This post might or might not be something you're interested in. Not much to do with exercise or fitness, it's mostly Boring Medical Stuff. Well, not boring to me, because it makes a big difference in the quality of my life. But probably dull for other people to read -- unless you're going through the same thing.
Trudi's comment in the last post made me think. In case anyone else lands in a similar situation, I thought I should post my experience with thyroid medication & doctors. I did Google about this problem when I first encountered it, with no luck.
Note: If you've got a thyroid problem, you'll already know this, but if you're reading this out of curiosity, a quick explanation: the
TSH test is the main criterion that all doctors use to judge what shape your thyroid is in. (Good doctors use a few more criteria, but the TSH is the biggie.) The TSH value should be between 1 and 3. (Used to be 1-5, which I liked much better.) A TSH value lower than 1 indicates a hyperthyroid condition, a TSH above 3 indicated you're hypothyroid. To correct a hypothyroid condition, a doctor will usually prescribe the hormone T4 or a mixture of the two hormones
T4 and
T3.
The story:
10 years ago - diagnosed a thyroid problem, started taking LevoxylMy TSH was at 4, which was considered normal for those days. However, I also tested positive for anti-thyroid antibodies, which landed me with a diagnosis of
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. This auto-immune disorder is fairly common in North America. Basically ever so often my immune system gets honked off and attacks my thyroid. Each flare-up damages my thyroid more and more. Eventually it won't be able to function well enough for me to get by without medication. (You need your thyroid to keep your metabolism functioning normally.)
The doctor put me on a brand-name version (Levoxyl) of
synthetic thyroid hormone (T4). I didn't notice any difference one way or another, but my TSH went down to a level that made the doctor happy. (I was disappointed with my body's lack of a reaction. I thought I'd get tons of energy and drop ten pounds.) After a couple years, I stopped taking the thyroid medication (synthetic T4). I wasn't comfortable with the idea of taking a hormone that my body was still fairly well capable of producing on its own.
Stopped taking the Levoxyl, noticed no change in energy levels or anything else.
Two years ago - started taking generic T4After putting it off for years, finally went into a doctor's office for a checkup. (New doctor, since I'd moved out of state.) My TSH had crept up to 4.8, so I was prescribed thyroid medication again -- this time the generic version of the synthetic hormone.
Things got bad.This is where the story gets interesting. Within three weeks, I was experiencing extreme hypothyroid symptoms. The doctor's assistant said that this did not make sense, since this is the exact opposite of what's supposed to happen. Within six weeks I was in such a fog that I couldn't concentrate enough to drive my car. I was sleeping 12 hours a night and was always exhausted. All I did was walk the dog, work, or sleep. The thought of going out at night or on the weekends was laughable. At work I'd spend hours trying to concentrate on the simplest of tasks. I would drink five or six cups of coffee a day trying to keep awake. (Before starting this medication I rarely drank even strong black tea. Never touched coffee.) After ten weeks of being told to "be patient" I finally went to another doctor. This time I chose a naturopath, who had been recommended as someone to go to when regular doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. She immediately put me on
Armour, the natural version of the thyroid medication (T4 and T3).
Started taking Armour (natural T4)I spent two more hellish weeks. By this time I'd even lost my appetite. I lost ten pounds in those two weeks, but almost exactly twelve days after starting the medication, quite suddenly, 90% of the symptoms I was experiencing cleared up. (It took about six weeks for the rest to go away.) When taking Armour, my TSH was 2 -- just where it was supposed to be.
This year - synthetic biocompound T4/Ts medicationIn January, tired of arguing with the insurance company over my seeing a naturopath, I finally went to another M.D. This guy pointed out that Armour is a mixture of T4 and T3, but because it's derived from pigs the ratio of T4/T3 is perfectly proportioned for a pig (4:1). Seemed logical, so I agreed to switch to a synthetic compound of T4 and T3 in a ratio proportional to normal human physiology (14:1) [
*].
Well, it was logical on paper.
Within six weeks, my TSH shot up from 2 to 22. It was the same story over again, except that I didn't have the 'brain fog' symptom. I could concentrate on my work and I could drive my car. But my hair was falling out in huge clumps, my fingernails broke if I turned a page while reading, and most alarming of all I gained over 15 pounds all around my waist and hips. I don't usually notice if I gain or lose a few pounds, but this was dramatic and so obvious even I noticed it. After 15 pounds of gain, I stopped weighing in. It was too depressing.
The doctor said I must have eaten something with soy in it that skewed the test results.
After six months and several tweaks to the T4/T3 ratio, I decided I had been patient and understanding enough. All the tweaking in the world couldn't get my TSH below six on this medication; I was better off not taking anything. Rather than prescribe Armour, the doctor agreed I should wean myself off of this stuff. (He clearly thought it a bad idea, but at least he did say "Well, it's your body.")
So every two weeks I cut the dosage down, 75%, 50%, 25%. Tomorrow will mark the full two weeks that I've been completely off the medication. In general I've felt pretty good. I've had some days where I felt horrible, needed coffee just to survive, but for the most part I seem to be thriving. Without increasing my exercise level, the weight started dropping off. This was encouraging, so I increased my exercise. I have lost over ten pounds in just under six weeks.
To keep my energy level up, I'm introducing a crack-of-dawn exercise session in the hopes that I can completely get off of my dependence of black tea to get me going in the morning.
I realize many people who have thyroid issues probably could not stop taking the medication. Eventually I might have to go back on it again. But what I want to do right now is to monitor the TSH levels and see what I can do in other ways to improve my health. Thyroid issues are connected in so many ways to other organs and hormones in the body: adrenals, liver, levels of estrogen/progesterone, etc. I'm going to concentrate on improving these other areas, and see how that affects my energy level.
Just my two cents' worth, your mileage may vary.
Some links on generic thyroid medication:
