Thyroid Problems

[MrGiggity]

I was at the doctor Tuesday and he stated that I may have hypothyroidism. I'm going to get an ultrasound done Tuesday to see if there is an issue. He confirmed it wasn't cancer or a cyst, but said my thyroid seemed bigger than last time. Too bad he didn't say the same about my penis.

Anyway, has anybody experienced issues with their thyroid or know anyone who has? I know it is pretty common, just wondering what might lie ahead.

[Ming the Merciless]

My wife is hypothroid..she takes some thyroid supplements...

From what little i know it takes a while (a month or more?) before you get your dose dialed in properly but once you do you should find yourself with a ton more energy and higher metabolism....

I know theres synthetic thyroid and more natural...My wife takes synthetic but has a friend who just goes to a health food place and buys powdered pig thyroid stuff.....

Good luck man!!!

Its no biggie from what I understand....just some pills.

[bevischief]

It takes months to get the drugs right...

[MrGiggity]

Shit. Was hoping it would kick in sooner than later. I find myself struggling to lose weight despite eating healthier and going to the gym. Also struggle to motivate myself to do much of anything, aside from work. I hear fatigue is a common symptom.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by MrGiggity

Shit. Was hoping it would kick in sooner than later. I find myself struggling to lose weight despite eating healthier and going to the gym. Also struggle to motivate myself to do much of anything, aside from work. I hear fatigue is a common symptom.

You will feel improvement sooner I would think....its just a matter of dialing it in exactly. Just the matter of you taking this step and doing something about it is awesome. Even if they end up having to increase you a couple times to kinda work your way up to the perfect dose....you're making progress and feeling better along the way.

Good for you for handling this shit like a bawss.

[MrGiggity]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

You will feel improvement sooner I would think....its just a matter of dialing it in exactly. Just the matter of you taking this step and doing something about it is awesome. Even if they end up having to increase you a couple times to kinda work your way up to the perfect dose....you're making progress and feeling better along the way.

Good for you for handling this shit like a bawss.

Appreciate the good vibes and the music video as well.

[threebag]

Good work Pawn, you should just stick to these threads and steer clear of the football ones.





Good Luck Giggity

[underEJ]

It is different for everyone, but it can be months. It took me almost 11 months to feel good. I experienced many side effects with each change in the med. I had declined to medicate for years because of the side effects, just accepting that I would carry some extra weight, but they didn't really tell me what else was at risk, like my vanity was the best hope to get me to be willing to be on medication for the rest of my life (a really daunting thing for me.) I waited too long, and had a sudden and pretty shocking thing happen to my left eye called kaleidoscope eye where my vision broke up into little pieces. No one had ever told me my eyes were at risk! I work as an artist so it took about 5 seconds from that point to agree to the medication.

I do feel better now in general, but I still experience moderate side effects pretty regularly. Fits of sweating mostly, but sometimes hives or some racing of my heart. I have alot more energy now. Hope you get the winner quickly!

[Hydrae]

I take 88 mcg of Levothyroxin every morning for my thyroid. If I miss a couple of days I don't really notice the drop off in energy but man, when I start back up I am amped for the next day or two. Just try not to miss days!

I have had the same dosage from the beginning about 7 years ago. Have to do a checkup every 6 months with a blood draw to ensure that there is no need to change the dosage. Last year they finally decided that since it has not changed in so long that I can just do this during the annual physical.

Not a big deal. You will need to take you pills before eating in the morning and not take some things like multi-vitamins or antacids for 4 hours afterwards. This leads me to trying to remember my vitamin at night which seems to get missed a lot of the time. Thankfully it is the only recurring medicine that I take. But I also know I will be taking it for the rest of my life.

Oh, and the co-pay for the synthetic at least is nice and low. The highest I have paid is $15 a month and am now paying $10 (change of insurance carrier). Can be cheaper if you get 90 days worth through the mail.

[Frosty]

I take 75 mcg of Levothyroxin every day. I was diagnosed about a year and half ago. I haven't really noticed a change in the fatigue level and losing weight is still damn hard but the doctor doesn't want to change the dose because the test numbers normalized.

Also, ask about getting tested for thyroid antibodies to see if you have Hashimoto's. That's an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. The treatment can be a little different.

[tx4chiefs]

My wife has had it for years, but she keeps refusing medication and everything seems ok.

[DJJasonp]

I just was diagnosed a couple months ago. Was extremely fatigued, lost about 15 pounds in 2 weeks. Felt constantly dehydrated (though I drank a ton of water and Gatorade).

Once I was diagnosed, I quit caffeine cold turkey. I'm on a low dosage for this first go around. But it took about 6-7 weeks before I got my energy back (though still not what it was before, but that's probably due to being too tired to work out)

It gets better incrementally each day

[bevischief]

Everyone is different but the drugs do take time.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Levothyroxine is the most prescribed drug in the US. You will have your levels continually checked every 6-8 weeks for several months as they start the dose out very low and then slowly increase it to find the proper therapeutic range. As it has a narrow therapeutic index, you need to increase the dosage very slowly, and unlike many other drugs, generics are not bioequivalent to one another, so your doctor will not switch manufacturers for you.

Best of luck with your treatment.