Hi AJ.. I am new too... and posted pretty much the same start as you did. I heard from many people which was a bit helpful. I am on Levo too... and it HAS been crazy. Some of the posts were over my head.. I really didn't understand what they were talking about... I have been doing some online research on the subject and finding out what is good... and what is not.

I have cut out coffee from my diet, which was difficult to do. I drink a cup of green tea in the morning. I also have stopped broccoli and dark green leafy vegetables. It's been tough because normally I have my vitamins first thing in the morning.. and now I have to wait... That has been a huge adjustment for me. My OJ also has calcium in it... so that, too.. I have had to put on hold. Total change in routine.

Best wishes and hang in there!

Hi and welcome to the forum!! Lots of us on here that are at various places in our battle against hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed over 15 years ago --and put on Synthroid (same as levoxyl).. its a synthetic T4 replacement. I steadily gained weight and became more and more fatigued and depressed over the years - went through menopause and got even worse.

In November, I found Stop The Thyroid Madness website -- I purchased the book - I educated myself about my thyroid. I talked to my doctor and asked her to check for some of the levels suggested in the book -- and told her I wanted to try Natural Dessicated Thyroid. She declined -- was not comfortable with that. So, I fired that doctor and found a Naturopath that agreed to do what I wanted -- he agreed to treat my symptoms.

I have been on a journey since then -- I've lost weight -- but I've also stopped taking cholesterol medicine and high blood pressure medicine. It seems that my thyroid was causing these to be high -- and now that I am on Armour thyroid, I no longer have high cholesterol or high blood pressure!! Hard to believe -- but your thyroid controls many, many aspects of your body. And just because your TSH levels are "normal" that does not mean that your thyroid is ok or that your metabolism is ok.

Your best defense is to educate yourself -- don't let the doctors lead you around by your nose... you can demand that they treat your symptoms.

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has some great pages on Thyroid Symptoms, why TSH testing is useless and why Synthetic T4 (levoxyl, Synthroid) doesn't work. It has a list of recommended lab tests and how to read lab tests. Education is the key. Most doctors have no idea how to treat your metabolism.

Terri

No -- this group is about hypothyroidism and many, many, many of us are treated by FDA approved, prescription level of a natural thyroid medicine. It is definitely not outside of accepted medical practice -- there are endocrinologists and MDs that prescribe natural dessicated thyroid medication -- they are just hard to find.

Hi Debby here is one bit of information I found while searching. I have a ton of information but thought this was a bit more bullet ed.

Natural Treatments for Hypothyroidism

There are steps that you can take to make your condition manageable at home. Try some of these suggestions to help you cope more effectively:
Surround yourself with a good support system
Educate yourself on your condition
Involve doctors, homeopaths, naturopaths, specialists, therapists, family, friends etc in the management of your condition
Try to maintain a positive ‘can-do’ attitude
Eat a healthy well-balanced diet
Include lots of salt water fish, shellfish and sea weed in your diet as these are rich in iodine – essential for healthy thyroid functioning
Avoid cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale) as these contain a natural thyroid blocker
Try to do regular physical activity or exercise
Take and adjust your medications as necessary
Have your hormone levels monitored on a regular basis
Perform a daily thyroid self-massage. To massage the thyroid gland; gently stroke up and down the sides of the trachea (also known as windpipe).

The coffee reduction is from another article..

I feel OK.. I have hot-flashes which I thought were menopause... guess it's something else? I am still tired all the time.. but fight it off...

Glad to know there are others out there to give suggestions and help out!!!

Hi ajwang & Heidi,
Welcome to the group! :flowerforyou:
I just started on 75 mg of synthroid 3 weeks ago also. I have learned a lot here, and really appreciate all the knowledge that is shared.

I go in to get my blood tested this week, to see if it is helping my levels or not. I have had "looping" colds all winter, so until this week, I could not tell if my hot/cold flashes were the cold or the hypo... but now the cold is gone, and I am still having the same issue, only not as severe, so I am not sure the meds are working yet. Although my vertigo has not come back (I'd been getting that once a week).

Do you notice feeling better yet? They say it takes 6 weeks - 3 months! :yawn:

I learned on here, about gluten-free being good for us; and virgin coconut oil also. So I'm trying those things.

Did you stop green leafy vegetables? Why? And.... step away from the coffee!!! LOL.... nobody touches my coffee... hehehe.

