General Medicine

» Elaine Moore - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by nurseheatherone:
Hi Heather,
1 gram of carnitine is a good dose for relieving hyperthyroid symptoms. B complex is helpful too since B vitamins benefit the nervous system.
Carnitine shouldn't turn your urine yellow although B vitamins will.
Iodine in multivitamins is listed as either iodine or kelp. There are multivitamins free of iodine available and they'd be helpful to take. Calcium and magnesium along with vitamin D would also be helpful.
You'll want to get your levels in control before becoming pregnant. Once they're in control, they should settle down even more during pregnancy. Often, women move into remission during pregnancy as the immune system slows down. Best, Elaine

» nurseheatherone - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by daisyelaine:
Ok it must have been the B-complex, that caused the yellow. I was taking fish oil and a one a day multivitamins which also contain fish so that is why I stopped taking them. Do I have to limit seafood and avoid these supplements?
I was not planning on trying to start to concieve for about a year from now in hopes that I would be eutyhroid and feeling better by then. My doctor had planned on 6 months of ATD( Tapazole) and then RAI. This is what she said thats what she would do if she were me. Now I am hoping that I can at some point switch to PTU and stay on it and then in about a year if healthy try to get pregnant. when would be a good time to switch?
I have been looking at some of your articles and wondering if you would recommend trying to give up wheat and dairy?

-- posted by nurseheatherone

» Elaine Moore - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by nurseheatherone:
Hi,
Fish oils are ok because iodine and other contaminants are removed during the manufacturing process. Most people with autoimmune disorders are low in omega-3 oils and both fish oils and flaxseed oil help correct these deficiencies.
You can switch from Tap to PTU in early pregnancy if you're still on ATDs. By then, your dose should be quite low and you may be in remission if you keep up with diet and other lifestyle changes.
Dairy is usually high in iodine because iodine is used to clean equipment used for milking. Many adults are lactose deficient and have trouble digesting milk and dairy products. And some dairy products have too much saturated fat. Avoiding it can be very helpful.
Those of us with GD are more likely to have gluten sensitivity, and this disorder is turning out to be very common in the general population as well. Most naturopaths recommend that we avoid wheat, rye, and barley.
Best, Elaine

» nurseheatherone - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by daisyelaine:

Hi Elaine, I really appreciate all of your responses, they have been extremely helpful in hopefully getting me off to the right start with my treatment. I just made an apt. with a naturopath for the end of the month to get some further guidance.
As far as diet and supplements go, I am assuming that all seafood and multivitamins that say they contain fish ( cod ) are also to be avoided. I will definetely start taking my fish oil again as well.
Thanks again,
Heather

-- posted by nurseheatherone

» kiolli - Post RAI-now Hypo taking generic synthroid

In response to Post RAI-now Hypo taking generic synthroid posted by daisyelaine:

Elaine
Sometimes I feel the symptoms I felt when I was hyperthyroid before RAI on 100mcg of generic synthroid even though my TSH and free T4 are fine. You said you feel better on Armour. Would that make me feel more even keel? If I ask my physician to switch-Do I have to wean off the generic synthroid or do I just start at a similar dose of Armour? I am so sensitive I am scared to switch. I had a bad experience switching from generic to the real synthriod-it knocked me for a loop. It hit me too hard-it kicked in differently. After a month of torture I switched myself back to generic and felt better soon after but it took weeks to recover totally from it! Also I am trying hard to loose weight and am wondering if that is why I am feeling a little hyper-maybe at 5 lbs lighter the medication is hitting me harder and I understand it takes 5-6 weeks to appreciate a difference in lab values with any dosage change. Do I keep losing weight or do I ask to lower my dosage first? This is such a balacing act! I appreciate your time! Kim

-- posted by kiolli

» Elaine Moore - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by nurseheatherone:
Hi,
Multivitamins with fish oil are ok because of the manufacturing process removing iodine. Today, more multivites are adding fish oil because it's a good source of omega-3 oils.
You want to avoid shellfish because they're high in iodine. Other fish are ok but if you think they may have been salted, soak the fish in water.
For multivites you particularly want to avoid iodine and kelp. Best, Elaine

» Elaine Moore - Post RAI-now Hypo taking generic synthroid

In response to Post RAI-now Hypo taking generic synthroid posted by kiolli:
Hi Kim,
You want to look at your FT3 results before deciding if you need Armour. And since you've lost weight, you want to look at your FT4 level too. Most people do not do as well on generic levothryoxine as brand names. It could be that a dye or filler in your brand name meds caused the problem. That occasionally happens and when people switch to a different dose, like taking 2 of the .05 tablets rather than 1 of the 0.1 tablets they improve.

