Assemble your own health care team
- Having an MD is not enough, as many of them only look at one angle. I also have an acupuncturist, massage therapist and naturopath whom I visit periodically. Together they keep me sane and healthy! Take care to choose certified professionals who understand the Western healthcare system and can work with it. For example, my naturopath suggested I ask the MD to check my Vitamin D when he ran a TSH test. The vitamin D came back at one point within normal which the MD wasn't worried about. The naturopath had the knowledge to take that data and advised me about how much Vitamin D to take for a more optimum level. Ask what experience your providers have with thyroid disease. I discovered several of mine have thyroid issues themselves, so are great resources. It is costly as insurance covers none of them. If you have to choose, an acupuncturist has a unique perspective in the diagnostic process and can treat multiple issues, both mental and physical, at the same time.
- —Guest Lizarina
Free T4, Free T3 and Reverse T3 Tests
- I am 43 years old and the single mother of two very active teenage boys. I am also a thyroid cancer survivor. I have had a total thyroidectomy and four ablation treatments. Not a single thyroid cell remains. I work in the medical field and therefore know how important the role of the thyroid is. I also know how it feels not to have a thyroid. I have felt the same feelings of despair that everyone who suffers from this disease has felt. Fortunately for me, I am able to work closely with one of the physicians at my hospital and a very good compounding pharmacist. My lab work is checked on a regular basis. However, the labs are not the normal labs that are ordered. We base my natural dessicated thyroid with extra T3 dosages on the following labs: Free T3, Free T4, and Reverse T3. I take an astronomical amount of T3 to make my levels normal. I also closely follow the advise of Dr. Mercola on http://www.Mercola.com. He has good advice for everyone about lifestyle, diet and exercise. Good Luck!
- —mbeasley1349
Stay the Course
- Like so many others, I suffered for years with all kinds of symptoms. I was taking Synthroid and it did not seem to be helping. I made an appointment with my doctor just to discuss Armour Thyroid. He explained to me why he did not prescribe it and told me that if I stay the course with Synthroid and be patient, I will start feeling better. He explained that it can take between one and five years to get to the dosage that's right for my body. I decided to stop fighting him and myself, to develop a more accepting attitude, and to try to approach my problem methodically with minimal drama. Slowly I increased my dosage. It was not until I got to 88 mcg per day that I started feeling like myself. It has been five years now that I have felt completely "normal", except for a few dips in the winter. It is important to be disciplined about exercise, eating well, taking your meds at the same time on an empty stomach, taking selenium and vitamin D if necessary. Be patient, stay the course!
- —Guest Marls
Take vitamin D3 and get off statins
- Living in Washington State (less sunshine) my endocrinologist had me start taking vitamin D3 in 2006 when my hair began falling out, at 2000 IU daily. Immediately this reversed hair loss. My general practitioner had me on Simvastatin for high cholesterol. Muscles hurt all the time and I thought the fibromyalgia had just gotten worse until he checked my 'muscle enzymes' and found them too high. I got off the statin drug and muscle pain diminished 75%! Reading up on the bad news about statins, I have chosen to live with higher cholesterol with the more remote possibility of heart problems than die with the proven muscle damage statins can cause. The reason they's why they test your muscle enzymes as this drug breaks down your muscles. The heart is a muscle. For the last year I have taken 8000 IUs vitamin D3 daily and have found myself to have almost no colds, or maybe two day colds. My nasal passages don't seem to swell at night anymore! My eyebrows haven't grown back, but my hair is its original thickness. Costco has the best priced D3 that look like teeny 2000 IU footballs.
