[SeeSallie]

#1065522

I haven’t been here in sometime either and also remember some of you going through this around the same time I did.
What a Godsend this board has been. I decided to visit the boards again today after getting word from Dr. that I am now hypo. My RAI was in Oct. 2009 and I have been waiting and testing hoping for some change soon because I am moving to Mexico in 2 weeks for a job (for a year) and was worried about moving in the middle of testing. Up until now, I have been feeling normal with a few issues of tiredness but now, all of a sudden, I feel hypo. I’m glad we finally see me moving hypo because I knew it was gonna eventually happen. Yeh, I gained weight recently (yech) but I know I’ll pull it back off.

My Dr is great and is willing to take my labs via fax once I am in Mexico. She started me on synthroid today after latest bloodwork. It is gonna be tricky to adjust levels while in Mexico but since she is willing to work with me from afar, I didn’t feel it necessary to put another year of my life on hold (meaning away from my teaching job abroad). I just have to stay up on lab tests. I know my mood might shift, but I can’t let this stop me from doing what I love most (teach). It is time to get back out there and be who I am. Grave’s robbed me of a year of my normal life. I have never been low emotionally as I was last year and pray I never go back to that. Working in my old job will help me mentally too I think. I was lucky to have work here in the states while sick…but where I really want to be is back in my old job in Mexico. I took 2 full years to be back home in the states and work on this with my American Dr.

btw, I am starting out on 150MCG which seems high. She issued that dosage according to my weight…I really gained quite a bit, so I know if I bet if I start losing right away, I’ll have to adjust again. I forgot to ask her about that. But I’m confident she’ll work with me on this.

[sbigler]

#1065523

Wow .. 150 of Synthroid seems high especially because at 6 months out am I am only at .050. I have Synthroid-envy!!!

There is a lady that I work with that takes 150 but she never had Graves-just hypothyroidism. She looks and feels great so hopefully it will be the right dose for you. I would think you may go hyper for a few weeks but I bet it is only temporary. I live for the day that I can get my Synthroid increased to a higher dose so that I can start feeling like a normal person again.

Best of luck to you in Mexico!

-Soni

[Ski]

#1065524

It’s hard to guess a replacement dose of Synthroid, so no matter where you begin, it may be a little while before you find the precisely perfect dose for you. Make sure you wait 6 weeks before you get tested, after you’ve changed to a new dose. It’s very normal to FEEL up/down/all around for the first couple of weeks after beginning a new dose, but then things tend to level out, and only at the six week mark can you truly trust the blood test results you get, that’s how long it takes to reflect exactly the way your body adjusts to this particular dose. One more thing ~ whatever type of replacement hormone you’ve been started on, whether name brand or generic, try to stick with that "brand" moving forward, because slight differences in pill formation can make a big difference in how we feel, so doses are not exactly equivalent across brands. Pay close attention to the way you take your pill every day ~ must be on an empty stomach, so it can get all the way to your intestine, which is where the actual hormone is absorbed. Take it with a big glass of water, and don’t eat anything for 45 minutes to an hour. Do not take your vitamins/minerals/supplements for about four hours afterward. I take mine as soon as I wake up, then I just don’t eat for at least an hour. For me that’s pretty easy, I have a lot of little things to do in the morning and I’m also not usually hungry right away. Some people do set an alarm about an hour before they really want to get up, and take it then. That works too. I wish you luck, let us know how it’s going!

[SeeSallie]

#1065525

Thanks for the reminders SKI. You know so much. I was told all this today about taking meds on empty stomach and just remembered more details through your post. Thanks for the tip on brands. I am on the generic. Hope I can get it in Mexico.

sbigler: Maybe I confused the dosages…I’m on (0.150MG) levothyroxine but on parentheses next to it on my pill bottle it states (150MCG). lol….so maybe I’m not really on as high as it seems. I’m crossing fingers that this isn’t gonna be a roller coaster. I know it is too much to ask that I won’t have to adjust meds (did anyone get that lucky?) so I pray at least the swings won’t be drastic. Here’s to waiting some more!

[ewmb]

#1065526

Went to new endo yesterday, she is great so far. My old one retired and recommended this one. I am having a lot of hyper symptoms again and she told me to drop my levoxyl dose to 100mcg/day immediately to see if things will get better. I was on 100 four days a week and 112 three days a week. No blood work yesterday but she said in three weeks if I’m not improving we’ll have to look at dropping things further. Hope I can get this more settled soon. I am, as is everyone with this problem, irritated with not being well yet. As always this board has been a great help.

ewmb

[SeeSallie]

#1065527

Hope it is ok to revive an old post. Here it is 2011 (November) 2 years after my start of treatment. I am doing great!!! I want everyone to know that getting better can happen. It takes time but my God, I was so down and low over the no hope issue. I thought I was never gonna feel normal again and that sort of thinking depressed me to no end.

I am still in Mexico with only 8 more months of teaching to go and I will be going back home to USA. I was right…this job revitalized me. Doing what you love most is important in my opinion. I lost weight since coming here (Yay!!!! The fresh food markets helps I think), I worked with a Dr. here (never could coordinate via fax with my Dr in USA, but it was ok and even easier to just work with one here since I’m here) and regained my muscle strength. I remember when I couldn’t even walk down stairs at one point or carry books.I needed this job to push my butt. I was sitting around back home and moping over the loss of muscle mass and gaining weight and not feeling needed. Here in Mexico, there was no time for that as my job was perfect to make me move but not too hard. I love waking up at 6 am every morning and knowing I am needed. I found time to work out. My meds weren’t going exactly according to plan at first…we had to keep switching dosages. I remembered what Ski said though…try to stick with one brand. So when dosages had to change, I didn’t switch brands even though I have to cut part of a pill with my current brand (they are segmented so it is precise).

So there you have it. I just wanted to come back and say hi and mention this. I looked for messages like this when I was going through my lowest point so I vowed if I ever got better that I would do the same.

One bad thing though…for some reason I still need atenolol for when I feel my pressure rising. I was taken off it but I think I started needing it again only because the job started getting stressful (teaching 55 kids here). So I am going to ask about that at my next appt.

oh and in case anyone is interested, I am now at 125 micrograms of KARET (a brand in Mexico of Levothyroxine that I hope I can get once back home in USA).

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