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Thank you Kimberly. I was meaning more about the liver being affected by the actual hyperthyroid/GD and not necessarily the medication. I’ll check Alexis’ posts and the other recommended information maybe someone has mentioned something about it there.
Caro
I got a new Endo b/c I stopped trusting the first one I had after he wanted to stop the Methimazole cold turkey and not see me again until 8 weeks later.
My new Endo has his nurse call me back a day or two later. My labs are sent to me the next day so I get a chance to look at them the day after I get labs. My RE experience was different. His nurse would call me hours after labs but that was b/c in that scenario you need to know #s and what to do right away in case you are ovulating, etc.
What does your RE think about the delays from the Endo? It seems to me your RE needs faster results so as not to miss any opportunities to start the IVF.
Without a normal range reference it is impossible to know if your TSH of 3.3 is in the normal range. It is different for each lab. You have a lot of other #s to worry about since you are also having RE treatment. With estrogen, progesterone, HCG shots, etc, I’m assuming things can fluctuate even more. It could be pituitary related but you would have to ask your Dr. It most be hard keeping both endocrinologists in synch. I hope it hasn’t come back either. Please don’t donate your body just yet
Lets have hope that the Endos will get things square out for you.If you feel your general Dr can help you should give it a try. I couldn’t handle the stresses of the RE treatments at the end and I sure could not have handled them along side thyroid treatment. You are a trooper. I wish you the best.
Keep us posted.
Caro
Sorry to hear this. It can get very frustrating and that is the last thing someone who is trying to conceive needs. I hope they find the right dose soon.
Caro
Hello smj,
Welcome to the forum. You are asking good questions. I’m not taking any hormone replacement medications. I’m still trying to get euthyroid with Methimazole. Therefore, I’m not personally familiar with Levoxyl. Maybe some of the members will join us soon and leave you more information.
As for breast feeding, the one thing I can think of that could pass to your baby is Levoxyl. In drugs.com it says that it can pass into breast milk, but it is not expected to be harmful to the baby. I recommend asking your Dr. and Pediatrician about this, especially since your baby has had thyroid problems in the past.
I think you should report your new symptoms and let your Dr. tell you if she would like to move labs to an earlier date.
Wish you the best with your labs and your new dose. Please keep us posted.
The best to you and your baby,
CaroBeautiful #s Suzanne. Not much off. I would recommend looking at your WBC and ALT/AST (liver) #s as well. You general Dr should be able to help you out. I’m so glad you have a general Dr. you trust and like
Caro
Hello Kes,
Welcome to the forum. I’m sorry you are going through so much right now. I hope you get the answers you need soon.
As for diagnosis, I was diagnosed with a TSI test. No iodine uptake scan was performed.
Our Drs. tend to lower the dose of Methimazole when our #s have started getting lower because being hypo is also dangerous and because the ultimate goal is to get us euthyroid.
Without a normal reference range it is impossible to tell if you are hyper or hypo but comparing your #s from January and the ones from last week, your T3 and fT4 have decreased and your TSH has increased. The TSH is what lets our thyroid know what to do. Whet it is elevated our thyroid knows to decrease production and when the TSH is low, our thyroid knows to produce more thyroid hormones. It is all a balancing act and with the methimazole it is too b/c it decreases the thyroid hormones. Last week my labs also changed. My TSH increased and my fT4 decreased. My Dr. changed my dose from 30mg/day to 10mg/day because I have become hypo. I don’t have a goiter nor nodules though.
If you feel like you should get a second opinion, you should go for it. The Endo I’m seeing now is the 2nd Endo I see. I stopped trusting the first one after he wanted to stop the Methimazole cold turkey and not see me again until 8 weeks later. My 2nd Endo believes in close monitoring and that works better for me. The general Dr. is a great source. If you have one please talk to him/her if you want to see another Endo so that he/she can help you get in sooner. Keep in mind that the sooner you make the appt, the sooner you’ll see them.
My personal advice is to learn as much as possible about GD, your labs, etc. I have a chart with all my labs and I’m plugging in my #s so that I can see how things are changing. I’m also documenting my symptoms to see when I experience what in comparison to my dose and my lab #s. We are our best advocates, and if we want to, we can be partners with our Drs. A patient can be a great source of information to the Dr., specially if they understand some of what is going on. The Dr. is the expert but the patient can have some knowledge, which will at times ease worries about why certain things are done.
