New Member - posting for Alexy

[Mo]

Please excuse the formatting - we had to do a lot of "fancy footwork" to get this post on the forum. Please say hello to Alexy and offer any support you would like to give.
HI, MY NAME IS ALEXY. I AM A RETIRED NURSE ANESTHETIST AT 76 YEARS OF AGE
   WITH HASHIMOTO HYPOTHYROIDISM.
MANY MOONS AGO IN THE 60s I FOUND OUT I WAS A BORDERLINE HYPOTHYROID BUT
NOT TOLD ANYTHING ELSE OR WHAT TO DO. NO TSH AVAILABLE THEN NOR WOULD
ANY DOCTOR TREAT ME AS A BORDERLINE CASE EVEN IF THEY HAD ARMOUR BACK
THEN.
  SO I CONTINUED ON, GOING TO COLLEGE. WORKING, GOING ON TO ANESTHESIA
LATER ON. ABOUT TO RETIRE, I HAD A BATCH OF BLOOD TESTS DONE INCLUDING
A TSH. RESULT WAS 10. WENT TO AN INTERNIST AND STARTED ON A SYNTHETIC
GENERIC. WHICH RESULTED IN A BRAND THAT HAD RECALLS DUE TO LACK OF
POTENCY. ETC. NOT GOOD FOR ME BUT I DID NOT KNOW THIS UNTIL LATER ON.
I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF RETIRING AND MOVING.
  DRIVING CROSS COUNTRY WITH ARMS BECOMING NUMB, PAIN RETURNING AND
JUST FEELING LOUSY AND TIRED AGAIN. I WAS 160 LBS AT 5 FT TALL. FELT
BLOATED. COLD FEET, COULD HARDLY EAT ANYTHING, SWINGING BETWEEN GOING
FREQUENTLY AND CONSTIPATION, VERY DRY SKIN, NAILS SOFT AND BREAKING
EASY, CRACKING AT THE BASE CORNERS, FREQUENT INFECTIONS, CARPAL TUNNEL
ON AND OFF. I ALSO HAVE SCOLIOSIS (SPINAL CURVATURE) WHICH EASILY
TRIGGERS INTO SPASMS FOR HOURS. ALL SORTS OF UNPLEASANT STUFF.
  I DID IMPROVE AND WAS ELATED FOR AWHILE UNTIL THE GENERIC DID NOT
WORK AS IT WAS SUPOSED TO DUE TO LACK OF QUALITY CONTROL IN MANUFACTURE.
  SO WHEN I ARRIVED AT MY DESTINATION AND SET UP MY COMPUTER I DID SOME
RESEARCH AND FOUND THE RECALL INFO. CHANGED BRANDS AND THAT HELPED
FOR A WHILE. DID MORE RESEARCH AND FOUND MORE INFO. SEEMS THAT A
DOCTOR AND NURSE TEAM WERE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. TREATING
ACCORDING TO CLINICAL SYMPTOMS. WELL....FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
  I DECIDED THAT FINDING A SYMPATHETIC DOCTOR WILLING TO RISK HIS LICENSE
BY TREATING ME OUTSIDE THE NORMAL STANDARD OF PRACTICE WOULD BE VERY
EXPENSIVE SINCE I HAD NO INSURANCE NOW UNTIL AGE 65. IF I COULD FIND ONE.
  SO I TOOK A CHANCE, DECIDING THAT I WOULD INCREASE MY DOSAGE VERY
VERY GRADUALLY. AS AN ANESTHETIST I KNEW WHAT SIDE EFFECTS TO LOOK
FOR. SO THAT IS WHAT I HAVE DONE AND FIND THAT SYNTHETIC THYROID CAN
WORK, AT LEAST FOR ME. MY SYMPTOMS HAVE GONE AWAY, NO MORE SPASMS.
COLD FEET. CARPEL TUNNEL. NUMB ARMS, ETC. I NOW WEIGH 129 LBS. LOST
THE WATER. I FOUND AND THIS MAY BE JUST ME, THAT I HAD TO INCREASE THE
DOSE ABOUT EVERY 12 MOS AS THE SYMPTOMS STARTED RETURNING. MY
BIGGEST INDICATOR: FREQUENT LITTLE INFECTIONS, NUMBNESS, SPASMS EVERY
NOW AND THEN, NAILS GETTING POOR AGAIN.
  ALONG THE WAY I HAVE RESEARCHED NUTRITION AND FOUND SOME THINGS
THAT REALLY HELPED ME.
   MSM HELPED ME GET RID OF THE WATER. BIOTIN, HELPS WITH THE SKIN
AND NAILS. ALSO A BIGGEE...L-GLUTAMINE, HELPS YOUR INTESTINES.
ON THE WEB CHECK OUT LINUS PAULING INSTITUTE IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON,
IT DOES NUTRITIONAL RESEARCH. GREAT SOURCE OF INFO.
   P.S. I ALSO FOUND THAT IT IS TRUE THAT HYPOTHYROIDS CANNOT BENEFIT
    FROM CAROTENE. I ONLY RESPOND TO VITAMIN A. TAKE A VEGETABLE
    SOURCE EVERY DAY OR ELSE HAVE HARD TIME FOCUSING MY EYES.
LIVE AND LEARN.
  THIS FORUM IS A GREAT PLACE TO SHARE.
ALEXY.

[olsolo0]

Thanks for your story.  Can I ask what medication you are on now and what dosage?  I have had good luck with levothyroxin.

[alexy]

I USED TO TAKE LEVOXYL UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, THAT BRAND WORKED FOR ME.   BUT EXPENSIVE.   SO I HAVE
RECENTLY SWITCHED TO GENERIC SANDOZ.   FOREST WAS THE GENERIC THAT HAD RECALL ISSUES WHEN I
FIRST STARTED.   
STARTED ABOUT 1997 APPROXIMATELY AT 75 BUT HAD TO INCREASE IT SOON TO 100 THEN 125 AT THE TIME
I RETIRED.   
NOW I AM TAKING 300.   RECENTLY I HAVE BEEN HAVING NUMBNESS OF MY ARMS AGAIN, FREQUENT LITTLE
INFECTIONS AND ARTHRITIC LIKE SYMPTOMS IN BOTH HANDS.   SO I AM STARTING TO INCREASE IT BUT A
BIT LESS THIS TIME, BY 25 EVERY OTHER DAY.   WILL SEE HOW THAT GOES. 
SOME DISCOMFORT AT MY AGE (76) IS PART OF BODY WEARING OUT BUT WHEN I HAVE SEVERAL SYMPTOMS
START UP AT THE SAME TIME, I TAKE NOTICE.   

HAD I NOT TAKEN THIS ROUTE, I WOULD NOW BE IN SOME NURSING HOME ALL CURLED UP IN HORRIBLE
PAIN IN A FETAL POSITION.   I AM SURE OF THIS.   GOD KNOWS HOW MANY REALLY ARE THERE.   IF THERE
IS NOT A LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE, RESEARCH WILL NOT BE DONE.    THIS SYSTEM HAS TO CHANGE. 

ALEXY.