Have you ever read or heard of someone complaining because their script for thyroid hormone

[hedgehog]

was too high? The web is awash with complaints from people who think their script is too low, or that they should be prescribed Armour instead of Synthroid, etc. As a corollary, has anyone ever self diagnosed as hyperthyroid been told that their TSH was just fine?

[hollysmom]

1. I haven't heard this

let me know, the doctor wants to put me on it.

[hedgehog]

2. I've has a slowly declining thyroid for almost 20 years -

I can really tell when my thyroid hormone takes another drop and it's time to up the dose. Good luck with your script! Hope you feel better soon!

There are many patient blogs by people who think their dose is too low. I have no opinion as to whether they are correct, whether something else is going on, or some combination. The accepted medical view is that so-called adrenal exhaustion is a lot of woo. Because of all the blogs, it's just about impossible to find out if there are any accepted research into dosage. I did find out that my autoimmune RA factor may flumox some TSH lab work. Apparently, I could get a false high or a false low.

[hollysmom]

3. thank you for your help, I have been avoiding the final test

to see if I have a low thyroid. I prefer to not take medication but I also hate sleeping so many hours a day and fighting to keep the weight off. When I was put on blood pressure medication, I went on vacation and my stress level dropped and I over dosed on the medication and if I had not gone to the emergency room for just feeling strange, I would have died - well I did die, but they resuscitated me. I am terrified of adding a new medication, especially since I live alone now.

[trishtrash]

5. Don't be afraid of thyroid medication.

After a partial thyroidectomy a number of years ago for hyperthyroidism I have been on it and it is the one medication that I am happy to take. No side effects and you will feel ever so much better. Your doctor can monitor your levels to make sure your dose is correct.

[hollysmom]

6. thank you, but apparently my thyroid bounced back up to normal in retests.

I think it is probably low now since I am sleeping most of the days and not setting up for Christmas or cleaning. Just like my blood pressure, my doctor hates it because I won't take the medicine he prescribe the way he prescribed it, but my blood pressure is up and down so I test it before taking the medication. When it was first prescribed I took it without testing and apparently during a low stress period, I should not have because I died and had to be resuscitated and it took 3 days to get the medication out of my blood stream. So with testing I could need it for 2 days then not need it for the next 3. And I seem to be doing well and have not had to be hospitalized again for ODing on medication. I don't know if there is an easy test for thyroid when it bounces up and down.

[tonekat]

4. Watch out for endocrinologists

that mainly treat Diabetes. They are used to just counting numbers that the labs provide, and I had a lousy endocrinologist that kept telling me "look, the numbers are where they should be!", and I felt like something the cat dragged in. I changed endos and now have a doctor that actually listens to me and works with me to tweak the doses of medication. I feel much better.

[murielm99]

7. My endo is like that, too.

If she ever looks me in the eye, it will be a miracle.

However, she did change my prescription from synthroid to Armour, and I feel much better. I am able to keep my weight down, and my Grave's disease is under control.

It seems that no matter where one lives, a good endo is hard to find.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. They only go by the TSH test.

They refuse to do other tests of thyroid hormones. The TSH is a test of thyroid stimulating hormone, released by the pituitary to kick start the thyroid. Apparently they don't want to do all those other tests that would give us more information.


I've had Hashimoto's disease, the autoimmune version of hypothyroidism, since I was pre-adolescent. I was told I was "tired" and "lazy" because after school, starting in junior high, I had to come home and take a nap for three hours, then get up and eat dinner because I was exhausted all the time. I slept 12 hours on weekends. Yet nobody figured this out, after I was on 2 grains a day of Armour. And I refuse to let the doctors change me from Armour to Synthroid. However, I can't get any of them to run those blood tests for more information. The med school professors tell the students that Armour is "inconsistent in dosage" and other such things. I know of no other medication that they bad-mouth.


I once shut up a board-certified endocrinologist. This was about 40 years ago. He gave me the usual bull "Armour isn't good, the dosage isn't consistent, blah blah".

I said, "I read the label. It said 'Biologically assayed, United States Pharmacopoeia".

He shut up. The USP is an independent organization that measures the purity and reliability of prescription drugs.

Asshole.

Places to talk about this: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Mary Shomon: http://thyroid.about.com

[murielm99]

9. I don't know what their problem is with Armour.

Medicare refuses to accept its existence. I am not kidding. When I set up Medicare D, the person helping me could not find it on the list of drugs. I pay for it myself.

I hated Synthroid. Getting off that stuff was one of the best things I ever did.