“Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland situated at the base of the front of your neck, just below your Adam’s apple. Hormones produced by the thyroid gland — triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) — have an enormous impact on your health, affecting all aspects of your metabolism.” -Mayo Clinic
The above is an enormous understatement. Your thyroid controls almost everything. If it makes too little hormone, you have bad problems. Too MUCH, more problems. If it goes completely out of whack, like mine did several years ago, you’re almost incapacitated. Mine was GUSHING hormone and I had the choice of radiation or surgery. I had mine radiated and I have NO thyroid now. I take a medicine that takes the place of my thyroid, supplying the hormone to regulate everything. Tests are needed, plus monitoring, to make sure the dosage stays right.
When it gets out of whack again, it takes WEEKS – if not more – to find the proper dosage. The complicating factor is your brain, which decides how it FEELS about the amount of hormone it’s receiving. It’s different for everyone, and the dosage doesn’t STAY good forever. (It took a full year of tests every 8 weeks and changes in dosage to find the proper starting one for me at the beginning.)
8 weeks ago I went in for my routine doctor appointment. I always get a blood test several days before so we have results to look at. Normal thyroid (TSH test) is 0.40-4.50. Mine was 22.89!!!!! Our doc looked at the meds I was taking and spotted two new things that were over-the-counter medicines I was taking trying to get my digestion working right again. She thought these two meds might be nullifying my thyroid med. She suggested I take the thyroid med first thing – no food or drink other than water for at least an hour afterwards. I have done that for 8 weeks and then had a follow-up test yesterday. I’m so thankful that I have such a smart doctor. She was right about what was causing my problem. Yesterday’s test showed my level “normal” at 0.55. My bad symptoms are gone now. I’m really relieved.
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