Have fun & keep sharing what you learn & your questions! :happy:

I appreciate the helpful sentiment of that post but honestly I have no intention of changing the medically accepted treatment of my thyroid. Is that what this group is about? I just want to figure out how to best deal with the problem that I have within the confines that I already have.

just for the record... armour thyroid & other naturally dissected meds are "medically accepted" ...just not synthetic. and lots and lots and lots of people do better on natural vs. synthetic. :flowerforyou:

also... calcium needs at least a 5 hour buffer from thyroid meds. i have hypoparathyroidism also so i take calcium all day, and it needs to be significantly more than 1 hour away from your thyroid med.

Hi AJ!

Not all of us are excited about the idea of dessicated thyroid. I am struggling with finding the right levothyroxine (synthyroid) dosage for me, but the science behind it is strong and I am feeling much better several months in. It is the standard of care right now because the dessicated version is made from animals and is therefore hard to regulate. Personally, I would never want to consider dessicated thyroid because I am a vegetarian, and because of the quality issues. I would also worry that I might have a hyperthyroid spell if the dose happened to be a little larger than usual.

I have noticed that I don't seem to lose weight as fast as others on MFP, but at least I am not gaining any more! I have lost 10 lbs, but it has taken me since January to do it. Exercise seems to be key, as well as patience, which I think someone above me suggested.

As for the 6 month time window between blood tests, I also wish my endo doc would test me more often. However, I am still in the fluctuating phase of Hashimoto's and sometimes have hyperthyroid symptoms (especially heart palpitations), so I understand why she wants to wait a few months and see how I do. But, it sounds like that is not what you are experiencing. If you are consistently exhausted, call your doc! There's no reason they can't test you earlier, and they should also make sure there isn't something else underlying all this that is causing you to be so tired.

Thanks Heidi,
I also started taking kelp drops for iodine... but will stop immediately! I had a scare tonight. Started feeling really woozy, took my pulse & it went from 38 bpm to 98 bpm back to 33 bpm... my heart was palpitating really erratically. I am going to assume that I don't need iodine, and quit taking it. I also know that we are prone to panic attacks, so keeping that in mind.

Why do you think the kelp is the problem? I don't take drops, I take a capsule form, but I haven't had any problems... I have only been on it for about two weeks though. Have others had problems with it? My doctor said it couldn't hurt.

Hi AJ!

Not all of us are excited about the idea of dessicated thyroid. I am struggling with finding the right levothyroxine (synthyroid) dosage for me, but the science behind it is strong and I am feeling much better several months in. It is the standard of care right now because the dessicated version is made from animals and is therefore hard to regulate. Personally, I would never want to consider dessicated thyroid because I am a vegetarian, and because of the quality issues. I would also worry that I might have a hyperthyroid spell if the dose happened to be a little larger than usual.

I have noticed that I don't seem to lose weight as fast as others on MFP, but at least I am not gaining any more! I have lost 10 lbs, but it has taken me since January to do it. Exercise seems to be key, as well as patience, which I think someone above me suggested.

As for the 6 month time window between blood tests, I also wish my endo doc would test me more often. However, I am still in the fluctuating phase of Hashimoto's and sometimes have hyperthyroid symptoms (especially heart palpitations), so I understand why she wants to wait a few months and see how I do. But, it sounds like that is not what you are experiencing. If you are consistently exhausted, call your doc! There's no reason they can't test you earlier, and they should also make sure there isn't something else underlying all this that is causing you to be so tired.

I just wanted to throw out there not to give up hope if synthroid does not work for you there are other options that are not dessicated thyroid. My doc says t4 doesn't work for everyone because t3 is the hormone our body actually absorbs, t4 just converts the t3 into an absorbable form. So for some people if they aren't producing enough t3 it wont ever matter how much t4 they take. Many patients find success with t3 meds or a combination of t3 and t4.

To Aj:
I agree with the above quoted! Not all of us like the idea of dessicated thyroid. Its not the only sucessful thyroid treatment out there. Personally I feel my doctor is pretty educated on the thyroid. Her opinion is that although its a natural form vs synthetic, its not natural for our bodies, we are not pigs and our bodies don't function the same. She also mentioned that a good number of patients actually end up producing antibodies against it and therefore build up a tolerance to it. Everyone tries to share what has worked for them but please don't feel that this group is all about pushing just one thing!

Hi all!!

I was diagnosed 11 years ago. I was 8 at the time. When I was 13 I was 161 lb. With in 1 year I lost 32 lb. It has been 2 years since I lost 32 lb and now I am looking to loss the last 15 lb.

With me, whenever I gain weight it was because:
1) levels were not balanced
2) I was not eating healthy
3) Not getting enough sleep
4) Forget to take meds!! (Happens A LOT)

It is really not as scary as it sounds. Just remember to take you meds everyday! I know I forget. Just a few weeks ago I forgot to take my meds for 4 days in a row! In Feb. I got my meds for 3 months at a time this time and I should almost be done but it seems that I have a month left.