Question about Hypothyroidism

[Guest guest]

Amen, Andrea -

 

I'm a CFS/Hashi's w/ goiter patient as well. Years and years ago I was going

into my gp's office asking for help as my anxiety was through the roof over

nothing at all and one said, " do yoga, breathe " . Well, I would if I wasn't

hyperventilating. Another got me hooked on Xanax, and said, " hmm, you're

thyroid's enlarged, but your TSH is normal at 4.95 so here's another script for

Xanax " . Yes, livid, after 3 years of hell, I finally got a dx from a nurse pract

in my obgyn's office. She immediately noticed my goiter and said something was

NOT right. I'm not on thyroid meds, but I am treating naturally and am finally

feeling 50% better (treating adrenals first). This is better than the suicidal

person I was last winter.

 

If it weren't for my husband, I'd have jumped off a tall bridge by now. I can't

even talk to a md, or even my endocrinologist without become furious. THEY don't

get it. My endo said, " yep, terrible disease, but there's nothing I can do for

you " . He didn't even offer me synthetic hormones.

 

Incensed, yes. Half of my life was stolen from me by CFS, and then the last 3

were wrought with thyroid probs because I was " having a hard time with life " ,

and the medical community totally failed me. Thank god for my np and my ND. They

saved my life. Hanging on is not easy when the rest of the world tells you your

just crazy.

 

-Wendi

 

 

 

 

 

angesc2001 <AngInfoHound

 

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 2:21:22 PM

Re: Question about Hypothyroidism

 

OK, Frank, since you're looking at all of the important factors, I'll

put down my sword. : )

 

The PROBLEM is that a shocking number of drs out there, including

endocrinologists, look ONLY at the TSH, and absolutely NO further, and

give people either the " well, you're 42 now, and so you will start

gaining weight " rap (a quote from my friend's dr when she was

complaining about myriad hypo symptoms when her TSH was 2.5 - mind you

she had RAI for Graves & has no functioning thyroid tissue & gained 15

lbs in two months, whereas prior she had been still able to wear

clothes from high school at 42.)

 

OR

 

" TSH should NEVER be below 1-1.5 on thyroid hormone replacement. " A

direct quote to me from an endocrinologist, even though I have

multi-nodular goiter AND my frees were in the tank AND I have Hashi's

AND I am taking Naturethroid AND my mother had thyroid had thyroid

cancer & we have a very extensive family history of thyroid issues.

 

OR

 

The pediatric endo who only looked at a fax of my daughter's bloodwork

and deemed her fine because her TSH is normal at 1.13, even though her

FT3 was BELOW range and FT4 is at the bottom of the range, AND she is

symptomatic and is having cognitive difficulties, making school &

homework problematic AND body temps around 96 AND he was apprised of a

family history, of which he wanted NO details.

 

And these are just examples from MY surroundings in the past TWO

MONTHS! Unfortunately, there are zillions more stories, just like mine.

 

So, you can imagine why we thyroid types get our dander up when TSH is

perceived to be viewed in a vacuum. Unfortunately, a dr such as

yourself who views the patient and situation holistically, rather than

just the TSH on the lab sheet, is not easy to come by.

 

Andrea

 

Alternative_ Medicine_ Forum@ s.com, <fcunsrial@. ..> wrote:

>

> Hi List,

> I never said that TSH was the whole thing. Far from it. I agree with

you that free t3/t4/rt etc are important elements to the total

picture. More so when the adrenal glanda are found compromissed. What

I took exception to was to the statemnt that a TSH lower than 1. was

considered OK by someone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Andrea,

There are fine examples of the " duncedom "

I remember a MD looking at the results of a thyroid panel (not at the patient)

and diagnosing everything was OK. I looked at the results and he was correct.

Everything look just fine!

