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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2011 12:23:40 GMT
Over and over again I hear about people who have some particular problem with this gland. So many people that I know have either an overactive(hyper) or under active (hypo) thyroid gland. Some,many,take medication for this,the most popular being Synthroid,which is a synthetic hormone that helps regulate thyroid function. It also virtually shuts down the thyroid once on starts taking it,therefore rendering the body dependent on it. The thyroid function is one of the most important in the human body. Many,many,symptoms of other maladies can be narrowed down to a malfunction of the thyroid. I have my thyroid levels checked every year as there is a rampant history of thyroid malfunction in my family. Thus far,I have been diagnosed as having a healthy functioning thyroid. I am hyper vigilant on having this checked as I have seen how much havoc can be manifested by a dysfunctional thyroid. At the same time,were I to be diagnosed with some type of problem with it's functioning properly, I do not think that I would jump the gun and take the medication,synthroid,without a whole lot more research and investigation into alternatives such as altering my diet,vitamin and mineral supplements etc. The synthroid treatment seems quite radical to me. Any thoughts on this?
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Post by onlymark on Jan 8, 2011 13:48:03 GMT
My opinion? Get more than one opinion.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2011 18:11:45 GMT
My mother takes Levothyrox, but I don't know what it contains.
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Post by bjd on Jan 13, 2011 10:50:28 GMT
Levothyrox (levothyroxine) is used to replace the hormones produced by the thyroid in case of hypothyroidism. My mother also takes it as do several friends who have had their thyroid glands removed. It is used to regulate the body's metabolism.
I developed hypothyroidism when I was in my early 20s. At the time, treatment was taking iodine pills every day. When I got pregnant, I stopped taking the medicine. After my daughter was born, my thyroid had become normal again and has remained so ever since. I assume it was the hormonal changes caused by pregnancy that affected the hormones of the thyroid.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2011 15:36:48 GMT
My mother still has her thyroid but clearly it must have gone out of order at some time in the past. I am not convinced that she still needs to take certain pills but doctors just love to renew prescriptions perpetually for old people.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 23, 2011 17:41:10 GMT
My sister-in-law saw a thyroid specialist last Thursday as she was feeling tired and sleepy the entire day. Her doctor had increased her thyroid medication to 4 tablets a day.( don't know what) but after seeing the specialist she has been taken off all tablets as her thyroid is normal apparantly. All I know is that the tablets increased her weight tremendously. Looks like she has been misdiagnosed or the thyroid rectified itself long ago.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2011 18:17:04 GMT
Misdiagnosis and the complacency that doctors have for each other infuriates me more and more. I think I might have my mother checked out one of these days by a totally different doctor. (But then again at her age and in her condition, it probably makes no difference at all. It's not as though I'll ever get her back in some acceptable condition.)
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Post by gertie on Jan 24, 2011 5:46:01 GMT
Thyroid is a funny thing, I'm finding. I had problems for years that sounded just like symptoms of low thyroid, and most of my family have low thyroid and take tablets to replace what is missing. After having problems for years, I finally read up and found out it was possible the usual test was not picking up my problem. Normally, they test for TSH and if that is ok and you don't complain of symptoms consider you normal. After a more full testing range, it turned out although I have normal amounts of hormone produced, some of them are reversed, thus rendering my working amount too low. Happily, now that I have medication I am doing so much better! Even a couple of things I didn't think had any relation to my thyroid are doing better.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2014 21:33:07 GMT
Well, I'm in the middle of a thyroid diagnosis, and it's laying me very low indeed. About five years ago I developed symptoms that disturbed me but were not totally alarming, and I was diagnosed as hypo and put on Cytomel, which converts T4 to T3 (for anyone who knows what that means). Now my symptoms have returned with a vengeance and I'm on a waiting list to see an endocrinologist. The best guess at this point is that I have some sort of hypothalamus or pituitary disorder (nodules, benign tumour) that throws it all out of whack, but I need imaging for that. I feel exhausted, depressed, 15 lb. weight gain in 2 months with eating less (I freaked out when it started piling on and dropped meals). My fingernails are coming loose from the beds. Hair falling out. Anemia. Anyway, I hope I have some good news in a week or two. I've been started on Synthroid. I just can't go on like this. I certainly can't work.
