Alexigail Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have some questions for those who know about thyroid issues. I'm going in for labs today so I will be asking my Dr. about these things but I wanted to know if anyone has any thoughts. I have been on synthroid for about two (ish?) years now for low thyroid. 1. How important is it to diagnose the cause of hypothyroid? I've never gotten a diagnosis per se, just a script. I suspect it's autoimmune because of the symptoms I have. I 'm sure I had low thyroid for a long time before they caught it. Over time they've thought RA, Lupus, even MS, but all my tests for those things were normal. How do they diagnose hashimoto's and does that diagnosis change the treatment or would things stay the same regardless? 2. Does low thyroid cause issues with bleeding? I've had some spotting this month as well as a sudden nosebleed today.. I'm sure it could be that the weather is dry, but this is unusual for me. 3. Are there things other than medication that I can do to feel better? The meds helped for a long time, but since my miscarriage in Dec. I've been a wreck and I feel like I did before I started on them. I'm just wondering if there are any dietary or other types of things I can do to feel better. 4. I've been craving shellfish since my pregnancy and my midwife said that this could indicate a problem with iodine. Should I ask my Dr. to include iodine levels in my labs or is this something that would be understood by testing my thyroid? Thanks for your help everyone. I know I shouldn't go online for medical advice, but I'm pretty desperate to feel better. If you've been in the trenches I'd love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have some questions for those who know about thyroid issues. I'm going in for labs today so I will be asking my Dr. about these things but I wanted to know if anyone has any thoughts. I have been on synthroid for about two (ish?) years now for low thyroid. 1. How important is it to diagnose the cause of hypothyroid? I've never gotten a diagnosis per se, just a script. I suspect it's autoimmune because of the symptoms I have. I 'm sure I had low thyroid for a long time before they caught it. Over time they've thought RA, Lupus, even MS, but all my tests for those things were normal. How do they diagnose hashimoto's and does that diagnosis change the treatment or would things stay the same regardless? 2. Does low thyroid cause issues with bleeding? I've had some spotting this month as well as a sudden nosebleed today.. I'm sure it could be that the weather is dry, but this is unusual for me. 3. Are there things other than medication that I can do to feel better? The meds helped for a long time, but since my miscarriage in Dec. I've been a wreck and I feel like I did before I started on them. I'm just wondering if there are any dietary or other types of things I can do to feel better. 4. I've been craving shellfish since my pregnancy and my midwife said that this could indicate a problem with iodine. Should I ask my Dr. to include iodine levels in my labs or is this something that would be understood by testing my thyroid? Thanks for your help everyone. I know I shouldn't go online for medical advice, but I'm pretty desperate to feel better. If you've been in the trenches I'd love to hear about it. IDK if it's always possible to diagnose the *cause* of hypothyroid. I'm thinking, though, that you need to see a specialist, not just your general practitioner (unless you've already done that and have not gotten the proper treatment). When you get labs done, are your T3 and T4 levels also tested, or only TSH? If not the T3 and T4, then at least get those done. Whine, complain, b*tch, make yourself a royal PITA until that happens. My TSH levels are usually within the normal range, and my GP always tells me I'm "overmedicated." Oh, sure, that's why I continue to have hypothyroid symptoms. ::rolls eyes:: When I finally was referred to an endochrinologist, he ordered a boatload of lab tests, which included iodine. Check out this site: Stop the Thyroid Madness. My endo was familiar with it, BTW, because so many of his patients have told him about it, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Yes thyroid issues can affect bleeding/clotting. I know because I am on coumadin and when my blood levels (INR) started going crazy, my nurse at the Coumadin clinic suggested that my thyroid could be the problem. I went to my internal medicine doc and yes, I had an enlarged thyroid with nodules. I am having that rechecked this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Check out this site: Stop the Thyroid Madness. My endo was familiar with it, BTW, because so many of his patients have told him about it, lol. I was going to recommend that site as well. Most important is your relationship with your endo. Around here a lot of them seem to have a G-d complex and don't listen to you. Keep searching until you find one that listens and takes you seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Most important is your relationship with your endo. Around here a lot of them seem to have a G-d complex and don't listen to you. Keep searching until you find one that listens and takes you seriously. ITA. I'm cautiously optimistic about mine. He first recommended a low dose of Armour (for my TSH), and a second script for a synthetic that he thought would be better for my T3 and T4. After six months, my T3 and T4 were fine, but my TSH was up to 17 (from within the normal range). He was going to prescribe...I forget what, maybe a higher dosage of the synthetic...I asked why, instead of prescribing a higher dosage of Armour, and he agreed that might be better. So I have a new script for Armour that is 3x higher than the previous one and that's it. I go back in two months to see how that's going. So I'm cautiously optimistic. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have some questions for those who know about thyroid issues. I'm going in for labs today so I will be asking my Dr. about these things but I wanted to know if anyone has any thoughts. I have been on synthroid for about two (ish?) years now for low thyroid. 