guess I need to read up on this more, describe how you feel before and after taking the meds. please.Originally Posted by cbeaves
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Normal meds?
I'm not sure what you mean my "normal meds". It seems that most who have indicated what they are taking, take Levothroxin. Levo is a generic but is not from animals. Levo is just t4 though and your t4/t3 mix has me interested. Is this something your doctor helped you get or exactly what and how did you find it.
KK4VKZ -SOTA-SUMMITS ON THE AIR-
SUPPORT LNT
My thyroid can't make a decision whether to be borderline high or low. I take Cytomel, (t3) which is most active in the brain, so at least I think I feel better. It was prescribed to enhance other meds I am taking.
Synthroid® (levothyroxine sodium), is not made from animal products, as far as I know. Neither is Cytomel. Just an FYI. ~K2~
K2 Able to leap small twigs with a single bound.
I did it. I said I’ll do it, and I’ve done it. [after she summited Katahdin] –EMMA ‘GRANDMA’ GATEWOOD
Right, the usual medication (Armour) for someone needing T3 and T4 is made from animal (pig, I think?) products. For a while I took Thyrolar which is the synthetic version but has been discontinued. It worked wonderfully for me. I suppose I could take the two different synthetic meds but the T3/T4 is combined into one pill (capsule) at the compound pharmacy.
My mother-in-law is my doctor (and fellow vegetarian) so she is able to really help me with this!
Well, before I was diagnosed I was tired a lot. I didn't want to do much. My friends would ask me to go hiking or backpacking and I was turning them down because I knew I just didn't have the energy. I was still in school and I had to go on a field trip for a forestry class that required hiking around in the forest and measuring trees. I was so beat that when I got home I could do nothing but lie on the floor so my husband took me to immediate care and I had several tests. Found out it was Hashimoto's.
After taking meds (it took about a month or so) I started to feel "normal" again. I have plenty of energy now and with taking Cortisol I don't ever get the "afternoon slump" anymore. I recently had a blood test and found out that I need to up my thryoid pill dose which I am doing now. But I couldn't even tell that it was low again. I hike and snowboard as much as I can now and I want to do these things. I'm so happy I got this all figured out before my thru this year. Otherwise, there is no way I would've been able to even think about it.
Thyrolar (my previous T3/T4 medication) had to be refrigerated (and that won't work for a thru!) so my doctor (mother-in-law) found a few compound pharmacies that would make it. I've gotten it from one, and then we switched to Medaus (http://www.medaus.com/) recently. It works great.
I know many doctors don't feel both T3 and T4 are needed. But this medication has worked wonders for me!
Armour is back, but only at 30 mg and 60 mg. By the end of this month, Armour expects to be producing 90 mg (my script) again. I've been on thyroid supplementation since I was 13. Anyone who meets me and has a keen eye for this condition can see this. In college I was switched to the synthetic version. It was the new thing. Unfortunately, although it did help, the theory behind it never worked as well as it should for me. I know that it was doing SOME good because once when I did not realize how important it was, I dispensed with taking it--what a bother, y'know. I ended up in an ER. Now I consider it the one script that MUST be filled regardless of my monetary status. So, when I got the word that Armour (which does definitely work for me) was available again, I immediately switched back. Unfortunately, however, the pharmacist could only give me 30 60-mg and 30 30-mg pills, making up the 90-mg requirement. He charged me for two prescriptions, which doubled the cost. I yelled and screamed (politely because I am, of course, no shrew--:- ] ). I called Armour. I called Caremark (my script insurance). It took me an hour to realize that I needed to scream only to the Walgreen pharmacist, who had talked "down" to me when I complained. If he had been a little sharper and less of a sharpster, he would have given me 90 30-mg pills. I will see my doc next week to ask for an alternate script to be available. Just my experience, but it could be yours if the shoe fits.--Kinnickinic
PS: I already feel better and look forward to feeling great when I go to the Grand Opening of the AT Museum in three weeks.
You never know just what you can do until you realize you absolutely have to do it.
