[scubarn]

#1019186

I had my Endo add 5 Mcg of T3 to my regimen since 100 Mcg of Levothyroid does not feel right to me. I had TT surgery 2/5/09. Went HYPER, then HYPO.
I am falling asleep at the wheel in spite of great REM sleep for the 1st time in 8 years! I have to take "heroic measures" to have a BM, and my hands & feet are cold.
I am gaining 2 lbs a month in spite of less food intake. I feel sleepy and my finger joints are achy.
My levels are WNL, but I have HYPO symptoms.
I just want enough energy to finish an 8 hour shift, and do strength training to rebuild the muscle mass I lost to Grave’s wasting.
Is it possible to have adequate energy on replacement hormone without the irritability, psychosis & nervousness that Grave’s HYPERthyroidism gave me? How long should we wait to up the dose agian?
I went from an hour glass figure to a jelly roll belly in about 4 months after surgery. I don’t think I’m digesting anything well. Could my meds be not digesting also?
I don’t eat for 3 hours after my thyroid meds. I take the pills at 6 am each morning. I no longer eat dinner due to weight gain, bloating, and constipation. My cholesterol is up to 222, My caloric intake is now very low, and I eat very healthy. I am physically active, a scuba diver, RN, wildlife photographer, hiker, but weight gain is very noticeable in a short period.
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Of note, I have never met a post- thyroidectomy person who was not severely overweight. This concerns me since obesity causes the majority of the health problems I see in my post operative patients. ie: Diabetes, debilitating heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, peripheral vascular disease, limb amputations, multiple vascular surgeries, dialysis treatments for life, etc.
Is there anyone on this board who has been successful with medication doses and does not STRUGGLE with weight gain?

[Ski]

#1069915

This question sounds so familiar ~ you may want to do a search because there’s certainly more information here than I’ll be able to get into this message.

First and most importantly, just because your levels fall in "the normal range," that does not mean you’ve hit YOUR normal point. The range is really large, specifically because there are people all across the range who report themselves as "normal." If your doctor is willing to support you in the quest, get some help adjusting your dose by small measures, and see how you feel ~ for instance, I take half a dose on Sundays and it makes me JUST right. If I go back to taking the whole dose on Sundays, the "tic" over my eye returns and my tremors start, ever so slightly. It’s possible that you need JUST a little bit more than you’re taking, in order to feel right. It can take time to figure this out (you need six weeks between dose changes to have truly meaningful blood test results), but it is SO worth it.

Secondly, just because you’ve hit a normal blood level, this isn’t like a virus we "get over" and suddenly feel well. The hyperthyroidism causes a great deal of damage across your entire body, and that damage isn’t able to even begin healing until your levels have hit, and remained at, some normal level. In that respect, you are still recovering from hyperthyroidism, and you need to give yourself a LOT of slack. Small improvements are the norm. Big leaps into feeling GREAT are rare.

T3 is very volatile. It must be taken several times a day, each time on an empty stomach and also keeping the stomach empty for an hour afterward. Some people find a benefit from it, others end up toxic again, experiencing hyper symptoms. For the most part, those who benefit from it are those whose livers are compromised in some way, which inhibits the conversion of T4 (inactive hormone) to T3 (active hormone) in the body. It is typically recommended that you give plain T4 a while to work before adding T3, and even then only after determining that your T3 levels are chronically low even on relatively high doses of T4. Most of us can convert T4 to T3 as we need it.

Weight gain is a fairly common element of recovering from Graves’ Disease, for many reasons. Once your levels are normal, and stable, you should see a physical therapist to evaluate your strength and tolerance, then begin CAREFULLY regaining the strength in your muscles. Eventually you can return to the state of fitness you were used to, but the muscle wasting of hyperthyroidism does a real number on our bodies and we need time to recover.

I hope this helps!

[Author]

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