Hypothyroid page 5

[Classic]

I've been hypothyroid for seventeen years (no pituitary) and have been on Synthroid since. All the endo's I've seen are so focused on the TSH, even if I have all the classic symptoms. They won't consider prescribing national thyroid. I finally found a doc that doesn't go by TSH and tomorrow is my first appointment. He doesn't accept insurance so it's not cheap but I don't care. There's no better money spent then on your health.

DFH, were you able to lose weight after you started on natural dessicated thyroid? Which one are you taking? From reading Mary S. book it looks like Armour was reformulated and doesn't work well any more. I so sick of living with a bad memory and brain fog, plus a lot of the other classic symptoms.

I am not sure how you can reformulate something that is suppose to be natural like Armour but about 2 months ago when I went to pick up my prescription for it the pharmacy tried to give me an "equivalent" generic version. I made them give me the Armour instead. They tried to tell me my insurance may not pay as much on Armour any longer since there is a generic version but I have not noticed any change in their payments. hmmm
Why don't I trust Pharmacies anymore than I trust Doctors?????
I don't seem to be able to do VLC. I assumed it was due to my thyroid issue. If I go below 50 carbs I can barely move around. I tried that for quite awhile and decided it was not going to work for me and I was not losing weight. I can stay with 50 carbs pretty easily though.

[DFH]

Dang..

I posted a detailed response with a link to the reading list on my doc's site, but it was held for a moderator. I guess it was because of the link. I'm new here so I'm still learning how the site works.

To answer your question, yes, with natural dessicated T3 thyroid, and a Primal-style diet, weight loss went from impossible to easy. My doc's office doesn't use Armour. They make everything in their own dispensary. I hope the mods approve my other post because the reading is just what you are asking about.

You can hit the blog in my sig, click Best Health Info, then find my Doc's site on the top of the page. Then click handouts. There are a lot of good articles with technical references, so it isn't just marketing. Those will get you ready to ask your doc the right questions. Good luck!

[ittybitty]

From reading Mary S. book it looks like Armour was reformulated and doesn't work well any more. I so sick of living with a bad memory and brain fog, plus a lot of the other classic symptoms.

Naturethroid & Westhroid are other brands. You can also have it custom-made by a compounding pharmacy.
I'm taking the new Armour, it works just fine. Some people have complained about the new formula but others haven't had issues.
I haven't had problems with Naturethroid or Westhroid either.

[ittybitty]

I am not sure how you can reformulate something that is suppose to be natural like Armour but about 2 months ago when I went to pick up my prescription for it the pharmacy tried to give me an "equivalent" generic version.

They changed the fillers & binders (the other ingredients that hold the pill together).
Maybe the pharmacy was pushing the generic 'cause of the recent shortage of Armour, they are trying to keep as much of it in stock. Or maybe they're just worried about not getting paid!

[ittybitty]

If endos are not helping you with the big picture well enough, the next move is find a hormone doc that is also an endo. This is what I had to do. My hormone doc does a good business in So Cal helping people out of the mess their patients get into from bad endos, and there are a lot of them. They don't use any synthetic hormones at all.

Oh wow, I'd like to know who your doc is 'cause I used to live in SoCal. My folks live there so I visit pretty regularly. If I ever move back to SoCal or have to go out of state for a good doc I ought to check yours out.

[DFH]

I go to Holtorf Medical Group in Torrance. They do a lot of out-of-town patients. You need to go see them in person once a year, and the rest you do over the phone. Some insurance will cover it but you need to pay them and do the paperwork to get some of it back. My insurance here hardly covers any of it so I just budget for it. Beats being a wreck. Do a google on the name to get their site.

[mikebike]

Thanks for the info DFH. There's a compounding pharmacy close by so I'm guessing I can have what ever I need made there. Actually, the way I found the doc I'm seeing tomorrow was by calling the compounding pharmacy and asking them who in the area prescribes natural thyroid.

My insurance will pay for the blood work up he does but nothing else. Initial consultation is $250 but that's for an hour to hour and a half. Money well spent. There's people in my life that have no idea that I used to be 180 lbs. I'm not huge by any stretch but still I want to be who I used to be, or as close as I can get. People think after 17 years you should just accept your self the way you are, I say f*** that! I'll never accept it, never!

[DFH]

Sounds like you got the right plan. Keep us posted!

The days of being big and sick were just crazy on this end. I knew it had to be something, just didn't know what. I would look in the mirror and just go "liar!"

[mikebike]

In addition, I don't wish our problems on any one but it's so nice to discuss this stuff with people that understand. No one in my life really understands what it's like. Trying to discuss it, with even the most understanding person, has their eyes glazing over after a few minutes. When it comes down to it, you and you alone bear the weight of your problems and you have to be the one to pursue the solution. No one will do it for you.

[DFH]

No kidding. I lost track of how many people would say "just do something, exercise, WHAT are you eating?" Then when you try to explain they just stop listening immediately. It's just amazing. Well, I got even with all of them! You will too.

It happened so fast, I also noticed pretty quick how people treat you differently. People look you in the eye more, talk more, and are more friendly. It's sad but true.

Also, I would be interested to hear what diet your doc talks about. The Holtorf folks pretty much prescribed Primal but just didn't call it that.