Balancing your condition to feel good

[compnet]

Hello everyone.  Assuming I come to find I have hypothyroid, I've been reading over old posts and I'm trying to remember what numbers to aim for feeling good, what labs to eye one, and how often to get tested...for those with conditions.

I read most aim for TSH 1.0 and feel best there.

Eye on TSH, Free-T3, and Free-T4.  Anything else?

Don't remember how often to test.

Do good doctors go by medicine strength that person feels best at or a number?

Do good doctors retest when symptoms appear or by schedule?

Anything else good to know for those managing the condition?




God bless you!  I'm learning so much here!

Lindsey

[goolarra]

Nothing to be sorry about...I just meant that you had an audience that you could be pretty sure was going to agree with your opinion.  I was just saying that with a couple of modifications, that's pretty much what a good many of us say all the time.

[compnet]

Preaching to the choir?  Sorry about that.  

The altered quote sounds about right.

Thank you for the Armour information.  Doesn't sound too good.

[goolarra]

stopthethyroidmadness is one of those sites obviously biased toward dessicated thyroid.  Dessicated is not for everyone, just as T4-only meds are not for everyone.  The quote is preaching to the choir for most of us, but I'd change it as follows:

So what’s a GOOD DOC? He/She is one who willingly prescribes thyroid replacement hormones (T4 and T3, both synthetic and dessicated), uses the labs free T3 and free T4, and is willing to let you dose by the elimination of symptoms  and manipulation of FT3 and FT4 rather than TSH.

Read up on Armour.  Lots of people (who swore by Armour for years) on the forum think it was completely ruined in the reformulation last spring.  The reformulation is a good part of what caused the shortage and it was at least nationwide.

[compnet]

Just came across some good information:

*"So what’s a GOOD DOC? He/She is one who willingly prescribes natural desiccated thyroid, uses the labs free T3 and free T4, and is willing to let you dose by the elimination of symptoms rather than the inadequate TSH."
Source: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/how-to-find-a-good-doc/


*Search site for finding doctors that prescribe Armour:
http://www.armourthyroid.com/con_phLocator.aspx


*Pharmacies that give natural thyroid medicine
http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/Pharm.shtml




Is NatureThroid hard to get a pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens or Stop & Shop?

[goolarra]

Without getting into the finer points, which is more than you need to think about right now since you haven't even been diagnosed, Mac is right.  We each, as individuals, have to find the levels that work best of US and then work to maintian those, especially FT3 and FT4.  Likewise, how often to test depends on if meds are being adjusted or if they're stable.  Good doctors make you feel well by paying attention to your symptoms and adjusting meds to maintain the FT3 and FT4 levels that you feel best at.  Maintaining levels may require different dosages at different times in your life. You should always have regularly sheduled lab work to monitor your condition, but if symptoms appear prior to schedule, then you should have labwork sooner.  No simple answers, I'm afraid.

[magpieannie]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Post your test results with ranges when you get them and we will be better able to give our opinions. Your symptoms certainly sound classic hypothyroid. As far as levels go, we are all a little different. Many of us do seem to feel better when our TSH is kept lower in the normal range with our freet3 and freet4 lined up closely at mid range or slightly higher. A good book to read that can help with understanding all of this is "Overcoming Thyroid Disorders" by Dr. David Brownstein. It is an easy read and very correct in my opinion. It can be purchased on Amazon. com. Good luck and God Bless!

[compnet]

Oh and forgot to mention, I just meant generally what should people aim for (with my first post questions.)

[compnet]

I haven't been diagnosed yet but I suspect I have hypothyroid.  I'm going to go to a new doctor soon, one a friend recommends and I'm going to encourage the following tests:

*Full Thyroid Panel
*TSH
*'Free-T4'
*'Free-T3'
*Thyroid antibodies (anti-TPO and TgAb)
*TSI
*Ferritin
*B12, Folate, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, Vit D.
*Complete Blood Count
*Celiac/gluten

I have some test results from a long time ago on a recent post on the board.


My symptoms include:

*Family history of thyroid problems on Mom's side
*Fatigue and drowsiness especially in the morning and late-morning
*Trouble getting up in the morning
*Often can't get through the day without a nap
*Sleep more than usual and still feel tired (about 12 hours, 8:30pm to 8:30am)
*Mental slowness
*Poor concentraion and memory
*Low body temperature, cold hands and feet at times
*Low blood pressure (recently 98/60)
*Slow, shallow breathing
*Weak on exercise
*Intolerance to cold at times
*Acne
*Weight gain (about 40lbs overweight)
*Mild constipation
*Sweets craving
*Lack motivation/depression at times



I sure hope my doctor visit in the future will go well and that she will look at my symptoms.


God bless you.

Thank you.

Lindsey

[McMillanNelson]

Hi compnet, Unfortunately TSH is not a very useful number to work with, unless perhaps you have had your thyroid removed and rely solely on synthroid or another thyroid hormone replacement treatment. This number fluctuates a lot even in a single day and everyone is different, some people don’t feel right unless the TSH is below 1.0 !  some like me need it to be over 1.0,  so that question is a bit objective and different for everyone.

What is your history and symptoms?  Not much to go on here to help you unless you have some Free T numbers etc.  Have you had TPOab and TgAb antibodies test?  I am afraid there are too many missing things to help you much. Without all the numbers and maybe even an Ultrasound or scan you can not get a good picture of what your thyroid is doing.

What exactly are your symptoms and do you have current lab numbers?

McMillan

[compnet]

Oh, forgot to mention, what numbers of FT3 and FT4 do people feel best at?