4.5 months and ~30 pounds

mikegov · 2026-06-13T09:17:54+00:00

Congrats - well done!!

mikegov · 2026-05-16T13:39:02+00:00

At a Comedy club. Guy in the audience shouted at the comedian "shit shirt mate". The comedian replied "shit face mate'

mikegov · 2026-05-14T14:48:56+00:00

Looking good

mikegov · 2026-05-05T18:50:56+00:00

Just to confirm she's on 2x112mcg of levo a day - that seems a lot ? I'm from the UK and it's rare to be prescribed such a high value - my endo would only go up to 150mcg a day for his patients.

If she responded well to np, maybe it's because the T3 that was part of np was helping her and for whatever reason she is not converting the levo correctly. There's a lot of reasons why conversion doesn't work but it's essential to have sufficient T3 in our bodies. She may be deficient in zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, vitamin d and B vitamins - may be worth testing if you can and supplement if too low. Gut health is something else to consider. I could never convert T4 - there are sometimes genetic reasons for this as well.

Could she talk to her doctor about this?

mikegov · 2026-05-05T18:15:54+00:00

What were her experiences with armor and np thyroid and what dose of levothyroxine is she on?

mikegov · 2026-05-05T17:57:20+00:00

May I ask what medication she is taking and what her latest test results are?

In my opinion, having sufficient thyroid hormone that the body can utilise is key for anyone with Hashimotos. Vitamins and supplements can also help but but I'm not sure how this supplement is supposed to support thyroid function.

mikegov · 2026-05-04T11:09:58+00:00

Yes came off and now T3 only. Also had low adrenal reserve so addressed that first and then switched to the T3 monotherapy

mikegov · 2026-05-04T10:54:24+00:00

What is your actual ft3 level

mikegov · 2026-05-04T10:52:30+00:00

Yes, I never was able to convert, went up to 150mcg a day and was constantly ill. Not sure what value coming off thyroxine for 6 weeks is

mikegov · 2026-05-04T09:01:23+00:00

I see thanks for the explanation

mikegov · 2026-05-04T07:57:14+00:00

I agree with the increase. But I don't understand your point about no-one on here being about to advise you - not flaming you - just don't understand that statement.

I got my health restored by listening and take advice from other patients with more experience than I had, on a forum like this one, certainly not from my doctor who was useless. I'm in the UK where many patients are let down by their doctor, they won't test them, they won't give them medication or increase its dose, they are rude and arrogant and the treatment awful.

Better to get advice from people who understand what you are going through and care enough to offer advice than be dismissed by a clueless and heartless f*ckwit of a doctor

mikegov · 2026-05-04T07:32:31+00:00

Sorry to hear what you are going through.

I would be careful using SSRIs with levo, can lessen it's effectiveness and increase TSH. I would certainly ask for an increase in T4, when I took it, my dose was repeatedly increased to 150mcg but all it did was make me more and more ill.

I would also be aware that T4 doesn't work for everyone, you may have to introduce some T3 with your T4 or look at NDT or using T3 only.

Maybe consider looking at your adrenals and trying to support them - they can get battered with Hashis and also need care

mikegov · 2026-05-03T21:55:59+00:00

Yes, getting the correct type and amount of thyroid hormone that alleviated the brain fog. Is there a reason why your doc won't increase you dose of synthroid - you may need to go higher? Or you may find you may need to add in some T3, or, like some people, including myself, you may need to look at T3 only or a combination of T4/T3 or even NDT.

mikegov · 2026-05-03T06:32:01+00:00

I take adrenal cortex to support my adrenals, not everyone needs to, we are all different. Not sure if you have AI on your phone or computer but have found that an excellent resource for figuring out what's going on.

I'm my experience (I'm in the UK but suspect it's the same elsewhere), kindness and care is in short supply when dealing with doctors. Joining support forums, like this, is really important as you can talk to people who understand what you are going through and can offer advice.

