Lots of changes

No longer seeing that lady doctor. We made the journey back out to see the other doctor and got back today. I am pretty pleased with my treatment and have realized that no one is ever going to fix my heart problem. NO ONE. I can't get too upset about it and will just have to learn to deal with it for the rest of my life.

The EP told me to try a small dose of a beta blocker, so that's the next step. If this doesn't work, then I really am out of options and am SOL.

The hormone doctor has ordered me a whole bunch of new labs to get done since I just stopped the armour. I hate armour. It did absolutely nothing but make me feel even worse. I had daily headaches and just felt so blah on it. I don't know what my doc will do but I think I want to try a small dose of cytomel to see what happens.

I also saw another hormone doctor I used to see a long time ago and he thinks I have a reverse T3 problem. He does the labs a little different than most people and uses T3 rather than FT3 to calculate the ratio. I don't know who the hell is right anymore because everyone has their own unique method to this stuff!

I had my sex hormones tested and while the numbers look good, some people might say that I am "estrogen dominant" because my ratio isn't high enough. My hormone doctor doesn't like to see estrogen any lower than 150 and mine was 198. He said my progesterone was excellent at 19.9. I dunno about these ratio things...

So now I just continue on the HC and DHEA and get these new labs done to see what my thyroid is doing on its own. I've never had my RT3 checked when not on armour, so it will be interesting to see nonetheless.

That's all for now.

More Thyroid Labs

Here are the labs from another hormone doctor. Yes I have a few on-hand...LOL

These labs make even less sense to me. They were done almost exactly 2 weeks later and look at the huge difference.

Note these are NOT free thyroid labs. This doctor doesn't check frees for whatever dumb reason.
T4 6.0 (4.5-12.0)
T3 92 (83-200)
Reverse T3 233 (90-350)

I've never had a Total T3 checked before, so I'm not sure exactly how to interpret this. However usually you want your Free T3 to be near the top of the range and I'm really close to the bottom of the range here. The doctor that ordered this, I'm not sure I am actually going to schedule to see him. I dunno. I'm torn about the whole idea. He has helped me in the past, but money is getting tight with all these medical expenses.

Vitamin D 21.1 (32-100) LOW
Ferritin 33 (10-291) Too low

Taking armour has made both of these tank. I am now supping these hardcore to get them up higher. Ferritin is supposed to be at like 70-90 in order to use thyroid meds properly. /sigh

Glucose 85 (65-99)
BUN 8 (5-26)
Ceratinine 0.80 (0.57-1.00)
eGFR >59 (>59)
BUN/Creat ratio 10 (8-27)
Sodium 141 (135-145)
Potassium 3.7 (3.5-5.2)
Chloride 106 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 21 (20-32)
Calcium 9.7 (8.5-10.6)

Got My Thyroid Labs Back

Today I got the labs back from the doctor I saw in Michigan. I have no idea what in the hell is going on with my body.

TSH 0.25 (0.40-4.50)
FT4 0.8 (0.8-1.8)
FT3 752 (230-420) Oh my goodness!
Reverse T3 19 (11-32)

Iron 65 (45-175)
Ferritin 50 (10-291)
Glucose 88 (65-99)
Insulin 14 (<17)
Potassium 4.1 (3.5-5.3) That potassium is finally coming up!

I told the doc to throw in a lipid panel because I've NEVER had one done before.
Total Cholesterol 190 (125-200)
HDL 90 (>= 46)
Triglycerides 44 (<150)
LDL-Cholesterol 91 (<130)
Chol/HDLC ratio 2.1 (<=5.0)

I had EBV at 17, but this doctor wanted to check the antibodies again.

Epstein Barr Virus Early Antigen D AB (IGG) <=0.90 (Negative)
Epstein Barr Virus VCA Antibody (IGM) <=0.90 (Negative)
Epstein Barr Virus VCA Antibody (IGG) 4.53 HIGH
Epstein Barr Virus (EBNA) Antibody (IGG) >5.00 HIGH

Interpretation: Suggestive of past EBV infection.

So...I don't know what is going on with my body. I think it's just really ticked off! On this trip I remember feeling SO tired and didn't feel hyper at all. Apparently though with this lab, I don't know when I'm hyper or hypo. That's been made pretty clear to me now.

I also got my food allergy test back....HAHA Sadly I doubt I'll be cutting back on these foods. Some of the foods that showed are absolutely ridiculous. I have no idea what I'd even eat. Here's what came back with a response.

