# Feel bad again...woe is me!



## JenneyCat (Aug 11, 2013)

I know it's been asked a thousand times and I've even mentally prepared for it from all I've read, but then I started to see a light at the end of the tunnel and felt like I could handle it, it's so cruel to then go into a backslide.

I'm now on week 9 of 50mcg Eltroxin. Weeks 4-6 I started to feel about 25% better and then weeks 6-8 about 50% on a good day...until this past weekend when I started slipping backwards and feeling the improvement in symptoms start to go away.

I'm just in need of reassurance. I know 50mcg is nothing, rationally I think that I've seen what 50mcg will do for me and now my body is crying out for more. Just had my blood drawn this morning and will see Endo in a week for results + results of ultrasound.

So let me hear it...it's pretty classic to see an improvement and then slip back when it was time for an increase?

Thanks for all your support.:hugs:


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## sjmjuly (Mar 23, 2012)

I can tell you that in the begining of the disease, (at least for me) was the hardest part. Getting used to and educating yourself about what's happening in your body is tough. It takes time, patience and changes in your diet, meds, doses etc before you see improvement. I can say that it does get better. You will have your good days and bad days, but eventually the better days will come more often. It's a slow process but you WILL feel better. I was diagnosed in 2011 but felt like crap in 2010. I finally feel really good now and feel like I have my life back. I am stable on Naturethroid and doing well. Hang in there - it is common to feel good and then take a step back. It was like that for me for over a year. 
The trick is getting the right medication (for you) and the right dose. That was hard for me. I would start slowly, increase and then go hyper and have to start all over again. I quit taking Naturethroid and started on Synthroid only to find out it gave me horrible headaches and I had to switch back to Naturethroid. As I made changes in my diet (gluten free now) and started on vitamins, I found I didn't need as much medication and lowered my dose. I take 1/2 grain of Naturethroid now and have stablized at this dose. 
Wait and see what your labs say and get your ultrasound results. The biggest thing is: HOW DO YOU FEEL?????? I am a weird one and my Free T3 is always very low range, but I feel great. If I try and medicate to get my T3 value up, I go WAY hyper. 
TSH should be between 1 & 2.5, but TSH really isn't the best way to value what's going on.


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## JenneyCat (Aug 11, 2013)

I really appreciate your support! It is so reassuring to me to hear your tale and to hear that you have your life back. 1/2 grain is such a small dose though, isn't it? I guess you really reduced your need for meds with your lifestyle changes! Or are you someone who had to start at like 1/4 grains, etc?


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## JenneyCat (Aug 11, 2013)

just to reply about how I'm feeling...I know that is the all important thing.

I just look at my labs and want them to explain why I'm feeling the way I do. All I know is that my TSH was 2.11 (0.27 - 4.20) 2 weeks ago and I haven't had my Free T4 tested since July when it was 17 (12-22) which is 50% of the range and supposedly where it's supposed to be to feel good. I've never had Free T3 until today, so I'll know my new TSH, FT4 AND FT3 next week.

I think to myself, if my TSH is near 2, my FT4 at 50% of the range, then maybe it's my FT3 is low and that's why I feel the way I do! Then someone like you comes along and says you feel great with a low FT3...oy vey this tricky thryoid!!


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## sjmjuly (Mar 23, 2012)

And we are all so different. I had to start at 1/4 of a grain and work my way up and then back down again because I went hyper.


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## JenneyCat (Aug 11, 2013)

I know it so true, we are all different!! The main thing is, you finally found what works for you and your story inspires me that I will too


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## surge (Aug 15, 2012)

I echo sjmjuly about looking at absorption and eating. I avoid gluten but took 6 weeks to eat a ton of pasta (I got really into this cilantro pesto recipe and hey, it was summer and there was a lot of fresh pesto), drank beer, ate pizza, all that stuff and my tsh went from 2 to 9 in 5 weeks. Ha. I always thought the gluten might affect it, so I avoided it, but now I'm done for good. It's kind of nice to see the direct correlate. Makes the decision easier. and gf crepes are as good as regular. gf pizza crust, not so much.

This might not be so helpful, but I just wanted to say that it's a systemic issue when you have the AI variant and that means it's harder to medicate (sometimes the numbers don't match how you're feeling) and it's also harder to figure out what other kinds of support you can offer your body to calm it down and let the medicine absorb and begin to consistently work. Keep a journal. It's good to be able to track for yourself and your docs and try small adjustments in lifestyle, beginning with diet and regular walks, just to ease some of the stress of feeling like crap-- which IS stressful.


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## JenneyCat (Aug 11, 2013)

Thank you surge!

Before I started feeling bad, I was in the best shape of my life. I had been gluten free for a year, worked out 6 days a week, had tons of energy, took a lot of supplements and vitamins, got great sleep, etc. I had lost 70 pounds and just thought life was gonna keep getting better  Well now of course I still think it will, but I don't say this because I'm missing my old life (I do, of course, I very much miss the gym) but more that I feel *lucky* I had already taken these steps because it's not really a lifestyle change for me, you know what I mean?

I'm also kind of a visual/numbers person so I keep a spreadsheet everyday of what time I took my medication, what time I went to bed, woke up, and a column for alllll my symptoms and to what severity I had them that day. I'm trying to see any trends  Today somehow I actually don't feel as bad as the last few days...I guess sjmjuly is right about having good and bad days, sometimes you feel good and think woo it's going to be this level of good now until it gets even better, and then sometimes you feel bad and think your feeling good is over - rollercoaster! I'm trying to take each day as it comes and keep perspective - 4-5 weeks ago I was having NO good days...now I'm having some 

BTW that cilantro pesto sounds YUM!


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## Splash0306 (Aug 14, 2013)

I thought I was on an upswing for the past month and this last week I feel like I am back to square one. I have been pushing myself to walk 2-3 miles daily since April. Before school started I had energy to push myself a little more. Now, I can barely hit the 2 mile mark and feel like a cripple afterwards. What's with that?


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