New to the board with Hashimotos.

[KathieN]

Hi all. I just found this forum today and I'm grateful to find somewhere to discuss thyroid issues.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease around Thanksgiving 2006. I'm on 88mcg of Synthroid and still very much symptomatic. I've gained about 72 pounds in the last 4 years. I am fighting like a crazy woman to get this weight off. I eat a low carb, low calorie, organic diet and take multi-vitamin supplements.
I exercise daily for at least an hour and wear a heart rate monitor so that I stay in my target fat burning zone. Speaking of which I had metabolic testing done so that I would know what my target fat burning zone is. I also get acupuncture done once a week. With all that, I've lost only 7 pounds. I am miserable and I'm miserable to be around.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I eat well, I exercise and I'm not getting any results. Can someone please help me? My endocrinologist has never mentioned Armour...has anyone with a story similar to mine had any success with it? If your story is similar to mine, what dose of Synthroid are you on?

I'm past the point of desperation and I'm becoming more and more distant from my friends because I'm so embarassed of my weight. Hell, I would be willing to put up with all the symptoms if I was able to get some weight off. I want my old self back. :help:

[popeye_w]

what is your tsh level?

Some docs still follow the thinking that less than 5 is ok, but more current thought is that you need it to be less than 3.

Good luck - I now how awful uncontrolled Hypothyroidism can be... a pharmacist misfilled a prescription for me and I was just getting worse and worse. I really felt like I was 60 years old. (and I was only 35!!!)

[KathieN]

My TSH was orginally 5.3 I'm not sure what it is now.

I woke up this morning and feel like hell.

[popeye_w]

My TSH was orginally 5.3 I'm not sure what it is now.

I woke up this morning and feel like hell.

oh, I'm sorry you're not feeling well... when you've been hypothyroid for a while, it can take a long time to feel better because the damage has been done at a cellular level... and it takes a while to get that all regenerated.

{{hugs}}

[evenik]

I have hashimoto's.
I was on synthroid before. I have a new name for that drug - Syncrap! Turned out I was not converting T4 into T3, so despite normal TSH and T4 I stll had a bunch of hypo symptoms.
I am on Armour now, my doc doses it by SYMPTOMS (first criteria) and only after that by free T3 and free T4 levels (you are supposed to be in the upper third of a range). TSH is useless, if your doc is prescribing Syntroid and doses by TSH only you are most likely undertreated, hence the symptoms. You need to find another doctor.

[evenik]

By the way, if your antibodies level is very high, other thyroid tests (T3, T4, TSH) are UNRELIABLE. In that case you should dose by your symptoms.

[KathieN]

Thanks Popeye. I'm tired of waiting for relief though. I think I need to be more assertive with my doctor.

Eve: Thank you very much for the Armour information. I'm making an appt. with my doctor to discuss it. I'm tired and I'm tired of being tired. My friends, family, etc...just don't understand how it feels each and every day. I want to be better and I'm tired of waiting. If there are additional treatments out there, I want to try them. 4months of Synthroid have changed nothing.

[nawchem]

I wouldn't expect wt loss until your other thyroid symptoms start to ease up, obviously your hormone levels aren't at the right place for you now. I got a to a point that I couldn't stand to be on a diet all the time after going so long without losing wt. You'll be surprised how much more free you can be with food once your body gets what it needs.

I have taken natural thyroid all along and added in a bit of synthroid to get my T4 levels up. You have to be careful to take the same manufacturers drug with dessicated thryoid. There are differences between manufacturers. My dr did a study with Armour and Naturethroid and most of his patients including me, preferred Naturethroid.

I suggest going to Mary Shommons thyroid website, she has a drs list by state, made by patient recommendations. Perhaps you'll a dr better able to help your case.

[twoeyes]

So this topic has not been talked about in a while... How is the thyroid or Hashi's doing?

I was DX with hashimoto last year but my general practice just said I was Hypothyroid with a THS of 21. mind you! and to take these drugs and all will be good... things got so out of control that I went to a specialist and he took the TSH levels and my anti-body count and was positively Hashimoto. So here I sit waiting for my new non-generic to work... My nails are starting to grow again... so maybe there is hope for weight loss!!!!