[barbra]

#1060307

Well, the circus has started again.

On October 31st my blood tests had me in the normal range:
FT4 at 1.4, ref. 0.7-1.8
FT3 at 2.8, ref. 2.3-4.2
TSH at 3.5, ref. 0.4-5.5
I was on Levothyroxine 88 MCG, with muscle aches and hair loss.

Blood test on December 17th:
FT4 at 1.4
FT3 at 4.2
TSH at 0.02
The endo changed me to Synthroid 75 MCG. Still have some muscle aches and some hair loss, but right now I’m not feeling too bad.

My next appointment with the PCP is in June and with the endo in April.
Now, how are we ever going to nail this down if I keep careening up and down and in and out of normal while nobody is looking? What does normal feel like? I don’t remember. The doctors say:” feel free to call”. How am I supposed to know when it’s not the usual crap, which comes and goes, so I can crawl to the lab early and not look like a sissy.
It just seems to me that once we get to the fine-tuning stage the appointments should be closer together, not further apart.

Hugs.
Barbra.

[npatterson]

#1181863

Dear Barbra,

Remember that we are not doctors. However, we do know that it takes at least six weeks for thyroid hormone to balance out in your system. There is nothing wrong with calling your endo and requesting an appointment, or at least some lab work, around the first of February. Even a change of 13/1000’th take that long to stabilize.

It will help to let the doctor know specifically what is going on, rather than generalities. for instances, how often are the muscle aches, can you rate them on a pain schedule of 1-10? Are they at night, during the day, or random?

I learned this the hard way: When I was having a hard time getting stabilized, I would tell my endo that “I feel like S—“. I saw him almost every month to six weeks. When almost nine months went by, one day I said “I feel better now, and I even remember what good felt like”. He flipped through my chart and said, I guess that’s better…all you ever tell me is that you “feel like S—!”. I was mortified! That’s when I learned they couldn’t read my mind. imagine that!

Take care,

Nancy

[Raspberry]

#1181864

Like Nancy, the rule for me too was 4-6 weeks for labs after every change in medication. Maybe when that time rolls around you can call your endo’s office and request new labs? I’m trying to remember did you ever try Cytomel? Did your doctor have any thoughts about why on 10/31 your FT3 was relatively low compared to your FT4? Good luck and I hope you find the balance soon!

[barbra]

#1181865

Hi Nancy, hi Raspberry

Thanks for your answers. I have been fairly specific with the endo that’s why he put me on Cytomel, which does help with the muscle pains. I did wean myself off of it during early December, thinking it may help with the hair loss. Don’t know about that yet, but I’m sure the Cytomel is what brought the T3 up.

It seems that my TSH fluctuates rapidly, or does it?
09/05/13 TSH at 34.1, ref.0.4-5.5
09/30/13 TSH at 26.8
10/31/13 TSH at 3.5
12/17/13 TSH at 0.02

I hope that the Synthroid will help getting all this evened out. Just thought it would have been nice to catch the TSH before it got to 0.02
Whenever I leave the endo’s office they always hand me the order for the next labs. There would be no problem getting blood work done before April.

As I said, I wish it wouldn’t take 6 weeks for my body to say: This isn’t it!

Hugs.
Barbra.

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