# Lowered BMR and Hypothyroid Again...



## Prolixity2013 (Nov 8, 2013)

I haven't been on here in a while.

For a short time I felt better on my new dose of 175 mcg of Synthroid. Then my endo jumped the gun when he saw my TSH was 0.43 (R: 0.4 to 5.00) and lowered my dose down to 162 mcg of Synthroid. He thought I might get heart palpitations. I felt good at that dose and was losing weight due to eating right and exercising. I dropped 15 pounds.

Six months after my endo lowered my dose he tested my Basal Metabolic Rate in a lab. It was 1800 and should be 2378. This solidified something I've been telling my endo for years, I'm not eating enough food. I think he thought I was lying to him. But the lowered BMR proved I haven't eaten enough food for a long time and that my thyroid dose was too low.

So my endo gave me LT3. He recommended a half of tab (12.5 mcg) daily. I couldn't even take one quarter of a tab daily. I had to take it every other day or have heart palpitations. LT3 has always given me heart palpitations. It could be my weight or just that I'm sensitive to it.

Within a couple of months, my thyroid took another nose dive and my TSH increased to 2.88. I gained 12 more pounds! Yikes! This was on top of the 15 pounds I gained back after he lowered my dose from 175 to 162 mcg. And my endo scolded me for gaining the weight. He didn't know the test result yet. But I'm certain he now feels like a heel because of the way he treated me during my last appointment.

By the time I actually got my test results back, I couldn't stop sleeping all the time and was ice cold. I turned up the heat to 75 degrees F, and I wore gloves and covered myself in a blanket just to stay warm. Still I had the shaking chills, and it worsened any time I drank water no matter the temperature. The glass of water could be sitting at room temperature and I'd get the shaking chills. Even warmed food made me cold because of the energy it took to digest it.

Finally, the shaking chills have subsided for the most part, but I've got that not-so-wonderful bloated abdomen that I got once before. It was when my hypothyroidism was so bad I was close to dying. A doctor told me I had about three weeks to live because of myxedema. My body temperature was 95.8 degrees F. [A former doctor told me to throw away my broken thermometer. I got another one and it said the same thing. Boy was that doctor a real dummy.]

This time my temperature has stayed between 97 and 97.6 (The higher range achieved after exercise or eating something warm). The huge bloat continues and I'm not able to eat or drink much at a time. And certain foods give me gas which didn't before. Lovely.  Probably because there isn't much room.

The thing which disturbs me the most about all of this: My endo wants me to eat *under* my BMR and exercise on top of that. That's what got me to my decreased BMR in the first place. Well, that and never enough thyroid replacement for long enough. He accused me of refusing to listen to his suggestions. I fought them because they didn't sound right to me. Yikes again!

I've read about BMR, exercise, and calorie deficit and my endo's equation doesn't add up. His solution will actually cause my BMR to lower further.

Not only that, how is one supposed do that when they sleep so much, have myxedema, and can't eat enough meals in a day? 

My guess is I'm going to have to wait until the myxedema goes away before I can eat normal.

I'm angry and frustrated with my endo, especially for his unfair accusations.

The solution to find another doctor... they're aren't any other endos who I haven't seen. The other one almost killed me with an overdose, 200 mcg, and refused to lower it. 

I've got an appointment with a D.O. this week and I'm hoping he can help. Maybe he wouldn't have his head stuck somewhere it shouldn't be. :winking0014:

I just found this definition of myxedema on the Free Dictionary website:

Myxedema

A condition that can result from a thyroid gland that produces too little of its hormone.

*In **addition to a decreased metabolic **rate*, symptoms may include anemia,

slow speech,

an enlarged tongue,

puffiness of the face and hands,

loss of hair,

coarse and thickened skin, and

sensitivity to cold.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Understanding the Thyroid: Why You Should Check Your Free T3
http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-thyroid-why-you-should-check-your-free-t3
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Dr. Mercola (FREES)
http://www.mercola.com/article/hypothyroid/diagnosis_comp.htm
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.

Your T3 is in the basement which means your FREE T3 is really in the basement.

You are on a rollercoaster ride because your doctor is treating you based on your TSH. This is way wrong.Your meds should be adjusted and titrated accordingly based on the results of your FREE T3 test every 8 weeks until you feel great. This takes some patience and some time.

Please read the enclosed above.

As you already know; you are in very bad place and internal organs can be damaged.

Why don't you find a Naturopathic doctor or a D.O.?? I think you would fare much better. I feel badly for you as this has been going on for a long time.

And by the by; have you ever had an ultra-sound of your thyroid?

Sending you hugs,


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## Prolixity2013 (Nov 8, 2013)

Hi Andros,

Thank you for the reply and information.

I'm seeing a D.O. on this Friday. I hope I can actually go there as I feel so terrible.

At one time, I saw a naturopathic doctor. He wasn't covered by my insurance though. The D.O. is.

I had an ultrasound done on my thyroid back 2008/9. It was negative.


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