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I was diagnosed with Graves six years ago. The first 3 years were pretty awful; my endo basically put me on tapizole and showed me the door…insomnia, panic attacks, tremors temper flare-ups and weight gain dominated my life. Her only reaction was to double the dose of my anti-thyroid meds the last year. I was so busy trying to cope with different symptoms as they arose that I wasn’t managing any of them well. Then I found this forum (thank God!) and a new endochrinologist. I went through radiation 2 years ago & am on synthroid. That’s my history…now I have some questions. I’ve gotten invaluable support here, so I’d appreciate any input. Most of this has to do with fatigue…
My doctor likes my tsh levels but I feel my .05mg synthroid dose is too low…I’m barely making it through my day, energy-wise. I find that during my work day, I have to be very careful about what I eat…I can give in to protein & vegetable cravings but carbs will act like a sedative…I’ve actually nodded off.
I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass…my arms haven’t been so thin since I was 16 (I’m still overweight, tho). I’ve also lost about half of my body hair; I’m Scottish and used to be on the overly furry side, so I still have a decent amount, but it just seems odd.
These are all things that are getting progressively worse; I’ve discussed them with my doctor but as I said, he likes my levels and won’t adjust my meds. I’m almost 50 and understand that age plays a role but this feels like something more. Any ideas? I’m open…I’m not sure what to suggest, Antony, other than to discuss possible OTHER reasons for your fatigue with your doctor. Sometimes, we go into our docs convinced that whatever is going on is thyroid related. The doctor checks, says, "It’s not your thyroid," and ushers us out the door, thinking processes stopped. But we DO have a problem in these situations, and it isn’t helped by having the doctor stop thought. So, a follow-up question has to then be asked: "If it’s not my thyroid, then what IS it?" Sometimes, when nothing else turns up, the doctor might be willing to tweak the dose of replacement hormone a bit. Sometimes, something else turns up — for example, anemia, or something. So, the important thing is to get your doctor thinking about how to diagnose what IS going on.
As to muscle loss, that is not typically associated with too low a level of replacement. It can be associated with too HIGH a replacement dosage (one that makes us hyper again). As we age, though, we lose muscle, even if we are getting appropriate exercise. Whether or not you’ve lost too much to be within normal parameters though is another question for the doctor.
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