1. How important is it to diagnose the cause of hypothyroid? I've never gotten a diagnosis per se, just a script. I suspect it's autoimmune because of the symptoms I have. I 'm sure I had low thyroid for a long time before they caught it. Over time they've thought RA, Lupus, even MS, but all my tests for those things were normal. How do they diagnose hashimoto's and does that diagnosis change the treatment or would things stay the same regardless They do a blood test for antibodies. It's two different blood tests. My own Dr never bothered with the cause. It was an intern giving free reign to run every blood test he could think of that figured it out. Knowing hasn't helped me at all. It's autoimmune. I still take the same meds. It didn't bring me any peace knowing why my body went out of whack in my 20's. 2. Does low thyroid cause issues with bleeding? I've had some spotting this month as well as a sudden nosebleed today.. I'm sure it could be that the weather is dry, but this is unusual for me. I have never had issues bleeding from this problem. 3. Are there things other than medication that I can do to feel better? The meds helped for a long time, but since my miscarriage in Dec. I've been a wreck and I feel like I did before I started on them. I'm just wondering if there are any dietary or other types of things I can do to feel better. I did Armour for years and felt better for awhile. But it's different in how the body takes it in. Synthroid is more of a steady line of good feeling over time. Armour is a daily high and then a low. So you get more emotional swings. I really liked the high times but those low were bad. And over time they got worse. I am back on Synthroid and my t3 is finally accepting things better and while I never get those high moments of good feeling anymore I don't get the low either. It's a middle ground of feeling okay. It is better than what I had. The emotional rollercoaster was rough on me and my family. I know avoiding alcohol makes me feel better. I can have a drink now and then but I can't do the daily wine thing or I feel worse. Also, I am now taking my meds on an empty stomach just before bedtime for better absorption and I do think it's better than when I tried to not eat in the mornings after taking my meds. One dr told me it's consistency that matters and in that year I ate with my meds but had to take more meds. Now I do the nighttime thing and it's pretty good. 4. I've been craving shellfish since my pregnancy and my midwife said that this could indicate a problem with iodine. Should I ask my Dr. to include iodine levels in my labs or is this something that would be understood by testing my thyroid?an You can ask your Dr to run the test and ask what else would cause that. Thanks for your help everyone. I know I shouldn't go online for medical advice, but I'm pretty desperate to feel better. If you've been in the trenches I'd love to hear about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 You could ask to have ANA and TPO checked when you get TSH AND T3&4 done. I don't know how much difference it makes in treatment, but it's probably good to know if you have an autoimmune issue. I know thyroid dosages have to change during and after pregnancy, so it's a good idea to be rechecked. Some people rave about Armour - which comes from desiccated pig thyroid rather than synthroid or Levoxyl. You can look into the arguments... It's a little weird how passionate some people are about it. Armour is a sausage company whose slaughterhouse found use for pig byproducts and started producing thyroid tablets too... so it's been around for around 100 years or so... And according to my endocrinologist, it will work... It's just not as easy to dose and is less consistent. Anyway, I'm happy with the synthetics and don't feel the need for alternatives, but some people really feel the natural thyroid is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I did Armour for years and felt better for awhile. But it's different in how the body takes it in. Synthroid is more of a steady line of good feeling over time. Armour is a daily high and then a low. So you get more emotional swings. I really liked the high times but those low were bad. And over time they got worse. I am back on Synthroid and my t3 is finally accepting things better and while I never get those high moments of good feeling anymore I don't get the low either. It's a middle ground of feeling okay. It is better than what I had. The emotional rollercoaster was rough on me and my family. I know avoiding alcohol makes me feel better. I can have a drink now and then but I can't do the daily wine thing or I feel worse. Also, I am now taking my meds on an empty stomach just before bedtime for better absorption and I do think it's better than when I tried to not eat in the mornings after taking my meds. One dr told me it's consistency that matters and in that year I ate with my meds but had to take more meds. Now I do the nighttime thing and it's pretty good. :grouphug: My hypothyroid doesn't affect me that way. I have hair loss, weight gain/inability to lose weight, joint pain, constipation, and other symptoms on the Stop the Thyroid Madness's "sad pathetic list of symptoms" that were relieved by treating the symptoms with Armour instead of just going by the lab work. Also, I take my meds first thing in the morning when I get up, and then wait an hour before eating. Weird how the same disease can be so different, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexigail Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm reading a lot and trying to educate myself as much as possible. I'm going to start by asking for more labs and looking for someone other than my GP to work with. I think that a new perspective could help a lot. If anyone has any ideas for books to read, other websites to visit etc. that would be great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexigail Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm reading a lot and trying to educate myself as much as possible. I'm going to start by asking for more labs and looking for someone other than my GP to work with. I think that a new perspective could help a lot. If anyone has any ideas for books to read, other websites to visit etc. that would be great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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