Originally Posted by
Preco
Ive had Hypothyroidism since I was 35 turning 51 in two days. 1st take your pills every day and I mean every day.2nd start to listen to your body if things do not feel right talk to your Doc. 3rd if Doc tells you your in range and you still don't feel right tell them again. If they don't listen you might try anther Doc.4th give meds time to work when and if you change dosage. Also check in to Armour thyroid (pig thyroid) this really helped me along with the synthroid.
Talk to pharmacist about this (I Never take Generic) you want this to be consistent generics tend to fluctuate. This isn't something you want to mess with your thyroid controls allot of your body functions as you will learn. For me exercise really helps and a good diet.
My wife is presently transitioning to ERFA (desiccated thyroid) as the synthroid and generic equivalent in Canada contain acacia which she is allergic to... when she was in the US she did not have this issue as the availability of levothyroxine is broader and there are generics that do not contain this cheap filler.
Generics in the US must be the same as the name brand (Synthroid) by law but regulations in Canada are more lax so dosages can vary by as much as 20%.
She had thyroid cancer when she was 18 and will soon be 41 so she is a long ways out from surgery and also had a rarer form of cancer that could not be treated with radiation... many endocrinologists and doctors on this coast are not familiar with Hurthle Cell Carcinoma. At the time she was the youngest person in the US to have experienced this type of cancer and counsels others on this, some years later a young girl developed this cancer at 16 and this is a cancer that usually afflicts older adults.
Tirosint is also available in the US and many report better outcomes with this additive and dye free levothyroxine, it is not yet available in Canada.
Paying close attention to your diet is really important as there are many deficiencies that come when you have no thyroid and rely on a synthetic, only desiccated thyroid has thyrocalcitonin which regulates calcium in the body and vitamin D deficiencies are also common.
The new generic she was taking here was not being absorbed properly and this was probably due to the allergic reaction she was experiencing and perhaps due to some dosage variance, this is now fading and in a few weeks her dosage will be increased as you cannot start on a full dosage until absorption rates and reactions are measured.
Our family physician is much better at managing her condition than her endocrinologist, he is scheduling far more tests and looking at other factors to determine how well the new medication is working and my wife's background in cellular biology, biochemistry, and 22 years without a thyroid give her the ability to examine test results and explain them.
Our physician is getting a good education and is a good partner in that he listens well and understands that he does not know everything.
We are amazed at cancer patients who question whether or not they should take levothyroxine... you can't get this any other way and not taking it leads to serious complications like death.
My wife is fortunate in that her parathyroids were retained and are functioning properly... this is a hell of a disease to deal with and this only makes it worse when it comes to management.