The THYROID Thread

[luvmarypoppins]

Interesting article Christine. Hmm, they said more possibility of kidney, bladder and gyn cancers?? I thought mine told me leukemia???

Well I am back from the vascular surgeon and the clot is gone, PTL!! I only saw the np and not the surgeon. But there seemed to be a little miscommunication or I didnt quite understand her the last time. She asked me what the hematologist said and I told her I didnt go to one yet because you said there was no hurry etc. She said, um no you were suppose to see one before you came back here.

So now I still have to take the blood thinner until I see the hematologist and he does blood tests and then he will decide what the problem is and if I still have to be on them. I dont like the side effects from this med at all, especially the bladder/kidney stuff at times. Now that I read that stuff about the thyroid stuff, it got my even more worried.

So now next Friday I am gong to see a hematologist. They told me to just take anyone which I did, but I looked this guy up. I dont know if I could get along with him on a regular basis. It says his specialties are thoracic and gastro tumors along with lymphoma. So we shall see. Since I am already anticipating all the blood tests I will book that ahead at the lab so I can get it done the next day (Sat.). So now we will see what is the cause of the great blood clot mystery.

Another day, another ologist. I am getting weary of this.

 

[Christine]

Interesting article Christine. Hmm, they said more possibility of kidney, bladder and gyn cancers?? I thought mine told me leukemia???

Well I am back from the vascular surgeon and the clot is gone, PTL!! I only saw the np and not the surgeon. But there seemed to be a little miscommunication or I didnt quite understand her the last time. She asked me what the hematologist said and I told her I didnt go to one yet because you said there was no hurry etc. She said, um no you were suppose to see one before you came back here.

So now I still have to take the blood thinner until I see the hematologist and he does blood tests and then he will decide what the problem is and if I still have to be on them. I dont like the side effects from this med at all, especially the bladder/kidney stuff at times. Now that I read that stuff about the thyroid stuff, it got my even more worried.

So now next Friday I am gong to see a hematologist. They told me to just take anyone which I did, but I looked this guy up. I dont know if I could get along with him on a regular basis. It says his specialties are thoracic and gastro tumors along with lymphoma. So we shall see. Since I am already anticipating all the blood tests I will book that ahead at the lab so I can get it done the next day (Sat.). So now we will see what is the cause of the great blood clot mystery.

Another day, another ologist. I am getting weary of this.

You are certainly a trooper! All those visits would have be undone...I'm fretting about getting another lab draw (maybe tomorrow). No reason for it. It's all psychological. When I don't have any doctor's appointments, I feel incredibly upbeat and healthy. When I have to do my usual endo visits, it puts me back in the mindset of cancer and I feel like an ill person. I'm just weird that way.

Anyway, I need to get my TSH done after being on the lower dose of Synthroid for 6 weeks. I feel okay but I have noticed that I easily picked up a few pounds. But to be very honest, I didn't exercise most of the summer and, with my son home, we've been hitting Chipotle a lot, getting peach milkshakes at Chick Fil A. I didn't expect the rapid weight gain so I feel like *some* of it may be due to the med change, but we shall see. I may try to do it tomorrow on my way home from work.

 

[Christine]

Had some labs done on my way home from work Friday. Can't wait to see what they are. He ordered a TSH, Free T4, chem panel, and thyroglobulin. I've been on my lower dose now for about 5 weeks. I have to say, my hot flashes are minimal and I am sleeping better than I have in years. I'm almost betting that my TSH comes back hypothyroid to some degree, but who knows! I am still having minor hot flashes which is probably normal to some degree for my age and the fact that I'm doing menopause now, but they are definitely management and not waking me up all night. They were SOOOO bad before.

 

[Christine]

Finally got my lab results back. The change in dosage caused my TSH to go from 0.2 to 0.5 and my Free T4 went from 1.7 to 1.4. My doctor is okay with these results and I'm pretty happy because the dosage change took care of 90% of my "hot flash" issues. Whew...that was awful. I'm glad this worked because I was really dreading the possibility of having to figure out some HRT options.

My Tg was undetectable and my blood sugar, calcium levels, etc were all pretty good.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Christine - I am glad the dosage change is helping with the hot flashes because they are the worst for sure. Its good you feel good at 0.5. I wish my endo would let me be anything more than 0.0.

Hoping this helps you to continue to feel like yourself.

That peach milkshake sounds yum! They are opening up a new chick fil a around here soon. I think its the first one around here.

