Frustrated - Just need to rant a little bit :\
myndikins
Posts: 39
I've been hypo for, well, forever. Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with Hashi's as well. I've been on all different dosages of synthroid with no luck before finally finding a doctor that would allow me to use Armour. It seemed to be working well for several months. Now, at the same time that I was told I had Hashi's my (new) doctor added liothyronine to the mix. I felt awesome for a few months - feeling great, no symptoms, even losing weight at the rate of a "normal" person.
Now though, it seems like something has changed. I feel terrible and I'm really struggling here. My hair and my nails are brittle and dry. My hair is falling out at a pretty scary rate. I'm exhausted all the time and I simply can't sleep enough. I'm cold too - which is very alarming for me because I'm usually never, ever cold but now I'm cold, in the middle of summer while my ac is broken. Definitely not right. My memory has gone to hell lately and I feel like I'm in a fog. This is especially bad because I have boards to take in a little over a month. I'm not sure what changed. Nothing else from my life has changed, except for a little bit of extra stress. My bloodwork is a little bit off now (I don't remember which value was off, but I'll check once I get a copy).
I went to the doctor today. Not my usual doctor, but I've seen her several times and she works with my doctor. Waited two weeks to get in to see her and felt like hell the entire time. She looked at my bloodwork and said that it was out of whack and said "we should probably adjust your meds." Now, I got the bloodwork done a month ago and no one called me back about it or anything, and I had to go in myself and request a printout of my results. I knew it was off, but apparently she hadn't looked at it until then. Then she wouldn't adjust my dose any, instead saying that she'd refer me to the in-house endo and that he'd see me and do an ultrasound of my thyroid in a few months. A few months is not gonna cut it. I'm just barely functioning now. Plus, I've seen him before and he's less than helpful. I spent a few hours today calling around and trying to find an endo that would see me sooner, but none would help. I can get in relatively quick at the Cleveland Clinic and I'm thinking of doing that, its just about 6 hours away.
I'm just really frustrated and I feel sick and it makes me feel worse that I can't seem to find anyone that cares enough to help. My regular doctor is back from vacation soon and I'm hoping she can help me get the ball rolling on a referral. I don't understand why I'm having so many issues regulating this! There has to be some tricks or something that I'm missing out on.
Now though, it seems like something has changed. I feel terrible and I'm really struggling here. My hair and my nails are brittle and dry. My hair is falling out at a pretty scary rate. I'm exhausted all the time and I simply can't sleep enough. I'm cold too - which is very alarming for me because I'm usually never, ever cold but now I'm cold, in the middle of summer while my ac is broken. Definitely not right. My memory has gone to hell lately and I feel like I'm in a fog. This is especially bad because I have boards to take in a little over a month. I'm not sure what changed. Nothing else from my life has changed, except for a little bit of extra stress. My bloodwork is a little bit off now (I don't remember which value was off, but I'll check once I get a copy).
I went to the doctor today. Not my usual doctor, but I've seen her several times and she works with my doctor. Waited two weeks to get in to see her and felt like hell the entire time. She looked at my bloodwork and said that it was out of whack and said "we should probably adjust your meds." Now, I got the bloodwork done a month ago and no one called me back about it or anything, and I had to go in myself and request a printout of my results. I knew it was off, but apparently she hadn't looked at it until then. Then she wouldn't adjust my dose any, instead saying that she'd refer me to the in-house endo and that he'd see me and do an ultrasound of my thyroid in a few months. A few months is not gonna cut it. I'm just barely functioning now. Plus, I've seen him before and he's less than helpful. I spent a few hours today calling around and trying to find an endo that would see me sooner, but none would help. I can get in relatively quick at the Cleveland Clinic and I'm thinking of doing that, its just about 6 hours away.
I'm just really frustrated and I feel sick and it makes me feel worse that I can't seem to find anyone that cares enough to help. My regular doctor is back from vacation soon and I'm hoping she can help me get the ball rolling on a referral. I don't understand why I'm having so many issues regulating this! There has to be some tricks or something that I'm missing out on.
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Replies
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Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease. Your body is creating antibodies to attack & destroy your thyroid, which can cause your levels to fluctuate all over the place.
It's horrible that you're getting the runaround from your doctors. I can't imagine sitting boards with brain fog & fatigue! Hopefully your regular doctor will get everything sorted.
I take Synthroid (T4) + Cytomel (T3), but you're the first person I've ever heard of who takes Armour + Cytomel. Armour (dessicated pig or pig + beef thyroid glands) contains T4, T3, T2 & T1, so I don't understand why your doctor would give you additional T3?0 -
I am also on Armour + cytomel - my doctor added it because my Reverse T3 levels are high, and I needed a little boost in my free T3 numbers. It has helped quite a bit with my energy levels in the afternoon (I take a second dose of my thyroid meds around 2 or 3 PM).
I agree with editorgrrl - because it's an autoimmune disease, it's going to be all over the place. I have had had both my antibodies and Free T3 levels be very high, and also very low from one month to the next with no change in dosage. It's one of the reasons I get lab work done and have an appointment with my doctor every 3 months - there is generally something different/strange going on, and we can keep tabs on it instead of slowly getting back into increasing symptoms.
I have seen nearly every Endocrinologist in my area, and they've all been useless, unfortunately. I hope you are able to get in to see your regular doctor or the Cleveland Clinic sometime soon.
Good luck to you.0 -
Thanks for the kind words. It makes me feel a little bit better to know that I'm not alone, at least.
I spent a couple hours calling local-ish endos to try and get help. Every single one that I spoke too was quite rude and there's no way I can get in anytime soon. Even Cleveland Clinic is booked until August, but the people that I spoke to were very nice and said that usually when they tell the doctors about a situation, they can get you in sooner. I was told to expect a call within the next week with a sooner appointment. I really hope so. I feel slightly less horrible today, so maybe my levels are going to even out a little bit for a few days? I dunno. It feels like I"m on a roller coaster.0 -
Ouch. You have my sympathy. Don't know any action to help your situation though.
Sometimes the biggest healthcare problem is access.
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