Well, saw the endocrinologist this morning and he confirmed my self-diagnosis; I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis a condition where my own antibodies are attacking and slowly destroying my thyroid. I am starting tomorrow on a daily regimen of 25mcg of levothyroxine (synthetic T4). I lobbied for Armour Thyroid (a natural compound made from pig thyroids that contains both T4 and T3) but, despite the company's assurances, the doc belives there is too much variation in composition from lot to lot. He also pointed out that 80% of the body's T3 is synthesized from T4 anyway. He wanted to start me out at 75mcg but I insisted we go more slowly. No sense taking more than I need and any additive treatment will get me moving in the right direction. I can always take more and will probably have to as my thyroid self-destructs!
Now for some fun! I actually made appointments with TWO endocrinologists and see the second one tomorrow. Won't it be interesting to compare notes. I'll keep you posted on the "dueling endos" and my treatment results. Of particular interest will be how it affects my rising Lp(a) and homocysteine.
Regards, HeartHawk
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Hypothyroidism and Heart Disease: The Saga Continues
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6 comments:
HH - You are my trailblazer. Just got back from my doctor this morning who drew blood for T3, T4 and thyroid antibodies. Have an appointment in a week to go through the lab work. I, too, have questions about homocysteine, Lp(a) and niacin. Right now, my homocysteine has decreased from 15.0 to 9.8 through use of folate/B12/B6 but it is still too high. My Lp(a) had been as low as 6 mg/dL but the last test showed it at 11 mg/dL. Please let us know what you find out - I'd be particularly interested in learning more about the interaction of niacin with Hashimoto's. Best of luck!
-Russ
Oh,Hearthawk, haven't you heard the old song, "the thyroidbone's connected to the heartbone.." Or is that how it goes..hmm. Well, just wanted to say that I LOVE your strategies (app'ts. with 2 endo's, fake email for your results)! Yes, we must all be ninja when it comes to health care, and you are setting a great example. I am Jenny (not the wise and good Jenny of the Diabetes blog, but another). See my post on the TYP forum in reply to Russ yesterday for a short hx of my thyroid experiences. I will be following your thread with great interest, and can't wait to see how the 2 doc's compare. Wish you the best!
HeartHawk,
Sorry to hear about you condition.
My mother had total thyroid gland removal and was on Armour Thyroid for over 30 years. I was the only medication that worked for her. Dr's tried to switch her. The only problem was that she had to remove 20% of one pill to get the best dose for her. She died of lung cancer at 74 after 60 years of smoking.
Mat W.
Activity in the Hypothyroidism world has kicked up considerably and we've kept track of all that's been going on. Do go through this site, you'll get a lot of information you may have missed out on.
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death for both men and women. At least 58.8 million people in this country suffer from some form of heart disease.
And on the whole, cardiovascular diseases (the combination of heart disease and stroke) kill some 950,000 Americans every year.
Still, there are many misconceptions about heart disease: "The biggest misconception is that heart disease only happens to the elderly," said Elizabeth Schilling, CRNP with the Center for Preventive Cardiology Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,00 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65. And one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
So, it is now a wise decision to keep a constant monitoring of your health. Why to take a chance if we have the option. I was in the similar misconception that heart disease are far away waiting for me to get aged. But to my surprise, I was found to be having a calcium deposit in my coronary arteries. I need to have my advance diagnostic scans due reassure whether something really deadly is waiting for me. Though it was some dreadful going on in my life, but I never felt any kind of discomfort in Elitehealth.com advanced diagnostic facility. They were having some of the latest diagnostic equipments and non invasive techniques which made me feel safe.
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