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Tried someone elses medication ~ NO Money ~ No Insurance
Hi I am new and have been reading and learning so much. My symptoms of extreme carple tunnel are so bad I cant hold a brush, type, pretty much do anything using my hands. I cant do anything other than lay around and take pain med and aleve. I have missed work, had steroid shots, accupressure, massage, ice baths anything to bring releif. Thats why I tried med for about a week and it seemed to help. These are my symptoms totally constipated even drinking that dieters tea and eating fiber. Its been 6 days since I went #2, headaches that move, eyes hurt, always tired, my temp is usally 96.8 sometimes it will get to 97.6 I think that is my highest with the mercury type (but not) thermometor late in afternoon.DEPRESSION major, gained weight that I cannot lose inspite of eating less and trying to exercise, neck aches freezing feet and hands are cold, brain fog and sometimes my words seem to slur and dont come out right????? Very dry hair and skin. Strange itching comes and goes and I have alot of facial hair especially on the left side of my chin. The r side 2 as well as a mustach that I have to tweeze almost daily which is weird cuz my eyebrows seem to be missing on the outside and I can hardly hold the tweezer I think I have been hypo for many years and at the present time I can hardly keep a roof over my head however I borrowed money to have a blood test. ~~~~~tsh and free T4. Result of tsh is 0.647 uIU/mL ref--0.450-4.500 and T4, Free (Direct) 1.11 ng/dl ref--0.82-1.77. I feel that was a waste of money and dont know what to do. The clinics wont treat me and I am losing so much work , my truck broke so I had to ride my bike and my hands were in pain almost unbearable that I cried when riding trying not to hold the handlebars it hurt so much. I am behind on all my bills and scared that I will be homeless in the near future if I cant get this under control.Today my ankles and calfs have edema as does my face. I am so depressed that I can hardly get out of bed let alone do anything I feel so sad and lonely and fat I cant fit my clothes everything is so tight more depressing. I am my sole support with little help. I have a child who is 22 but lives out of town. I HATE this life of mine. Is this living? It is merely existing and I cant remember when I have had a really good pain free day. I tried the levoxyl 0.075 mg I took a half each day at 9am for 7 days and it did seem to help. Can anyone please give me advice on where to go what to do because I have to feel better soon or I will not have a home and things will really go downhill then. Thank you for this site and I am sorry this probably rambles on and spelling is bad although my hands are not 2 bad today. I live in Calif so if anybody can give me any ideas on how to help myself without money or insurance please do.My boss is not understanding I DO NOT FEEL GOOD and just makes me hate going there. I want to try Armour so I can maybe have a life. Oh I almost forgot july of 2009 through July 2010 I lived in an apartment that had toxic mold behind the walls and under the slab from many years of water intrusion. I was very sick and have not felt like i used to since although better that I have been out of there awhile. Long story but the slumlord evicted me and the judge let him. I hired an environmental firm to test and it was everything bad.Stachy, Asperguilles etc. It was ordered stricken from the transscripts Why? Big shot developers!!! So let me end on a funny note that makes me not so bitter .....A landlord, a top code enforcement officer and a judge are at the pearly gates````````
Dear Destiny,
I was just reading Dr. Lupo's last chat, and someone wrote that they had little money for lab testing. His response was to go to the individual labs and ask if they will accept a standard Medicare fee. This is substantially less than the "full charge", which is ALWAYS elevated beyond what either insurance or Medicare actually pays. And it is what the lab is often used to accepting. Good idea for you ! I wonder if any doctor would do the same ?
I was just reading Dr. Lupo's last chat, and someone wrote that they had little money for lab testing. His response was to go to the individual labs and ask if they will accept a standard Medicare fee. This is substantially less than the "full charge", which is ALWAYS elevated beyond what either insurance or Medicare actually pays. And it is what the lab is often used to accepting. Good idea for you ! I wonder if any doctor would do the same ?
