What am I to do?
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From: moriarte on 20 Oct 2005 07:23 Apologies, but I am reaching the end of my tether. I'm running out of options to try and feeling worse every day. I'm 38 and have probably had autoimmune thyroiditis of some kind since my teens (still have antibody activity). Despite having FT3 and FT4 that didn't look too bad on 125 mcg (FT4 just over range, FT3 in the middle, maybe suggesting a slight conversion problem) I have been feeling as tired as ever, and the mental confusion and inability to concentrate have more or less stopped me working at all now. I went to Dr S (alternative thyroid guru) in July - he suggested I was just still hypoT and needed either to increase dose of thyroxine or add in T3. I tried taking 150 mcg and began to get quite hyper, racing pulse. When I felt I'd recovered I tried 20mcg T3 and felt really awful - raging headache, aching thyroid, broke out in skin boils. I'm still feeling like this, only aching all over and having really bad pre-menstrual symptoms with no sign of the curse appearing (these symptoms have been getting gradually worse over the last year despite initially improving on thyroxine). I had my adrenals tested; the cortisol was more or less parallel to the normal pattern, but the DHEA-S jumped around from top to bottom of the range (sorry, I wasn't specific enough in my last post). My headache is now fairly constant, I have to take painkillers every day now. I don't know whether this is related to the ear-pain/deafness I suffer or not. When I talke to Dr S, he was at a loss to know why I reacted to T3 and just suggested Armour as the only other option (a path I don't particularly want to go down). My GP suggested is was 'just a virus', but this particular trough has been going on for 3 months now. I'm also really allergic at the moment, covered in nettle rash in all the sensitised places and my dermatitis has flared up again. I really don't know where to go from here - my whole immune/endocrine system now seems to be out of sync. Elizabeth
From: moriarte on 20 Oct 2005 07:41 Forgot to mention my temperature is quite high - it's varying between 98.8 and 99.3 at the moment. When I was on the T3 it shot down to 97.5-9. What is going on? I feel like my whole body is inflamed!
From: Kevin G. Rhoads on 20 Oct 2005 07:58 >I had my adrenals tested; the cortisol was more or less parallel to the >normal pattern, but the DHEA-S jumped around from top to bottom of the >range Alright, you seem to have the thyroid side taken care of, and you've found that adding more thyroid makes things worse. Two things you COULD try -- DHEA can be gotten from supplement stores (it is legal in the US of A, don't know about elsewhere) and you could try that. If you do try DHEA, start low and keep track of your reactions. Alternatively, you can buy 1/2% to 1% cortisone topical creams and ointments at pharmacies (again in the US of A) Some people have had success at providing mild adrenal support using these. We have tried DHEA in addition to thyroid in our house. Nora tolerates the 5mg DHEA without noticeable adverse effects and with some possible improvements. If you try DHEA I'd suggest starting with that 5mg dose, it is about as low as this stuff comes. I can NOT stress enough adequate record keeping! If some thing works for you, how will you be sure what you were trying when it worked? How can you show your doctor what works if you have no records? If something makes things worse, but subtly, how can you be sure? You may find that food allergies or some other allergic sensitivity is contributing. Records help you identify such things. If you feel rotten there is a tendency to want to try it all. Try to resist. Try either DHEA or cortisone creams but not both at once. If either alone does not work, then try them together. But keep records. Record everything you can. Waking temp. What you eat, and when you eat it. Exercise. Hot flashes. Dizziness. Coughing, sneezing, wheezing &c &c HTH Kevin
From: Arlyn on 20 Oct 2005 08:46 Hi Elizabeth, I'm so sorry you are feeling so awful. But I completely understand. I was also at the end of my rope and getting no relief from any doctors and pills. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record...it all changed when I changed my diet. I thought I was eating a fairly healthy diet but I found out that I wasn't. A few months after changing my diet, I was like a different person. Diet changes are difficult and no one wants to do it. But it was worth it for me. Along that line, you might want to look into food allergies as part of what is causing your trouble. I recommend reading Fit For Life by Harvey Diamond. Take care, ar "moriarte" <elizabeth(a)basilisk.co.uk> wrote in message <1129807400.907679.275960(a)f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> > Apologies, but I am reaching the end of my tether. I'm running out of >options to try and feeling worse every day. I'm 38 and have probably >had autoimmune thyroiditis of some kind since my teens (still have >antibody activity). > >Despite having FT3 and FT4 that didn't look too bad on 125 mcg (FT4 >just over range, FT3 in the middle, maybe suggesting a slight >conversion problem) I have been feeling as tired as ever, and the >mental confusion and inability to concentrate have more or less stopped >me working at all now. > >I went to Dr S (alternative thyroid guru) in July - he suggested I was >just still hypoT and needed either to increase dose of thyroxine or add >in T3. I tried taking 150 mcg and began to get quite hyper, racing >pulse. When I felt I'd recovered I tried 20mcg T3 and felt really awful >- raging headache, aching thyroid, broke out in skin boils. I'm still >feeling like this, only aching all over and having really bad >pre-menstrual symptoms with no sign of the curse appearing (these >symptoms have been getting gradually worse over the last year despite >initially improving on thyroxine). > >I had my adrenals tested; the cortisol was more or less parallel to the >normal pattern, but the DHEA-S jumped around from top to bottom of the >range (sorry, I wasn't specific enough in my last post). > >My headache is now fairly constant, I have to take painkillers every >day now. I don't know whether this is related to the ear-pain/deafness >I suffer or not. When I talke to Dr S, he was at a loss to know why I >reacted to T3 and just suggested Armour as the only other option (a >path I don't particularly want to go down). My GP suggested is was >'just a virus', but this particular trough has been going on for 3 >months now. I'm also really allergic at the moment, covered in nettle >rash in all the sensitised places and my dermatitis has flared up >again. > >I really don't know where to go from here - my whole immune/endocrine >system now seems to be out of sync. > >Elizabeth > > -- Posted from the AST website http://www.altsupportthyroid.org/index.php
From: Arlyn on 20 Oct 2005 08:47
Check out diets for inflamation. You may have hit on the key for yourself. ar "moriarte" <elizabeth(a)basilisk.co.uk> wrote in message <1129808492.982012.48630(a)f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com> > Forgot to mention my temperature is quite high - it's varying between >98.8 and 99.3 at the moment. When I was on the T3 it shot down to >97.5-9. What is going on? I feel like my whole body is inflamed! > > -- Posted from the AST website http://www.altsupportthyroid.org/index.php |