Thyroid Question

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Kathie
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Joined: October 10th, 2009, 11:32 pm
Location: Florida

Thyroid Question

Post by Kathie »

My thyroid level has been going up or down every two months.  I was hypo but took Radioactive Iodine to kill the thyroid.
Today the Drs. office called and said I should be around 4 and it was a 10, so will have to change scripts again.  Come back in two months to check levels again.  This is my third time to change meds.. every other month. Does anyone have any ideas as to why?  My weight has been pretty much the same.  I have been on meds for this for about 9 or 10 years.
Thank you,
Hugs. Kathie in Fl.
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mylifeforhim
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by mylifeforhim »

Kathie, what type of thyroid medicine are you taking?  I have been having problems going back and forth too.  Whenever I first begin any type of "diet" it goes into severe hypo until my body gets used to it.  Now that I am on LDL I seem to have stabilized.  I take armour thyroid and they had several reformulations that could have caused mine as well.  My Doctor allows me to adjust the amount of armour thyroid I take as I know all of the symptoms of too little or too much thyroid.  Also, (I don't like to ask this and you don't have to answer but maybe check with your Doctor) are you having any hormonal changes.  I use natural progesterone and estrogen cream which helps.  Also another thing that can be affecting you is if you have any adrenal issues.  Please check with your Doctor and your Doctor may need to run more tests.  Will keep you in my prayers as I know how thyroid issues either have you laying around unable to think or do anything or bouncing off the walls.
God bless.  *love*
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“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. From a dear Friend!
CodingQueen
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Location: North Tampa

Re: Thyroid Question

Post by CodingQueen »

Kathie,

There are many reasons your thyroid levels may fluctuate: stress; illness; certain prescription drugs such as anti-depressants; season changes; consuming too much of certain foods such as soy, cabbage, kale, turnips; beginning/stopping the use of iron, vitamins or high-fiber foods; menopause and changes in the potency of current thyroid medications.

CQ
Kathie
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Joined: October 10th, 2009, 11:32 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Thyroid Question

Post by Kathie »

Wow. Coding Queen. I guess I will just keep taking the meds until things settle down again.  I never use to have to change the dosage like this before..but lots of things have been going on in my life so I guess that is the reason.  I am going to keep on LDL cause I know this is the best program for me.. its just that I have been so wanting to eat lately.  I keep eating LDL foods and I know I soon will stop grazing in the kitchen. Cant wait!
Thank you for your answer.
Hugs.. Kathie in Fl.
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mylifeforhim
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Posts: 278
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by mylifeforhim »

CodingQueen wrote:Kathie,

There are many reasons your thyroid levels may fluctuate: stress; illness; certain prescription drugs such as anti-depressants; season changes; consuming too much of certain foods such as soy, cabbage, kale, turnips; beginning/stopping the use of iron, vitamins or high-fiber foods; menopause and changes in the potency of current thyroid medications.

CQ


CQ, you gave me more info than my doctor did.  Thanks!    :thumbsup:  The one thing I did do was to stop taking calcium until several hours after I took my thyroid medication and to stop eating grapefruit.
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“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. From a dear Friend!
barrypaxton
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Joined: November 21st, 2009, 2:37 pm

Re: Thyroid Question

Post by barrypaxton »

mylifeforhim,
when my hubby was on thyroid medicine, the Dr told him to take the pill the first thing in the morning and to not eat or drink anything for at least an hour. I don't know if this is true or not for the medicine you are taking, just thought I'd pass this info along.

Ollie
LDL since 10/13/2009.....Reached Goal Weight 2/14/2011.....88 lbs lost

Make everyday an LDL day!!!        

Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point.
mylifeforhim
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by mylifeforhim »

Thank you Ollie.  I have been on thyroid meds for some where around 20 years and just discovered this last year.  I can't eat first thing in the morning or take any vitamins.  I am soooooo hoping and praying that with LDL I may be able to get off of the meds.  Aside from the back and forth with my thyroid, every hot summer I have a time where my system crashes and it would be so nice to not experience this anymore.  I feel I will never truly be able to make a difference in this life until I get my health issues resolved.  Although for anyone reading, just know that every time we reach out and touch someones life we do make a difference.  :thumbsup:  Thank you so much for sharing!  :rose:  Your success leads me down the path and shines the light for way for me.  After reading your prior posts I am doing straight LDL and what a difference it makes.  I am on my way down again.  *love*
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“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. From a dear Friend!
CodingQueen
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Location: North Tampa

Re: Thyroid Question

Post by CodingQueen »

mylifeforhim,

Unless you're seeing an endocrinologist, he probably never gave it much thought. That's why I believe that everyone should go to a specialist when they have a disease that really needs to be followed closely...e.g. cardiologist, neurologist, etc.

