Sunday, April 29, 2012

hashimoto's disease

i think i've figured out that i need to get plenty of selenium in order to avoid the heart palps, etc during these increased thyroid hormone production times. when i take Fatigued to Fantastic, no heart palps and good sleep. when i don't, and god forbid i eat out, nightmare day.

nightmare days mean i can't write or exercise like i want to. i can't sleep well or want to sleep all the time.

i'm on 88 mcg of tirosint now and i think i am tolerating it okay. my last blood tests showed my THS at 2.5, which is great... down from 3.8. no signs of hyperthyroidism. just the iodine-hashimoto's caused hyper-like symptoms. i'm aiming for my ths to be between 1 and 2.

it has been an extremely frustrating time and the internet has a lot of bad information on it. one thing i've learned is: my thyroid is in its final throes and it is making life a little rough. sometimes it sputters into action and then i get a little too much thyroid hormone (because of the natural thyroid production and my daily synthetic)... and sometimes i feel like i'm not getting enough.

i've lost 8 of the 40 pounds i gained while begging my doctors to check my thyroid. it isn't melting off (8lbs in 3 months)... and sometimes i gain some pounds back for some reason. i cut out gluten and most dairy products and that has helped, too.

the tricky thing about being on medication has been knowing what GOOD and even GREAT feels like again and constantly having the feeling ripped away because of a sputtering thyroid or a heavy dose of iodine (because of eating at restaurants usually)... i still hope to feel 100% myself again one day but i'm definitely frustrated with the process.

4 comments:

Nada Gordon: 2 ludic 4 U said...

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this, Kate. I have thyroid issues, too, and understand how awful it is. Wishing you healing and equilibrium.

kathryn l. pringle said...

hey nada, thanks.

if you have any tips, let me know!

equilibrium would be amazing.

Nada Gordon: 2 ludic 4 U said...

Well, I'm basically hypothyroid, so I'm dealing with a different set of meds/issues. But because my thyroid levels fluctuate, I often have periods where I am overmedicated, and I get the palpitations, the nuttiness, the anxiety, and so on. Helpful supplements in between thyroid checks (they are costly, since my doctor uses the TRH test) are: 5htp, rhodiola, l-theanine with GABA. I also take high doses of vitamin D and vitamin B1, as well as a fat-soluble vitamin C, on my doc's advice. Hashimoto's though, is a whole 'nother ballgame. All I can say is that I have some inkling of how you feel. Isn't it weird that a little gland has so much control over us?

kathryn l. pringle said...

ah... i'm on a high dose of Vitamin D and extra calcium... i'll have to check some of that other stuff out... thanks.

it is really crazy. even crazier, maybe, was how hard it was to get diagnosed... you know?

erika and i are convinced it is all a plot against the middle-aged woman. NOBODY believed me. until i got to an endocrinologist... NOBODY believed me.

this little gland runs EVERYTHING. it is amazing.

i'm not hypo right now but, you know how this goes.