On Being Hypothyroid

I have been hypothyroid for 12 years now since my second child was born. It's awful!! I have been taking the medicine all this time and the blood tests always show that my blood counts are good, but hot flashes, memory loss, being tired are all very common for me. I wish I had better advice for you or more information but nothing has seemed to help me. Weight gain as been horrific!! Keep smiling and know you aren't alone! :)

After years of battling similar symptoms and trying several of the synthetic thyroid hormones such as thyroxin, levorothroid and synthroid, I switched to Armour, which, as I understand it, is a more natural form of the thyroid hormones. My doctor prescribed it but it is sometimes hard to find a pharmacy that carries it but it is worth it.

Hi
Iam also hypothyroid and have been taking synthroid for 4 years. I recently started having symptoms again, so together with my docotor I added Amour thyroid and things seem to be getting better. I love www.babybbotcamp.com for daily exercise and feeling better. I also highly recommend "the thyroid solution" book, you can find it on Amazon.
http://www.webheights.net/depression/arem/ts.htm

Good luck

I was diagnosed after my first daughter was born. I was originally misdiagnosed with PPD but did not get better with anti-depressants. After another six months, my husband pushed for more blood work and we found out it was the thyroid. I have had a bumpy road with it too. Every time I have a baby, my levels fluctuate and then go back to "normal" afterwards. In January of this year, I came down with a really weird flu and got four allergic reactions to the antibiotics. Since then, I haven't been myself. I've had severe weight gain, memory loss, confusion, coldness, mood swings and overall malais. My doctor keeps telling us that it's depression. I have a hard time believing them. I am now going through testing for ALS, etc. All I can tell you is that in my experience, you have to be your own advocate. You have to fight for yourself. Ask them to re-test your TSH levels. Even though they say you should have them checked once a year once you're normalized, I push for every four to six months. Have you tried an endocrinologist and not your regular Dr.? I've always found that a specialist is more on top of the situation.

I am also hypothyroid and have been so for years. I tried all the synthetics and they didn't help my symptoms so I asked to be switched to Armour thyroid and it has helped a lot. I still get tired at times because I think our hormones fluctuate a lot, but it's not nearly as bad as when I was on the synthetic stuff. The doctor's tried to tell me that the synthetic stuff usually works better. However, the natural has a T3/T4 combination whereas the synthetics do not. See below for more info:
http://www.netwellness.uc.edu/question.cfm/24516.htm
Hope this helps and you start feeling better soon. It's tough because the thyroid affects every organ in your body.

Don't think a magic potion such as Zrii is goigngo help your thyroid. YOU are the only one going to help your thyroid. Forget about testing your TSH, T3, T4, those are useless in the long run. Thyroid malfunction is years of blood sugar handling problems which os all wrapped together with reproductive disorders.

I also was "diagnosed" with low thyroid function, and I also did a deep cleanse of all my organs which helped tremendously. I had a so-called normal TSH after that. But guess what, down the road another doctor thought it would be a good idea to test for thyroid antibiodies to see if I had an autoimmune disorder along with low thyroid function. I did. Hashimoto's disease is the #1 thyroid disease in america and it goes undiagnosed everyday. Do not let the doctors put you on prednisone to kill yhour immune system. the best thing YOU can do for yourself is to remove gluten/dairy from your diet. That's not all, you will also need to support your endocrine system with a potent Liquid Vit D supplement and a product called Oxycell made of glutathione and Super oxide Dismutase to help control free radicals.

I know all this because I am a doctor and I've been through it myself. We help many people every day control their immune system from attack itself through specific protocols called Blood Chemistry Analysis.

