Underactive Thyroid Frustrated
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hey Everyone....
I got my blood tests back yesterday and it is confirmed I have an underactive thyroid. The doctor tested my TSH and my levels was low. I was told I have to take meds every day which will go on my medical aid as chronic.
I thought I was going to start on my meds this week but I was told to come back for more blood test as they need to test my T3 and my T4 aswell. Is this customary?
I am just so tired of feeling this way that to wait another week or two before I can start feeling beter is feeling like forever.
I am just feeling a bit frustrated as today is one of those days where I am extremely tired and my joints are cramping...
0 likes, 11 replies
mo-monet CasLor
Posted
CasLor yes that's normal to check t3 & t4.
pam34048 CasLor
Posted
Your dr is doing a good thing by checking he wants to make sure you get the right dose age. If he gave you the wrong does you would feel like crap for months. I hate my dr she goes just by the tsh test alone. Brood luck hope you don't need to much medication.
MtViewCatherine CasLor
Posted
Hi Cas, it's great that your doc wants to look at the T3 and T4 levels. This will tell you more about what's going on with your system and will help determine more details about your condition.
i encourage you to read through the many posts here, as the meds don't work for many people and there are many holistic, dietary, and supplements that you can do on your own to support your thyroid.
Its ts important that you know what you're dealing with so you can make informed decisions for your long term health.
keri36176 CasLor
Posted
Hi my tsh level is 0.28 so I thought great I finally have an answer to my problems then I had my t4 level checked and it is in normal range. So I'm waiting on more tests. 6 wk wait for me and I feel so bad. What was your tsh level?
pam34048 keri36176
Posted
Last test I had said I was hyper too much medication, then the dr dropped my dosage from .125 mug to .88 mcg then I got this new dr that does not do t3 or 4 and she said I was hypo again and raised my med to .112 so my new blood test is coming up in two weeks can't wait to see what's next. I would really be interested in getting off the drug what alternative medicine and were do I get it.?
MtViewCatherine pam34048
Posted
TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone produced by your pituitary. Generally with hypothyroidism, you'll see TSH elevated above 2.
With thyroid meds, you'll find that for them to be effective, you may have a zeroed out TSH. Since TSH is produced in the pituitary, the meds are suppressing the pituitary, as well as the thyroid function. This really isn't a good thing bc 1) if you suppress the pituitary,, you get other problems, and 2) if you base your meds on your TSH (especially with Hashimotos), you may not get relief from the hypothyroid symptoms, I recently read an article that stated the dosing is roughly double if you dose on symptoms compared to dosing in TSH. You can see how this could be a problem.
The best alternative to the meds is ThyroGold. This is the best I've found so far. There's a lot of discussion about this on the posts in," Unnacceptable side effects of levothyroxin." Check it out.
MtViewCatherine pam34048
Posted
Pam, there are also a ton of things you can do as far as diet, supplements and holistic treatments. Do some research on these, there's lots out there and a lot posted. If you can't find info, I'm happy to share what's worked and hasn't for me.
I was on the meds for 5 years and became so I'll, I finally went off them and went completely holistic. It's a lot of work, but I feel better and am certainly no worse than while on the meds. I'm hoping I can reverse enough of the damage done by the meds to be able to have some sort of life again.
pam34048 MtViewCatherine
Posted
If you have the time and could make me a list of stuff to get I would greatly appreciate it. I actually think I am allergic to the med,but my dr won't give me natural hormone.
keri36176 CasLor
Posted
Anyone know what a low tsh of 0.28 and normal t4 mean? I have looked up symptoms and I have more hypo symptoms than hyper. But ify t4 level is normal I can't be hypo. Can I? ?
pam34048 keri36176
Posted
Well when mine was 26 with a normal t4 it still meant I was hyper, your dr should of explained that it's not good for your heart and other things to be hyper and reduce yor meds asap.
MtViewCatherine keri36176
Posted
Hi Keri, yes, the meds didn't work for me unless my TSH was zeroed out. However, I should also say that they didn't work well at all, and the long term side effects of high dosing are not desirable. I also needed both the R4 and T3 at the high end of normal, which is impossible to do without overdosing one or the other since the levo is T4 only (so you get high T4 with low T3) and the NDTs are high T3 with low T4 (so you get too much T3). When the ratios of T4 and T3 are off, you get problems. So the higher the dose, the farther off the ratios are from normal, and the more side effects you get.
I'm suggesting that your meds may not work right for you at any dose, and you might consider alternatives that doesn't have as much of an imbalance in thyroxin ratios, along with some other natural remedies, herbs, diet, supplements. Treat the autoimmune disease that causes thyroid disease and you'll have a chance to recover.