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  • Anonymous
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    Hi Em,

    The cytomel I am on (25mcg daily) is $12/month. It definitely seems like
    it is worth trying this first. If it doesn’t help, you can always take
    the tests afterwards.

    Did you see my first post to this group? I’m attaching it to the end of
    this post. I’m curious to know whether your experience is similar. I
    don’t believe it made much difference that I took the anti-thryoid drugs
    rather than the iodine. In either case, my thyroid levels would have
    dropped substantially.

    If you really are unable to find a doctor to prescribe t3, I can let you
    know who my endocrinologist is and maybe your doctor could give my doctor
    a call…

    Feeling Better

    I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease 5 years ago and began treatment in
    the fall of 1992. Within a week or two of beginning treatment
    (methimazole and synthroid), I began to feel worse daily. I had more and
    more difficulty thinking clearly and my memory was substantially worse.
    After three months I had bottomed out. My doctor promised it was not due
    to the medicines (I now know this is probably true), and so I continued
    treatment. I was hoping that it was some adverse effect of the
    methimazole and that my mental sluggishness would go away after I finished
    the 1 1/2 year treatment. It did not. I continued with synthroid for
    another year, but did not notice any change one way or the other after
    stopping.

    During this period my endocrinologist insisted that my malaise had
    nothing to do with my thyroid. I therefore searched 3 years for some
    other source not related to my thyroid. I was very disappointed to find
    that every test (and I took quite a few!) came out negative. In addition,
    all medications that I tried only made me feel worse (e.g., increased
    confusion).

    However, my endocrinologist recently told me he has one other patient
    for whom he wished he had never began treating since she has not felt
    well since. When I asked if they had found anything which made her feel
    better, the answer was…….. YES. I too began the treatment and am
    finally feeling more like my old self again. Although upset and perplexed
    that he did not think of trying this years ago, I am thrilled to be
    feeling better.

    What has helped is the more active thyroid hormone T3 (e.g., “cytomel”).
    The synthroid or levothyroxine that is generally given to patients is the
    less active thyroid hormone T4. Since T4 is generally converted into T3,
    one might not expect there to be any difference. However, in
    my case, it clearly does. I am currently taking half a 25 mcg pill first
    thing in the morning, and the other half in the mid-afternoon.

    It seems that I was hyperthyroid for a long enough period of time that I
    (e.g., the neurotransmitters in my brain) developed a resistance to these
    increased levels. When my levels dropped back down to ‘normal’ levels,
    my brain registered my levels as being LOW. I would never have guessed
    that this was the problem since the usual thyroid hormone given to
    patients, T4, had no effect. Fortunately for me, T3 does. I noticed a
    positive effect from T3 within two weeks

    In summary, this email is for those who were treated for Graves’ Disease
    in the past, noticed they began to feel worse during the beginning of
    treatment, and have not felt well since.

    Best of luck to all of you!

    Feeling Better

    FB

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