I hope this information has atleast helped you make a decision on one thing, get your antibodies tested ASAP called TPO or thyroid perioxidase testing.
In Good Health

I have had hypothyroidism for ten years now and I have learned to just roll with it. Mine is rarely under control and when I am pg it is even worse. I have three beautiful children. My oldest will be five next month on the thirtenth, my son is two and a half, and my youngest just turned three months. My bigest pain is headaches. Other wise I can handle all the rest. Ankles swelling, memory loss, hot to cold, and being tired are all easy compared to the headaches. I would say to find a stride that works for you and stick with it. Also if the symptoms become to much to handle have them recheck your levels as they may need adjust your meds. I hope that you can find a way to make it all work easier for you. It can be hard having the little ones full time but I hope that you can figure out how to get the joy back that it takes to handle your two little wonders.

flylady.net helps me with the chores
it's free

Hi H.,

I have something that will help you. It's called Zrii, it's an all natural supplement. It has 7 botanicals, Amalaki, Ginger Root, Turmeric, Schizandra, Tulsi, Haritaki and Jujube. Each botanical has it's own unique benefit. My friends mother has been taking it and it has regulated her thyroid. It has also helped me get a good nights sleep and I wake up refreshed. There are so many benefits of this, I would be love to go into more detail and share this with you. Please contact me at www.lifechanging.myzrri.com or my cell ###-###-####.

M.

I have never tried any of the medications mentioned here. Instead I went the all natural way. I found a good nutritionist/herbalist and spent 7 months cleansing and strengthening my organs one by one. I also did a radical diet change and started exercising on a regular basis.

You can check out my nutritionist at www.endometriosissupport.com. She deals specifically with female issues. Her name is Linda Wagner.

I took a combination of over the counter herbs/supplements and medicinal grade herbs/supplements that she ordered for me.

When I first started my TSH level was at 1.75. I could barely crawl out of bed at that level. A healthy level for me is around 3. My last test a couple of months ago was at 2.97. I also regularly get my T3 and T4 levels checked, but I can't remember what my numbers were for those. The "normal" medical range is from .5 to 5 for TSH. And technically my 1.75 at the beginning was in the "normal" range. However it was not normal for my body.

I was also told by my general practitioner that all my symptoms (lethargy, dizziness, hot/cold flashes, etc.) was all in my head. She literally told me I was crazy to think anything was wrong with me since all my tests came back "normal" and that I needed to see a psychiatrist immediately because I was mental and depressed and needed to get on antidepressants immediately. Needless to say I never went back to see her again. I knew it was some sort of chemical/hormonal imbalance and I knew I needed to try to cure the problem from the inside out, not just treat the symptoms.

I know there are a few other members here who practice holistic care as well. I would check them out and check out Linda too and see which one makes sense for you and your lifestyle. When I was searching about 2 years ago, I decided to go with Linda out of the many other holistic care practitioners I found because her personal story of infertility and treatments very closely mimicked my own.

Good luck!

I am hypo too -- so is my mom and my sister. I've suspected it for years, but not until it finally got bad enough did I get a DR. to notice it. (If you search the Internet on this topic there is research that says the standard blood tests are unreliable and only detect the worst 2% of those who suffer the symptoms -- go with your symptoms!) One Dr. had my on 50mg and said I was fine, but another dr. looked at the same blood work and put me on 75. Also note that if you are using thyroxin -- a generic, it may be that the manufacturer has changed and it isn't as potent as before-- not to mention post baby hormones can fluctuate/ Go back to DR. consider different RX
My problem is now my cholesterol and blood pressure are both high and I don't know why ---- I think it is all connected to the thyroid issue and is really an issue for an endocrinologist.

H., sorry this is late, but had to put my 2 cents in! I have been taking Armour thyroid for years and very rarely have any of the hypothyroid symptoms that seem to be plaguing you. I think that a lot of the "motherhood tiredness" (is that a word???) may be helped by getting your thyroid issues under control. Try reading through some of the info on the Armour website www.armourthyroid.com/cons_aboutArmour.aspx. When you go to the website in the top right corner there is a physican locator button that will help you find a doctor that is familiar with Armour thyroid medication. This medication is a more natural medication than the synthetic thyroid that a lot of doctors prescribe and I just like that better. If you ever want to vent, kids, sleeplessness, chores etc. my email is ____@____.com sometimes just releasing the pent up frustrations will make you feel better too! Hope to hear from you soon, take care and keep smiling! Remember, your kids and husband really appreciate all the things you do, they just don't know how to tell you!! :)