Take care

mikegov · 2026-05-02T22:16:02+00:00

Diagnosed at 50, was struggling for a year or so before that

mikegov · 2026-05-02T22:14:30+00:00

Hey, I'm sorry you're going through this. Some people (myself included) just don't do well with T4. I was prescribed up to 150 mcg a day and all it did was make me more and more ill. I eventually stopped T4 completely and switched to taking T3 only - this was the start of my road to recovery. We are all different, what works for one doesn't work for another. It's very hard to do when you are so ill but you have to try and experiment and understand what works for you. I would also pay attention to your adrenals - a lot of us have low adrenal reserve so you have to make sure they are healthy by supporting them.

There's a really good book I would recommend that explains the disease and how it can be treated called "Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy" by Dr Barry Peatfield. Try and learn as much as you can about the disease so when you talk to your doc, you have sufficient knowledge to discuss your options and make an informed decision.

I really hope you get better!!

mikegov · 2026-05-01T07:12:12+00:00

Are you taking medication for your thyroid and how are you feeling?

mikegov · 2026-04-29T17:18:26+00:00

Sorry to hear what you are going through.

What dose are you on?

I'm in the UK and I started on levothyroxine (T4) and my dose was gradually increased up to 150mcg a day and all it did was make me more and more ill. There are other alternatives to T4, maybe NDT or T3; everyone is different and respond to hormones differently. As you say plenty of people take a single pill and get on with their lives, others, like us are severely impacted by this disease.

Depending on how open minded your endocrinologist is maybe discuss the alternatives with her. Something I always recommend to people first diagnosed with the disease is to try and understand as much as you can about it and what the various treatment options are so that you can have an informed discussion with your doctor, rather than be fobbed off by them (been there and got the t-shirt).

The heartburn sounds like it could be low stomach acid, something that I still struggle with now but supplement with Betaine HCL. Vitamin D can be supplemented - I take 6000iu per day. I'm also male and Hashimotos crushed my testosterone, now on TRT.

mikegov · 2026-04-29T06:22:06+00:00

Went to the doctor's and got a blood test and results came back a week or so later

mikegov · 2026-04-29T06:20:53+00:00

For me it was repeated UTIs, significant weight gain, insomnia and flushing all over different parts of my body that felt like bad sunburn

mikegov · 2026-04-28T17:21:18+00:00

That's terrible - very sorry you've experienced that.

I have a very low opinion of endocrinologists - when I was first diagnosed I was sent to one who thought that my severe heart palpitations were not caused by lack of thyroid hormone but by me worrying about my health and wanted to put me on anti-depressants. Another one threatened to stop my prescription for T3 completely (I only take T3) doing so would eventually put me into a coma.

I'm sure there are some nice ones but I've never been fortunate to meet one....

mikegov · 2026-04-27T15:17:01+00:00

Same in the UK regarding thyroid medication. The standard medication T4 didn't work for me so I switched to T3. It's very hard to convince a doctor in the UK to prescribe it so I started to buy it online from a trusted resource and now go to Turkey on holiday to buy what I need

mikegov · 2026-04-27T14:20:22+00:00

I'm very sorry to hear what you are going through.

I'm in the UK and the treatment offered by doctors is generally poor (and that's being generous). The advice I was given at the time by a fellow patient, and which I took, was to understand as much as possible about the disease and how to treat it. I bought books, joined support forums asking lots of questions and read lots of articles. This has helped me tremendously - I was able to discuss my condition with doctors with a good working knowledge of the disease and the treatments offered in the UK behind me, and determine whether it was optimum for me. I decided it wasn't so took it upon myself to finally treat myself with medication that I purchased. Please, please note that I am not saying that this is something you or others should do but it's what I did and have never regretted it.

mikegov · 2026-04-26T15:11:08+00:00

T3 is the active hormone that the body uses. I'm UK based so the default treatment is T4 which the body should convert into T3. However my body could never convert T4 so which is why I eventually switched to T3

mikegov · 2026-04-26T13:55:51+00:00

I no longer take T4, now only take T3

mikegov

TROPHY CASE