Basal thermometer

[artfemme]

Very sad to have dropped and broken the mercury thermometer I've had for decades. Now I can't find another one due to the banning of mercury. I first bought a digital thermometer but find them highly inaccurate....I can take 3 or 4 readings in a row and they're all different. Then I bought one of the new glass thermometers that looks like it contains mercury, but doesn't. Very hard to shake down and also seems inaccurate....it even gets a bubble or break in the liquid that no amount of shaking removes.

I'm having an rT3 problem, went off T4 for 3 months and the rT3 dropped to an acceptable level and ratio. Then I went back on 1/3 the dose of T4 that I was on before (and I take Cytomel as well) and the rT3 has gone back up and the ratio is again too low, after only 5 weeks. So I really need to measure my basal temperature to try to figure out what is going on with me.

Does anyone have a source for an accurate basal thermometer ? Are the "red liquid" ones you can order from medical supply companies the best we can now expect ?

Thanks for your help.

[tracker59]

Order your own labs, that's what I do and they are cheaper than the labs my doctor orders. (sometimes) January is thyroid month and there are specials and it runs through the same lab I have the doctors labs through. Um  some states don't allow it so check it out.
I have the same problem with checking my temp. arugh!!!!

[artfemme]

@FTB4.....
Not the one I bought at the drugstore...nothing could make it go all the way back down, and that's the one that got the air bubble in it too. So frustrating. Ran it under cold water forever. Would never go all the way down.

@gimel....
I HAVE a Best Brand (which I think is "BD")  Digital Accu-Beep. It's trash. I just took my temo with it 3 times....the readings were 97.4, 97.8, and 97.9. Which one would you say was accurate ? And that's with me up walking around, and with the thing under my tongue. You can't take your temperature under your arm with it, either. The variations might not matter to someone who was just trying to see if they had a fever (REALLY ? Because it would matter to ME if I was ) but if you are trying to see if your metabolic rate is suppressed and you have an rT3 problem then you HAVE to care. MY doc thinks 97.8 is perfectly acceptable.

I honestly don't know what to do. I went back on T4 after staying off it for 3 months and getting my rT3 count down to 6 in a range of (11 - 32) It had been 39 before I went off T4, with a ratio to T3 of 10.

After 5 weeks at 50 mcg  levothyroixine and my usual 30 mcg dose of Cytomel, I'm severely hypothyroid and my labs are as follows :

TSH                .01      (.40 - 4.5)
FREE T4         .8        (.8 - 1.8)

                       To make matters worse, Quest adds a note that they are                                    
                        using a "new reagent" that makes my results 9% higher
                        than the previous tests. The range remains the same.
                        AND they screwed up and didn't do the test "direct dialysis
                        as written on the prescription for FREE T4 and as done
                        in previous tests.

FREE T3         3.0      (2.3 - 4.2)

                       On this same dose, my level was 3.8 before, so it  
                       seems my previous dose of 150 mcg levothyroxine
                       must have been converting somewhat.

REVERSE T3   19       (11 - 32)
                        That makes a ratio to T3 of 1.6, not good

My blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol have all gone back UP and my abdomen is grossly distended, including the upper abdomen. I have no ankles and can't get my boots on. Forget about wearing rings. I gained 11 lbs. in the last month, while having NO appetite whatsoever.  I don't know what to do now, or why the rT3 has gone back up. My doctor refuses to test for PTH or adrenals. And I can't even get an accurate temperature reading. Shoot me now so I don't die a lingering death from myxedema.
                      

[FTB4]

If you take the glass thermometer and run cold water over it instead of shaking it, it will drop down right away and the solution will not break up or foam. Best Regards FTB4

[gimel]

Funny, I did the same to my old mercury thermometer several years ago.  To avoid the issue, I haven't been taking temps any more.  LOL  This is the best info I found on ratings of digital, oral type thermometers.  

Best Oral Thermometers:
Oral thermometers are cheap ($10 to $20) and definitely one of the most accurate types. Consumer Reports mentions in their studies and tests that the BD Digital Accu-Beep at $10 is the best buy in this category. The thermometer beeps when you are using it correctly and it will signal when it's done getting a temperature reading. It's mercury free and owners say it's easy to read and use. Other top rated oral thermometers include the Lumiscope 2210-214 Quick-Read Digital Thermometer, the Vicks Comfort-Flex $14 and the Omron 20 Seconds Digital. We found almost all these online at Amazon.com or you can check with your local drug store or pharmacy. ($10)