Marianne, being married to a doctor, I can assure you that they don't get kickbacks for prescribing a certain medication.

The reasons are very complex, I believe. I'm sure I haven't even touched the surface. However, continuing education for doctors is essentially done through Pharmaceuticals, so there is a lot of control in what they "present" as important. Furthermore, thyroid education comes down to medical schools. Doctors are simply regurgitating what they're taught in school. It's the special ones that go out on their own (in some cases risking their license to practice) to learn about how to correctly treat thyroid problems. Schools are very much controlled by the pharmaceuticals. In essence, it's much more lucrative to prescribe 5 different medications for 5 different problems, than 1 medication for a slew of different problems. Yanno?

Anyway, that's my take on it. The antidepressant is always the last resort attempt to get someone out of your office when the doctor doesn't know what's wrong.

Well tomorrow is the big day, I have my forms filled out that they sent me, a list of all my problems, and a "you are going to help me or else" attitude. LOL

I will update you all as I find out the results.
Good luck to those of you whom are also going tomorrow, And thanks for all the advise.

Charlotte

*hops anxiously* How'd it go?

My appt got postponed until Thursday.

But I am feeling SooooOOOOooo much better having raised my dose myself.

OK back from the Dr. He said my thyroid on the right side is definatly enlarged and wants me to get into a dr to have some tests done. He apparently removes thyroids but does not treat them. So I am off and searching for a Dr. That will treat me. So far the ones he refered and the ones on the armore site are not taking new patients. Arg. Wish me luck.

Hope you can find a decent doctor soon.

Dr office just called me back and he wants to start me on synthroid 25 right now. Any info about this drug I need to be aware of??

Yes. Take on an empty stomach about 2-3 hours after eating. Lots of stuff interferes with thyroid absorbtion. Don't take it with other supplements like calcium or fiber.

If you still feel rotten on this, you might ask about switching to natural thyroid.

Thanks Nancy for the tips. Do you know about how long till I should start feeling better.

On T4 alone (i.e. synthroid) it takes 6-8 weeks to feel the full effects. Meds with T3 works a lot quicker.

If you don't feel seriously better and symptom free, you should do the reading that was recommended and get the tests that were recommended and really push to get the proper treatment.

Chardae, you might start to feel good soon, depending on how sensitive you are to the T4 - but on only 25mcgs you wont feel 'good' for long. You'll even start to feel worse when it's time for an increase. So keep an eye out for symptoms getting worse, and keep on the doctor for a dose increase w/in the next few weeks. If you're told you're on 25mcgs for the next 6 weeks you need to find another doctor pronto. 25mcgs if a 'non dose' and won't help you in the long run.

Your best bet with this drug, Chardae, is to disolve it between your cheek and your gum. This way you can eat right away and take your supplements. The key is to always take it the same way and at the same time every day - consistency is key.

Nat

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to update you real quik as to my progress so far. 1st off I ordered the Ft3 Ft4 tests and am waiting for the paper work to take those. I started my meds on Tuesday morning, had to leave to La tuesday night. Got back late last night and when my husband seen me he about died. I look so much better already. The swelling in my face is about half gone. My eye lids are perking back up. The Chocking feeling is way better. Still there but a big relief so far. My voice is way better too, still some crackling here and there but better. The best part is I feel So much better than I did 3 days ago.

I know I am going to need a higher dose. But Man what A difference already. It is so hard to explain to someone who has never felt this way. I do notice that mid afternoon I start Feeling a little sligish though and by late night the chocking feeling is back. I have been recording my basil temp every morning and it has gone up from 97.0-97.2 to 97.3-97.4. So this is good news too.

Going back to the doc. in a week and half will request to add t3 as well as up the t4 dose. I cannot thank you guys enough for the support and information. It has helped me alot and I no longer feel like I am crazy.

Thanks A million.
Charlotte

That's great news! I'm so glad you're feeling better.

Hi Nancy,

I am wondering if I should stop taking the meds over the weekend till I get the tests done Monday? If I take them will it show my true measurments? I need the results to be as true as possible to take to the Dr. so I get on the correct med doses.

I know I will feel awful again but It just may be worth the few days of feeling like crap to be on the proper meds and feel much better in the long run. What do you think?

Well T4 is very long lasting, so not taking it for a day or two won't make a huge difference.

You really need to give T4 a good six weeks for your body to adjust to it, if you're doing the tests to see how your labs look while on medication. The doctor isn't going to be able to look at your lab and say, "Ah ha! You need 90mg of this". It's more of a guessing game. They give you a dose and let you run with it for 6 weeks then they check your blood and make adjustments.

Now if you wanted a baseline test to show what your thyroid is doing on its own, you really have to go without T4 for at least a week or two. That stuff has a half life of 8 days.

I guess I'd stop taking them, although you're still not going to get accurate results due to the fact its so long lasting.

Charlotte, stop taking the meds. You will influence your test results, especially if you're just starting them now. FT4 will be high, any hormones you take in from a pill will be in the form of Free Ts until they are bound to proteins. If your metabollism is slow to being with it will take longer for this to happen. You don't want to mess with the tests - believe me.


Chances are you wont feel that awful, but you're right - it's worth it.

Nat