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LisaD
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 12:12pm | IP Logged
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I know that there have been several thyroid threads here in the past, and I've looked through them, but I haven't seen any discussion of my particular problem.
I am being treated for hypothyroid, and have been since January. First under the care of my ob/gyn, but now under the care of an endocrinologist. I started out on Levothyroxine, but had such uncomfortable side effects (constant nausea and diarrhea) that my endo now has me on Armour thyroid. No side effects, but my symptoms are getting worse. I just started the Armour two weeks ago,and will have a blood draw to check my tsh, t3 and t4 levels in 3 more weeks.
The reason my ob/gyn first checked for thyroid problems is because my cycles were getting shorter and shorter, coming every 15-20 days, and were very heavy and long. That, coupled with worse fatigue than I have when I'm nursing a newborn are my worst symptoms. My ob/gyn also did a full hormone panel and an endometrial biopsy to rule out other causes. She mentioned that my estrogen levels were dropping slightly, which is normal for the onset of perimenopause. She said that she could put me on low-dose abc for a few months to regulate the bleeding, but it would probably start up again eventually. At the time, I chose to live with irregular cycles and hoped that the thyroid treatment would help that problem.
Most recently, I've had 17 days of bleeding, some quite heavy, since the middle of May. Not all consecutive days, but still! It just started again this morning. I would really like to try to get this under control using natural methods, if possible. I take basic supplements, a multi-vite, Women's Essential Oils, 1000 mg. C, 500 mg. Magnesium. What else can I try to help regulate my cycles? Any ideas?
I guess I should call my doctor, but which one, ob/gyn or endo? I dread going to the doctor, mostly because it's hard to find someone to watch my kids!!
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 17 2009 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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I've heard good things about Vitex (chasteberry).. but you really want to be charting when you use it.. I believe you're supposed to start taking it when you ovulate until luteal phase day 15 at which point if you hadn't started already you'd do a pregnancy test and if negative stop.
(the charting will also tell you how the thyroid is doing before you get to the tests)
I've also heard that armour thyroid can take longer to get the doseage set.
I would call your endo.. and let them say whether or not it's related to what they're seeing you for.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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BlessedBGod
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 6:01am | IP Logged
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Hi Moms,
The only thing that worked for me to get rid of the longest period of my life was rubbing that wild progesterone cream on my stomach. -BlessedBGod JMJ
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Karen T
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| Posted: June 18 2009 at 8:01am | IP Logged
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I don't want to discourage you, but you need to realize up front that it may take quite awhile to get things "normal" with hypothyroidism. I've been treated for it for 7 years now (wow, can't believe it's that long!) and it is a constant battle to get the right dosage. It's not as simple as just giving the pills at a certain dose and getting your levels into the "normal" range. first, you want to be sure your endocrinologist is following the newer normals 0.3-3.0 for TSH, not the older ones that go up as high as 5 or 6 I think. You'd think an endocrinologist would be following the cutting edge, but in reality, most endos are far busier with diabetics (their bread and butter) and spend much less time keeping up with thyroid issues. Many doctors just want to get you barely into whatever normal range they are using also, afraid of overtreating, since hyperthyroidism can have serious effects on the heart and bones. A good doctor will work with you, adjusting it downward until you feel relatively normal, even if that means keeping your TSH down very well. The best I ever felt was when my endo got mine down to about 0.2. Unfortunately, I've moved, and don't have an endo here, and my family doctor not only is using the old normals but insists on having me at the high end of them, so he's backed me off my dosage and I'm miserable with it. I'm looking for another doctor  btw, when I saw "new" normals - I think the Society of Endocrinologists came out with these about 4-5 yrs ago at least, but it's still the exception rather than the rule, finding someone who follows it.
You may want to subscribe to Mary Shomon's e-newsletter at thyroid.about.com - it has lots of articles. Oh, and in addition to the Armour thyroid some people have success with adding a little bit of T3 to their meds - T4 (thyroxine, like synthroid, levothroid and Armour) is converted in the body to T3 but some people need some straight. I tried it for awhile and didn't seen any difference, and it's a little more trouble to take as it's twice daily instead of once, and IIRC, you can't take it if pregnant or TTC.
hth! you have my sympathies, and feel free to pm me. I also have short cycles when my TSh is elevated, although not quite as short as yours are now. It's a pain isn't it. And if you're bleeding for that long, you may have become anemic also, so be sure they're watching that.
Karen T
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Thyroid/Perimenopause
