New test - feedback please

Hi Eileen,

I stayed hyper with Graves' for a while despite my high methimazole dose. I started having new symptoms of headaches, dizziness and exhaustion. I went from hyper to hypo over the course of a month and then stayed hypo for many months before finally having some stability and normal lab ranges.  After a while I picked up on my symptoms and knew if I was trending hyper or hypo. It's a struggle to find the right balance in meds and it took months for my body to adjust whenever the meds were tweaked. I am now post-thyroid removal and having a world of new issues. My advice is to not worry about the numbers (endocrinologist's job) and focus more on being tuned into your body on how you feel so you can help your endocrinologist help you.  My endo warned me against using alternative supplements for my thyroid (although I wish I hadn't listened) but I did rub a "thyroid" essential oil blend over my thyroid and "adrenal" blend on my feet. About a couple of months after beginning this my labs returned to normal ranges on the methimazole. Not sure how much the oils "helped" but the timing was right. Good luck!!!

I think the dosage your doctor started you on was a little too high.  I had similar values as you did at the start and I was started on 10 mg of Methimazole.  My Free T3 and T4 dropped to mid range and stayed there and my TSH remained at less than 0.001 for two years until I added supplements.  Vitamin D is extremely important for good thyroid function and most of us are deficient in this vitamin.  I found out I was deficient when I volunteered for a research study for another reason.  So I added vitamin D3 gel caps, 5,000 IU initially for about 3 months and then remained on 1,000 IU daily.  Based on a research article I read, I got my Total Carnitine and Free Carnitine levels measured and I was deficient.  I took Regular L-Carnitine 3,000 mg and this raised my TSH to 0.12 which is still low but at least it went in the right direction.  My Endo cut my Methimazole dosage in half to 5 mg but two weeks later, I had a relapse of symptoms so it was then raised to 7.5 mg.  Then I took 1,000 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and 1,000 mg of Regular L-Carnitine and my TSH rose to 0.70 in the normal range and my Free T3 and T4 fell to the bottom of the range.  My new Endo dropped my dosage by 2.5 mg to 5 mg.  I stopped the Regular L-Carnitine and only took the Acetyl-L-Carnitine because this seemed to be the one that was raising my TSH.  However, I found out the body is very sensitive to this supplement and I had to make adjustments to the dosages of Acetyl while my Endo made adjustments in my Methimazole dosage down to 2.5 mg daily.  Finally, I took it only 3 or 4 times a week and stopped the Acetyl and my TSH has remained in the normal range.  My Frees moved up to mid range when I stopped the Acetyl.  So what I found for me was that my Methimazole dose had to be lowered slowly and my Acetyl dosage had to be altered frequently or stopped.  I also added Magnesium as I was low in this as well.  I know I would still have a TSH of less than 0.001 had I not added these supplements.  I wish every Endo tested their patients for at least the Carnitines, Vitamin D and Magnesium and prescribed supplements for deficiencies.  In  your case, I think you need to discuss with your doc the importance of lowering your Methimazole dosage by at least 2.5 mg at a time because your values for the Free T3 and T4 are at the bottom of the range plus the CBC abnormalities would indicate that your Methimazole has to be lowered (and not too drastically at a time).  I showed my doc the bottle of Acetyl I was taking when he saw the profound change in my TSH and he scratched his head.  My Graves antibodies are now undetectable so I feel for me that I took the right path.  Your doc will not know anything about these supplements as Endos are not trained in the use of supplements.  However, he or she should be able to test you for these deficiencies.  I only needed to take my Propranolol occasionally and at a lower dosage once I started treatment.