- —Guest Mama Harriet
To 'I give up'
- Please do not give up. I have had Hashimoto's since 1989 and it took three years to diagnose. In 2005, my health went downhill, I had to have back surgery for prolapsed disc. In 2007, I slipped on my tiles while mopping and tore the suprinatus tendon in my shoulder and had surgery. Three months later I felt unwell. In 2009, after a severe chronic bronchitis I lost my job and suffered depression. Three months later I was told I had Type 2 diabetes after years of keeping it at bay. I continued to feel very unwell. Going to the shops or the slighest exertion and I would be tired, sore, in pain, and could hardly walk. My physiotherapist said she thought I had fybromyalgia and I was off to the rheumatologist. Yes, I have fibromyalgia and psoiratic arthritis. He told me its all part of the thyroid pathway and can happen. Once you get a thyroid illness, you are susceptible to other things. Most days I feel chronic pain, I have a supportive daughter and doctors. I take prednisolone, oroxine, zoloft and pain relief. I still have my smile.
- —Guest Chrissy
Suffering from Hashi's
- I am living the Hashi's nightmare with no money for medication and testing. I do not know what to say to help but I do know that there are four ways that God heals: 1) through miracles, 2) through medications, 3) with time, and 4) through death. That is the only perfect healing, going to heaven where there is no more suffering. God bless you all.
- —Guest Cynthia
No One Knows Your Body Like You Do
- We all have different responses to the treatments provided for Hashimoto's and thyroid conditions. The problem is, we are all different, and the doctors are treating everybody similarly. Often, in some hospitals, the doctors are tired and do not have time to do all the research, plus, they do not listen as they should to patients' complaints. If some people with thyroid problems do not exhibit the problems that others have, they cannot explain why. If any person has not themselves experienced the problems that we are having, and they only listen or read a little bit of information about these diseases, they will not be able to understand what those of us who suffer the most are going through. They will not understand and will be puzzled. If they are puzzled, they may not believe us, or berate us, or be speechless, having no definitive answers. If they do thing of something, they may be wrong. Therefore, I think we must listen to our bodies and believe what they are telling us.
- —Guest Dianne
Be informed
- The last thing you want to do when you are sick, tired, depressed and your head feels like it is full of cotton wool, is to start researching about your illness.I have found that being informed has helped me through tough times. It did not help me actually get the medication I needed for two years. I first got ill when I was 21 and I didn't know anything about thyroid conditions. The lab my blood was being tested at used a much wider range for normal levels. Now that I know more, I will not let that happen again. It sounds terrible but I often feel I know more than many general practitioners and, in the past, endocrinologists too. I have been lucky with doctors recently, or at least they seem to be getting more open to thyroid patients' requests. Learn everything you can about your condition, as it could just make the difference between feeling rubbish and feeling back to normal again, like I do.
- —LFNand
Just some thoughts
- I am surprised at how many people believe this is a disease and not a symptom. Every problem we have in the body indicates it is not aligned with itself. It is like trying to put up a house when the walls are not plumb with the foundation. So it is with our bodies. Many of us do not know this and so we jump from one "expert" to another only to be used as "human guinea pigs" with their "cure all" solutions. When they do not work, we get the response, "that should have worked." Working with the physical symptoms in an effort to control or eliminate them is commendable; however, we usually do so with little regard to what we are... a shell. This body is a reflection of what we feel, believe, think, and know. Treat the symptoms; but, do not forget to nurture the rest of the equation -- your soul/spirit/energy force. Nothing will work until you heal what no doctor can touch. This is true with any "dis-ease" symptom - thyroidism, depression, anxiety. Peace.
- —Guest Deanna
Try Other Thyroid Medicines
- I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in 2003. I have struggled with lack of energy, hair loss, weight gain and mild depression along with muscle pain. I do NOT recommend Synthroid and do advocate Armour Thyroid. While I am not a doctor, I have gotten my energy and life back since switching to Armour! It is a natural hormone. It is hard to find in the drug stores, but if you go to your neighborhood small stores they seem to carry it most of the time. I think the drug companies do not make that much money on Armour, so they push Synthroid! Please ask your doctor to consider Armour or another natural thyroid medicine if you are still not feeling well on Synthroid, the medication of choice by brain-washed doctors. Also, fish oil, vitamin D and B12 help also. PS Yoga is great too.
