Posted by Tabitha on January 1, 2006, at 15:02:58
In reply to Re: Endocrinology consult » Tabitha, posted by Larry Hoover on January 1, 2006, at 13:47:23
Thanks for that info about protein sponges and uptake and half-life and all. That helps clarify what might have been going on with my last blood draw. He did another draw after my appointment, and I was smart enough not to take my dose that morning, so it had been at least 24 hours. I'm going to call this week and ask to discuss the results. I'm guessing it'll be way different.
He said T3 med stays in blood for 2-3 weeks. But I really think you're right that a reading 2 hours after the full dose is not valid.
So you found that heart arrythmia is only a risk for males? Am I understanding correctly?
Well with what you say about protein sponges, I wonder if maybe I am taking more than I need. I pretty much just stayed at 25 mcg for a while, then thought the initial benefit was dropping, so I went up to 50, noticed no ill effects, and decided to stay there. I'll be interested in what my new bloodwork shows. He didn't tell my my TSH level. I'm guessing it was totally suppressed. He said my free T3 reading was 'off the chart' which is why they're so alarmed.
I'm staying at the 37.5 mcg this week. I guess I'll take his advice and try reducing. Although if I start to feel worse, or get a 2nd opinion, I may stop reducing. I'm going to push for a bone density scan-- if not from the HMO bunch then I'll go thru private practice.
Oh and you asked what sent me down this path. Well I got interested a few years back, based on one of the popular books about under-treated thyroid. At that time I asked for the T3 from my pdoc. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, but he did Rx it (25 mcg). I used it for about a year then, and didn't notice much from it, so I just stopped using it. But at that time I was also on Neurontin, and a different AD, and my depression was generally not as well-controlled. The Neurontin disrupted my sleep, causing somnolence (translation sleeping 10-12 hours a night) so I don't think I would have noticed the sleep improvement.
Somehow I just got interested in the idea again, as it seemed my energy level had dropped further, my hair loss thing had been going on so long, I was easily chilled, having a lot of water retention, carpal tunnel, sluggish digestion, slowly creeping weight gain, all stuff that can be thyroid. So I just decided to experiment again. In hindsight I wish I'd gone for bloodwork at that point, but for some reason I didn't. With the first 25 mcg my energy improved a lot. It's just like it flows normally through the day, yet I don't feel hyper. And I figure if I sleep well, then I'm not over-stimulated. So over the year, my life just got subtly better. It's a lot easier to keep up with stuff when your energy doesn't poop out after 3-4 hours in the day.
poster:Tabitha
thread:593741
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20051214/msgs/593993.html