If generic products work for you, look at your lab results. If FT3 is low you could stay on your generic product and add a product containing T3 such as Cytomel. If you're sensitive to meds you'd want to make any changes slowly.

Normally, our body would be making different amounts of thryoid hormone every day depending on our diet, general health, temperature, stress level and other factors. When we're on replacement hormone we expect one daily dose to work but it can't. Some days the dose will be too much and on some days it won't be enough. Some people, like me, adjust their dose with the seasons and how I feel, but it's still difficult to maintain perfectly stable levels. Best, Elaine

» nurseheatherone - Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease

In response to Newly diagnosed with Graves Disease posted by daisyelaine:
Hi Elaine,
I have some questions about labs, what is a normal TSI? I think my doctor said mine was 143 but I have not seen a copy of the labs taken before I started Tapazole, I just was wondering what it should be. My doctor said that she did not think that my levels were that bad, but she still recommended RA and said that we woudl have to watch my TSI closely in future pregnancies. Here are a few of my labs that I have from before, I would be soo grateful if you could help me interpret them

6/4/07- TSH-0.04, Free T4- 3.7
6/18/07-TPO 10, Free T3-5.0, T4- 1.68,TSH- 0.017, Throid antithyroglobulin Ab- 56.
7/6/07 24 hour RAIU 51.2% and borderline thyromegaly.
7/25/07 TSH- 0.01,Free T4 2.96, Free T3 -4.53. oh and I remember you saying something about possibly being hypothyroid before GD and on 5/18/06 TSH -2.225, that is why my doctor always said that my thyroid was normal before this, so my other previous symptoms are not related.
If my Numbers are not that bad does that mean that I could have a better chance of obtaining remission without RAI?

-- posted by nurseheatherone

» cowlover614 - Help need input

In response to Help need input posted by daisyelaine:

Hi Elaine, After my post to you I had decided on my own to stop my 37.5 dose of snythroid.It's been maybe just over three weeks. I couldn't get anything from the Endo. I had went to the GP's last Monday and was told they would not treat my thyroid period. I did ask to be refered to a new Endo, problem is I can't get in till October. GP refused to do my labs. Well I waited till the end of the week called GP's office back to ask could they please do my labs. My friend was working and said she would put me in the computer go get your labs. I have to say after I stopped the snythroid I did feel better. Here are the labs from August 17th. Free Thyroxine Index 2.6 (1.2-4.9) T3 uptake 35 (24-39) Thyroxine(T4) 7.4 (4.5-12.0) Triiodothyronine (T3)152 (85-205) and TSH was 0.010L (0.350-5.500) I had to go back to GP's office today. She said I am hyper and to not take anything till I see new Endo. I'm still on Toprol 50mgs. Get labs in about six weeks and when I go in October I'll be starting with a new slate. So what do you think? Thanks Shirl

-- posted by cowlover614

» dana65 - Approach to Mild GD with Osteoporosis

Hi Elaine . . I was diagnosed with GD last June, following lab work and radiology tests -- thyroid uptake, scan and ultrasound (precautions because I had had X-ray treatments for acne in the 1950s.) My only symptoms are weight loss, a slight hand tremor, some sweatiness, and more frequent bowel movements. The weight loss seems to have stabilized, as have the bowel movements. My lab work last week showed a TSH of .01 and a FT4 of 1.3, up from 1.14. Reading these posts has made me think that my FT4 is still within a normal range. However, my endo says the GD is progressing and wants to start me on 10 mg of Tapazole. I'm considering a Wait and Watch approach while I pursue some diet changes and alternative medical approaches, since my GD is so mild. I do have osteoporosis, though, and I know that is a consideration. Just wondering what your thoughts would be on this. Thanks . . . and thanks for this site. It's so helpful.
Dana

-- posted by dana65