momof9,
It's good to see you here at the forum!
First, as I often advize fellow thyroid patients and something I'm a stickler for, is making sure your Dr. is treating you adequately. When I say this, it's never meant to cast doubt on a Dr. but the doctor-patient relationship is greatly dependent upon strong communications. For example, when a treated patient details their symptoms and the unresolved ones include constipation and dry skin, this should be a red flag to the Doc that the dose of thyroid hormone replacement may not high be high enough. If he then reviews most recent blood retests and sees that TSH is not too low or T4 & T3 not to high to increase the dose, there's no reason in the world that he wouldn't do so. I will say that unfortunately there are Dr.s who will not budge in this area due to their fears of over-treating patients and making them hyperthyroid. This won't happen however if blood retests clearly show levels aren't at risk for this.
I feel patients should get copies of blood restest results to see if their Dr. is dosing them to proper level to relieve symptoms. If not and they discuss a more targeted therapy with their Dr. and he is reluctant, it's time to seek a second opinion by a qualified thyroid-treating doctor.
Many reputable endos & MDs that treat hypothyroidism, use "1.0" as a beginning TSH target range for replacement therapy and they like to see T4 and T3 at mid-range or between mid and high-normal (with Armour, T4 will stay lowish, so T3 is more important to monitor, along with TSH). The U.S. "HIPPA" law entitles you to copies of your lab results.
In regard to adrenal testing, in my opinion, saliva test kits that take 4 readings in a 24 hour period are the best for detecting adrenal fatigue. You'll want to make sure it's the problem before trying to booste your adrenals, just in case it is low adrenal function and not overactive (cushing's). Many Pharmacies carry the ZRT Labs brand of adrenal saliva test kits and more Dr.s are ordering them for patients, with growing recognition of adrenal fatigue. Your nurse recognizes it but is possible your Dr. does not and only recognizes full blown adrenal disease.
Also see this thread>>BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!
Last edited by JimLow - Thyroid Health; 12/12/08 05:43 PM.