General Medicine

» mariammc - hair loss

In response to hair loss posted by daisyelaine:

Hi Elaine,

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you've had after the ablation. Thank you so very much for sharing your experience with all of us. It's good to hear the truth about what can happen with Graves' disease treatments.

I still have my bottle of methimazole sitting here. I tried one pill and felt shaky and very irritable. I'm afraid to take more bc I already have mild liver disease, and i've read this drug can cause liver problems; sometimes i take propranolol.

But, I did purchase supplements. The only thing I've taken so far is the L-acetyl-carnitine. I'm not sure how to put all this together, especially the bugleweed. I would greatly appreciate any advice you have on these supplements.

Here's what i bought so far:
L-acetyl-carnitine
B6
bugleweed liquid - 190 mg of herb in 20 drops
lemon balm liquid extract
copper -
B1
vitamin E - 100 IU
pantothenic acid -
selenium - 200 mcg
sometimes I take calcium/magnesium; still waiting on the results of my bone density for osteoporoses.

I'm mostly confused on the bugleweed and lemon balm.

Thank you again, and I hope you're doing well.

Sincerely,

Maria

-- posted by mariammc

» fivebreaths - p.p.s. :)

hi again elaine--i just noticed we posted w/in minutes of ea other last night!! )
(it's EST here), so just in case you don't read one up from your last posting to see mine, my "P.S.' that followed might not seem like a p.s. to anything!---thought I'd send a note to ask you to look at the posting right before yours last night...thank you so much !!

-- posted by fivebreaths

» u25000 - Elaine

I just want to express my appreciation for your help and its quick and you don't seem at all intimidated to answer as some posts on other sites never get answers. Best wishes in all your endeavors.

-- posted by u25000

» Elaine Moore - prescribed dosage excessive?

In response to prescribed dosage excessive? posted by fivebreaths:
Hi,
The reference range for FT3 is 230-420 so with your level, starting methimazole is a good idea. The usual starting dose is 10-30 mg daily. But with your levels being quite high, using 40 mg will help them fall faster. And usually, the starting dose is used for the first 6-8 weeks. Since your doctor is willing to test you again in 3 weeks, she'll most likely let you reduce the dose if your levels start falling fast. You shouldn't become hypothyroid this quickly. It usually takes 6-8 weeks for high levels to fall back into the reference range. But with your dietary changes, etc. it's very likely your FT4 and FT3 will fall nicely within 3 weeks. Just be aware that your TSH level will stay low or suppressed for a long time, and a low TSH doesn't mean that you're still hyperthyroid. Your FT4 should be used as the guideline for adjusting your dose. It may also take a week for you to notice improvement. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - P.S...

In response to P.S... posted by fivebreaths:
In my last post, I mentioned that the ATD dose is usually reduced in 6-8 weeks. Or whenever FT4 falls back into the reference or normal range.

With Block and Replace: instead of lowering the ATD dose, you would add thyroid replacement hormone, either Armour or Synthroid. And then over time you usually lower the dosages but typically end up on thyroid hormone alone to keep the gland slowed down. In your case it would be better to consider B&R after you've done your first ATD dose reduction so you'd end up with like 10-20 mg methimazole and 50-100 mcg levothyroxine. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - hair loss

In response to hair loss posted by mariammc:
Hi,
I'd take about 5 drops of each extract in herbal tea or water 2-3 times each day. You can take 500-1,000 mg of the l-carnitine, 200 mcg of selenium 100 mg B6, 3-4 mg copper, 200 IU vitamin E, and a multivitamin free of iodine along with 1000 mg calcium/500 mg magnesium.

Methimazole only rarely causes elevated liver enzymes and so do many other drugs particularly estrogens and acetaminophen. Methimazole can also lower liver enzymes if they're high as a result of hyperthyroidism. If you're taking 10 mg daily of methimazole or less you shouldn't have to worry. And to protect your liver in general, you can take milk thistle. In Chinese medicine, milk thistle is used to treat the thyroid gland and eyes via the liver.

If your FT4 and FT3 are only slightly elevated, the supplements and dietary changes can be enough to bring them within range. But if your levels are fairly high, using the methimazole can help bring your levels within range faster. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - Elaine

In response to Elaine posted by u25000:
Hi U2,
Thanks for your kind note. I do post on several boards but I'm most consistent here. The format makes it easy and I like the way the posts are archived. Hopefully, we'll soon get software to arrange the discussions by narrower topics so they're easier to find. Having a search engine helps too for people looking to see if specific topics have come up. Best to you, Elaine

» cowlover614 - Mixed up Help!!!!!

In response to Mixed up Help!!!!! posted by daisyelaine:

Hey Elaine, it went pretty well! I just told her I wasn't going back to the Endo and that I just didn't want the RAI uptake. She told me that was fine we talked about the ATD's and I told her I would rather just try this first, she did up my dose from 15 to 30 said it might help more with my eyes. Also I told her that the Endo said I do have Hashi's but I wasn't sure about the graves, she said she was almost certain that I do have Graves. Were gonna wait on the ultrasound for now but as far as labs she's running all of them including the TSI so I should get results by the end of the week. She did say however that if I had the thyroid abated that I would just go back and have to stay on thyroid meds. To me that's not an option. Also I asked about these night sweats and not sleeping good but I didn't get an answer. Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614

» cowlover614 - mixed up

Elaine meant to ask also she said sometimes the thyroid will burn it's self out what does that mean? You are such a blessing Thanks so much! Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614

» kaicee118 - Can symptoms return?

I was mildly hyperthyroid in the fall, with antibodies for both Graves & Hashi's. I went on Tapezol in November (10mg per day) and have been taking 100 mg Atenolol daily to help with symptoms.

Over the past few months, my thyroid numbers have gradually gone down, and my symptoms (shaking, heat intolerance, palpatations, high blood pressure etc) have improved.

However, in the past week or so I seem to be experiencing some return of the symptoms. Is this normal? Can the course of the disease change, despite consistent medication? I am going to see my doctor, but was just hoping to get some more information.

Thank you!

-- posted by kaicee118