Here is some information about help with medication
http://thyroid.about.com/library/news/blfreesynthroid.htm
Abbot Labs manufactures Synthroid( (T4)
King labs manufactures Cytomel (T3)
You will need a doctor's prescription, however, so you should definitely apply for Disability or Medi-Cal. Barb's idea of going to the County Health Department might be the way to start, or call the office for SDI (State Disability Insurance) which is usually at the same office as unemployment. If you have been working, you qualify for this type of temporary aid.. As I also have edema (called myxedema if it is the non-pitting type associated with hypothyroidism), and /or if you have a conversion problem, I'm not sure Armour will allow you to adjust your Free T3 level to fit your individual needs. Also, it is sometimes necessary to take a larger amount of T3 to overcome the conversion problem initially.
Because of the "brain fog" and depression, it helps to make a list to remind you what to do, which phone numbers you need, who you need to call. It sounds silly, but that's how debilitating this an be. I even become dyslexic and have trouble focusing my eyes when my meds are too low. I tell you this because you need to remind yourself you are NOT crazy and that others have been there and have gotten better. I too was at the point of sometimes slurring words and was accused of drunkeness. That is sometimes a symptom of advanced myxedema. You might also experience mood swings and elevated blood pressure.
My very best to you.
http://thyroid.about.com/library/news/blfreesynthroid.htm
Abbot Labs manufactures Synthroid( (T4)
King labs manufactures Cytomel (T3)
You will need a doctor's prescription, however, so you should definitely apply for Disability or Medi-Cal. Barb's idea of going to the County Health Department might be the way to start, or call the office for SDI (State Disability Insurance) which is usually at the same office as unemployment. If you have been working, you qualify for this type of temporary aid.. As I also have edema (called myxedema if it is the non-pitting type associated with hypothyroidism), and /or if you have a conversion problem, I'm not sure Armour will allow you to adjust your Free T3 level to fit your individual needs. Also, it is sometimes necessary to take a larger amount of T3 to overcome the conversion problem initially.
Because of the "brain fog" and depression, it helps to make a list to remind you what to do, which phone numbers you need, who you need to call. It sounds silly, but that's how debilitating this an be. I even become dyslexic and have trouble focusing my eyes when my meds are too low. I tell you this because you need to remind yourself you are NOT crazy and that others have been there and have gotten better. I too was at the point of sometimes slurring words and was accused of drunkeness. That is sometimes a symptom of advanced myxedema. You might also experience mood swings and elevated blood pressure.
My very best to you.
Agree with barb135 completely.
you need a Free T3 test. I would suspect you have a conversion problem but with your FT4 so low in the range it is hard to tell.
I agree that Armour may be your best bet. But it is most important to get medicine and get it ASAP. Even a T4 med like Levo will help.
T4 meds take up to 6 weeks to really have an effect. The fact that you took it for only a week and felt better is quite surprising and reflects that you are indeed hypo.
you need a Free T3 test. I would suspect you have a conversion problem but with your FT4 so low in the range it is hard to tell.
I agree that Armour may be your best bet. But it is most important to get medicine and get it ASAP. Even a T4 med like Levo will help.
T4 meds take up to 6 weeks to really have an effect. The fact that you took it for only a week and felt better is quite surprising and reflects that you are indeed hypo.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Go to your local County Health Dept; if you have no money and no job, you should qualify for Medicaid.
Dear Destiny,
I am so sorry you find yourself in such a scary and painful situation. I have nothing to offer on how to get help, which as Gimel has said, it seems you need. All of your symptoms seem to point to hypothyroidism. I can't believe we llve in a country that does not provide adequate healthcare for its citizens.
I am struck by how closely your situation mimics my own, although I do have insurance. When I came to the part about the mold, my skin crawled, because I too had mold in my loft and I identify my thyroid problem from that time. I was very very sick from the mold, and allergy tests showed that I was not allergic to the molds themselves, but rather to the toxins they produced. I had 5 kinds of mold, including aspergillus...and after I moved out, the remaining tenants discovered that the landlord hid the knowledge that stachybotrus was found as well. I have read that environmental toxins can trigger a thyroid problem, but no endo will even discuss it.