Well I am back from the hematologist. 4 blood vials. Seeing a med tech and answering questions. Seeing the nurse practicioner. Her eyes just about flew out of her head when I told her my original one thyroid tumor\ was 12.5 cen. Then I said the other one was 4 cent., lol. Met the dr. He seems ok. A ltte hard to understand so Ihave to listen well but he is

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I had trouble with my posts poofing before. But the dr. was ok. Dh didnt care for him either. They are doing all these genetic clotting tests that take 2 weeks, so they took another 4 vials of blood, so 8 total!! Gheesh!!

He said I still have to be on the blood thinner until these tests come back. If they are ok, I can stop the blood thinner and take a daily baby aspirin. If the tests come back bad ten I will have to be on the blood thinner fore the rest of my life, sigh. I have to go see him again in 2 weeks. Hopefully that will be the last of him.

 

[Christine]

Hope that all works out for you and you get off the blood thinner, but if not, at least you'll have an answer.

Sadly, the peach milkshakes are gone for the season. You'll have to wait until next summer to try one, but they are very good! I don't usually get milkshakes ANY OTHER time of year from Chick Fil A--too fattening but they are very popular all year round. So when your chain opens, give it a try when you really want a treat. Other than that, I stick to the salad there. In the winter, I do spring for their soup/sandwich combo which is a pretty big bowl of chicken noodle soup and a garden salad.

Well, it's nice to have my medical issues out of the way until at least February. I love when I don't have any tests/visits looming.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well I am working on trip planning to occupy myself while waiting to go to the hematologist. Next Fri. cant come fast enough. I always worry while waiting. I always think the worst of course, but with all my history and genetics its natural for me.

Also dh is in Calif.with ds2 so that does not help. I am trying to distract myself. So I did a little of the trip planning today.I renewed my annual pass. I had to call them because the address was wrong. So hopefully later I will try to do the fast passes. Dh and I really arent ride people. He likes Soarin and maybe Toy Story Mania and Buzz. We dont even go to most of the fast passes we pick out anyway.

I also booked the airline tickets and what a mess that was. I dont know if it is still a mess but I am having dh call because I dont know if they need his exact middle name etc. I had to have them book the flight directly for us because I was trying to use our unused travel funds and mine was fine but dh kept being rejected. It was all on one reservation and even the Southwest agent didnt know what the problem was . I dont know if she wrote in dh middle name and I dont know if that will be a problem or not I will let dh handle this when he gets home since I do everything else anyway. He can do something lol.

singingmom - are you in trip planning mode yet?

macraven- how was the house hunting trip?

Christine - do you do the reading goal challenge on Goodreads? I am one book behind. I do have childrens books mixed in with my regular stuff so I am doing another childrens book review because I won it from the author so now I will be right on track with my goal for the year. I am reading 2 other books at the same time now too. Once is a romance and the other is a womens devotional type book. Won those too. The author signed the one.

squeegee - I am sure your trip plans are finalized. I havent started on on Dec. trip yest. Just want to make sure this one is going well first.

Check in when you can everyone.

 

[macraven]

sorry i'm late to the party....
it is always something that comes up and don't have time to come here to chat and check up on everyone.

LMP, our offer was accepted and we are in the stage of securing a loan.
closing is next month.
went house hunting a couple of days after labor day.
saw 19 houses total in the 4 days.
did put an offer in for a house we fell in love with and got the call halfway home that it was not accepted.
so disappointed....

once home, we started looking again online for other places.
found 6 that we could live with and emailed the agent.
so after 2 days home, we went back south for another round of house hunting.
another almost 13 hour drive south.

put an offer on a house in a different location and it was countered.
we accepted and now rushing to get rid of our junk.
that is 30 years of junk......and not an easy task.

i leave in 3 days for orlando.
did online check in for disney hotel and haven't packed a thing yet for that 17 day trip.
did the fast past selection and adr's as soon as they opened for me.

the week after i get back from that vacation, son and i are going to st louis for 4 nights.
2 days after we are back, should be closing on the new house.

we need to find a RE agent to list our present house with. first we have to clean up our place before we start interviewing agents.
talk about going nuts.......

did my labs on wednesday and only the cardiac panel was reviewed and sent to me so far.
my endo hasn't emailed me my results yet and that is the one i hope comes before i leave.
if the thyroid numbers are still off, my script will be increased.
really need to take care of that asap, especially by monday......

once i am at disney, i'll have time in the evening to post here.
taking my iPad so i can stay connected to the real world here.

hope all are doing fine!

 

[Christine]

Christine - do you do the reading goal challenge on Goodreads? I am one book behind. I do have childrens books mixed in with my regular stuff so I am doing another childrens book review because I won it from the author so now I will be right on track with my goal for the year. I am reading 2 other books at the same time now too. Once is a romance and the other is a womens devotional type book. Won those too. The author signed the one.

