I am finally going on synthroid.
I never really knew much about the thyroid part of my health issues. I mean, I knew I had hashimotos like my father, and I knew I had nodules (which lead to a biopsy about a year ago) but everything looked great on my last ultrasound and so I never worried much about it. I knew thyroid issues could be exacerbated postpartum but at my three month endocronologist appointment my thyroid showed no signs of irregularity, so I figured I was golden.
But then came the weight - I gained 10 lbs in two weeks. (Much to my dismay.)
And the lethargy - I couldn't drag myself out of bed before noon. (I was getting up with baby and walking at six thirty every morning. I started just bringing her back into bed with me and taking a long nap.)
And then I noticed it: the goiter. My neck was huge. My husband could visibly see the enlarged thyroid. I could feel the pressure of it laying on my back. (Much to my horror. The idea of a goiter simultaneously scares the crap out of me and totally disgusts me.)
Worse was all of this occurred in less than three weeks!!
So of course I called my doctor. The nurse was very sympathetic and gave me an appointment as soon as she could since "it must be bad as you're not a complainer." (Nice to know they know me there haha.)
Had an ultrasound and sure enough my thyroid doubled in size. So I got some blood work done and I just hoped it was consistent with my symptoms so I didn't have to do another biopsy.
When the nurse called she said to me "you won't even believe how high your TSH levels are." Having never had a TSH above four, I was thinking the 20-30 range. Nope. My TSH was 74. She said "no wonder you feel lethargic!" and even thanked me for calling and making the appointment when I did.
So this morning was my first dose of synthroid. It'll be six weeks before I'm on the full dose but I hope I respond well to the medication and start feeling better soon. I'm so thankful I have a doctor who listens to me and takes me seriously. I know others aren't so lucky.
I never really knew much about the thyroid part of my health issues. I mean, I knew I had hashimotos like my father, and I knew I had nodules (which lead to a biopsy about a year ago) but everything looked great on my last ultrasound and so I never worried much about it. I knew thyroid issues could be exacerbated postpartum but at my three month endocronologist appointment my thyroid showed no signs of irregularity, so I figured I was golden.
But then came the weight - I gained 10 lbs in two weeks. (Much to my dismay.)
And the lethargy - I couldn't drag myself out of bed before noon. (I was getting up with baby and walking at six thirty every morning. I started just bringing her back into bed with me and taking a long nap.)
And then I noticed it: the goiter. My neck was huge. My husband could visibly see the enlarged thyroid. I could feel the pressure of it laying on my back. (Much to my horror. The idea of a goiter simultaneously scares the crap out of me and totally disgusts me.)
Worse was all of this occurred in less than three weeks!!
So of course I called my doctor. The nurse was very sympathetic and gave me an appointment as soon as she could since "it must be bad as you're not a complainer." (Nice to know they know me there haha.)
Had an ultrasound and sure enough my thyroid doubled in size. So I got some blood work done and I just hoped it was consistent with my symptoms so I didn't have to do another biopsy.
When the nurse called she said to me "you won't even believe how high your TSH levels are." Having never had a TSH above four, I was thinking the 20-30 range. Nope. My TSH was 74. She said "no wonder you feel lethargic!" and even thanked me for calling and making the appointment when I did.
So this morning was my first dose of synthroid. It'll be six weeks before I'm on the full dose but I hope I respond well to the medication and start feeling better soon. I'm so thankful I have a doctor who listens to me and takes me seriously. I know others aren't so lucky.
Holy wow! 74?! That is INSANE!!! So glad they have you on something! It usually took me about 5 weeks to tell a difference--are they going to be increasing your dosage??? I only ask because that's about 1/3 of what I take (well, the Armour equivalent) and I have never had TSH anywhere NEAR 74 (try closer to 10!).
ReplyDeleteOh yeah we're increasing the dose! ;-) I'm supposed to do one week at 50 mcg, one week at 100 mcg, four weeks at 125 mcg, and then four weeks at 135 mcg and get retested and see if that's an appropriate dose for me. From my understanding, this is a weight based medication so ultimately our doses should be somewhat similar.
DeleteIt was really pretty disturbing to hear that number since I just had my first postpartum visit less than six weeks ago and I was fine. I can't even imagine what it would've been had I waited until my next appointment at the end of September. O_O