thyroid

I made change happen by demanding a full thyroid panel be done. After that happened they adjusted my medication and with just some calorie cutting it came off.

I have had a dead thyroid for years now. When I was first treated for hyperactive thyroid with the radioactive iodine they put me on 75 mcg and I would need to get my blood tested every year to check the TSH levels. I kept being told I was "fine" even though after a year or so I didn't feel fine at all. I had weight gain, I had no energy and just felt blah. I looked up what the "normal" levels were and asked to know my actual numbers, and I was on the high end of "fine". I asked if I could get my levothyroxine upped until my numbers were lower- because I feel better when I'm down to 1 and it worked. Now I'm not saying that weight loss is not slow- it is very slow but it is possible. And don't let them tell you you're fine if you take synthetic hormone. Educate yourself and demand to know what your numbers are. I find it intellectually insulting that they just think I will blindly believe them when they say "fine"- you know your body better than anyone else and fine for one person isn't necessary fine for another. They assume I won't know what the numbers mean- smh.

I like prescription natural thyroid meds, Armour or NatureThroid. You may or may not feel better on a synthetic T4 med like Synthroid or Levoxyl, I did not...it depends how well you can convert T4 (what the synthetic meds are) to active form of thyroid hormone T3. I could not (well enough), so it floated around in my blood and my TSH tests were fine but I actually felt like garbage and could hardly function. I tried a combo T4/T3 synthetic med and that was good but I still like natural better, which also has T2 and that ties into APO. Anyway, if your meds work for you, great, eat less and move more. If you don't really feel 100%, if you still have symptoms, get more than the TSH checked, get a full panel, find out if your body is actually converting that hormone and using it, things like free T3/T4, antibodies can also tell you if you have Hashimotos, 85% of hypothyroid is Hashimotos (autoimmune) but most don't realize they even have that, they just get the TSH and a pill...not knocking it if it works for you, but if not, be proactive. I started lifting heavy weights about a year ago, it has done wonders for me, and I intend to keep doing it, I was 52 when I started, 53 now.