No, I'm not on Goodreads. Well, actually, I do have an account there and look at the site once or twice a year but just never got into it. I always think I should. I think a few years ago, the site would not work well on the computer or browser I had and I just gave up. The last few times I went on there, though, it did work fine. I guess I just haven't explored the whole thing to figure out what to do. I tried to go on there and search for new books to read but the genres I picked didn't really give me anything interesting. I'm sure I'm just using it wrong. If I can't figure out something in a few minutes, I just move on!

 

[SingingMom]

I made my mammo & breast ultrasound appointments and rescheduled my endocrinologist appointment when I realized it fell smack in the middle of my Disney trip! Oops. Lol. Cardiologist appointment needs to be made too. Neverending! Lol

I have three Disney trips in the works. I miss my girl! Looking forward to a girls week during Food & Wine. She will have a few days off during that time, so I'm can't wait! Friends are going on a cruise in November, with some pre days in WDW, so I'm going again for three nights. Then DH and I are going to spend Christmas with DD!

In between all my trips, I am starting "the great purge" to start clearing out this house of 30 years of "stuff", just like macraven! If DD gets hired permanently with Disney, we'll move to Florida when DH retires!

 

[squeegee]

Have been doing alright lately, myself, adjusting to my "new new normal."
73 days to go for the trip. I've got ADR's made and am coming up on fastpass time. It's finally starting to feel close, like we're really going.
I have an endo appointment the Friday before we leave, and the surgeon's follow up a few days before that, and hopefully I won't have to see them for several months afterwards.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

singing mom - You will be busy for sure, but so good you get to visit with your dd. Where are you staying for your Oct. trip. We will be at the Swan starting the 20th. Maybe we can meet up sometime when you are not busy with your dd.

I hear you about the mammo. I am still waiting. The one dr. told me dont get it while on the blood thinner and the other one said it would be ok. Some how I know if something happened wrong it would happen to me so I will wait till hopefully I am off the med. I am behind alot so I want to get it done.

macraven - I can't wait to read your live trip report. You are having a long great trip for sure. Where are you staying?

What is everyones Food and Wine plan? I def. dont want to go on the week ends. I think we will stick to the week days. I know Air Supply will be there when we are there and I would like to listen to them.

I have a few favorites I want to do, one is the pork belly with black beans, we tried it after watching a tv special on it in the morning, the lobster slider, the cheese soup and a few others. Dh likes the food in Africa and anything else spicy he can find. I also like a noodle type dish in Germany if they still have it, nothing in Japan for me.

macraven -I hear you about getting rid of all the stuff and moving. That is why ds3 is being nice and helping me now. So it will be easier later. Its a process for sure. But our garage and attic is def. decluttered alot from where it was.

The last 2 times we moved we had movers and packers paid for by dh company so that was great. I couldnt imagine packing all the stuff myself.

 

[Christine]

I hear you about the mammo. I am still waiting. The one dr. told me dont get it while on the blood thinner and the other one said it would be ok. Some how I know if something happened wrong it would happen to me so I will wait till hopefully I am off the med. I am behind alot so I want to get it done.

Good choice on the mammo, IMO. I would not get one while on a blood thinner. I think you'd get a LOT of bruising.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

macraven - hope you are enjoying the Food and Wine!

Well the hematologist visit went well, didint even see him, just the np. I think this seems like the trend these days. Ugh! She said almost all the tests were normal so I am off the blood thinner, yay!! She said my folic acid is low and she is prescription some med that has folic acid, b6 and b12.

She said sometimes folic acid levels add to clotting issues and mine was a little on the low of the normal side. She also said one of the clotting test needs to be repeated 30 days after you are off the blood thinner to get a more accurate test, gheesh. So then I asked her if they test my B12 level and she said no, why. I said because I am always tired, I forgot to ask the other dr. to do it and I am wondering. So she ordered it for me, yippee

Another piece of the puzzle will get an answer. We will know if its truly hypo or b12 def. etc.

We are watching the storm stuff. It was really rainy here yest and windy. Everyone filled up the gas tanks after what happened during the last hurricane. Lessons learned.

Ds3 starts his first night shift tonight and ds1 got a 2nd call back for a company on monday. They went from 150 applicants, to 1 40 person group interview. He went with a group of 15 and now he has a 2nd call back on monday.

