Upping thyroid meds, feeling blah??

Yes my daughter is the same ,you can tell just by looking at her she needs her meds upping again she is now on 200mg Thyroxine ,its took a long time to get this far (about 18months) ,hope it doesnt take that long for you x

I think this is similar to what my husband goes through although he has never correlated it to medicine increase. He gets it periodically even though the amount of thyroid medication he has been on is constant. He has nicknamed it the achy-shaky feeling and it is the major symptom that he has and he has also mentionned feeling flu like. It drives him crazy but the doctor doesn't seem to have any real response to it.

Are you sure you are hypo and not hyper? I've been diagnosed hypothyroid for years and have been on varying levels of Synthroid/Levothyroxine through the years (and pregnancies). Typically hypo makes you feel the symptoms you are experiencing and hyper kind of speeds everything up. I know after I had my third child I accidentally told the hospital my dose was higher than it was and that coupled with naturally needing less after having him caused a bunch of hyper symptoms in me (starving all the time, losing weight crazy fast, antsy and hyperactive, feeling like everything was racing). Whenever my levels have been too low my hypo symptoms cause weight gain, sluggishness, just a general feeling of blah and lack of motivation. Increasing the meds usually perks me back up.

If you are concerned call your doctor and discuss it. Maybe it is normal...everyone reacts to things differently.

i was the same way when my dosage was increased. I felt weird for about a week but after that, MAN did i feel great! it made such a difference!

Friends - there is a Hypothyroid group that you can join for more support on thyroid issues. There are some that are hyperthyroid but most are hypo. I have been hypothyroid since 1997 and recently found out I have Hashimoto's also.

the feelings of blah, foggy thinking, fatigue, phantom aches and pains is typical of hypothryoidism -- the doctros tend to treat our lab tests (TSH) and not so much our symptoms (at least that has been my expeirence). I recently "fired" my doctor and hired a Naturopath to help me to get rid of my symptoms. Not there yet, but he's more interested in how I feel than what my blood work says.

Here's a great site to get educated about your thyroid. I should own stock in it 'cause I give it out so much!!
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ -- if you are on T4 replacement, there's a place for you to get info about your symptoms.

wow that was great info, thanks for that. i didn't know lots of what you mentioned. I'm still on the learning phase even though it's been a few years.

Nicholsvj has the risks nailed well. The only time your body will not be able to properly do the T3 conversion is if you have Liver issues & super stress adrenals (they can test for that too).

T3 is something that is best converted by the body as it is a hormone that in the correct doses for what your body needs, is just shy of the amount that can kill you.

My father as gone into Atrofib on more than one occassion (they have to stop and restart the heart) and it has been extremely serious. Do not take everything on the internet without confirming the sources - are there credentials, references, citations & studies (aside from anectdotal) to properly support the claims made....i.e. it is great the folks claim to "feel better" by doing x, but are there any controlled studies to indicate the improved state is caused by what they are doing.

I am a very firm believer in psychoneuroimunology & holistic treatments, but have also been informed by my holistic practitioners that a risk of taking a dessicated glandular is that it can also permanently inhibit your body from producing any thyroxin on its own.... (in most cases, with folks with Thyroid issues, the parathyroids still are the "stabilizing factors" - you DO NOT want to impact those, as the body's needs for thyroxin varies with stress levels, and other physiological states imposed on the body) -thus amplifying the issues for a lifetime!!! There are some folks who need the synthroid for only a period of time in their lives until the stress is better "managed" or alleviated and then are back to functioning well on their own. There is a risk of never doing this if on dessicated thyroid.

For those wondering what is up when they "up" their medication - usually day 1 -3 is wow, I'm improved! for some.....then BAM! the plateau, to what I call the "down slide"....depression, irritability, water retention, weight gain for some, FATIGUE, lack of focus and motivation, aches, pains, malaise.....then on DAY 10, voila! "human" again! Track it, I'd bet $$ on it. It takes about 10 days for the body to fully adjust and stabilize with the new dose.

Also be VERY diligent on being consistent on WHEN and how you take your meds, i.e. always with food, or without food and at the same time each day.

miss 1 day and it will set you back a week. DON'T, unless you want to go through the 'roller coaster" again.

Don't lose heart - keep it up and things will settle down.

Also be sure your B12's, calcium and iron are VERY, VERY consistently monitored. Pernicious anemia (inability to absorb B12) is VERY prevalent with Hypo thyroid conditions and sometimes severe anemia can actually be the root cause of Hypo Thyroidism. The Synthroid can inhibit some calcium absorption (and calcium and iron should never be taken together they block each other (in simplified terms) from absorbing)........stay away from carbonated drinks (they are made with distilled water, which is great for detox, but in frequent consumption, leaches minerals from your body, like calcium), not to mention the refined sugars, aspartame or HFCS which through your insulin levels out of whack and make your system toxic......

Lastly, look into foods which support or inhibit thyroid hormone conversions. If Hypo, STAY AWAY FROM ALL SOY!!!! also stay away from RAW: broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, pears, peaches, califlower, (- though cooking reduces their adverse affects significantly) if Hyper eat those!

Here is one of the better lists of things to consider diet-wise....http://nourishedkitchen.com/foods-thyroid-health/

Couple of good resource sites:

http://www.thyroid.ca/

Some great points on this site (that I have gathered citations from other sources when researching more in depth) unfortunately, not a lot of citations on the site directly, thus take some items with a grain of salt.....http://www.ithyroid.com/

and lastly, some good info here:

http://www.thyroid.org/professionals/publications/statements/99_11_16_wilsons.html

cheers,
Nicole
(I'm hypo as well, have a strong history of Graves in the family and have been hyper in the past.....)




Thyroid inducing foods: Grapefruit,