When days later, I looked at the poor woman she had a bulge of the size of a

small apple in the left side of the neck. The right lobe of the thyroid had

ceased to work due to radiation exposure and the left side had taking over with

such a vigor that had grown so in order to satisfy the demand. And so well it

did that the resuklts were just fine!

eregards

Frank ND--- Original Message -----

angesc2001

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:21 PM

Re: Question about Hypothyroidism

 

 

OK, Frank, since you're looking at all of the important factors, I'll

put down my sword. : )

 

The PROBLEM is that a shocking number of drs out there, including

endocrinologists, look ONLY at the TSH, and absolutely NO further, and

give people either the " well, you're 42 now, and so you will start

gaining weight " rap (a quote from my friend's dr when she was

complaining about myriad hypo symptoms when her TSH was 2.5 - mind you

she had RAI for Graves & has no functioning thyroid tissue & gained 15

lbs in two months, whereas prior she had been still able to wear

clothes from high school at 42.)

 

OR

 

" TSH should NEVER be below 1-1.5 on thyroid hormone replacement. " A

direct quote to me from an endocrinologist, even though I have

multi-nodular goiter AND my frees were in the tank AND I have Hashi's

AND I am taking Naturethroid AND my mother had thyroid had thyroid

cancer & we have a very extensive family history of thyroid issues.

 

OR

 

The pediatric endo who only looked at a fax of my daughter's bloodwork

and deemed her fine because her TSH is normal at 1.13, even though her

FT3 was BELOW range and FT4 is at the bottom of the range, AND she is

symptomatic and is having cognitive difficulties, making school &

homework problematic AND body temps around 96 AND he was apprised of a

family history, of which he wanted NO details.

 

And these are just examples from MY surroundings in the past TWO

MONTHS! Unfortunately, there are zillions more stories, just like mine.

 

So, you can imagine why we thyroid types get our dander up when TSH is

perceived to be viewed in a vacuum. Unfortunately, a dr such as

yourself who views the patient and situation holistically, rather than

just the TSH on the lab sheet, is not easy to come by.

 

Andrea

 

, <fcunsrial wrote:

>

> Hi List,

> I never said that TSH was the whole thing. Far from it. I agree with

you that free t3/t4/rt etc are important elements to the total

picture. More so when the adrenal glanda are found compromissed. What

I took exception to was to the statemnt that a TSH lower than 1. was

considered OK by someone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

right there with ya, Wendy. I feel robbed of much of my twenties.

But I had a great husband. If I hadn't found forums, and read books,

my gosh, I'd be sick still probably! I don't know what I would've

done 50 years ago, without the computer, I would've been in a mental

institution with thyroid problems! When my thyroid is at 3.5 I get

SEVERLY HYPO and tired, achy, and depressed and that, to some is

clinically okay! yikes!

 

I spent years being " normal " thyroid wise yet

walking 3 miles per day and aerobics and low fat eating I gained 80

lbs hmmm?

 

 

 

, Wendi Carrillo

<tres_gatos87801 wrote:

>

> Amen, Andrea -

>

> I'm a CFS/Hashi's w/ goiter patient as well. Years and years ago I

was going into my gp's office asking for help as my anxiety was

through the roof over nothing at all and one said, " do yoga,

breathe " . Well, I would if I wasn't hyperventilating. Another got me

hooked on Xanax, and said, " hmm, you're thyroid's enlarged, but your

TSH is normal at 4.95 so here's another script for Xanax " . Yes,

livid, after 3 years of hell, I finally got a dx from a nurse pract

in my obgyn's office. She immediately noticed my goiter and said

something was NOT right. I'm not on thyroid meds, but I am treating

naturally and am finally feeling 50% better (treating adrenals

first). This is better than the suicidal person I was last winter.

>

> If it weren't for my husband, I'd have jumped off a tall bridge by

now. I can't even talk to a md, or even my endocrinologist without

become furious. THEY don't get it. My endo said, " yep, terrible

disease, but there's nothing I can do for you " . He didn't even offer

me synthetic hormones.

>

> Incensed, yes. Half of my life was stolen from me by CFS, and then

the last 3 were wrought with thyroid probs because I was " having a

hard time with life " , and the medical community totally failed me.

Thank god for my np and my ND. They saved my life. Hanging on is not

easy when the rest of the world tells you your just crazy.