 

[mickeysgal]

Hi - I'm glad I found this thread. Need some of your advice. I have been recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis...the doctor said my thyroid is functioning normally but antibodies are attacking the thyroid. My regular doctor found a lump on my thyroid...sent me to an endo who did three biopsies. Came back benign cyst. Doctor wants to see me back in 3 months. He prescribed 50MCG of Levothyroxine.

Here are some of my questions and please forgive me if they sound silly as this is totally new to me and I'm trying to ramp up fast in knowledge.
1. If the thyroid is functioning normally, why would I need medication?
2. I take a lot of vitamin supplements...calcium (I'm over 50), multi vitamin, turmeric, fish oil, flax seed oil, vit d, biotin. Are any of these not a good mix with this medicine? I know I have to take the thyroid meds first thing in the morning, without any other supplements, but when I do take those supplements later in the day, are they ok to take in general, given I'm on thyroid medicine?
3. I'm a runner...I run half marathons and full 26.2 mile marathons. I have a 20 mile run scheduled for this weekend. I'm worried about starting this medicine and it making my heart rate increase/palpitations occur while I'm running. I talked to the doctor and they said it shouldn't cause an issue with this dosage. Does this sound right?
4. What kind of side effects can I expect once I start on this medicine?

Thanks for reading this. Can anyone here help with these questions? As you can probably tell, my head is spinning between the diagnosis and getting my facts straight and trying not to scare myself anymore than I already am.

 

[Christine]

Hi - I'm glad I found this thread. Need some of your advice. I have been recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis...the doctor said my thyroid is functioning normally but antibodies are attacking the thyroid. My regular doctor found a lump on my thyroid...sent me to an endo who did three biopsies. Came back benign cyst. Doctor wants to see me back in 3 months. He prescribed 50MCG of Levothyroxine.

Here are some of my questions and please forgive me if they sound silly as this is totally new to me and I'm trying to ramp up fast in knowledge.
1. If the thyroid is functioning normally, why would I need medication?
2. I take a lot of vitamin supplements...calcium (I'm over 50), multi vitamin, turmeric, fish oil, flax seed oil, vit d, biotin. Are any of these not a good mix with this medicine? I know I have to take the thyroid meds first thing in the morning, without any other supplements, but when I do take those supplements later in the day, are they ok to take in general, given I'm on thyroid medicine?
3. I'm a runner...I run half marathons and full 26.2 mile marathons. I have a 20 mile run scheduled for this weekend. I'm worried about starting this medicine and it making my heart rate increase/palpitations occur while I'm running. I talked to the doctor and they said it shouldn't cause an issue with this dosage. Does this sound right?
4. What kind of side effects can I expect once I start on this medicine?

Thanks for reading this. Can anyone here help with these questions? As you can probably tell, my head is spinning between the diagnosis and getting my facts straight and trying not to scare myself anymore than I already am.

mickeysgal: Sorry it took so long for someone to come back to this thread. Sometimes it's very active, and then other times we all get on with things and forget to check back!

To answer your questions:

1. If the thyroid is functioning normally, why would I need medication?
ANSWER: It's best if you start now collecting reports from your lab work. Thyroid issues are life long and if you change doctors or want to just have a reference for how you feel at a particular TSH/T4 level, then having copies of your thyroid lab work is good. I don't know who you get your bloodwork done with but most labs now have the ability for you to sign up through them and you can access all your results without having to bother your doctor's office. Anyway, you may be in the normal range; however, maybe you are closer to being subclinically hypo thyroid? A small dose would help with that. It could also be possible that treating you with synthetic thyroid hormone is a way to control the autoimmune aspect of it. I don't know any doctor that would give thyroid hormone to someone whose numbers look good because it can cause side effects if you become over medicated. 50mcgs could cause an issue if your numbers are good. Which is why I would try to see what your TSH is.

2. I take a lot of vitamin supplements...calcium (I'm over 50), multi vitamin, turmeric, fish oil, flax seed oil, vit d, biotin. Are any of these not a good mix with this medicine? I know I have to take the thyroid meds first thing in the morning, without any other supplements, but when I do take those supplements later in the day, are they ok to take in general, given I'm on thyroid medicine?

ANSWER: Remember that levothyroxine is not a 'medicine' per se, but a hormone. So it's not like an antibiotic, it's more like a birth control pill. The supplements you list are all OK with it but take any calcium 4 hours away. My endocrinologist did tell me that taking Vitamin D at the same time as the thyroid medication is okay. I have issues trying to remember everything to take. My top priority is the thyroid stuff so I get that in right away and generally forget everything else. I need to, myself, do better with that as I am over 50 too and Vitamin D deficient.

