Posted by BarbaraCat on November 1, 2003, at 16:35:45
In reply to hypothyroid » BarbaraCat, posted by katia on November 1, 2003, at 15:03:19
Hi Miss KittyKatia,
Are you taking it orally or armpittedly? I've noticed about 1/2 degree less by armpit. I asked my naturopath about this and she said the verdict is out as to which is the better way to take it, but if yours is really less than 97.4 (and some say 97.6) then chances are you're hypothyroid. No matter what the standard TSH tests say. The TSH blood test measures pituitary/hypothalamus response to the level of circulating thyroid hormone but not what's actually getting into the cells. So even if your TSH is within normal bounds you could still be low. Another thing is that standard tests are just that, standard one size fits all. Many doctors think that as long as you're within the range, usually 0.2 to 5, then you're fine. Not so. Anything over 3 is too high, especially for people with mood disorders.Some of us have trouble converting T4 into T3 and the active form isn't getting to where it counts. There's been some controversy lately about the need for T3 at all. Alot of doctors think that T4 always gets converted to T3 and this may be so for many people, but not for all of us. I do much better and need much less when I'm on the natural dessicated thyroid.
Something that you might find interesting with your consistent 97.3 temp is that 2-1/2 years ago when I was at a very low point physically and emotionally I was tracking my temp. It was 97.4 pretty consistently no matter how much I whipped myself into activity. Always a bone chilling cold, and spacey unreal depression and weeping. My fibro symptoms were much worse also. On days when I was feeling relatively good my temp was higher.
So, if you are hypothyroid (and your body temp is the best indicator of this) then you could truly be feeling ghastly. The thyroid is basically the spark of life for our bodies and everything you can think of is affected when you're off, either hypo or hyper. You'd think that axiety would be mainly a hyper thing and too much definitely causes sweating, anxiety, palpitations, tremors. But hypo also causes anxiety along with coldness, constipation, depression, bipolar swings, frequent colds, weight gain, muscle cramps and aches (is implicated in fibromyalgia), a bone sapping weariness, insomnia and extreme morning draginess. Also, the cells' little furnaces can't burn hot enough to detoxify so you get that yucky toxic feeling as well.
Don't be pursuaded into thinking more iodine is the ticket. I've had many many healthfood store clerks insist on this and it ain't true. Iodine deficiency will definitely cause hypothyroidism, but most of us get plenty of iodine anyway and if there's a metabolic dysfunction iodine won't do it. Ultimately it's a symptom of some other problem, probably in the hypothalamus, but until someone figures out how to heal the root cause we're consigned to taking pills.
If you are hypothyroid then you're on thyroid medication pretty much for life unless a minor miracle occurs. Something you might try before anything is taking L-tyrosine, B6 and C together in the morning. L-Tyrosine 1M, Vit B6 100mg, Vit C 2G. Tyrosine is the precursor to thyroxine and dopamine. One caveat is L-tyrosine can be activating to bipolars, but I've never found it to be so and get a nice lift from it. It sounds like you have access to good complimentary health care and sometimes the best way to judge is to start taking a small dose to see. You also might be one of those who do well on T4 alone. It's really an experiment until you get it just right - just like our head meds. - Barbara
> I decided on a whim to take my temp in the evening and even the afternoon. It's 97.3 pretty consistently even now in the morning since it's gotten colder. What of this? I thought temps were suppose to be colder in the morning. I'm proving to be the opposite of this. I'm upping the Lamictal as my only med at the moment and see how that goes - maybe adding Li. However, I'd prefer to try Armour instead of Li. if we get to that point. I'm always so friggin' cold I can't stand it. As soon as the weather gets below 65 degrees. I lose it.
> What does Madame Barbara thinks of this?
> katia
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:238206
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031030/msgs/275561.html