Quote from pushka:

I am currently on 150mcg levothyroxine and I reckon I am no better on it than I was off it although my blood tests now say I am in limits, even slightly hyper by TSH test.

But in Australia levothyroxine is the ONLY drug available. No dessicated thryoid here (Armour) Drs think Im queer - you must be better your bloods are normal - But I do not FEEL better - I could fall asleep in this chair I say - I just have to close my eyes and Im asleep!

Sigh :yawn:

pushka,

can you not get cytomel there either? is it just not something YOUR doctor won't prescribe? i'm on a synthroid/cytomel combo and feel better than when i was just on synthroid alone ... much ;) better, actually ...

hmmm ... i know OZ is advanced medically, so do NOT understand this ... don't feel you're in the boonies just because you can't get armour ...

what's the lower limit -- 0.3? can you change your endo?

:D jb

I've been surfing the web a bit further and discovered that T3 (such as Cytomel) is known as Tertroxine in Australia. You could check into adding that to your levothyroxine.

Quote from pushka:

Hey Guys

thanks for all the research!

I checked with my GP and with a hormone specialist (not an endo) and both of them have said that Levo is the only drug available. They wont refer me to an endo! :mad: I dont get it - its like their egos are invested in all this.

I will follow your leads and try it again.

onwards

pushka,

gosh, d'ja THINK!! -- who knew doctors had egos!! :rolleyes: i know of VERY few who don't, and they're the gems of the earth (my neuro and my GP being two of them) ...

do you have a GP (in canadian-speak)/primary care physician/(US speak/) -- someone who just takes care of your general health? a family doctor? what's a hormone specialist -- a gynecologist? if we're talking sex hormones here (probably a gyno), he wouldn't know much about the thyroidbecause altho' they're hormones, they're different types ... that's why you need an endo ...

anyway, if you have a GP/PCP/family doctor, you'd get her/him to insist that you be referred to an endo...

i am fortunate enough to have had several wonderful doctors in my life, a gyno who understood enough to refer me to an endo, a GP who prescribes thyroid meds. (including cytomel) .... and MORE than my share of bad ones, but i've FINALLY learned to recognize the signs -- and run away :eek: ) ...

hang in there!!

:D jb

ps thanks to midwest1 for the further info ...
pps just occurred to me -- who referred you to the hormone guy? perhaps ...?

we call them GPs here too, and i think our measurements are the same -- we use mg instead of mcg; i only say mcg for the sake of convenience, since the majority of users are american ...

"just kept upping the dose" -- may i ask what drugs? it's just that, if you're depressed and taking anti-depressants, a little cytomel/tertroxine might do you good; i recently went to a psychiatrist whose specialty is neuropharmacology, and i could have fallen into his arms when he said that if your thyroid doesn't work, ADs don't work (you're new here, but my first endo, in april, i dubbed the endo-from-hell, because fortunately he did all the right tests, but when i said i was depressed, said "hypoT doesn't cause depression -- you need a psychiatrist -- want the number of a guy?" HUH???... i was so angry:mad: i could have spat nails; he didn't give me any cytomel as a result of course ... the ignorance of the man!! didn't listen to me anyway -- ARRGGH!) ... so i fired him and got a new endo, with whom i'm quite pleased and it seems he has a rep for being brilliant, so ... i've fallen into some good luck after all!! ...

just might make you feel better all over, too (not the endo -- the
tertroxine ;) )...

there's a theory that because armour is dessicated pig thyroid, it can't be titrated exactly (who knows exactly how big those little piggies were!) and also, that it can carry viruses that have so far not yet crossed over into humans (hepatitis E is an example) ... now don't all you armour fans dump on me: i'monly quoting my neuropharmacologist here; many endos really think synthetic is better and have doubts about the natural stuff and if you feel better on armour, good on you; i'd take it myself if i thought needed it BUT: that said, i'm doing quite well on synthroid/cytomel so pushka, don't feel cheated!!

glad you got your new GP ... some endos/GPs simply will NOT prescribe thyroid medication, even in the face of family history -- DUH!!!

so good for you for doing your own research -- it always makes me feel chuffed when a person makes that first post, sometimes in despair, and just gets so much SUPPORT that she gains enough confidence to INSIST on good medical care!!

BTW, if you don't mind, what part of oz are you from? (i know distressingly little about it and have never been there; i just wondered) ...

jb

whoa nellie!!

MW1: i've done some 'net research and discovered that you are absolutely right -- levels are much more finely titrated than they were in the past; i apologize for my ill considered remark, and i surely agree that the risk of contracting an obscure ailment is mega-minor ...this is a hot topic tho' ...

in canada (ok, ottawa), i was prescribed cytomel by my GP (when suddenly, i needed it again) -- it's a long dull story, but my ADs don't work when i don't have enough T3, i have double-double depression, and with my T3 going up (aphasia) and down (deep depression) it's quite the trip ... so you can get it in canada, but i may just have lucked out and found the only GP who'll prescribe it ...

girlygirl: i know of no double-blind peer reviewed studies comparing armour thyroid to levothyroxine, do you?

all this to say: i know that some people wouldn't part with their armour for anything, some do well on thyrolar, many do well on a levothyroxine/cytomel regimen, and some just need cytomel or levothyroxine (my sister, for example) -- i'm happy with the levothyroxine/cytomel regimen because it suits me and i need to be able to control my T3 and as i said, i have aphasia when my T3 is too high) ...

believe it or not, girlygirl, you and i are on the same side ...

jb