I knew that my health problems started from my thyroid condition way before I was “professionally” diagnosed hypothyroid in 1997. I was always active – in work and in play. I walked everywhere, yet I gained 80 pounds in six months and this was 10 years previous to the hypothyroid diagnosis! I knew my symptoms were all related to my disease and that I needed help. I will not list my symptoms here, as they are too numerous. I can include them at a later date if anyone is interested or it is helpful.

I went to MCPN/CICP for indigent care offered thru the Colorado Health Dept. after I had to give up Kaiser. I was paying $8880.00 a year for a “condition” where symptoms were so many that I was given tests every 30-60 days. Yet I was told I wasn’t that sick. I had exhausted every clinic and doctor in the MCPN network and finally was referred to an endocrinologist at the main hospital in Denver. I was allowed only levothyroxine. L-thyroxine or T4, a storage hormone in theory is supposed to convert into the active T3 in the liver. T3 is what the cells of the body need to create enough energy while keeping the cells from oxidizing.

Hypothyroidism is a doubled edged sword because if undertreated or mistreated, it creates myriad manifestations that develop into other diseases; i.e. heart disease, kidney and liver problems, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and many, many others.

Many of my visits with doctors left me depressed and I was given antidepressants by them and was told I had “too many symptoms” and while they could NOT be related to Hashimoto’s, the anti-depressants will remove pain and “other things”. Their drug insistence only increased my symptoms. I have been told that taking Armour Thyroid causes osteoporosis and high lipid panel ‘readings’, yet when I asked for substantiation of these claims I received none.

More advice came from an associate professor of endocrinology – and a thyroid specialist. This specialist, as do others, refused to allow me the bio-identical meds I knew would help me, based on my own research and findings. I was becoming sicker, and again the doc gave me other drugs for high lipids and hypertension, but these were signs that my thyroid condition was not changing for the better. She said in one of our visits, that if I didn’t take enough Levothroid, it [my lack of health] was really my own fault because, she said, “I am trying to help you”. My options were limited at that time and I continued with her for two years. It wasn’t working. I was feeling worse.

After searching every clinic, taking the uninsured, I found someone whom I thought would help and allowed me to have Armour. She took my labs, took the research I found and discovered that my antibodies were in quadruple digits and treated me for about 6 months until I needed an increased dosage of Armour. She told me twice that she “did not know how to dose Armour”. While she said she would prescribe it, she now claimed that the FDA has a limit on the amount a person can take; “no more than 180mg. and you are at that limit”, said she. I assumed she did not know about the shortage, since she didn’t get dosing instructions from Forest Labs. If I could get this vital information, I knew SHE could. Her claims are not factual, and unsubstantiated because the FDA has no connection to Armour Thyroid. It is a ‘grand fathered’ pill that has been used for over 100 years. However, the formulation has changed a few times and it is not as potent as it once was and Forest Labs has said they are behind on production.

Now, I am taking a lesser amount of Armour, firstly because it is so difficult to get and secondly because the “health-care pro’s” I have seen DO NOT KNOW how to dose it, even if I could find a pharmacy that has enough of it! After calling in all the prescription refills that I have coming, the pharmacy must call around to see what dosages are on hand, so it takes about a week to get this medication [I am running out of options]. Winter will be here and without a dosage that is a little higher than 180mgs, I will continue to have worse symptoms; especially since I have had to decrease the amount from 180mgs. And the circle continues, causing more illness, more stress and the need for more Armour.

Every time I suffer this decrease in my meds, it harms me exponentially. I have been battling doctors’ lack of knowledge and compassion for years and I am tired.

My Letter to Consumer’s Report on Health Care
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

(From Janie: Here are patient groups where you can get feedback from other patients: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/talk-to-others)

(Hi Siobhan. Yes! We finally worked out the bugs and it was being recorded. Yet, for some reason, there is nothing to listen to when you click on LISTEN for the Episode on Compounding Pharmacy. So I’ll go back to TalkShoe and work this out before episode 4. Sorry about that. You’ll hear Diane typing in the background on this one, plus her saying Test, Test and Can you hear me. lol. Then it stops. Weird since it clearly shows that the call was 1 1/2 hours. We’ll get this all smoothed out with each future episode. http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=62603&cmd=tc ALSO NOTE THAT FUTURE THYROID PATIENT COMMUNITY CALLS will be held on THURSDAYS and one hour earlier.)