Hyper/Hypothyroid - get it right

Just an update. I felt very good for a while but since June or July, I've been getting tired again. That has been discouraging. I've been to doctors and nothing was obviously wrong. So, I looked for someone else.

I went to an endocrinologist today. We seemed to be able to communicate. She said that my last test indicated that I’m getting too much thyroid now. That makes sense since it is dosed by weight and I’ve dropped a bunch. HOWEVER, my fear of getting much worse by changing meds became very real while we talked about it. She said that I’m not showing many symptoms of hyperthyroid but that it does make you feel fatigued. Fortunately, this is caused by medication dosage so the first thing is to reduce it.

I'm going to try Synthroid again. I’m going to try a higher dose of Synthroid than I had when I was heavy. I told her that my tests always came out ‘normal’ before but I still felt horrible. She said that the ‘normal’ is being officially lowered and that what was my ‘normal’ is now considered quite high. I hate trying to understand thyroid test results – some, when the number is up means you are low, but another can mean just the opposite. I told her that I am concerned about changing it but I’m more concerned that I feel so tired. If I don't improve, she will try some other things.

She did say that I might gain some weight. I do NOT want to gain. Hyperthyroid usually causes you to loose weigh. I haven’t been loosing since I started not feeling well, so we’ll see.

They also measured my height – 62 ¾” – I’ve lost ¼’ since last summer. That’s not good. Too much thyroid can be bad on bone density. I do want to stop shrinking.

She also said that people on the West Coast – except California – often have a vitamin D deficiency. Too many gray days, among other things. I got blood sucked for some tests, including the vitamin D.

Understanding Vitamin D Deficiency might be good to read. Apparently, once you leave childhood, it is a problem for a lot of people.

It was interesting talking to her. She didn’t have an appointment right after mine so she stayed and talked. She’s from Romania. Her husband works for Microsoft – telecommutes - and was transferred here seven years ago. She got her training before coming here and had to do post-med school training again before she was permitted to practice here. Bob and I both told her we enjoyed her accent. She is bothered by it. I said that it reminds me of many people from my childhood and I miss hearing it.