Thank god for good old Canadian healthcare. Yes, I have to wait to see the specialist, but it's not costing me a cent when I do. My husband is beginning to see the wisdom of our two-country lifestyle, because I certainly couldn't afford to get ill in the US.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 4:56:01 GMT
That really sounds like a lot of things to worry about! It really is a good thing that you have access to complete health care without worrying about financial ruin. I feel so sorry for people who are not only worrying about their health but who also have to worry about how they can possibly pay for treatment. I really know very little about the thyroid. Are those classic symptoms of a deregulation?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 5:15:33 GMT
Yes, if the thyroid is under-regulated, which mine and your mother's apparently are. Hyperthyroid (the opposite) manifests itself in weight loss, palpitations, and many of the same symptoms as hypo.
It's a very common problem in women. Guesses are that 15 - 25 percent of women over the age of forty will develop it at some point. So I guess we have to wonder if it's actually something that needs to be treated, like other hormonal issues. But I sure as hell am not going down without a fight.
Yes, god bless Tommy Douglas, founder of universal healthcare in Canada, grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland. Universal healthcare is not free healthcare, but it is affordable.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 16:16:54 GMT
Good luck with this Lizzy and do keep us posted. I too, am dealing with a similar issue and am in the process of making an appointment with an endocrinologist after I get back from my holiday. My primary care physician has told me I'm being "neurotic" about it which really pissed me off and finally did at my insistence give a referral. When I was in NY visiting family this past winter I found out that all of my mother's 7 sisters had thyroid issues and at a family reunion found out that 15 of my first cousins on my mother's side of the family had some type of thyroid problem!!!!!!!!!!! So, is that neurotic for me to to want to see an endocrinologist? I found out that even though my Th, T3, and T4 levels have been not too out of whack, certain factors such as stress etc. can cause these numbers to fluctuate.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 16:26:35 GMT
Thanks, casi. No, you're not being neurotic. My crazy Iranian doctor is very good in that respect - she listens to me. One day I'll have to write a portrait of her. She just came back to work after 10 days in the hospital (and 14 days off of work) after catching meningitis from a patient and almost dying. So she's only working "5 hours a day, my dear". I point you to this article, casi: www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth/healthcenter/topic_details.php?topic_id=59It's a little heavy on the "We women must reclaim our voice from the patriarchy" rhetoric, but I appreciate the statistics and research behind it.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 16:35:56 GMT
I will read it and thank you Lizzy. I really do like this doctor for the most part and have been with her for approximately 18 years. And, I am neurotic, but, on this particular issue I really had to be more assertive.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2014 14:39:58 GMT
I just received news that one of the 15 first cousins I saw in December passed away yesterday. Not thyroid related but colon cancer gone undetected until it was too late. Age 68, she was one of my idols while growing up. Knock out gorgeous, resembling Kim Novak and Carroll Baker. It brought back a flood of childhood memories. (her sister and I sneaking into her bedroom and playing her 45's and tinkering with her makeup, we were in heaven). Sorry for the ramble. Am just really sad being so far away from her immediate family. Her mother, my mother's sole surviving sibling, age 95 and lucid, living independently. I want so much to be by her side.
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Post by htmb on Jul 1, 2014 15:36:48 GMT
I'm so sorry, Casi. How sad.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2014 16:00:27 GMT
So sorry, casi.
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Post by mich64 on Jul 1, 2014 16:56:23 GMT
Casi I am sorry to read about the loss of your dear cousin.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2014 21:16:10 GMT
Thank you good people.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 2, 2014 23:30:50 GMT
Oh, that is horrible casi.
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Post by amboseli on Jul 15, 2014 7:16:34 GMT
I have hypothyroidism for at least 15 years. It runs in the family. Way back then I started with the lowest dose of L-Thyroxine (25 mµ) and it stayed like that for about 10 years. Then it got worse very quickly and today I'm on 125 mµ. I have an extensive bloodtest twice a year or in between when I feel that it's necessary to have my thyroid values checked. My body tells me that it's worse again even before I get the results of the blood test from my endocrinologist.
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