- —Guest Christine S
Willpower
- In response to Ellen's plea I just want to say that I have been there 1000x over! Willpower keeps me going. I've had Hashimoto's for about 10 years now and in South Africa it seems as though there are even less knowledgeable doctors than anywhere else in the world! I developed fibromyalgia on top of this and debilitating doesn't even begin to describe the effect of Hashimoto's and fibromyalgia! I refuse to let all this get me down! I do what I want, when I want, if I want to! Recently my son took me to a waterfall, we had to climb, clamber, slip and slide for about 2 km. I DID IT! It was a dream come true (being a nature lover). On the way back my legs and feet trembled and I lost coordination. I blocked it out of my mind and dragged my feet along while leaning on my husband. I don't care what I look like and I don't care what people who see me may think. For me, it was a victory and that's all that counts. Don't give up, live your life as best you can. JUST LIVE!
- —Guest heatherdp
Be Optimistic
- I am fortunate in that I have a good doctor who will prescribe me Westhroid. However, she really doesn't seem to know when to raise the dosage like for winter, etc. I have been fatigued and gained quite a bit of weight over the last 10 years. I have CFS and fibomyalgia as well. What keeps me going is first and foremost is my walk with God. He knows I'm not crazy when no one else does. He understands how I feel. But also, I keep an optimistic attitude about life: My breakthrough is right around the corner, this too shall pass, etc. When you've been around a few years, you realize that that is how life is: it gets worse, it gets better, it gets bad, it gets better. So always hang in there and don't give up. It will get better.
- —Guest Guest Lisa
Take Care of Yourself
- I had the right side of my thyroid removed in 1971 and took Armour Thyroid. Then I was sent to an endocrinologist. Big mistake. They put me on Synthroid. I am now on Nature-throid and have a one centimeter benign tumor on the left side of my thyroid leaving me in the dubious position of being both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid because of the tumor. If I can balance the Nature-throid correctly, my hope is that the tumor will shrink. I got the tumor because I took too much Armour Thyroid per day. My doctor and I didn't know what we were doing so we overcompensated. The endocrinologist wouldn't prescribe dessicated thyroid which was the only thing I could take. I take 100 mg of 5 HTP per day plus vitamins and supplements to build my body up, sleep as well as I can and try not to over eat though I like sugar too much. I try to exercise and rely on faith in God and friends to get me through. Nature-throid seems better than Armour.
- —martecurtis
Research and Be Your Own Advocate
- It has helped me so much to read all the articles, and comments of so many, particularly those of Mary Shomon. She taught me to ask for a copy of my blood work and to be informed when I went to the doctors. I learned I was not alone when I felt no one listened or knew how I was feeling. I copied all the information Mary had on her site. My new doctor said she was glad I was informed and was taking an active part in my care. She tried to put me on Armour but was given the reformulated form. I took it for three months and ended up in bed so sick I felt I was dying. She changed me to Cytomel, but my insurance would only pay for the generic brand. I was very upset, but she said if we tried it, we could convey the results to the insurance company. They would then pay for the original formula. Well, I have to tell you, it has worked for me. I am up everyday with energy and have lost 22 lbs. Thanks so much!
- —Nanc118
Find a Good Doctor
- I have suffered with low thyroid since 2005. What a nightmare. I gained weight, lost hair, thought I was losing my mind. The doctors kept me on Synthroid for years. I finally quit in 2008 all together. My emotions got the best of me . I was angry fighting with family and friends. I finally found a lady doctor who was amazing and we tried Armour. Armour is a wonderful drug! I have felt great on this medicine until the Armour shortage. I had to go on a compounded drug which messed me up a little bit. My doctor increased my dose. I just take it day by day. I still get stressed sometimes. I can't work a stressful job anymore because I become overwhelmed. My husband thinks I am a hypochondriac. I have a lot of joint pain. Exercising does not seem to get rid of the joint pain. I want to be normal again. I will keep trying. I have one child at home and don't want this disease to keep me from raising her. Some days I am still very tired and it takes everything in me not to take a nap.
- —Guest Marcy