Please keep us posted. Hope you feel better soon.
Caro
Hello Naisly,
I’m so glad you have an appointment coming up. It will be here before you know it. I’m also very glad that you have arrived at the determination to take the pills. One step at a time and you’ll get there. You know what the problem is and you are trying to correct it. It is not easy fixing something unless you know the problem and are determined to do something about it
I think a lot of the Drs will prescribe something to ease the nerves and anxiety when the patient is experiencing hyperthyroid symptoms because the symptoms can be very overwhelming. Maybe you should try at least one of the stress pills to see how you do? Who knows, maybe you will do well with it and it will help you take the others for the thyroid. All for the sake of feeling well and getting healthy. Just remember, you are in control, you can take one just to try it out.
I would love to read your story. I love comparing my story to others so if you would like to post it here, you can count on me to read it.
I agree with Kimberly about why some people might take more than one or two pills. Some members might have multiple problems affecting them. I take several, one for the thyroid – Methimazole, one for the heart – Metoprolol. I used to have to take 3 for the thyroid (3 methimazole pills a day) and 6 Propranalol a day but since I got better the # has dropped. Besides that I also take Iron pills b/c I have a history of anemia. I like to take folic acid b/c being a woman it is necessary to avoid a bad pregnancy in case I’m to get pregnant later on and also for the anemia b/c it helps make more cells. To that add my vitamins. You see how it adds up. Some people might have other autoimmune diseases that might require steroids and other medications.
I hope all goes well at your appt. Please keep us posted. I’ll be looking for your post with your story.
Smiles,
Caro Hello Erica,
I’m a Celiac disease (CD) patient and a GD patient. I was diagnosed with CD before I was diagnosed with GD. For years I had really bad stomach problems and many many tests were done. Finally a Dr. mentioned Celiac and ran some tests. This was around 2005. I was told all kinds of things before. I was even told I probably had Lupus but after two Rheumatologists ran tests, it was ruled out that I didn’t. Anyway, finding out that I had CD was a blessing. I felt so sick before that I’m so glad I’m gluten free today. I’m so used to it that to me it is just normal day to day way of eating. People get so amazed about what I tell them I don’t eat it … is funny. The people around me, coworkers, friends, etc., know now about making sure to include gluten free items when they invite me to a party.
Being gluten free is so easy now a days. When I started the diet I had to search for things on line and order that way. Now I just go to my local stores and they have what I want.
One thing I do have to mention is that when I first started the gluten free diet, the first thing I removed was bread and pizza. Not long after starting my gluten free diet I was still very sick. I went to see an immunologist (he passed away 3 years ago), who encouraged the gluten free diet but who also told me that I was allergic to yeast. Now, bread contains yeast. I was recommended to go yeast free as well, which I did. So I went gluten free and yeast free almost at the same time. Yeast is something that we eat a lot as well. I guess what I’m trying to say is that some of the benefits of being gluten free might come from more than being gluten free. They might also come from being yeast free. My immunologist was doing research on this area. He believed that yeast could overgrow in our gut and then spread to other organs, even including the brain. He explained that one way this could happen was from taking antibiotics. We know that antibiotics will kill the good bacteria in our gut and this could allow the over growth of yeast. I have to say that I felt a lot better after his treatment and that the ANA that had come back positive previously (reason I was told I might have Lupus) changed to negative. I haven’t had it tested recently but now that I’ve been diagnosed with GD I wonder if it is back to being positive. I was recently diagnosed with GD (in June) and I have to say that it could have been yeast related. I had been yeast free for all this time until March when I had “gluten free” pizza at a restaurant. The pizza had yeast and I knew it but I didn’t think it would harm me b/c I had been feeling good for so many years. I ate there 3 times that month. I said that it could have been related because I also went through some hormone therapy to get pregnant and that could have done it too. Who knows. It could have been a combination of the two causing stress to my body.
Being Gluten free (GF) might not fix my GD but it might help me from having to get as sick as I would if I wasn’t GF. People can have an allergy to it or just be sensitive to it. I’ve read that sometimes people who don’t have CD and try the GF diet feel better. It doesn’t hurt to try it. We have so many options out there to make sure we supplement ourselves well. As for me, being GF helps with absorption of what I need and keeps me, hopefully, from getting intestinal cancer (another risk with CD).