Your lab results are almost the same as my original ones...a TSH in the low part of the normal range and a low-normal Free T4 result. Therefore, even though I had similar symptoms to yours, I was told I was fine and "just getting older" or that I needed to see a shrink. It took a year, during which my symptoms increased, before the doctor discovered I have a multi-nodular thyroid and another year before I was put on any medication at all. Like you, I also developed edema and symptoms of carpel tunnel. My depression and panic attacks became so severe that I was hospitalized, and that didn't stop until I insisted that they add T3 to the T4. I am gradually getting better, but no where near out of the woods. There are no free clinics near where you live ? Any teaching universities or teaching hospitals ? It is sometimes possible to volunteer to be a teaching patient, where you serve as an example for students overseen by a teaching doctor. I so sympathize with what you are going through and hope some of our other members will have suggestions. In which part of California do you live ?
You did not waste money on the tests you had. They give a picture of a thyroid not functioning to capacity because your Free T4 is lower than what most people need to feel well. It usually needs to be in the middle of the range or slightly higher. If you are like me, your low-normal TSH probably indicates some sort of conversion problem. Unfortunately you don't have the complete picture because you were not given a Free T3 test. I would be willing to bet it is very low, given your symptoms.
Hang in there. There is a lot of good medical information to help you here. Have you thought of applying for Disability so that you could obtain Medicare ? Is Medi-Cal a possibility ? I know how frightening it is, I too could not work. Don't be afraid to keep posting, and many blessings.
I am so sorry you find yourself in such a scary and painful situation. I have nothing to offer on how to get help, which as Gimel has said, it seems you need. All of your symptoms seem to point to hypothyroidism. I can't believe we llve in a country that does not provide adequate healthcare for its citizens.
I am struck by how closely your situation mimics my own, although I do have insurance. When I came to the part about the mold, my skin crawled, because I too had mold in my loft and I identify my thyroid problem from that time. I was very very sick from the mold, and allergy tests showed that I was not allergic to the molds themselves, but rather to the toxins they produced. I had 5 kinds of mold, including aspergillus...and after I moved out, the remaining tenants discovered that the landlord hid the knowledge that stachybotrus was found as well. I have read that environmental toxins can trigger a thyroid problem, but no endo will even discuss it.
Your lab results are almost the same as my original ones...a TSH in the low part of the normal range and a low-normal Free T4 result. Therefore, even though I had similar symptoms to yours, I was told I was fine and "just getting older" or that I needed to see a shrink. It took a year, during which my symptoms increased, before the doctor discovered I have a multi-nodular thyroid and another year before I was put on any medication at all. Like you, I also developed edema and symptoms of carpel tunnel. My depression and panic attacks became so severe that I was hospitalized, and that didn't stop until I insisted that they add T3 to the T4. I am gradually getting better, but no where near out of the woods. There are no free clinics near where you live ? Any teaching universities or teaching hospitals ? It is sometimes possible to volunteer to be a teaching patient, where you serve as an example for students overseen by a teaching doctor. I so sympathize with what you are going through and hope some of our other members will have suggestions. In which part of California do you live ?
You did not waste money on the tests you had. They give a picture of a thyroid not functioning to capacity because your Free T4 is lower than what most people need to feel well. It usually needs to be in the middle of the range or slightly higher. If you are like me, your low-normal TSH probably indicates some sort of conversion problem. Unfortunately you don't have the complete picture because you were not given a Free T3 test. I would be willing to bet it is very low, given your symptoms.
Hang in there. There is a lot of good medical information to help you here. Have you thought of applying for Disability so that you could obtain Medicare ? Is Medi-Cal a possibility ? I know how frightening it is, I too could not work. Don't be afraid to keep posting, and many blessings.
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