3. I'm a runner...I run half marathons and full 26.2 mile marathons. I have a 20 mile run scheduled for this weekend. I'm worried about starting this medicine and it making my heart rate increase/palpitations occur while I'm running. I talked to the doctor and they said it shouldn't cause an issue with this dosage. Does this sound right?

ANSWER: Well, I'm sure your run is now over. The thyroid meds could cause heart palps, but it might take a week at least before you notice that. Again, it all comes down to what your levels are pre-medication.

4. What kind of side effects can I expect once I start on this medicine?

ANSWER: If the dosage still keeps you in the normal range for thyroid levels, you might not notice a thing. If it pushes you closer to hyperthyroidism, you might notice being jittery, increased anxiety, more frequent stools, moodiness, etc. It's really individual. Some people can get VERY hyper and not have any change at all. Depends how sensitive you are.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

mickeysgal - welcome. I am clueless about your questions, but I am glad Christine could give your more insight. Hope things work out for you. Wishing you all the best.

singing mom - I know you are doing the countdown like us. I am sure you will be so happy to see your dd. If you see the strange lady pushing the wheelchair like a walker, that is me!!

Christine - our Chick Fil A is crazy. Like 20 cars waiting on the highway to get into the parking lot.The ds have found out many people they know got jobs there and the ds got me a salad and choc shake. It was good.

macraven - cant wait to hear about your trip.

Well tomm I have to book the town car to pick us up in Fl and the wheelchair that I rent. Also we have to book a car to take us to the airport. The flight leaves at 6:20 am and that just does not work out well with the ds work schedules.

I also had dh pick up the med from the hematologist at the pharmacy, its not there but my other reg, ones were. A mystery. I am calling tomm. to see if they sent it to another pharmacy or I will call the office to see what is going on. They are not in that office until Friday where I go, so I am sure it will be a while, sigh.

I havent done any fast passes I doubt much is left, oh well. We shall see. I see the weather is going to be alot warmer than here for sure.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well dh just gave me a little reading enjoyment, and what wold that be you might ask?????
Oh yes, our new health insurance plan for the new year. All I can say is and more
Rumor was that it would be bad and boy is it ever going to cost all of us $$$, no matter what plan you pick and you dont have many options

From my quick glance,of course the meds are going up way up and I dont know what the new companys formulary is and now they say you can do direct mail order with cvs retail pharmacys. I dont know about that one.
Worst changes - er visits and urgent care used to be free, now it will be $100 for each er visit and$50 for urgent care and $20 for walk in clinic. I do go to an urgent care but dont know what the new ins will classify the place as.

Ct scans and mris were free and now they will be $50 each. Those are some of the things I read. They dont even tell you what changes they are, you have to figure it out yourself.

Good I am going to my happy place in 3 days, lol!!

 

[Christine]

Well dh just gave me a little reading enjoyment, and what wold that be you might ask?????
Oh yes, our new health insurance plan for the new year. All I can say is and more
Rumor was that it would be bad and boy is it ever going to cost all of us $$$, no matter what plan you pick and you dont have many options

From my quick glance,of course the meds are going up way up and I dont know what the new companys formulary is and now they say you can do direct mail order with cvs retail pharmacys. I dont know about that one.
Worst changes - er visits and urgent care used to be free, now it will be $100 for each er visit and$50 for urgent care and $20 for walk in clinic. I do go to an urgent care but dont know what the new ins will classify the place as.

Ct scans and mris were free and now they will be $50 each. Those are some of the things I read. They dont even tell you what changes they are, you have to figure it out yourself.

Good I am going to my happy place in 3 days, lol!!

I've been doing the CVS thing for about 2 years now and it's WONDERFUL. I used to have to mail order all my chronic-use medications and, at least for the Synthroid, that really bothered me because of the temperatures outside and how delicate the medication was. No, CVS fills my 90 day meds right on site and there are no more worries there. My son gets a good bit of asthma meds that way and it's just so nice not to have to deal with the mail order of a 90 day supply.

It sounds like your previous plan was a real "cadillac" plan that was probably super expensive for the employer. I'm not sure how long it's been since I've heard of free, or $0, copays for urgent cares or ERs.

We have had my husband's plan since the 1980s and it has changed very little except it's actually gotten a little better. We've never had the copay thing and have ALWAYS done an 80%/20% split on every visit. Sometimes that works out for me and sometimes I lose out. But it does force me to take a look at expenses and shop around for more reasonable doctors if I have that option. I think that approach has worked out well for the company, who is self-insured, because when you are just paying a $50 copay, you don't really think about cost and what the doctor charges.