Thyroid Hormone replacement meds...?

Question

I was diagnosed a little over a year ago with Graves disease...hyperthyroidism. I put on about 200 lbs and lost about 100 of those 200 and then gained about 50 of it back after I had my thyroid removed in April of '06. I am currently taking synthroid to replace the hormone. My question is how long does it take to regulate the meds so Im not changing the dosage every 6 weeks and what else can I take to boost my metabolism and energy since the meds arent really helping in that situation. And forget the gym, my dr. says its still too risky for me to do any type of exercising...even walking. And my second question is since I cant get into see the dr. to have my meds refilled because she is never around and Im out of meds tomorrow what are the side effects of not taking the meds and how long do I have before my health seriously starts to worsen. Ive been feeling sick for the past 2 days and Im afraid its just going to get worse with the lack of meds. Thanks for your time...

Answer 1

It can take 6 months to a year to find the right dosage. If you are out of your medication, call up the doctor's office immediately. You should not go without it for any length of time.

Now that you are hypothyroid, learn as much as you can about the condition and the treatment. It's the only way to get your life back. You say you are on Sythroid, on Synthroid you want the TSH in the morning to be below 2.0.

I was diagnosed hypothyroid 6 years ago. I started out on Levoxyl. It did nothing for my symptoms, but it did lower TSH. I was not happy wih this result, so I bought thyroid books and did a lot of research on the web. I am now almost completely symptom free on Armour thyroid. On Armour however, the dosage is adjusted by the free t4 and free T3, not the TSH.

Below are some thyroid links. If you get our morning TSH around 1.0 and you still can't lose weight it can be that you need a T4/T3 med like Armour or its possible the weight gain has caused insulin resistance. Insulin resistance (prediabetes) is diagnosed by a fasting glucose anda fasting insulin test

Answer 2

Don't expect your metabolism and energy to be the same as when you were hyperthyroid. It's harmful because it prediposes you to heart rhythm irregularities, soft bones, irregular periods and worsening eye protrusion.
Thyroid replacement last for 1 week from when you last taken it, so you have a week to fill in your prescriptions.

Answer 3

I take armour for a thyroid problem, going on 2 years and I still dont feel well.


These are 2 excellent sources for thyroid information.

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/community/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormones/