<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> “I had the exact same problem as you, with undiagnosed hypothyroidism for 12 years, during which I gained 25 pounds, gorged on food, was out of breath, and exhausted and cranky most of the time. My TSH was 4.95 and my doctor said it was within normal range. I did a whole bunch of reseach and discovered that a person feels healthy when their TSH is between 0 and 1. I then went to a very good naturopath, who finally diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and put me on Armour Thyroid. I started feeling better within a week. Things started to adjust within 3 months, with my Armour dose going up a bit. I started feeling full after eating a normal amount of food, so didn't have to eat so much, got my energy back, started sleeping better. It's been almost two years now; I lost all the weight and I feel fabulous - 20 years younger. Needless to say, I switched to a different primary care doctor, a woman, who is sensitive to my needs. I still go to my naturopath to keep my thyroid on track. My naturopath, by the way, used to be an MD at the top research hospital, but she went back to Naturopathic college and got re-trained. I highly recommend finding a good naturopath (it helps if they used to be an MD), or maybe an open-minded endocrinologist. There are lots of books/resources on thyroid that you can find that tell you about the normal levels of TSH. Here is a link to one: www.aace.com/pub/tam2003/press.php” “I have a low level Hypothyroidism. My doctor tested me a few years ago. I have been taking Synthroid (or Levothroid) for 2 years now and feel much better. I was suffering from different symptoms: heart flutters, inability to lose a few pounds, and I would get very irritable. I was having problems sleeping. All these troubles are gone now. My primary care physician is the one who came up with this and had no problem putting me on meds (they are GF). I am not one to take medications, but this one really does the trick. When I was diagnosed with thyroid problems, I was 39 and had been strictly gluten free for over 7 years.” “The story of my journey is very similiar to yours. When I finally asked the doctor for thyroid hormone therapy, I was at 9, so there was less arguement, however, this was just before the announcement of the new levels, and I found out that most doctors did not even treat at 9. I was prepared to argue, but once I asked, the doctor said yes, and ended up making it sound like her own idea. I've learned that I don't need to argue at all. Discuss, and it seems most doctors don't want to lose your business, so they'll do what you ask. I liked the internist better than the endocrinologist I saw later; he was hardly informed of the latest.” “I had "subclinical" hypothyroidism. The endocrinologist I initially used was close-mouthed and never consulted me about his opinions, nor did he include me in decisions. My TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) had always been non-existent, my T3 & T4 very high, so when I dropped to very-low norms and my TSH was still low, he refused to give me anything - without asking me if this was normal for me. I don't know if they explained the interactions of the hormones to you, but the high TSH means you brain is working to force your thyroid to wake up, so mine being low meant they were ignoring the low readings of thyroid hormones, T3 & T4 (sounds like a Schwarzenegger movie!) After months of this I pressured him into repeating the tests; a tweak below lab normal range. He gave me .100 of Synthroid, but refused to re-test or raise the dose..... we parted ways, I went to somedone else. He was minimally better, though he did accept that I felt better on .150 Synthroid, with labs in the 60% range of normal. But he, in his supreme arrogance, thought EVERY female patient between 6 and 96 was hot for his (admittedly, gorgeous) body. Very nice gray eyes, but only to look at. Like, "sorry fella, you're married"! Anyway, that became tiring, and he REFUSED to test me for CD, so after five or six years of hum-drum twice a year, nothing-is-changing- and-I'm-still-pooped visits I mentioned it to my Primary Care Physician. He said he'd had good luck with a Synthroid and Cytomel combination, so he decreased my Synthroid from .150 to .100, adding .25 of Cytomel. MUCH better! So I never made an endocrine doctor appointment again. Flash forward a few years. Through an odd set of circumstances I ended up at the VA (Veterans Administration) hospital for a mistaken appointment a few days after knee surgery that went BAD. It was during a blizzard, the place had emptied out, and