BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Thyroid Health So Confused

I am new and hoping this site will be able to provide some support so that I will stop feeling so alone in my battles to understand what is happening to me. I am a 53 year old female who in 2008 was feeling sluggish and diagnosed by my pcp as having hypothyroid. I was placed on armour thyroid then switched to synthroid. After 2 years I experienced rapid heart beat and was told by my pcp to stop the med as I no longer needed it. Three years later, this year, March 2011, I started experiencing sweats, rapid heartbeat and palpitations, mild weight loss and shaking hands, I was taken to the emergency room where I was told my heart rate was 170. After a number of tests on my heart, lungs (as I am a lifer on warfarin for two previous blood clots), I was released from the hospital and told I was extreme hyperthyroid and placed on 10 mg of methimazole. One month later I had a follow up with the endo and told that my latest results showed that my TSH was non existent and that the methimazole would be increased to 20mg daily. After two months of this dose, I lost my job and health insurance, I started visiting the local low cost lab and having my tsh and FT4 performed and have self adjusted my meds as the results showed that I was now hypo due to the methimazole. Since June 2011, I have decreased my methimazole to 2.5 mg daily and my latest blood (Sept 2, 2011) results show my tsh level at 0.615 and my FT4 level at 1.14. I don't feel as bloated, tired but my hair is falling out like crazy, not just a little but an extreme amount and my nails are still thin and brittle. I am really, really worried. I have started taking womens one a day vitamins, B vitamins and vitamin D recently. I don't have the slightest idea what my blood levels indicate but am frightened by the amount of hair loss. Can anyone please offer advice?

Nisim is a hair shampoo for hair loss. If you try it please let me know what you think about it. You can find it on-line. I am in the a similar situation as you. I have hashimoto's disease with hypothyroidism. NO FUN, is it? I had a lot of stress in my life and in 2006, due to the economy, lost my home and businesses. I was diagnosed in about 2008 and the doc is not sure if the stress brought it all on. I have been studying all about it. There are some e-books out there you could try also. The Hypothyroidism Solution, Hypothyroidism Breakthrough, and The Thyroid Hormone Solution. Again, if you try any of them, let me know what you thought. I hope this helps.

Your doc started out right. Armour is the best way to treat Hypo.

With Armour, your TSH will be in the basement before you are at a proper level. You have to increase slowly until the symptoms are gone.

My wife is on 5 grains of desiccated thyroid.