# thyroid problems



## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

Any one out there with an under active thyroid who wants to talk me through my latest stumbling block!! Don't get me wrong I think people should take an active part in their health but I never wanted to be an MD when I grew up!!!

I'm confussed with all the web sites I didn't take chem nothing makes sense. I don't have the hair loss symptom but will soon not have any hair as I'm :hair beyond frustrated. Im not even sure I can get some of the blood work they sujest.

I've been on thyroid for 16 years and everytime I think we are good something changes. Now I'm having breathing issues and a tightness in throat doing a pulmonary function test friday. oh and I stopped watching my drug store and they switched my brand!!! I have good blood test on either brand but feel like crap and gain weight on one. What part of never ever ever give me that did they not read!!!!!! :hair So now I'm sleeping 9 to 11 hours Thanks so very much!

Top all this off with life stress, and worry. I don't have time to be down. I'm busy well as busy as I can be in slow motion! 

Ok so most of that was a rant. Does anyone understand the T's? I was reading about reverse T3s and I think my brain shut down. I get the TSH and Free T4 and understand that. I understand that my body is supose to make T3. How do I find out if that is happening? and what about the reverse stuff. and how do you find out if your matabolizam (sp) is working at normal... though guessing mine isn't.

My first TSH blood test was 203. I think my gp at the time was talking about writing a paper. They said I shouldn't have been standing. My present GP is married to my specialist and they fight about TSH vs Free T4. I finally told my GP that I didn't want to hear it. :hair

I'm even thinking if I can get my Dr.s to co operate I will drive to the states. I have family down there and I will come up with the cash if I have to... I cant do all this up and down anymore!!!

so now I'm off to have a rang on the drug store!!! they had better comply!!!!


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

I just found out 2 weeks ago mine is low so I am going natural and started on these 3


http://www.naturalthyroidsolutions.com/Home_Page.php 

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-premium-raw-adrenal-glandular-350-mg-60-caps

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-triple-iodine-complex-12-5-mg-60-veg-caps


I read that most people with low thyroid also have low adrenals too, the iodine also helps the thyriod.
It will be a few weeks before can tell and adjust if needed.

A lot of people do not do well on the syntectic stuff and do much better on the animal based. There are a few brands of animal stuff out there that you can get because most docs will not prescribe as some have had their licenses revoked for not selling big drug company stuff

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Go here and listen to the Apr 08 2013 interview with Dr mark Starr, very informing

Good luck


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Welcome to the club. Crudely, T4 devolves into > T3 and then into >T1 + T0 with increasing effects each step. Iodine and selenium levels are important in support. Tightness and sleeping to excess are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, so you might have something else going on other than thyroid.

With thyroid medications, it helps to have a physician that will allow you to self-titrate (within limits) based on need. In plain speak, that means _*slightly*_ increasing dosage until you get a little hyper or have palpations, then reducing until you are lethargic. Somewhere in the middle is likely a correct dosage. The arguments over T4 T3 levels are really beside the point of end results.

A note - thyroid meds should be taken with lots of water and NO FOOD for a couple of hours. You might simply be not drinking enough water, or eating too soon after taking it.


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## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

Most people do not do well on T-4 only meds. Whole thyroid like Armour is much better. T-4 is converted to T-3 which is the useable form for energy. I highly recommend gong to the website that haley1 posted. The information there saved my life after years of battling with doctors who told me I was fine based on TSH test which only measure the pituitary function does not give a clear picture of what is going on with the thyroid. Also understand that your whole endocrine system is linked together and when one isn't functioning properly for a good period of time the others start to get overworked trying to make up the difference and then they get fatigued and begin to not work properly. A saliva test will show whether your adrenals are fatigued which might be the reason for the tightness and difficulty breathing. Be aware that most insurance companies will no longer pay for a saliva test even if the doctor orders one. You can order the test and do it at home yourself. Anyway, go to the website and read read read. Blessings, Kat


