Comments on: Dr. Lowe wants to talk to you more directly this Thursday–post your questions here!

By: Kathy M

Kathy M — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:07:01 +0000

Since there are thousands of us in the NTH groups.…would it be possible for Dr. Lowe to use us as part of his research?

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:10:34 +0000

Dr. Lowe, I have been told I am a difficult case. Main complaint is chronic, all-over muscle (I mean every muscle!) fatigue/soreness, fatigue (mostly in the evening) and scalp soreness. Normal thyroid labs (low-normal FT4/FT3 and RT3 a bit elevated) and unable to dose up on “any” thyroid medication. Have tried low doses of all thyroid meds (Armour, Levoxyl, Levoxyl & Cytomel combo) with no improvement and unable to dose up due to heart palps. and irritability. Normal cortisol, normal vitamin panel, except receive periodic iron infusions due to heavy periods and am below normal magnesium but supplement with upper limit doses with no muscle improvement. No muscle disease, no lyme disease, no arthritis, no antibodies, no food intolerances, etc. Everything always comes back normal. Also take high-quality vitamins and supplement with bio-identical progesterone. None of this seems to help. Fortunately, my doctor is willing to test for anything and try anything. Any advice would be much appreciated. Laura

By: DeAnna

DeAnna — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:37:06 +0000

Dr. Lowe,
I have contacted your office and wife at one time. I also live in The Woodlands. You had mentioned you do not treat patients, but you do communicate with PCP’s to treat patients in conjunction. If this is what you recommend — Can you recommend a doctor that will work with you in The Woodlands/Houston or even National (I would travel) for a Thyroidless person??? I am recently married and understand my body is so messed up I do not think I will be able to conceive a child. I am also an RN and extremely frustrated with my DO and Internist. I do not believe the TSH is a value to follow with me as I clearly do not have a PITUITARY ISSUE. I have dealt with this my entire life. Both my mother & MGM had Thyroid Cancer with Partial/RAI. I’m currently on Sythroid since the reformulation of Armour and lack of NT.

Thank you — Thyroidless since 2 years old and tired,
DeAnna

By: Debbie R.

Debbie R. — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:33:54 +0000

Dr. Lowe,

Do you have any experience with pregnant moms on T3 only therapy? Could there be any risks to the baby from the absence of T4 or calcitonin intake for the mom?

Also, any advice about how to decide whether to stay on T3 therapy for life if doing well or to try switching back to NDT or a T3/NDT combination after effectively clearing out a huge overabundance of RT3?

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:42:51 +0000

For the menopausal woman; please address the complexities of bioidentical hormone replacement (using estradiol and progesterone), high cortisol, (chronic insomnia) and Hashimoto’s.

What else can be taken for chronic insomnia (high cortisol levels, unbalanced estrogen/progesterone, hashimoto’s) besides PS (phosphatidylserine) or Seriphos, which is non addictive?

By: Debbie R.

Debbie R. — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:12:03 +0000

Dr. Lowe,

I have read on your website that you recommend a once daily dose of T3 for those on T3-only therapy. But on STTM and the RT3 discussion group, I’ve read recommendations to multidose. I began by multidosing but have begun working toward trying to dose once daily. So far I’ve been pleased, but am concerned that I will have difficulty functioning in the a.m. without a nighttime dose (one of my worst symptoms is chronic urticaria that responds directly to T3 — so it is worse in the morning until the T3 builds throughout the day). Right now I’m taking 4 25mcg cynomel upon rising, 1 25mcg around 11 am, and 1 at bedtime. Could you elaborate on your arguments for a single dose and why the arguments for multidosing might or might not have validity? Thanks so much.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:13:47 +0000

Question one: I have been on dessicated thyroid for two years. I have an RT3 problem that worsened with Hydrocortisone therapy. I have low ferritin and trouble tolerating any significant iron supplementation. Should I be on T3 anyway while I work on raising ferritin? Currently taking 25mg of HC and 1/2 grain of NatureThroid.

By: Jennifer McCalla

Jennifer McCalla — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:53:42 +0000

1)I am still trying hard to find a Doc in my area that is willing to treat my thyroid that is ‘normal’ according to my bloodwork. I am also terrified that my daughter may have the same issues. She is starting out with headaches & low temp. at age 5 &1/2. When is a good time to get her chked out? Or should I wait till she’s a little bit older to worry about her having hypo? I don’t want her to suffer as long as I have!
2)How do you know if you have hypothyroidism or a problem with your hormones/estradiol?

By: Carol

Carol — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:38:52 +0000

Q-1: Can Dr. Lowe elaborate more on his experiences with myofascial triggger-points and hypothyroid connection? For me, this is the most stubborn of all my hypo symptoms… gets worse the more hypo I am and treatments provide only temporary relief.

Q-2: Doctors seem to automatically consider palpitations a symptom of over-medication, but can they be a hypo symptom as well? I have experienced palpitations on the new Armour but not on Nature-throid so I’m wondering if the palps are most likely indicative of needing more or less medication (i.e. Armour since that’s the only med I have access to at the moment).

By: Lynn Dunning

Lynn Dunning — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:12:54 +0000

To Regina:

Have you been screened for Celiac disease? I could not lose weight until even trace amounts of gluten were gone from my diet. I am a low carber so ate little gluten anyway, but even a trace is enough to do damage to a Celiac. Blood tests do not rule OUT Celiac; they can only rule it in. So, if bloods are negative, the next step is an enterolab test. Only after an enterolab test can one say they definitely do NOT have Celiac disease.

Also, you may be a person that hyperconverts T4 to T3 on their way to an optimal dose as I did: http://forums.realthyroidhelp.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=16314