Blueberry (low)
Broccoli (low)
Cottage Cheese (low)
Corn (low)
Egg Whites (Medium)
Egg Yolks (Very high)
Garlic (low)
Gluten (Medium)
Lemon (low)
Lettuce!! (low)
Malt (low)
Cow's Milk (Very high)
Black Pepper!! (low)
Sweet Potato (low)
White Potato (low)
Soybean (low)
Strawberry!! (Medium)
Tomato!! (Medium)
Wheat (High)
Baker's Yeast! (low)
Yogurt (Medium

I went through every single food we eat in this house and I'm getting at least 1 of these allergens at EVERY meal. I use black pepper, tomatoes, garlic and eat salads a lot. If I can't eat salad then what the heck am I supposed to do? Even some of the gluten free alternatives would be an issue because of corn. These results really just pissed me off more than anything.

Labs Are Back and Call From the Cardiologist

Here's my latest labs:
Meds were as followed-
0 Florinef -I quit this a few weeks ago because I was potassium wasting WAY too much. I was sick of the constant chest pains and muscle cramps.
30mg HC
2 grains of Armour
6.25mg of DHEA
DDAVP when needed
20-60 MEQ's of potassium-If I have chest pains I take more that day

Glucose 84 (65-99) This is good. I've seen it in the 90's and that was a bit concerning
Sodium 136 (135-145) This is from the low aldosterone
Potassium 3.8 (3.5-5.2) Kind of sickening that it's this low still
Chloride 102 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 22 (20-32)
B-12 619 (211-911) Kind of surprising it's this high

TSH 0.129 (0.45-4.500) Just 2 weeks ago my TSH was 1.6 on the same dose of Armour? Apparently my pituitary is just taking a nap right now LOL
FT3 3.3 (2.3-4.2) Before treatment I was at 3.1
FT4 1.03 (0.61-1.76) Before treatment I was at 1.29
Reverse T3 310 (90-350) WOW!
DHEA-S 137 (65-380) This was 10 hours after taking 6.25mg of DHEA

So from what I understand it looks like I have a problem converting T4 into RT3 rather than into the active T3 form. My ratio is 0.0106 and it should be 0.020. Most people would say that I need to go on a T-3 only regimen, but I don't know if my doc would be up for that. I'll have to see what he wants to do with this. I feel more hypo than before and my weight gain (even being off the florinef) is still not good. I look more puffy than ever, which I thought was the florinef. Now I'm not so sure!

I'm staying on 6.25mg of DHEA. That lab isn't that bad in my opinion after 1o hours and don't really feel any benefits at 12.5+ I start to get acne really really bad and my sex drive actually goes down. For whatever reason 6.25mg is my sweet spot as it must completely convert to testosterone.

Today I got a call from the cardiologist's office (well he's an electro physiologist) and I have a feeling that something was seen on the Holter monitor. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but I just saw him on Friday and he said we didn't need to do another EKG because I had one from my PCP done a few weeks back. Well his office called and told me that the doc wanted an EKG from me and to call back to schedule this...Hmm. I need to schedule the Tilt Test as well, so I'll have to ask why the sudden change in heart (heh).

Armour Not Going Well

Unfortunately adding in the armour is NOT going well at all. The insomnia is out of control. Today I was told by my doctor not to take any to see if my heart rate calms down a little. Just a moment ago I took my blood pressure and it was 124/76 with a HR of 119! This was upon standing so it is NOT salt wasting as my blood pressure went up rather than down. Obviously the armour has made me go "hyper" or I'm pooling the hormone in my blood. Regardless, this is the worst I have felt since starting the hormone replacement. I just can't take this dark depression I've been in for the past week and nothing I do snaps me out of it.

I have absolutely no motivation to do anything and would have no problems just staring at the wall for hours on end. That is one hell of a drastic change from me just 2 weeks ago where I was feeling fantastic.

Tonight I am curious to see how I feel and if I can even sleep. If I can sleep, I think that alone will help my mood lift.

Some Blood Work

Here's some blood work I had done. It came back the day I went to the eye doctor, so I haven't been thinking about it much. hehe

I started on 12.5mg of DHEA yesterday on the advice of my doc. Then after 2 weeks take 1/2 tab twice daily.

Electrolyte Panel
Sodium 141 (135-145) Good
Potassium 4.0 (3.5-5.2) Pretty decent
Chloride 104 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 24 (20-32)

FT4 1.25 (0.61-1.76) Doc says the range should be 1.0-1.76
FT3 3.4 (2.3-4.2) Mid-range
TSH 2.095 (0.450-4.500) Little high
DHEA-S 24 (65-380) WoW!!

With these thyroid labs, my doc wants me to start on Armour in 2 weeks once I get the DHEA up to 25mg daily. He doesn't want to change 2 things at once, which makes sense.

Something weird that has come up out of no where is this strange pain near my right rib cage. It actually woke me up yesterday morning and was excruciating for about 15 seconds. Then it faded some--thankfully. It MIGHT be a pulled muscle, but I'm going to give it some time to see what happens. I have been doing some painting in the house, so it's definitely possible. heh I don't know why my muscles are so weak if that's the case.