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

OHhhhhh I feel for ya. been there. The loss of air in the pathway while sleeping etc. It is all thyroid trust me. I can not seem to get rggulated wither. I want to go natural I hear MANY great reports on it, netter then meds. and synthroid is better ny far than the generic or synthetic ny far for some reason. I wanna go natural and not be involved any more with big pharma if I can help it. Do not give up something will give with this it is a horrible disease that changes everypart of your body.....I hate it


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## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

Thank you everyone!!! I'm going to the sites now. I have felt sick and tired my whole life. Baby number 3 was almost 3 when a friend told me I had to go to a dr or she would drive 16 hours and hurt me. I went to shut her up my TSH was over 200. I was driving my babies around with the reaction time of a mushroom!!!! 16 years later I'm still rollercoasting. If I could change drs I would. I'm going to try and get all the tests done and maybe a refural to an hormone dr I have a GP and internal med. This would be so much easier if my medical records were all together. I remember hormone testing when I was a teen but that was 8 dr's ago. I will have to talk to my mom too
keep your fingers crossed and be paitent with all my questions. I wanted to be an accountant when I grew up... 
Thanks again


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## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

Oh wow these sites are amazing!!!! Dr. John C. Lowe actually said that every body is different and reacts diffently to meds. 
I'm just starting Stop the Thyroid Madness and thinking they could be talking about me!!! 
GP may have a heart attach and fire me but no way am I ever ever going back on the horrid colesteral pill. I started those and rollercoaster began again.


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## IMFoghorn (Jan 28, 2012)

I had my low thyroid regulated very well for several years. When I changed locations I had to change DR. and pharmacy. My thyroid never seemed to settle down after the move. Medicine dosages went up and down with every blood work. After several month I challenged the DR with the roller coaster I was on. We figured out that the pharmacy was being supplied with the generic medicine by different suppliers with every new shipment. Each supplier was a little different than the last. When you are measuring in micro grams a little difference has a huge effect. I've gone back to the more expensive brand name medicine and everything has been stable for several months now.


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/

Housewife, just reading dr Starr book tonight and sounds like your adrenal might get shot too thus not allowing thyroid Med to work


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## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

haley1 said:


> http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/
> 
> Housewife, just reading dr Starr box tonight and sounds like your adrenal might get shot too thus not allowing thyroid Med to work


I was just thinking that too!! along with darn this is a lot to prosses!!! but it makes sense that everything is interconected once you start reading about it. 
I have a list of about 20 things to test my loss a dr or two over this but if they fire me I can get new ones. They just don't get how draining it is or how hard it is to get moving some mornings. It's not consistent and it's not easy like a broken bone.


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

Do you have any naturopathic doctors you could go too? I see you are in southern Ontario, are docs able to give you natural desiccated thyroid product? Here in US mine said he can't prescribe it without getting in trouble but I can order online.
Good luck


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Anyone with thyroid issues should supplement with iodine (kelp). Magnesium wouldn't hurt either as long as you don't get diarrhea. Mg is unique, just like Vit C, because your bowels will tell you when you have enough/too much.


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## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

haley1 said:


> Do you have any naturopathic doctors you could go too? I see you are in southern Ontario, are docs able to give you natural desiccated thyroid product? Here in US mine said he can't prescribe it without getting in trouble but I can order online.
> Good luck


I've found that there is one called Thyroid by Erfa. If I remember right it also had FDA approval and it is said to be like the old armour. But for me that brings a new problem as it has Talc in it and I may not be able to ingested that. I have a skin algery to it I was trying to figure it out last night but desided I needed a chem degree. Maybe the pharmisit will know

mekasmom last time I mentioned iodine to my Dr he almost blew a fuss!! I'm reading more about it too. Like I said I may be fired by my Dr's. I'm going to start taking 1/2 a pill see if that stops the tightness. 

The more I read and remember things like my falic dropped so low as a teen the dr had me on high does pills. A few years later and a different city I did the same with B. Dr had me in 3 times a week for shots he had a hard time stablizing it. I remember joking with a Dr that I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and that was 30 or more years ago. I'm begining to think somethings been out of whack one way or an other for years.


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