopath who continued to adjust my medications in an attempt to get me feeling better. My current MD I feel pretty good about...she seems attentive and determined to help me. She has had me taking various levels of Synthroid and one Cytomel tablet daily for the two years I have been seeing me. She requests that I get my TSH tested nearly every 5 weeks and nearly every time the dosage needs to be adjusted. My sister and my dad both have hypothyroidism also, but they only have the levels checked about once a year. My question is: Does it seem normal that my thyroid meds should need to be adjusted constantly? I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever be on the same medication for more than a couple months. It has me concerned and exhausted.

(I should add that it has recently been determined that I have been depressed for quite some time. This may have something to do with my fatigue, but I don't think that would affect the thyroid levels determined by a blood test!)
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252327 tn?1250183976
Yes, when I am hypo, I am tired, I get dizzy and if it gets really low the joint pain is terrible.  Your body will send you signs, you just have to learn how to read them.
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97953 tn?1440865392
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The goal TSH is 0.3-2.5 for replacement -- including replacement with combinatation cytomel/levothyroxine - it usually only takes - 2-3 adjustments to achieve this.  Thyroid problems can contribute to depression, but often the depression needs separate treatment.
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Avatar universal
I would hope I were perceptive enough to notice a change if my eyelashes fell out, and I was freezing cold in the desert! Strange reaction :)  Is it as easy to tell if you're hypo?
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252327 tn?1250183976
The cytomel is a lot and after reading online and talking to people on this forum, I decided to take a tiny piece and really haven't taken it since. I have all these dosages because I really started on 100 then got bumped to 112, I was on 112 for a couple of years and my OBGYN doc said I needed more so she prescibed me a 90 day supply of 125.  I took them for 2 days and made me too shaking, jumpy so I went back to 112.  Then I went hyper so now I cut down to 100 so I could add cytomel.  I think I am going back up to 112 soon.  Have to  get my blood done  to see whats what. Funny thing but I usually know if I am hyper, my eyelashes start to fall out and I get very cold.  I live in the hot desert I should never be cold. ha ha
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your feedback.

Well, last week I had absolutely no appetite and lost 3.5 lbs in a week (a lot for me). The doc seemed to think that it was a side effect of an antidepressant I had just started on (although that's weird because it most commonly makes people really hungry). I'm wondering if was due to my hyper state then. Over the years, I have been on dosages of synthroid as high as 125 mcg. There have been short spans of time where I have felt good. In fact, one of those times was when I started taking the cytomel to increase my T3. For me it worked well, but the difficulties for me are:
1. I'm not the most perceptive at noting changes in my body.
2. I have other factors with similar effects of fatigue that I'm battling as well (iron deficiency, Vitamin D deficiency, depression), so I never am able to identify what is getting me down. I notice when I fee REALLY bad, but overall, I just never feel great. I'm only 30 years old, so this is a real bummer.

On another note, I'm surprised your doctor started you on 25 mcg of cytomel. I've never taken more than 5, and I read that too much can be dangerous. I'm no expert, but from what I've gathered, it is important to work cytomel in quite gradually and definitely not overdo it.

Another question...do you take all of those synthroid dosages currently (alternating or something), or you just have them all in possession because you have taken them at one time or another?
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252327 tn?1250183976
I do know that if I cross over to hyper, I can lose 15lbs at the drop of a hat
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252327 tn?1250183976
hmmmmmmmmm don"t know.  I do know that if I stay on the same dose of synthroid , I am always on the high end near hyper and my tsh is non exsisting. Then I will do my labs again and they could go slighty over to hyper. The first time that I was diagnosed with this my doctor told me " we like to keep the tsh to a non exsisting state" he said that it prevents cancer from growing.  I don't know how true that is?  My doc added cytomel 25 mcg. I was afraid to take it and broke the pill in quarters and took a tiny piece. It made me kind of bussy, like I was on speed or something. so I haven't taken it again. he said it would increase my T3.  I will have my labs done in about 3 weeks to see how they are. If the t3 is low I will try the cytomel again, I just don't want to stroke out. I have 3 different strengths of synthroid..100mcg,112mcg,125mcg  Its about how you feel NOT lab results, each person is different
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Avatar universal
The doc has me on 5 mcg of Cytomel (that hasn't changed since I've started taking it). Synthroid dosage has just dropped to 75 mcg since it was too high last time. Getting more labs in a couple weeks to see if it's still too high, but the doc wanted to lower gradually. I was previously alternating 88 mcg 3 days per week and 75 mcg 4 days per week.

Also, the doc mentioned something about my thyroid fluctuating so much because I have thyroiditis. I didn't get the whole story though, and haven't found any details about this relationship online. Does anyone know if Thyroiditis is the reason I am in constant flux? I just want to know if I'm "normal", or if there may be something else going on.
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252327 tn?1250183976
I sent you a message to add you as a friend,
I also have hashimotos for I guess about 5 yrs, I am curious on the cytomel ( how much ete?) Synthroid how much?
Helpful - 0

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