CQ
mylifeforhim
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by mylifeforhim »

CQ, I have thought about that and every time I have discussed it with my doctor have been told that I do not need that.  My DH and I have been thinking I do and with my next blood work (waiting for the paperwork from my doctor now) will investigate what I do next.  Thank you for the input!  I appreciate you taking the time for me.  *love*
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“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. From a dear Friend!
ladyhawk21

Re: Thyroid Question

Post by ladyhawk21 »

katie
"I was hypo but took Radioactive Iodine to kill the thyroid"  did you mean you were hyper- or did you have bad cells in the thyroid?

what meds is he giving you, Synthroid or a natural thyorid med like armour? i was on Synthroid at 1st and did not do well at all with it
it is a T4 only med and some people cant convert it to T3.  armour was a lifesaver to me (until they changed the formula) now i take natural thryoid.

i would suggest being proactive in your treatment and reading up on the functions of T4, T3 and correct testing which includes Free T3-
you can get this information at http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/blog/ 

i was 175 pds on Synthroid and nothing i did helped, but i also looked horribly bloated.  when i switched to armour i lost 25 pds in about 2 months w/o trying
and the bloating went away.  change in diet and exercise i was able to go to 130pd. 

Renee
niki
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by niki »

i've been hypothyroid for almost 20 years and i always love reading what other people write....almost 20 years ago, there was no internet(for me, anyway)and the info i got came from textbooks and library books(even though i'm an RN and you'd think i would have had better resources than that even 20 years ago)....at that time, there really was not that much written on it......especially what different people experience.....

someone who is hypothyroid will have to work harder to lose weight....but, what difference does that make?....so what if it takes you a little longer?...

the first thing i was going to respond to was what cq mentioned about certain vegetables and things that are called goitrogens........i still eat some of these vegetables sometimes but i make sure they're cooked well which i believe is supposed to make a difference and i don't eat them that often....the soy thing?.....i gained weight eating strict let's do lunch because of soy...so, i don't eat any soy products at all....

if you're on synthroid, which is synthetic t4,and you're not able to stabilize your dosages, you might need to add synthetic t3....t4 is more plentiful, but t3 is more potent.....the body stores it as t4 and then converts what it needs to t3 to use it...the problem is that sometimes the body becomes impaired in it's ability to convert t4 to t3.....i went to a very rude endocrinologist who insisted that this is VERY rare and that in her entire practice she didn't have one person on t3......it's VERY hard to find a good endocrinologist for thyroid disease(in ny anyway).....the majority of them focus on diabetes.....

i had been on synthroid and gained something like 40 pounds before i found someone to help me...i went on armour thyroid and was doing ok for a while.......in the end, i am WAY better on synthroid and cytomel(synthetic t3)than i ever was on armour thyroid(but everyone's different)...what works best for me is that combo......the majority of people who have hypothyroidism have hashimoto's thyroiditis which is an autoimmune disease which means that the body attacks itself...there are a number or autoimmune diseases......i believe that's why i, personally, didn't do well on armour thyroid.....i was ingesting the hormones of a pig when my body was attacking my own tissue because it didn't recognize it.......read up on that..it's very interesting......

when i went to that endocrinologist a couple of years ago(the one who was rude)she insisted i was on too much medication and so i decided that in CASE she's right, i would lower my medication....i started losing my hair, gaining weight even on strict let's do lunch and as TIRED as i had ever been.......that was when armour thyroid was off the market for awhile....the REASON she said that was because while on armour thyroid, my body stopped producing tsh(thyroid stimulating hormone produced by the anterior pituitary)...but, my t3 and t4 levels were low......so, an intelligent dr(one whom i have not found yet)would treat the patient based on the symptoms or base treatment on the low t3 and t4......

well, if this all looks foreign to you, if you have an underactive thyroid, educate yourself online...there's loads of info...............

what i have found works for me is basic let's do lunch, especially if you have an underactive thyroid......i take my medication and wait an hour...then, i eat fruit.............i read my bible, i pray and then i read whatever book i'm reading.....i wait a while to digest my fruit and then i power walk 3 miles(when i'm off).....i do this for my health, not really to lose better...because of the good effect it has on my metabolism........when i get back from my walk, my reward is popcorn.....................then, i wait until i get hungry and i eat a big salad and usually bean soup with protein.......my third meal is fruit.....
what i've just described is exactly the way roger originally lost all the weight he lost.....no dairy...no sugar.....no yeast.....back to basics....niki
life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain..
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LINDA RN
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by LINDA RN »

Thanks Niki, you always have great info.
Linda
"And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. Joel 2:26

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mylifeforhim
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Re: Thyroid Question

Post by mylifeforhim »

Thanks for sharing Niki!  I am going to try your routine to see if it helps.  Also I love your quote "life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain..", too true!  *love*

Renee, I went to the site and have purchased the book.  I cannot put it down.  I am reading all about me!  My symptoms are not related to the stroke but my thyroid!  I knew some of these things from experience but did not have the knowledge of why and what exactly was happening and how to tell the Doctor about it.  Thank you for sharing!  :thumbsup:
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“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ― John Wesley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you. From a dear Friend!
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