Tuesday, June 17, 2014

"It's Like Jack Bauer and My Thyroid Pills Over Here..."

I actually said that in a conversation today. Does anyone else have this battle with their thyroid? I get that my adrenals are a part of the conversation. But is anyone else that is on T3 having these Jack Bauer moments?

Because when it's time for my next dose - I KNOW. I have to keep it on me at all times. My neck starts to hurt. I get these pangs of pain in the area where my thyroid is........and then BAM. I can't think. I can't do anything. I have to take the medicine. Because why didn't I do this quicker?! Why did I wait so long to think of this????

That's how my thyroid communicates: like a terrorist. Every single dosage is like a hostage negotiation. I feel completely at its mercy every twelve hours. Over the past year and a half, my thyroid has been treated with a sustained-release T3 that is specifically compounded for me. It's been a roller coaster of symptoms and emotions and a few bits of feeling better...

For the first several months that I took SRT3 (22.5 mcg twice a day), nothing changed on my thyroid panels. Then one month out of the blue, that little butterfly-shaped beast sprang to life. Things were surprisingly good for a few weeks. I experiences energy I hadn't felt in a decade. It was short lived though, because the next month brought with it extremely hyper symptoms.

I would be sitting at my desk at work and for no reason at all I would spontaneously break out into a formidable sweat. My palms would be dripping so much that I couldn't even hold onto my computer mouse. My feet would do the same. (This is the part where you wonder why I was mousing with my feet...). Anyyywhooo, that symptom and the subsequent blood panel that was proof I was hyper brought about the reduction in my SRT3 dosage (down to 15 mcg twice a day). And that was wonderful, because I experienced an instantaneous abatement to Sweatgate. 

Now one month later, I am armed with a very hypo terrorist thyroid, and my dosage was raised back up a bit to try and find the sweet spot in T3 conversion (dosage now 18.25 mcg twice a day). If porridge were SRT3, you could call me Goldilocks.

That pretty much brings you up to speed with where I am in my love /hate relationship with my thyroid. And SRT3 therapy. I'm not sure if this is all just a symptom of my adrenal fatigue...or a clue that I have Hashimoto's...or some other unknown variable that would make me feel lost and clueless. For now at least, I seem to be tolerating the 18.25 mcg. If you have any experience with thyroid treatment like I've just described and you've come through it to greener pastures, I would love to hear what worked for you.

I do have hope that things will get regulated soon and that well-supported adrenals will be a magical part of what makes that angry pink terrorist stop messing with me so much. I guess I just need to hear success stories from people who have been where I am now. I know the ovary/thyroid/adrenal triangle is tough to treat. I'm trying to have patience. That I have managed not cartooning angry thyroids until a year and a half into treatment is proof I trust, God!! :)


2 comments:

  1. The thyroid is such a complex thing, isn't it?! I can't say I have had any experiences that directly mirror yours, but I can say that while I had never had a problem with my thyroid in my life, I appeared hypo at the EXACT time I began TTC after my 2nd loss. It can be so, so frustrating. But the fact that you have a sense of humor, and more importantly, FAITH, will get you through the tough times!!!

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  2. I really never noticed a problem with my thyroid (in terms of mood/symptoms, probably contribute to my amenorrhea), and now that I'm on meds, I don't really feel different with/without them. I've missed two T3 does in the pass two weeks, and neither time did I feel any different.

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