Hashimoto hypothyroid

My life with Hashimoto Hypothyroid disease.

I found out that I have a hypothyroid in 2011, while pregnant with my twins, during my 1^st obgyn appointment where they drew blooded and tested me for it. This is a standard test during pregnancy because during the first trimester low thyroid can cause miscarriages and mental handicaps to the developing baby.

At this appointment I learned that my TSH was a 5.0. This level was right outside one thyroid standard that says your levels should be no higher than a 4.5.

My first question was is this because of the pregnancy. It was not because of the pregnancy meaning I have been struggling with the thyroid disease in the past and the pregnancy just brought it to the surface.

I did not handle the news that I had a “disease” well at all. I was used to having a clean bill of prefect health. I seriously have never had anything wrong with me in my life. The idea of taking a medication daily was foreign and scary to me.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back over the college years I think I struggled on and off with my hashimoto. I remember one time going to the doctor and complaining about extreme exhausted and crazy weight gain… and the doctor checking my iron levels because she assumed I was anemia and when they came back normal she had me convinced it was in  my head.

Having your thyroid levels tested is not a standard test. And it should be.

I have researched my heart out on this disease and joined countless support groups and online forums to discus symptoms and treatments opinions with people similar to me.

My symptoms have included: extreme brain fog, weight gain, memory loss, achy body parts, headaches, exhaustion, and the inability to adjust well to temperature changes.

Since the twins were born I have had my blood levels checked every 6 weeks. It is just now that I am starting to feel better. If I hadn’t have been pro-active and passionate about getting better I would still be feeling like crap.

So I will continue with my story.

I was given synthyroid in 2011 right after finding out that my thyroid levels were low. I tested normal the rest of my pregnancy. I never felt “normal” during my pregnancy… but I was pregnant with twins so didn’t know what I was supposed to feel like!

10 weeks after the twins were born, I had my levels checked and my levels had flew to a 17! Normal 0.5 – 4.5. Besides the normal emotional aspect of having preemies, at the 6 weeks post partum I was feeling pretty good. I had lost a lot of weight and was starting to feel normal.

Then I started to tank. I had experienced a very typical post pregnancy thyroid issue. I swung in to a hyperthyroid phase. My levels went super high, I had energy, and lost weight. This happens because your body is use to making for you and baby(ies) and then post pregnancy your body has a hard time switching gears. Well this caused my body to overwork itself and kill off the rest of my thyroid gland completely--- this caused my TSH to shoot up to a 17, weight gain, exhaustion, and aching body parts.

My doctor changed my synthroid from 50 mcg to 150mcg… and in 6 weeks my TSH dropped down to a 4, right inside “normal” limits. But here’s the catcher… I felt NO different.

I wondered how I could have such a huge dosage change…my levels drop that much… and I felt NO different.

My doctor’s answer was you might just need to have lower levels to feel better… so I got another dosage increase. My levels got down to a 2.5. I still did not feel any better or different. The doctor told me if I still had symptoms since my levels were normal… than they were no longer related to my thyroid disease… she told me something else was causing the symptoms.

My favorite is when the doctor would use my twins as an excuse to why I was feeling crappy! This always pissed me off!

All the time these test where going on and medicines dosage changes were happening I was researching… information on thyroid disease and treatments.

I asked my doctor do you think, I need T3 replacement? The answer no your levels are normal. But you didn’t test my free T3. The answer I did a conversion. I asked the doctor can I try natural medications verses the synthetic. The answer no, natural medicines are bad. We can't control them the same way and they are harder to regulate. 

After this conversation… I knew it was time… for a NEW DOCTOR!

GUESS What the new doctor tested my free T3 and my levels were wacky!

My body was not converting T3 to T4… so basically in  a nutshell I had a lot of TSH in my blood, but my body was not able to use it!! Doing me no good!

The new doctor let me try Armour thyroid a natural thyroid replacement. 6 weeks later I felt better than I had in almost 2 years!

So why is Armour so much better? Because it is natural! And contains both T3 and T4! So your body can recognize and use the hormone.

Synthroid is only a T4 replacement and this is why many people never feel better taking only synthroid. Your doctor may try to brain wash and tell you everything is “fine” because your levels are “normal” but don’t give up.

You have to be the driving force of your health care. If you have hypothyroidism do your own research on some of the things I have mentioned and as you read and learn, I bet you are going to be mad at your doctor and yourself for letting this go on for so long!

This makes me laugh and was so true in my case and any many people I have talked to as well.