# How can I get my doctor to help me?



## BlindMag (May 17, 2013)

I have an appointment with my endo coming up and I'm sort of at a loss as to what I can do.

The Story So Far: I've had hashi's for years. I was on armour, and a few months ago, I started feeling pretty crappy so doc sent me to an endo suspecting it was cortisol related. Endo gave me a single blood test for cortisol and said I didn't have adrenal issues, and that stress was causing the fatigue. He switched me from Armour to Synthroid because Armour is unreliable, and was probably the cause of my issues. A week after I started taking it, I got crippling joint pain in my fingers and toes, up to my knees. I called, and they did a quick blood test and said my numbers were fine, but I should take vitamin D since my levels were low. I told them I already take vitamin D, so they told me not to worry about it and that I was fine. :/ They said joint pain can't be thyroid related, so to call my regular doctor, and that they'd see me to check up on how the Synthroid is working.

So fast forward to now, which is a month later - they wouldn't give me my numbers so I'll make sure to get them at my appointment. I genuinely just don't know what to ask, aside from "What now?". The joint pain is now a daily annoyance, making it difficult to go up stairs, and on top of that, my hair is falling out in clumps now. My outer eyebrows disappeared, and my nails are all gross and flaking off. On top of that, now at night when I lie down, my heart feels like it's rattling out of my chest and I have daily panic attacks. (I had panic attacks in college, but they were triggered by stress - these seems to come out of nowhere for something as stupid as my normal lunch place being closed)

So...yeah. What now? Is there anything else I can try? I feel like this appointment is basically just to confirm that yup, my life sucks, and I'm going to feel horrible for the rest of my life. 

Maggie


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## StormFinch (Nov 16, 2012)

Well for starters, the endo took you off Armour. It is my belief that some endos are programmed to say that Armour is undependable by all the swag they receive from the drug reps at Abbott. (Synthroid's maker) No one has ever proven that Armour is undependable, or any of the other half a dozen myths that have circulated about it. They have proven however that T4 only is not necessarily an optimum treatment plan.

If you were doing fine short of the fatigue on Armour and started having classic hypo symptoms on the Synthroid, then I'd say either your undermedicated now or you need to re-add T3, either via a synthetic like Cytomel or by being put back on the Armour. I personally have a lot of anxiety when I'm undermedicated and don't have enough T3 on board. If your D was low despite taking a supplement, then you either need to up your dose or get a script for a mega dose from your doctor, depending on how low it was, and that was probably the root of your fatigue in the first place. The minimum dose of D3 someone with a deficiency should take is 1000 IUs a day. We thyroid patients typically have problems with our D as well as our ferritin, each of which can cause a host of symptoms that mimic those of an out of balance thyroid, including exhaustion and fatigue.

Just my honest opinion, but if it were me I'd be dropping the endo and going back to my first doctor to ask for my old Armour script back, then have him or her run my D again along with a ferritin test.


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## Ana78 (Aug 8, 2013)

Levo gave me a lot of symptoms symilar to yours. I tried it twice but i couldnt continue with it. Armour is not perfect but at least doesnt nearly kill me. The eyebrows falling, fatigue, nail probl, all could be caused by low thyroid but also by low ferritin, low iron, vit D deficiency, etc. Also, I had low cholesterol and couldnt stand up.


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## Ana78 (Aug 8, 2013)

Ask for complete metabolic panel (CMP), ferritin, free T3, T4.


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Add an RA factor test and ESR and CRP [to see about inflammation].

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

While you're at it, toss in a TPO Antibodies, Thryoglobulin Antibodies, Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin, 24-hour Cortisol urine or saliva test, Celiac disease, Gluten sensitivity (not the same), Vitamin B-12, and ANA test, too. (Unless some of those have already been done.)

For example, I have a nasty gluten sensitivity. Lo and behold, Synthroid likely contains gluten. When I recently tried Synthroid again, my joint pain flared up big time. Discontinued Synthroid in lieu of just Nature-Throid, and the joint pain pretty much 95% vanished within days. So sometimes it's a related issue, or something tied in closely to thyroid.


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## BlindMag (May 17, 2013)

I should have mentioned earlier - I've been tested for RA many times, and nothing ever comes up, and the same with iron. My ferritin levels have always been on the high side. I'm negative for celiac and gluten sensitivity. (and lyme disease, EBV, toxoplasma gondii, and any other viral infection possible)

My appointment went better than I expected. My labwork is surprising - even after 4 weeks on Synthroid my T3 is still high. Here are my current numbers:

TSH 0.527 (.45-4.5 range)
T4, Free 1.51 (.82 - 1.77 range)
T3 Free 184 (71-180 range)
TPO Ab 12 (0-34 range)
Vitamin D 29.8 (30.0-100.0 range)

We talked about my symptoms, and he said if I wanted I could try switching back to Armour, but first he wants to try a megadose of Vitamin D - 50,000 ui once a week for 6 weeks, since I'm still low while on 2,000 ui a day. I've never tried that before, so it's worth a shot! My next labs will be to check my vitamin D, along with a full metabolic panel and an FSH and LH panel to rule out any weird hormone issues. He said it was good that my antibodies were at 12, and that it probably means I'm not having autoimmune responses to the Synthroid. Yay?

So, I'm going to try the vitamin D, and in the meantime I might try an elimination diet to see if maybe cutting out dairy or gluten will help.


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## Keba (Aug 11, 2012)

I find it interesting that your Doctor said Hashi's won't cause sore joints because my Endo said the opposite. 
I think a mega dose of Vit-D is wise, or should I say I hope it's wise because that's what my Endo is trying on me. Vit-D and Iron.


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