An Experiment With Hypothyroid Treatment

Post by **tex** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 7:58 pm

Hi All,

A while back, I got the bright idea to see if I really need to be taking a thyroid hormone supplement. I've been taking a relatively small dose, (twice the minimum), for two years, now. I wondered if I would even be able to tell the difference, so I just stopped taking it. I expected it to take at least a week, before I would notice any major symptoms, (if I even noticed any then), but surprisingly, it took less than a day and a half, before I reached for the pill bottle, and ended the misery. In only about 30 hours, I was feeling tired, (almost exhausted), no energy, didn't want to do anything, depressed, brain fog, grouchy, a little nauseated, a slight headache, etc. Since this happened so quickly, I naturally assumed that something else was going on, but a few hours after taking a pill, I felt like a kid again, and I was practically bouncing, when I went back to work, with energy to spare, when I finished my work for the day.

I'm truly amazed at how quickly, and how severely, it affected me. In fact, I didn't believe it, so I tried it again,

, and sure enough, the same thing happened. I don't recall feeling that badly before I started the treatment, so I'm wondering if my dosage needs to be increased, or if the symptoms are just much more noticeable, when they come on so quickly.

When I say 30 hours, I mean 30 hours after taking the last pill, not 30 hours after skipping one. IOW, this happened only about 6 hours after I would normally have taken my daily pill. I still find it hard to believe that such a short time could make so much difference.

Tex

angy · Post by **angy** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:49 pm

another tester eh tex!!!

Thats pretty surprising how fast that took affect ...glad you identified it and your back to bouncing again...

Post by **tex** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:21 pm

Angy,

I realize it's kind of irresponsible to be doing something like that, but when I first started taking a thyroid supplement, my doc insisted that I didn't really need it, because my TSH looked fine, and the only issue was that my Free T4 was low, (something that he never tests for, anyway, but I talked him into testing it, anyway). He agreed to let me try a minimum dose of thyroid hormone supplement, though, to humor me, and when we did another test, a few months later, there hadn't been much change in the numbers, so again, he said that every thing was fine, but I managed to convince him to double the dose.

So that's why I thought that maybe I should check to see if I really need to be taking a supplement. Apparently, I do, and I'm guessing that I may need to increase the dose, if I start having significant symptoms so soon after skipping a treatment.

Tex

angy · Post by **angy** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:49 am

i dont think thats irresponsible tex...why be taking something if you dont need it eh!! god only knows ive messed with my meds and diet just to test for reactions.and to see if i really need them...im glad you sorted it out though and knowing that you probably do need it...