Good article!!! Please keep sharing the information and learning. Only if we intelligently inform ourselves can we make a change. You mentioned the medical library. Are you a med student?
You might find this interesting:
http://www.celiaccentral.org/thyroid/Caro
Hello Darcy.
Thank you for your message and for the support
Yes, well, I’m trying to stay positive. I don’t let myself get down very easily :)p God blesses me so much I can’t complaint.
Well, I think I might have walked a little bit too much on Saturday so I’ll cut back and go as you recommended. Everyone is recommending it also. Baby steps, baby steps. I guess I got carried away b/c finally the day was no as hot. I walked to the end of the block and felt fine, walked some more and then some more, next thing I know I’m far away. Good thing my hubby was with me. I will not be doing that again … baby steps.
7.77 was high, no wonder. Mine was only 2.89 at the beginning and I was already feeling pretty sick. You are a trooper.
I’m seeing my Dr tomorrow. I can’t wait to see how he wants to proceed. I felt tired today but I took a nap
I think part of my problem is not getting a good night sleep b/c of my vivid dreams/nightmares. I’ve never had this happen before in my life. Anyway, that and the new hypo #s, I guess.Thank you again. I loved the “GD Nation” and “welcome to Round II” comments. Exactly!!!! That is exactly how I feel
Bring it on, right? lol!!!Caro 😎
Hello Darcy,
How is it going today?
I’ve been feeling tired today again. I can’t tell a difference of how tired I feel now than when I started to feel tired before I got the tachycardia/hyperthyroid diagnosis. It is definitely less than when I was already very sick. When I was very sick in June, I felt exhausted and really sick (tachy, dizzy, flat affect, non-functional).
I do have to say that I felt like you too … “a crybaby…bigtime…watching pet food commercials made me cry, looking in the mirror, tears….jumping on the scale… wailing….lol”. I was loosing the wait like crazy though. I just have started to gain some of it back. I felt so emotional but that was right before I was told I had GD. In my case I guess it was a sign of something being wrong. I’m not emotional now that my fT4 is low, I’m just tired to very tired. I’m not cold either but I felt cold a little bit yesterday but nothing much. Thank you for reading my labs. Maybe I’ll feel better once the Dr decreases my dose. I’m glad you are able to exercise now. I tried walking yesterday and I got very tired. I hate not being able to even go for a walk like a I used to before. I used to walk for miles.
Smiles … to being euthyroid soon …
Caro
Hello Debbie,
How is it going today?
I’ so glad your Dr. orders all those tests. Mine only orders fT4, TSH, ALT and WBC. I know that is enough but I would love to see where I’m on the Ca levels, fT3 and the immune part of things. I’m going to see if he can order a TSI in a few months. I know the TSI doesn’t change very fast but last time they tested it was in June. Too bad he only goes by on labs and doesn’t include symptoms. You should still tell him/her about your symptoms though.
I’ve been feeling tired today again.
Maybe I’ll feel better once the Dr decreases my dose.
Wow, your case was the worst your Drs have seen. I’m so glad you are doing better. I noticed that making sure that I eat protein helps with my hair. My Dr told me that if it falls out that it will return. I have already experience this before so I feel your pain about the hair thinning. I hope it gets better soon.
Smiles,
CaroP.S. Sending you a bit of summer
Hello.
I completely feel your pain. I saw an RE for 6 months last year before I was told I had GD. The whole process tired me out and I personally think that all the estrogen, progesterone, HCG, etc treatments pushed me over the edge into GD. I was doing fine before all that. I felt healthy but after the 6 months I started to feel tired so I stopped the treatment and decided to wait a while to get my strength back. Little did I know that a few months later I would be told I have GD. Anyway, yes, the lab work can go up and down with all that treatment. It did with me (I’m talking about your hormones other than thyroid hormones). It is frustrating waiting on calls and lab results and then getting a result your were not desiring and having to wait for the next round. I’m sorry to hear that your thyroid #s are also not what you need for your IVF. Our bodies are very complicated. The hormones have to be just right for the IVF to work … actually for any pregnancy to work. Everything is so well timed. Hang in there. Remember to find something at least once a day that helps you feel relaxed and like yourself. I don’t know about you but during the whole RE treatment I felt like a guinea pig and I really needed some time to myself once a day. Hang in there. Please keep us posted. I hope your #s soon get to where they need to be.
Smiles,
Caro
