KeyWords: hypothyroid, thyroid, graves, disease, synthroid, levothyroid, levoxyl, expert, issues, hashimoto, immune, numbness, body, levels, tsh, problems, solution, immune, help
For the past 5 years I have been battling an auto-immune disease that attacks the Thyroid, called Hashimoto's disease. Since I am not an expert by any means on Thyroid diseases, I will let you do the research on that, but the basic gist is my auto-immune system attacks my which causes my T3 and T4 levels (also recorded as TSH levels) to be low and causes a ton of side affects to my body, such as weight gain, numbness, hair loss, fatigue, and many other symptoms. I found my thyroid problem when I was having Body Numbness back in 2006 and forced a doctor to check my Thyroid levels, as my genetic line has had a history of Thyroid problems. Low and behold, my TSH levels were dangerously low. Well 5 years later, I am doing better, still not my old self, but that could be for a number of reasons, including the Thyroid. But what I really want to talk about is my experiences with the different Thyroid Medication I have been on for the past 5 years and how they made me feel, so lets get to it!
Levothyroxin
On Levothyroxin, which was the original thyroid medicine I started taking, I was feeling great. It took about 3 years to fine tune it and the .88 dose was where it was at. Well it figures that right after we get the Thyroid medicine fine tuned, and I am actually feeling normal and like myself for the first time in years, they stop making the medicine. I had maybe 3 months of joy until my prescription for the drug Levothyroxin could not be filled anymore due to it not being produced. This was extremely depressing for me, as I felt great on Levothyroxin. Well it figures. I guess talking with my Doctor it is not uncommon for non-brand names to stop producing a pill on the whim, either due to the economy or not enough demand for the product. Now I needed to find a new brand to help get my thyroid under control. Thinking that I would go with a major brand name, I decided to try Synthroid next.
Brand Name Synthroid
Perhaps the most popular thyroid drug of choice is Brand name Synthroid. I started Synthroid after my Levothyroxin was no longer being produced. The first 3 months on Synthroid was hell. Since we were switching prescriptions my Doctor wanted me to come back in 3 months. Well I was glad that we had an appointment so close (its usually 6 months to 1 year checkups). On Synthroid, the best way to describe how I felt was I just wanted to rip off my skin and crawl out of it. It was pain to just get up by 8:00am let alone stay awake all day and then finally trying to have the energy to do anything outside of sleeping / sitting on the couch. Synthroid did not bode well with me, and perhaps if I had stayed with it for a bit longer my body would have adjusted, but to me it was not worth the time to try. Once my Doctor found out how I had been feeling he immediately gave me a few options of medicines to choose from and I chose Levoxyl. He said it would be the next closest thing to Levothyroxin so I decided to try it.
Levoxyl
I am currently on .75 Levoxyl and I can say that I may not feel the best all the time, and I still have problems with fatigue and getting up in the morning, but it does feel a ton better than Synthroid did. I am pleased with Levoxyl, although it took about 2 years to get the dosage tweaked. Since I was still feeling tired I wanted to try something different, so my last checkup in May I asked to be put on Cytomel, it is a T3 synthetic thyroid drug. The Cytomel is suppose to give you a quick energy boost, unlike the T4 which can take weeks or even months to start taking affect, Cytomel is generally instant. Well unfortunately for me, Cytomel really has not made much of a difference for me and I am probably going to go off of Cytomel after my next checkup. However, my Levoxyl is still working decent, if I could just get more energy I would be extremely happy. That left me doing a bit of research, as I know my vitamin levels are below normal I decided to look into what vitamins may help with my Thyroid levels.
Vitamins I am Currently Taking for Thyroid
Taking Vitamins on Thyroid, in general are fine (consult your Doctor) as long as they are 4 hours before or after you take your Thyroid pill. I have heard from friends and from online forums that there are a few Vitamins that can help your thyroid and give you a bit of an energy boost. From that I gathered that taking Selenium, Vitamin B, Vitamin E and Vitamin D, can all play an essential role in assisting with giving you more energy and removing "the fog". I have been on my Vitamin Regime for the past 2 months and I can say it has definitely helped. I do think clearer, I have a bit more energy and the best part is I think more rationally. For $45 every 90 days that is a small price to pay for feeling better. I plan on talking to my Doctor more about this next visit and maybe get a prescription written for some of the vitamins, so my FSA account can cover it. If you do have a Hypothyroid and need more energy or help clearing the fog, I would suggest talking to your Doctor about those vitamins, as they may help you.
The End
Well ending it up, I have had my ups and downs over the past 5 years. I am finally on something that seems to be working somewhat decent. I am still about 20-30lbs overweight and trying to lose that. With the extra energy I am getting I am starting to hike each weekend 9+ miles, and hopefully that will help kick start my weight loss. The vitamins do seem to help, its not like a night / day change, but I do notice a difference in my mood and my energy. Hopefully this can help you a bit if you do have a Thyroid problem.
