Anyone have hypothyroidism?

[mossrose]

A friend of mine has recently been (sort of) diagnosed as suffering from low thyroid.

She is having an awful time getting meds that work properly and consistantly. The doc has given her medication, it works for a month, and then she starts having the same symptoms. The doctor is reluctant to be continually increasing the dosage, and he says her numbers are well within the accepted range.

Now, I read an article a couple of years ago about how some researchers think that the range that most doctors use is far too broad, and that they should be making some changes. My husband's cousin also has hypothyroidism, and she is an RN, so has been able to convince her doctor to use a different range of numbers. She lives in the States.

My friend, however, tried to talk to her doctor about this and he basically ignored her.

Anyone here been successful in treating this very common problem? My sister has struggled with it for years, and I know she has also tried to tell her doctor about the research, to no affect. Are docs in the States and Europe more open to the new research, and is it only here in the Great White North, where both my sis and my friend are, that the doctors (at least 2 of them) are reluctant to change their mindset, lower the numbers, and give stronger meds?

I know that my friend, who has just turned 43, has been a powerhouse, a hard worker, having lots of energy, running her own business, which involves physical labour, has simply run out of energy over the past year. It took 3 of us who care for her to convince her to go to the doctor to check things out, and now she is running into these roadblocks with meds that only work for a very short time. Which just adds to her feelings of unwellness......

So, any advice would be appreciated.

[Cary]

A friend of mine has recently been (sort of) diagnosed as suffering from low thyroid.

She is having an awful time getting meds that work properly and consistantly. The doc has given her medication, it works for a month, and then she starts having the same symptoms. The doctor is reluctant to be continually increasing the dosage, and he says her numbers are well within the accepted range.

Now, I read an article a couple of years ago about how some researchers think that the range that most doctors use is far too broad, and that they should be making some changes. My husband's cousin also has hypothyroidism, and she is an RN, so has been able to convince her doctor to use a different range of numbers. She lives in the States.

My friend, however, tried to talk to her doctor about this and he basically ignored her.

Anyone here been successful in treating this very common problem? My sister has struggled with it for years, and I know she has also tried to tell her doctor about the research, to no affect. Are docs in the States and Europe more open to the new research, and is it only here in the Great White North, where both my sis and my friend are, that the doctors (at least 2 of them) are reluctant to change their mindset, lower the numbers, and give stronger meds?

I know that my friend, who has just turned 43, has been a powerhouse, a hard worker, having lots of energy, running her own business, which involves physical labour, has simply run out of energy over the past year. It took 3 of us who care for her to convince her to go to the doctor to check things out, and now she is running into these roadblocks with meds that only work for a very short time. Which just adds to her feelings of unwellness......

So, any advice would be appreciated.

I have had hypothyroidism since age 21 and I am now 41. It takes several weeks, about 8 to 9 for the thyroid medication to stabilize. When a person is hypothyroid, every system in their body is slowed down. With prolonged, untreated hypothyroidism, bigger problems can develop. When I was initially diagnosed, it took a few months to get the dosage correct. I was on the same dosage for years, then when my body started changing (maybe after age 35) my thyroid function has fluctuated a bit. Patience, patience, patience. The fluctuating can be a slow progression. It does greatly affect me physically and emotionally. The TSH blood draw has a very finite range and so it is extremely important to listen to your doctor. Seeing a doctor every few weeks initially is probably a grand idea. Once stable, it's not a big deal. Good luck!

[mossrose]

Thank you for this, Cary! (And long time, no see! :smile:)

She seems to be balancing out a little. I know she decided to not have an increase for a while, and the meds she is on now seem to be helping quite a bit. The past 6 weeks or so have been much better for her. And I know that part of her problem is impatience. She hates being ill, hates having to go to the doctor, hates the thought of having to take meds for the rest of her life, and wants it to work NOW.

She will be seeing the doctor within the next month, and hopefully he will think she is starting to react positively to the meds. She still complains about having a "full head", as she calls it, like a feeling of fullness in the front part of her head, that has not gone away with the medication. So she needs to ask the doc about that.

I really appreciate you commenting here, Cary. Your experience sounds a lot like my sister's, so it is good to hear that certain things seem to be the same.

:thumb:

[Arnold]

Yes patience and perserverance. My mother-in-law has had it for fifty years or so. It can be very taxing and symptoms can change over the years, especially when other ailments contribute to the overall health situation. My mother-in-law has almost no thyroid left now, but she soldiers on into her eighties, a selfless old fashioned Catholic who survives on prayer and is an inspiration to family and friends alike.