You are definitely hypothyroid and it appears that you are severely
undertreated.  15 mg is not going to make a great difference i don't
think.  It is fine to go slow like that but you need to probably be
increasing that every few weeks.  You need to be getting new labs about 6
weeks after you reach a level where you feel better.  Actually, the
conservative approach would be to make a small change and then retest in 6
weeks, then make another small change, etc.

Here is a site that will help you learn the basics about what test results
mean.  There is lots of other info there too as well as a forum.  I really
like THIS forum for getting answers to difficult questions but About.com
already has a wealth of info available that is very helpful when tryin
g to
learn the basics.  You must become very knowledgable or else the doctors
are likely going to leave you undertreated.
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/testsforthyroid/

Basically, the TSH is a hormone that comes from the pituitary in response
to low thyroid hormone levles.  It is a messenger hormone, telling the
thyroid it needs to produce more hormone.  The free T4 is the actual
thyroid hormone in your blood and your level is too low which is why the
pituitary is telling the thyroid to produce more.  The pituitary has no way
of knowing what the thyroids capabilities are.  In your case, Hashimoto's
is destroying your thyroid gland so that it no longer can produce normal
amounts of thyroid hormone, no matter how loudly the pituitary screams for
it!  With Armour, you would expect the T4 and T3 levels to rise.  Ideally,
you probably want both to be in their upper ranges.  Sometimes, with
Armour,
the T3 will be higher than the T4.  Some people eventually add some
T4 drug to their Armour to balance out those levels.  Others feel fine on
Armour alone.  In your case, you appear to still be so deficient, that just
raising the armour dose alone will probably help but I suspect you need
quite a bit more.  I personally feel best on 150-180 mg.  Some people on
this list take quite a bit more.

Before going to the next doctor, I'd call and ask the office staff if she
prescribes Armour.  Many doctors think the synthetics like Synthroid or
Levoxyl are superior but patients seem to report just the opposite.

I would not specifically look for an endocronologist unless you can find
one that will prescribe Armour.  The endocrinologists tend to be more
conservative, use synthetics only and believe that symptoms are unimportant
as long as the labs look "normal".  I should not generalize but this
opinion is expressed b
y many others as well.  that is not to say that there
are not a few good ones  out there.  Unfortunately, too many people go to
the bad ones and then accept that they have to feel ill the rest of their
lives because the endocrinologist convinces them that the problem could not
possibly be their thyroid.

I think most of us have difficulty learning the rules of this listserve
initially so don't fell alone.  Search the archives here.  Also, on the
About.com site, there is a section called TopDocs where you can look for
doctors near you that others have recommended.  Sometimes, though, there is
no one close by who is knowledgeable enough about the intricacies of
thryoid.  For that reason, I travel from VA to Indiana to see Doc Don who
frequently posts on this list.  I also have a husband and 3 children with
thyroid problems so it was alot easier to travel than to keep trying to get
their problems recognized locally.
  Good luck.  You can feel lots better
than you do today.  Even when you get to a better dose, though, it takes
months sometimes for the body to heal.  the damage didn't happen overnight
and it doesn't go away overnite although I felt better soon after beginning
treatment.  You obviously need a much higher dose.  It may be worthwhile to
persist with your current doctor who at least prescribes Armour.  Sounds
like you need to educate him some.  That is what many of us have had to
do.   Nancy

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