Tonight my eye is not good. Very strange with lights near my peripheral vision, but I'm going to hang in there unless a shower of floaters come up out of no where. If that's the case I'll be calling the emergency number.

Iodine Use Is Shunned By Most Doctors (Update: And for Good Reason!)

No one is allowed to repost this image on any other website or media without my express permission.

Author's Edit: My views on iodine have changed drastically since I wrote this back in 2008. Now I have determined iodine was the CAUSE of the alopecia areata hair loss. I do not know why it happened, but it did. This post gets a lot of hits in google, so I'm telling you now I was naive when I wrote this post. I was just regurgitating what I heard others say on another website. Some info has been removed from this page because I don't want to be furthering someone's bad information. I apologize to everyone who commented and I gave stupid advice. Please forgive me!

Do your own research and use at your own risk...

My experimentation with iodine began when I first started to see a naturopathic MD.

On my first visit he put me on 1 tab of Iodoral every day. He explained to me that the thyroid and breasts need iodine and we are all deficient especially in this part of the world. He told me that it helps to break apart cysts and has been seen as a preventative for breast cancer. My thyroid always tested good. I did have some hypothyroid symptoms, but told him they really weren't that bothersome. I do have to watch my weight though.

Like a good patient, I started to take 1 Iodoral tablet a day. Now at this time in my life, I was eating REALLY good. I juiced 1 cucumber and 1 lemon 3Xs a day. I  ate lightly cooked egg whites in the morning and salads with white chicken breasts for lunch and dinner. As far as clean eating and dieting goes, I was doing it.

About a month into taking iodine, I started to get acne. I've never had acne before and didn't know what the heck was going on. One thing I noticed were that my morning temperatures finally broke the mid 96's, which was interesting. I use the LadyComp as my birth control method, so I took my temperature daily. The LadyComp was relearning my temperatures so the iodine was doing something.

At this point I wasn't sure it was a good something though. Some not so good things started to happen. I had my first patch of baldness come over night and I had numbness in my left leg from the top of my knee to the hip. It was very bothersome. The bald spot broke-the-camel's-back as they say and I called my doctor to tell him I was stopping everything for a few days to see what happens. Nothing good changed. My hair continued to fall out. My legs continued to get numb.

I started reading more about iodine and I was told that I was going through severe bromide detoxification. I was told that this is normal and you have to push through this...I now believe that is a bunch of lies and would never ever tell anyone to do this at all. If you are suffering after starting a supplement, then have enough sense to stop it. Don't let someone talk you into taking it by saying it's a "detox". I've heard this so many times over the years now, it's become a cliche. :(

Is there some truth to a detox? I have no idea. Whenever you take iodine, it pushes the fluoride, chlorine and bromide out of the thyroid and other tissues. The halogens compete in the body and unfortunately iodine is easily pushed out by bromide. Since drinking water has chlorine and fluoride in it, your thyroid gets hit. I have well water, so I knew that I did not have issues with these things. With the iodine supplementation, these toxins supposedly get dumped into your bloodstream and you feel very sick. Again I'm pretty skeptical of this nowadays and I just think my thyroid levels were through the roof. I think I was experiencing hyperthyroid symptoms and an autoimmune attack within my body. My TSH was NON DETECTABLE during this time, but my doctor did not make the connection.

So against my better judgement and because I was sucked in with these iodine websites, I started to take 3 Iodoral tabs. 2 in the morning and 1 mid day to begin the "bromide detox". It was a full 3 weeks of hell and back, but I did it because I thought I was doing the right thing. I read the research presented on the sites and thought it made sense.  This showed that even after 1 month at 3 Iodoral tabs, your body excretes large amounts of bromide and fluoride. Well I wanted that out of my body (if it was in there), so I followed this detox without question.

After this "detox", I went back to 1 tablet. My hair would continue to fall out until it looked like that picture above. How in the world was this an improvement of my health? I now was jittery, shakey, felt out of my mind, had terrible terrible headaches constantly, was half bald and now in worse shape than when I started... I was told that I was over-exaggerating and that I must have "done it wrong" on forums. Nobody ever wants to admit that the supplement they recommend could possibly hurt someone.

Mainstream medicine claims that too much iodine causes hyperthyroidism, but that is widely debated with holistic doctors. However these holistic doctors have ulterior motives because they sell iodine and iodine test kits on their websites. There is evidence that a deficiency in iodine can cause BOTH hyper and/or hypo! Goiters can be from too much iodine or too little, so really we just don't know at all. Some studies show countries with higher amounts of iodine have higher levels of autoimmune thyroid conditions. This doesn't sound like a positive thing at all.