the only MD in the hospital was Beatriz Tendler, a professor of endocrinology at UCONN Health Center, doing her patriotic thing. She stuck me in the hospitsl to treat the compartment syndrome, tried to figure out why I was bleeding into my leg, diagnosed the Celiac Disease, treated my compartment syndrome the European way (USA: cut it open. The rest of the world: monitor, treat symptoms.), and I became, by default & history, her thyroid patient! She's awesome. I'm still on the same dose of both meds. Endocrine doctors SHOULD be fascinated by the CD, too. She is.” “I am hypothyroid, subclinical. My TSH is normally at about .1, and that is optimal for me. I am taking .88 mcg of Synthroid every day. My history is complicated - at one time I had a "hot" nodule and was hyper-thyroid, which caused panic attacks, weight loss and sent me into the psych. hospital from anxiety. I was not given any treatment then, because the endocrinologist wanted to see if that nodule would burn itself out. It must have, because over time, I started to gain weight, feel sluggish, etc. I finally noticed that I had a large lump in my throat, went to the endo. again, and he recommended surgery. Had 1/2 my thyroid removed and endo. said we could wait for supplements until the other half got too tired to make hormones. I got worse over time, but TSH stayed within normal ranges. My hair was falling out by the handfuls, always cold, went menopausal at age 40, depressed, no energy. It took a LOT of pushing but the endo. finally did a TRH test (pre-cursor to TSH, takes about an hour in the office) and diagnosed me with subclinical hypo. I have to tell all other doctors NOT to run the TSH as they will freak out when they see my number is so low, but it's all under treatment. And now that I've been taking thyroid medication AND am post-menopausal, I have osteoporosis (I'm not celiac, my son is).” “I would like to addres your question regarding hypothyroidism. I have Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) but dut to treatment (both RAI and surgery), I am now hypothyroid with no thyroid tissue left. I have found that both my PCP and my endo believe the patient knows best how they feel and I try to keep my level around 2.5 or so. My fatigue has greatly lifted and my TSH is much more consistent since my hysterectomy 4/2002. I am 55 and needed the surgery but I always felt that my female hormone levels were messing up the thyroid hormones. I take no HRT and have felt better in the past 2 years than I had since about 45 years of age. I was tested for celiac disease in 2000 but my blood work was negative at that time; I have issues with multiple allergies - many foods – and a skin issue which has been biopsied and the result was an allergic reaction to an unknown. I went gluten free with my daughter in mid January as I have tested allergic to the grains, dairy, casein, many fruits, vege's, eggs, soy, etc. The only + for me so far as been no acid reflux or need for Pepcid AC. Last summer I was diagnosed glucose intolerant but reversed that by diet and exercise but have gained about 4 pounds since going gluten free. My BMI is still below 25.” “About six weeks ago, after feeling progressively worse over the last five years, I finally got a diagnosis of Celiac Disease. I am also allergic to all dairy, eggs, some nuts, and some beans. Plus I have mild hypothyroidism. My TSH level is only 2.87 but I'm tired all day except for about three hours after I wake up in the morning. I usually have to take a two hour nap in the afternoon. I get so tired I literally feel like I'll fall over dead if I don't lay my head down. I can't imagine how terrible your tiredness must be with such a high TSH. Fortunately, I have a wonderful doctor who understands about subclinical hypothyroidism. He put me on natural T3 but it gave me migraines so I have an appointment in a few days to discuss trying something else, perhaps Synthroid which all the females in my family are on. He recommended a book, Thyroid Power, which I read and which you might find interesting. The book is a little extreme, it attributes just about every health problem under the sun to thyroid issues, but it is nevertheless an informative book. The main point is that the "acceptable" TSH range is too broad, and the need for treatment should be based on an individual's symptoms which you clearly have. Even mildly progressive doctors now think 2.5 should be the upper limit for TSH. The book also has hints for convincing your doctor to treat your hypothyroidism. “ _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? 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