>

> -Wendi

>

>

>

>

>

> angesc2001 <AngInfoHound

>

> Wednesday, October 18, 2006 2:21:22 PM

> Re: Question about

Hypothyroidism

>

> OK, Frank, since you're looking at all of the important factors,

I'll

> put down my sword. : )

>

> The PROBLEM is that a shocking number of drs out there, including

> endocrinologists, look ONLY at the TSH, and absolutely NO further,

and

> give people either the " well, you're 42 now, and so you will start

> gaining weight " rap (a quote from my friend's dr when she was

> complaining about myriad hypo symptoms when her TSH was 2.5 - mind

you

> she had RAI for Graves & has no functioning thyroid tissue &

gained 15

> lbs in two months, whereas prior she had been still able to wear

> clothes from high school at 42.)

>

> OR

>

> " TSH should NEVER be below 1-1.5 on thyroid hormone replacement. "

A

> direct quote to me from an endocrinologist, even though I have

> multi-nodular goiter AND my frees were in the tank AND I have

Hashi's

> AND I am taking Naturethroid AND my mother had thyroid had thyroid

> cancer & we have a very extensive family history of thyroid issues.

>

> OR

>

> The pediatric endo who only looked at a fax of my daughter's

bloodwork

> and deemed her fine because her TSH is normal at 1.13, even though

her

> FT3 was BELOW range and FT4 is at the bottom of the range, AND she

is

> symptomatic and is having cognitive difficulties, making school &

> homework problematic AND body temps around 96 AND he was apprised

of a

> family history, of which he wanted NO details.

>

> And these are just examples from MY surroundings in the past TWO

> MONTHS! Unfortunately, there are zillions more stories, just like

mine.

>

> So, you can imagine why we thyroid types get our dander up when

TSH is

> perceived to be viewed in a vacuum. Unfortunately, a dr such as

> yourself who views the patient and situation holistically, rather

than

> just the TSH on the lab sheet, is not easy to come by.

>

> Andrea

>

> Alternative_ Medicine_ Forum@ s.com,

<fcunsrial@ ..> wrote:

> >

> > Hi List,

> > I never said that TSH was the whole thing. Far from it. I agree

with

> you that free t3/t4/rt etc are important elements to the total

> picture. More so when the adrenal glanda are found compromissed.

What

> I took exception to was to the statemnt that a TSH lower than 1.

was

> considered OK by someone.

 

[Guest guest]

I have felt like this in the past.....B Complex vitamins have always been a

daily, necessary item for me. I take no drug......a good 100mg of all the B

vitamins........and please take them a few times a day.....you will be so

surprised. Do not take them separately as that will create a need for the

others and make a vicious cycle.

 

B Complex

 

I love Adele Davis and if her books are still in print....Let's Get Well ..

Let's Get Healthy are my lifesavers and they are dogeared from use.

 

V

[Guest guest]

For 5 years I was told nothing wrong with you, your bloods are borderline

but that means nothing. I had gained 70lb in a matter of 6 months, had been

the same weight from age 15 to age 49 but that meant nothing, perhaps I should

see a nutritionist, they would teach me about what I could eat, now I do

believe that at that age I had all the knowledge that I required and they would

not be able to tell me anything new. What drove me mad was they kept telling

me it was diet and lack of exercise that caused my problems, but when had

anyone ever asked me about what I ate (a good organic non processed diet) or

what exercise I did, walking 45 minutes at least pretty much 5 days per week,

housework, work etc., the answer is actually never.

 

 

Then my bloods tipped over the edge and of course I was immediately put onto

thyroid meds but nobody ever apologised for making me feel like a greedy

lazy cow. Thankfully the medical profession has come to its senses in the US

about thyroid and lowered the TSH maximum to 3 before diagnosis, here in the UK

they are still sticking at 5 and most endocrinologists are insisting that you

are not sick until your TSH goes over 10. Undiagnosed hypoT can actually

be a killer but they will not acknowledge that.

 

We have a lady here in the UK who works tirelessly at trying to educate the

numerous dr's and endocrinologists about the advantages of prescribing (and

legitimacy although they still will not believe it) of armour thyroid for

those who do not do well on synthetics but they are pretty much all closed to

such a thing, after all they have medication that is perfectly good, if you

don't get better on it, then that is because you are doing something to stop the

process. Thank goodness I learned of her because it was through her

information that I managed to finally get prescribed armour because the

synthetics

caused me such awful side effects, my endocrinologist actually tried to tell me

that levothyroxine was a natural substance, I asked how that could be when

it was man made, he did not answer. In actual fact, there are hundreds of

people who do not get better on synthetics and self medicate with armour and

finally start to see better health come their way. I personally have heard of

people who have been bed-ridden for years and finally heard about armour and

became well in a matter of months.

