Thyroid people - a doctor wwyd

[snickerplum]

So I used to be hypothyroid for a long time. When we moved I ran out of my meds and it took a while to find a new dr. I went to a holistic-ish doctor and he put me on Naturethroid. It didn't seem to help at all. I had to switch drs because this guy was an out of pocket practice and it was getting steep. All that to say....

I thought I'd get started with an internal medicine doctor. I told her about my thyroid and when she ran labs my TSH (which I know is not the final answer on things) was .008.I had recently been sick and was told that might skew my results and I should come back in a month to retest. Also, she told me to stop the meds she'd put me on (can't remember what).Ok, so this time (almost 2 months later) my TSH was .006, Free T3 was 4.1, and my free t4 was 1. There nurse who called with my results said to reduce my medication because it was causing my numbers to be low. I told her I wasn't taking anything and she still wanted me to take the reduced prescription. I told her no, it didn't make sense to, she talked with the doctor who agreed. She said we could discuss things at my next appointment - a month away. I told her how bad I feel and how I need a sooner appt so they found a cancellation two weeks sooner.

At this point I'm questioning this dr. Now, for me to have gone from a high TSH to simple with a change in symptoms makes me think something is going on. They don't seem terribly concerned. I want to find an endocrinologist, but being new in town I don't know a good one.

I'm thinking of keeping the appointment just to ask for a referral. Or would you just cut ties and move on? Am I overreacting? I just feel so bad...

[trulycrabby]

I think you need to keep the doctor's appointment and ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.

 

Several things could be causing your low TSH, but my first thought is Hashimoto's. The dying thyroid cells can dump hormone into the body and cause the TSH to lower.

[kroe1]

Just because one is hypothyroid at one point in life, does not mean one cannot become hyperthyroid or euthyroid. Stick with your appointment.

[Ellie]

So I used to be hypothyroid for a long time. When we moved I ran out of my meds and it took a while to find a new dr. I went to a holistic-ish doctor and he put me on Naturethroid. It didn't seem to help at all. I had to switch drs because this guy was an out of pocket practice and it was getting steep. All that to say....

I thought I'd get started with an internal medicine doctor. I told her about my thyroid and when she ran labs my TSH (which I know is not the final answer on things) was .008.I had recently been sick and was told that might skew my results and I should come back in a month to retest. Also, she told me to stop the meds she'd put me on (can't remember what).Ok, so this time (almost 2 months later) my TSH was .006, Free T3 was 4.1, and my free t4 was 1. There nurse who called with my results said to reduce my medication because it was causing my numbers to be low. I told her I wasn't taking anything and she still wanted me to take the reduced prescription. I told her no, it didn't make sense to, she talked with the doctor who agreed. She said we could discuss things at my next appointment - a month away. I told her how bad I feel and how I need a sooner appt so they found a cancellation two weeks sooner.

At this point I'm questioning this dr. Now, for me to have gone from a high TSH to simple with a change in symptoms makes me think something is going on. They don't seem terribly concerned. I want to find an endocrinologist, but being new in town I don't know a good one.

I'm thinking of keeping the appointment just to ask for a referral. Or would you just cut ties and move on? Am I overreacting? I just feel so bad...

 

Probably the reason you didn't feel better on NatureThroid is that you were not taking enough. Most people feel better taking from three to five grains (one grain is 65mg). I take 4 3/4 grains; it is my miracle drug. :-) But it took a long time, and a little finagling on my part, to reach that dosage. 

 

In the hypothyroid/Hashimoto's thyroiditis world, endos do not have a good reputation for treating thyroid issues properly. Your internal medicine doctor *might* be ok.

 

I don't understand why the nurse told you to *reduce* your medication if your thyroid levels were too low. That's just crazy. o_0 .

 

I'm not concerned about your TSH (what was it when it was "high"?). Your FT4 is way too low. Your FT3 is too high (but we really need to know your lab's ranges). You needed to have Reverse T3 done (although I'm impressed that Free T3 was ordered). Perhaps you can call your doctor and ask for that to be added.

 

You might consider doing a 24-hour saliva test, which tells you how your adrenals are working (the 24-hour saliva test is more accurate than any other). If your adrenals are not functioning properly, you aren't going to feel well.

 

Have you seen the Stop the Thyroid Madness site?

[gardenmom5]

your numbers are good according to the optimum thyroid charts.   are you still having hypothyroid symptoms?  

 

have you been on stopthethyroidmadness.com?  one thing that has come out over and over is an almost universal disdain of endocrinologists for how they handle thyroid patients.

 

you might want to take a look at the rec'd labwork.    you may have something else going on.

 

adrenals can often be messed up by an underactive thyroid.  you can look at how the symptoms of each line up and if anything sounds familiar.

 

[gardenmom5]

Probably the reason you didn't feel better on NatureThroid is that you were not taking enough. Most people feel better taking from three to five grains (one grain is 65mg). I take 4 3/4 grains; it is my miracle drug. :-) But it took a long time, and a little finagling on my part, to reach that dosage. 

 

In the hypothyroid/Hashimoto's thyroiditis world, endos do not have a good reputation for treating thyroid issues properly. Your internal medicine doctor *might* be ok.

 

I don't understand why the nurse told you to *reduce* your medication if your thyroid levels were too low. That's just crazy. o_0 .

 

I'm not concerned about your TSH (what was it when it was "high"?). Your FT4 is way too low. Your FT3 is too high (but we really need to know your lab's ranges). You needed to have Reverse T3 done (although I'm impressed that Free T3 was ordered). Perhaps you can call your doctor and ask for that to be added.

 

You might consider doing a 24-hour saliva test, which tells you how your adrenals are working (the 24-hour saliva test is more accurate than any other). If your adrenals are not functioning properly, you aren't going to feel well.

 

Have you seen the Stop the Thyroid Madness site?

 

many people who dont' feel better at 3 - 5 grains probably have an adrenal problem, or pituitary, or iron (OP there are four different iron lab rec'd because the most common one can be "fine", but the patient is anemic.) etc. 

 

yes to the saliva test.  adrenal blood tests are worthless.  another way is temperature.  you can read more on sttm.

 

I hate adrenals.  they are being a pain.  they have slowed how fast I can add ndt . . . .

 

[snickerplum]

Years ago I did the saliva test and my cortisol was almost nonexistent until the last reading of the night when it skyrocketed. So, there are adrenal issues.

I know that this dr won't give me any desiccated thyroid. She told me at my first visit that she doesn't use it because it's hard to be for sure how much you're getting in each dose. I had been taking 3 grains of NT (from the previous dr) and it started causing some numbers to go wonky so the dr reduced it to 2.

It's hard to find a good dr who listens.

 

 

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[Ellie]

Years ago I did the saliva test and my cortisol was almost nonexistent until the last reading of the night when it skyrocketed. So, there are adrenal issues.

I know that this dr won't give me any desiccated thyroid. She told me at my first visit that she doesn't use it because it's hard to be for sure how much you're getting in each dose. I had been taking 3 grains of NT (from the previous dr) and it started causing some numbers to go wonky so the dr reduced it to 2.

It's hard to find a good dr who listens.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, it is hard to find a good doctor who listens. Took me twenty years. :crying:

 

I walked out of a doctor's office when she told me she wouldn't prescribe NDT. I will never go back to synthetics....which I know is easy for me to say. I haven't been pushed into that yet.

 

Free T3 should be in the upper half of the lab's ranges; Free T4 in the upper fourth; TSH in the lower fourth.