The iodine websites say to get this Iodine Loading Test done and that it would tell me whether or not I have enough iodine in my body. I even question the science in this test and have no idea if it's even true or not, so test at your own risk. It may say you need it when you don't. How would we know?

Nowadays I could never ever recommend iodine to anybody. One size does not fit all.

Blood Work and Ultrasound--Done

I got the blood work done on Wednesday night. I got the ultrasound done this morning. She had me turn my head to the right, so she could do the left lobe. Just looked like gray stuff to me. With 1 really dark spot, but I don't even know where she was on my neck. It was probably the carotid artery.

This is what a normal thyroid ultrasound looks like...It's like another language.

When I was done, I told my husband it looked like a snail was in my neck. We both laughed. We'll probably get the results Monday (I'll be calling the doctors to give them a slight nudge). The blood work will definitely be done Monday. In fact it may have been ready today, but I didn't feel like bothering Dr. Goldstein. He's been really good to me recently. He's gone out of his way to make sure I get the appropriate tests done and I am very happy about that.

I was not going to get the ultrasound before the blood work came back, but I reconsidered. Even if my results were "normal" in the back of my mind I'd be wondering why it changed so rapidly. With the blood work and ultrasound we will know exactly what is going on or what is NOT going on. Possible goiter? Nodule? We will know soon.

2 days ago I did a LOT of singing. Since taking voice lessons, I've been trying to practice a lot. Getting better at hitting high notes with ease and being able to sing long phrases. Well I overdid it. Yesterday I woke up with a chest pain. It was really weird. It hurt when I exhaled, when I laughed and if I let my lungs get too empty. Today it is much better. I didn't sing AT ALL yesterday, which was hard for me. I sing all the time even without knowing. There is definitely still a little bit of pain, but way better. Obviously I pulled some sort of muscle in there! Leave it to me to pull a muscle in my chest.

Getting Thyroid Labs Redone

I spoke to Dr. Goldstein today about my ridiculously low TSH! He was also in agreement with me that something isn't right.

Back in the end of August, my TSH was 1.077. The ONLY thing that has changed since August is that I have had my amalgams out and started DMSA. My goodness I hope DMSA hasn't totally ruined my thyroid. My blood count recovered, so that is good. Phew...

I am getting EVERYTHING re-checked. T3, T4, TSH, antibodies etc. A complete work up of my thyroid rather than bits and pieces of information. Having all of this done will give Goldstein a complete picture. The PCP wanted me to get an ultrasound done because she was concerned that I have a goitre. A regular ultrasound is fine, but she wanted me to have a radioactive uptake test too. NO way in hell I am having one of those done. It destroys your thyroid. I told Goldstein about this and he also agrees with me on this. This is why I love this doctor. He has common sense. He told me to NEVER have one of those done because iodine isn't only found in the thyroid. It is in the breasts and basically part of the entire endocrine system. It isn't safe whatsoever. 10 points for Dr. Goldstein there. YAY!

Now I wait on the blood work paper from Dr. Goldstein to get it all done. If it still comes back low, then we can see what is going on from there. He said that my T4 doesn't match the low TSH at all. If I had true hyper, then my T4 would be through the roof. If I had a secondary hypothyroidism (pituitary problem) then my T4 would be low. He kind of laughed and said he had no idea what was up. I'm one of his most complex patients. He has told me this over and over. That's when I suggested that perhaps the lab result was a fluke or misinterpreted. Maybe someone messed up a decimal point?

The PCP has now completely dismissed the swollen lymph nodes. She said that they don't exist now that she found the low TSH (I am not making this up). Rather than cervical adenopathy, she feels it is a goitre. If my thyroid is so enlarged that it is reaching the collar bone area, then I am in serious trouble. You can't see the thyroid at all when looking at me. She also shrugged off the enlarged lymph node in my groin...I think that my time with this doctor is over. It took 5 days to finally get an answer and she didn't even respond to the swollen lymph node in the groin. They NEVER faxed me the results. If it wasn't for Goldstein's office, I still wouldn't have them! This office had their chance and it is time to move on. I'm not gonna burn bridges, but I'm just sort of irritated how they have handled everything.

I really want to get this lymph node in my groin checked, but have no idea where to go. Really concerns me how huge it is...

I stopped the iodine as soon as the rashes started, so I'm not sure what to do at the moment. I'm gonna wait to start back up on it until I get these new labs done. Then we can get a clearer picture of what is happening. All of this may be my pituitary finally sputtering out. I have been taking my medication for DI, so it hasn't been working recently.

Tonight I am drinking a beer (yep with elevated liver enzymes HAHA) to see if I can even do it. Woot Guiness! It has been at least 8 months since my last one and I couldn't even finish it. So far so good. I'm about 5 sips in and I have no pain or weird feelings. This is an experiment. :-) What a good experiment as long as the lymph node pain doesn't start...