 

My husband recently had a blood test for hypoT, he has classic symptoms,

when they came back he was told, nope you are fine. Thankfully I had insisted

that he brings home a copy of the tests he had done, yes you guessed it, the

only test was TSH - which was 1.9 and I am sure that if he had T4 and T3 they

would see a problem, I am now going to have to spend a lot of our hard earned

money to get a private test done, he cannot spend half his time away from

work falling asleep and I do nothing about it.

 

If you think you or your loved ones have a thyroid problem, or any health

issue for that matter, do not stop until you are absolutely certain that your

dr has got it right, you owe yourself and them that dedication. I went from

a size 10 to a size 18 in 6 months, and they told me it was because of my

diet, I wish I had been more diligent in my search for the truth about what was

wrong with me that is for sure.

 

Luv Marianne

 

 

The PROBLEM is that a shocking number of drs out there, including

endocrinologists, look ONLY at the TSH, and absolutely NO further, and

give people either the " well, you're 42 now, and so you will start

gaining weight " rap (a quote from my friend's dr when she was

complaining about myriad hypo symptoms when her TSH was 2.5 - mind you

she had RAI for Graves & has no functioning thyroid tissue & gained 15

lbs in two months, whereas prior she had been still able to wear

clothes from high school at 42.)

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Duncedom & then some! And as you can see from the responses to this

topic, there are many of us out there who have suffered from " normal "

labs.

 

Any thoughts on what might change the tide?

 

Andrea

 

, <fcunsrial wrote:

>

> Andrea,

> There are fine examples of the " duncedom "

> I remember a MD looking at the results of a thyroid panel (not at

the patient) and diagnosing everything was OK. I looked at the results

and he was correct. Everything look just fine!

> When days later, I looked at the poor woman she had a bulge of the

size of a small apple in the left side of the neck. The right lobe of

the thyroid had ceased to work due to radiation exposure and the left

side had taking over with such a vigor that had grown so in order to

satisfy the demand. And so well it did that the resuklts were just fine!

> eregards

> Frank ND

[Guest guest]

, Wendi Carrillo

<tres_gatos87801 wrote:

>

> Amen, Andrea -

>

> I'm a CFS/Hashi's w/ goiter patient as well. Years and years ago I

was going into my gp's office asking for help as my anxiety was

through the roof over nothing at all and one said, " do yoga, breathe " .

Well, I would if I wasn't hyperventilating. Another got me hooked on

Xanax, and said, " hmm, you're thyroid's enlarged, but your TSH is

normal at 4.95 so here's another script for Xanax " . Yes, livid, after

3 years of hell, I finally got a dx from a nurse pract in my obgyn's

office. She immediately noticed my goiter and said something was NOT

right. I'm not on thyroid meds, but I am treating naturally and am

finally feeling 50% better (treating adrenals first). This is better

than the suicidal person I was last winter.

 

 

Glad to hear you're finally getting some help, Wendi! If you haven't

already, you might look at www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. It's got

some good info, and unfortunately a testament to the fact that we're

not alone.

 

>

> Incensed, yes. Half of my life was stolen from me by CFS, and then

the last 3 were wrought with thyroid probs because I was " having a

hard time with life " , and the medical community totally failed me.

Thank god for my np and my ND. They saved my life. Hanging on is not

easy when the rest of the world tells you your just crazy.

 

Yeah, especially when you can " feel " that it's a physical problem, not

mental/emotional. For years, I kept telling myself that I shouldn't

make any rash decisions, like getting a divorce, because I was so

unhappy, yet felt that there was something " physical " about it. Guess

what, there was!

 

For the couple short weeks that I was optimized on Armour before my

adrenals started doing their thing, I was so happy again! Loved

everyone again, and was able to deal with whatever the world sent my way.

 

Now I'm dealing with the adrenals, which due to uninformed drs wearing

duncecaps wasn't handled on the front end. Hopefully sometime soon,

I'll be healthy again, and ready to resume a normal life.

 

Hope you will too! Good thing you're addressing the adrenals first!

 

Take care!

 

Warmly,

Andrea