--Salaun
Wow I'm not alone. I have hypothyroidism so when not on medication it just does not work and starting the day is difficult. I take 2.00 mcg Levoxyl (generic synthroid) due to insurance costs. When I am not on medication I lose alot of hair and am very sluggish. It does affect my everyday but I do alot I am a very active person and refuse to let it slow me down. My Dr. said I am doing good but he also says I have adapted that I don't really know what it feels like to feel great. I find that sad, but I think I feel good. The one thing I have noticed in the last few years is the heat bothers me alot more than it use too, so I really have to concentrate on getting electrolytes and fluids a plenty.
The love the outdoors and nothing is gonna stop me from getting out there.
If you can’t fix it with duct tape or a beer; it ain’t worth fixing
i haven't wrote on here for a while. i've been on levothyroxine for about two months. i feel great. but i have to get up an hour earlier to take it without food. it's very tolerent, so if i even eat a half hour after i take it, i feel it doesn't work towards the end of the day. that's ok, it still works.
ok, so i really haven't wrote on here for a while. i have hashimoto's, my free's are in range, and my TSH is 15. it used to be 220. when it was 220, i was hiking and biking with no problem. now i don't have the energy to do much after just a few days of exercise. people say that those with an underactive thyroid shouldn't push it, and if so, then how am i supposed to condition myself and prepare for thru hiking the AT? maybe i should ask if anyone has thru hiked the AT with an underactive thyroid. the problem i have is with a lot of people with hashimoto's is other endocrine broblems i.e. adrenal fatigue, iron deficiency, G6PD, and hypoglycemia. it's just been really frustrating, especially when i used to be in top shape. i went from running two miles in eleven minutes to not having the energy sometimes to jog two miles. i guess i'm just asking to see if anyone has thru hiked with an underactive thyroid, and if they did, and i know there are people that have thru hiked with diabetes, then i can do it to. i don't want to make it sound like i'm giving up, which i'm not, it's just really hard. i have to take it one day at a time, but since i've been feeling better, i've been getting back into shape. i do also know that thinking that you're in shape that you're ready to thru hike the AT, i know it's much more physically demanding than if you think you're in shape, but with all my thyroid problems, it's really hard physically and psychologically. if anyone would like to share, go ahead!
sorry, i meant to say that thinking because you're physically in shape that you're ready to thru hike the AT, that thru hiking the AT is much harder than people think if they think they're in shape. basically, i'm well aware that "being in shape" doesn't mean a thru hike will be a piece of cake. i know it will be very hard. but i know it will be much harder with thyroid problems to name a few. i'm not letting these problems get in my way, i'd just like to here how others have fared. if anyone has any success stories to share, i would appreciate it. it does suck, but i'm trying as hard as i can to not let anything get in the way.
I'm definitely a slower hiker these days...and I have to be sure to bring really healthy foods (meaning no 'empty' calories). I have done well on week long hikes the past few years. So this year the plan is to hike the Long Trail and see how I do. I have always wanted to do an AT thru-hike...but I will happily choose to do sections if it comes down to protecting my health.
I am Hypothyroid and thru-hiked the AT in 2010 and the PCT in 2011 with no problems. Granted I still took my meds everyday. I noticed a problem accomplishing even the simpliest tasks when I was first diagnosed but after a year or so they got my levels right and I haven't had any trouble since.
Hope this help. Good luck!
Trail Name: Cerveza
that's good to hear. i do know i'm not going to do anything major until my TSH is in range, but it's been several years and it's still not. i'm still patient about it. did you feel at any time on the hike that you still had days where you didn't have as much energy? i guess that's too broad a question to ask to anyone that's hike 2,167 miles! i'm sure everyone had those days, but us underactive thyroid people can probably tell a difference on our low and high days! but thanks for your reply, it's stuff like this that's encouraging. and after a year and a half without getting out, hiking withdrawal has kicked in!
stormbird, another thing i would like to ask is what was your average miles per day? i'm sure you could understand anyone that's 20-30 years old and physically fit can average at least 20 mpd after the snow is gone, and that's what i was able to do, but being on the low thyroid side now, was it easy to do 15 mpd? i'm not looking to race a thru-hike! but then everybody is different. as long as i can do that, i guess i should be good. i'm a semi-ultralite hiker anyway, most of my gear is light. i need it to be light anyway as i dont weigh much. so it's like i need a powerful engine if my car is 4K pounds.
i'm terrible at analogies!
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