lab questions

[Brucergoldberg]

does this look like someone who is still a little fatigued?

this is 10 weeks of 130  (half a 125 and half a 137)  plus 5 cytomel at lunch

this was taken before the t3 was ingested on oct 29:

do you think i have any room for an increase?


my tsh is 1.41
t4, free 1.5  ranges .8 -1.8
t3, free 3.2   ranges 2.3-4.2

doctor told me that he had to think long and hard to think if he would increase me.  his first reaction is no.  Im still fatigued, he told me i need to keep the tsh above 1, so if i increase i need to just barely do it.  im thinking of doing 137 one day, 130 the next.

he wanted to know if i wanted more t3, or more t4 - he thinks the adjustment should be made on the t4 side.   who knows

[Brucergoldberg]

I best describe my hearing as "dulled".   Then the ringing.  God help me.

The hearing aids have a tiny switch you can put on that has a very very light rain sound (or what ever you want) that is very light that can help blare out the ringing.   But just by having the hearing aids in, it increased the outside noise making everything seem more clear and concise.

The Q30's are the starting price point, but i may go to the Q 50's as they are able to communicate and balance each other.   I wish i was getting an infiniti (car) Q30 LOL

by the way,  I increased my synthroid from a mixed dose of 130 to 137 mcg  and i feel exhausted.  I remember you guys telling me that there is always misery in a dose increase.   I hope thats the case again.

[goolarra]

"...im getting to test drive a pair of phonak audeo Q30's..."

Damn, some people have all the luck!  Q30s?  I am SO jealous...LOL

Glad you've finally found a solution.  

[Barb135]

I might have to look into those hearing aids.  As you know, I've had tinnitus for most of my life and so has my husband. partially, because we've both worked around loud equipment all our lives; my husband's hearing is "deficient" to put it mildly, though I insist that part of that is selective.. lol.  I don't seem to have a hearing deficiency; just the constant ringing.  Until a few years ago, I really thought that everyone had ringing in their ears...

I like the tinnitus masker... but like I said.. if I didn't have the ringing, I might think my ears didn't work anymore... lol

[Brucergoldberg]

Hey barb,   I went to an ENT last week and she looked at my hearing tests and they are all different.   She says " i understand your hearing tests".   I was like 'well thats a first'.   She says "its not the hearing that is on the tests, its the intensity of the ringing.  Every time you have a test done, the results vary because of the intensity of the ringing at the time of the tests"

anyway.  Im 46, i tried some hearing aids and the ringing got really low because it amplified the outside hearing.  So im getting to test drive a pair of phonak audeo Q30's that have a built in tinnitus masker next week.  I get them for a full week for free.  Then if i buy them, i get a month to decide if i want to keep them.   The Tinnitus function is pretty amazing.  I know this wont go away, so im going to try to increase my quality of life with these and see what happens.   And again, this started at the same exact time all this thyroid shiz started.

[Barb135]

Well, when my husband starts mumbling or talking to me as he's walking the other direction I get a pretty good idea of what it would be like to be deaf and have the ear ringing.... lol...

I actually do have pretty good hearing, though the ringing does affect it, but that depends on the intensity of the ringing.  If I only catch a word or two of a sentence, I can use common sense to figure out what people are talking about; whereas my husband's hearing ***** and he has no ringing, but if he catches only a word or two, common sense doesn't seem to kick in for him and he puts his own totally inappropriate interpretation on what I (or others) might havesaid... You'd be surprised at some of the stuff he thinks I said...  

Dealing with hearing loss (husband's, not mine) is a whole new thing for me.  I'll be looking for "family support for deaf people" pretty soon... of course, I'm joking, he's not that bad -- yet... lol

[Brucergoldberg]

LOL    can you imagine how horrible that must be.  completely deaf but hear ringing in the ears.   makes me feel blessed mine is just at 20% loss

[Barb135]

Yes, I forgot to acknowledge that there are deaf people who have ear ringing; my comment was a feeble attempt to lighten the situation.  LOL

[Barb135]

"If i had RA, i would know it, right?   aches and pains and stuff?"  You would probably be feeling some discomfort, but it would depend on the progression of the RA; if it's in early stages, you might not notice much.  Why doesn't your doctor simply run an RA factor blood test, along with ANA (which you've probably already had)?  You don't have to go to rheumy for that.  

I don't have it, but my aunt who passed away last year, did have it. My daughter was also diagnosed with it, but the dx was later changed to lupus.  I have my doubts on that, too because she won't bring me lab results to prove she's not hypo, when she has every hypo symptom in the book.

A rheumatologist can also deal with lupus - my daughter goes to a rheumy for her lupus - they can deal with Lyme Disease and a lot of other things.  Ask your doctor why s/he wants to send you to a rheumy?

[Brucergoldberg]

there are people that are deaf and have the ear ringing too.

I also wanted to ask, do any of you folks have RA?  if so, what are the symptoms you have experienced?  i dont think i have it.  doctor wanted to send me to a rheumotologist, i just looked up all the blood work they run and it looks like ive had all the tests done except RA.  If i had RA, i would know it, right?   aches and pains and stuff?

[Barb135]

Your FT4 is plenty high; you can afford to drop some of the synthroid, when you add more T3 med.

When you take the T3 depends on your schedule, but be careful not to take it too late in the day, or it may interfere with sleep.  Yes, you're right; from the way you react to meds, you'll feel like crap for a while, but hopefully, not too long.

You might end up being like me, and just have to deal with the ear ringing; I've had if for so long, it's just a part of life.  I'd probably think I went deaf, if it went away... lol   If the hearing aids help, by all means go for it.  

[Brucergoldberg]

I feel a little fatigued, almost like its working, but not working strong enough.  I dose my t4 at night.    i dont nap anymore.

by the way, my biggest concern now is defintely the ear ringing.  everything else is completely gone except mild fatigue.   the ringing is awful.  i know this will never change so im going to buy these hearing aids.

thanks for the input on the t3.  im sure ill feel like crap for the first 2 weeks as usual and hate everybody as my body adjusts.   good times.

[goolarra]

I agree...up the T3, not the T4.

When you do it depends on when you feel fatigued.  It's approximately 3 hours from ingestion to peak T3 level.

[ahmee]

Why not take half your T3 dose in the morning and the other half in the early afternoon? It's a more even distribution throughout the day that way.

I agree that you should up T3 and leave T4 where it is. You are not converting optimally. The T3 will help your fatigue a lot.

[Brucergoldberg]

your favorite drug!   synthroid LOL

so you think i should up the t3 and leave the synthroid where it is?  

also i tried on some hearing aids, im buying some.  the ringing got really low with them in my ears.  im waiting for my trial pair to come in.

this is a very important cross road for me barb i need to be careful im very close to optimal dose.  i thought if i did t3, i would do 5 at lunch and 2.5 2 hours later

[Barb135]

130 and 137 of what?

When you're feeling crappy, often, opt for more T3 med.. yourFT3 level is only 45% of the range, while your FT4 is right near the top...