startin' new medication!

[ironchef]

so i found out that since my body had had its fun with my pancreas, it's decided to move on to my thyroid now and start fooling around in there. i believe my bloodwork shows high levels of TSH. in other words, it ain't doing it's job quite as well as it should be. it's funny, i just checked out webmd.com, and they list these as factors in folks who may get hypothyroidism: premature gray hair, left-handedness, insulin-dependent diabetes. there are some others, but i get all three of these!

so i'm gonna start on some meds tomorrow, Synthroid at .025mg/day. anybody else using this stuff or have experience with it? just curious about past experiences with thyroid replacement in general..

[welfareloser]

my husband's sister and father both had hyperactive thyroid. both tried to control it with medication, which failed, and after a few years had the thyroid irradiated to kill it off so they can attempt to have a more normal hormone level with synthroid. it's very difficult to get the dosage exactly right, and they are both now overweight and can't do anything about it. that's about all i know.

[jujubees]

Originally posted by ironchef
premature gray hair, left-handedness, insulin-dependent diabetesHrrrmph. I don't have ANY of these, and I've got hypothyroidism. It was so bad at one point that I slept through all of my winter break. I'd wake up at 9am, eat breakfast, go back to sleep at 10, wake up for lunch, and sleep again from 1-5. I didn't know what was wrong yet ... just thought final exams had whooped my a$$ good.

So I finally got diagnosed and then went to an endocrinologist, but since my blood tests were kind of old (I was a lazy student who didn't want to drag herself to the doc's, k?), he needed a more recent blood test before he administered any medication. Guess what? My TSH instake levels had evened out between blood tests, and as far as the doc was concerned, I was okay. Synopsis: thyroid problem went into remission. No medz for me.

Well I started feeling cruddy again last week (fatigue, heart palpatations, cheffy, you probably know what I mean) ... It's not exactly something you can self-diagnose though so I went in for a blood test. No word yet.

My mom has been taking Synthroid for a few years, and she's just sluggish all the time, but whether it's the medication or her 4am shift, I can't rightly tell ya.

My boss' dad had hyperthyroidism, and the doc gave him the EXACT amount of iodine (very tough to do!) to "zap" the thyroid, and his went into remission for 16 years, no need for medz, nada. My boss thinks his dad's thyroid problem is resurfacing, though. :(

This is all beginning to make me wonder ... is this time of year particularly conducive to thyroid problems or sumfin? :hmm:

[ironchef]

Originally posted by chosenfool
hey, ironchef, thats rough! hope you get better! hey! thanks for the good wishes. unfortunately, this isn't something that typically gets better, but fortunately (from what i read), is usually well treated. the symptoms for me have been pretty tame so far, just some plain ol' tiredness and my endo says she can feel my thyroid getting a little bigger.

but anyway, thanks foo'!

[ironchef]

Originally posted by jujubees
Hrrrmph. I don't have ANY of these, and I've got hypothyroidism. It was so bad at one point that I slept through all of my winter break. I'd wake up at 9am, eat breakfast, go back to sleep at 10, wake up for lunch, and sleep again from 1-5. I didn't know what was wrong yet ... just thought final exams had whooped my a$$ good.wow, that's rough! that actually sounds similar to a friend who ended up being diagnosed with chronic fatigue.


Synopsis: thyroid problem went into remission. No medz for me.that's interesting, i didn't know it was something that went into remission. though it makes sense -- when i was first diagnosed with diabetes, i had the luxory of a "honeymoon" period where my insulin dosages were very, very low. that's long gone now, but it was nice!


Well I started feeling cruddy again last week (fatigue, heart palpatations, cheffy, you probably know what I mean) ... It's not exactly something you can self-diagnose though so I went in for a blood test. No word yet.hopefully you'll find something conclusive. it's been a little annoying with me. my TSH levels are raised, but within the upper limits of normal. but i'm feeling pretty run-down, and it's frustrating, especially when it's compounded with a high or low blood sugar. fargin endocrine system can piss off, if'n you ask me.


This is all beginning to make me wonder ... is this time of year particularly conducive to thyroid problems or sumfin? :hmm: interesting.. i dunno, it could also be the beginnings of seasonal affect disorder, which is something strange unto itself. can't say for sure if that's something that gets me because i absolutely love winter and fall. but that's worthy of some invesitigation.

thanks for the info though! it's always good to hear some anecdotal stuff.

[Jenny]

hey cheffy, I'll be thinking about you and hoping the med works! *smooch* :)


Juju, CALL ME! :)

[Tuvi]

my aunt doesn't have a thyroid. she was born without one, but she only got fat after having kids and all. she has no probs with the meds except if she doesn't take them (obviously). she could lose weight if she'd stop eating straight butter.

[ironchef]

Originally posted by Jenny
hey cheffy, I'll be thinking about you and hoping the med works! *smooch* :)awww, thanks jenny :)

[Kim]

Wow, I hope the meds help you feel better. Good luck!

[Tuvi]

btw, the thyroid secretes the hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine and calcitonin. it targets many tissues and bones and affects metabolism, growth and development, and plasma calcium levels. it is the only gland in the endocrine system thats in the class of iodinated amines. isn't that neat?

[styleee]

Originally posted by Tuvi
she could lose weight if she'd stop eating straight butter.

would that work for me too? :confused: :rolleyes:



jk
i don't even really like that much butter

[Tuvi]

Originally posted by styleee


would that work for me too? :confused: :rolleyes:



jk
i don't even really like that much butter
if you have a thyroid, then probably not because the thyroid actively metabolizes butter fat for production of trophic hormones.