ory short-diagnosed with graves ,16 years ago. raditated my thyroid, put on synthroid, never the same again. year ago added cytomel. This helpe a littla but seems to not work as well as it did in the beginning. My hair is still falling out and it has thinned very bad over the years. My doc says this has nothing to do with my throid because my numbers are "normal". He told meto see a dermatologist. I think hes nuts. Any suggestions?

and even with the cytomel added.

My best helper is dessicated thyroid hormone (Armour, Westhroid or Naturthroid)...

I'm also NOW taking 1 drop of Iosol iodine per day. No hair loss for me and I believe the iodine is helping. My oral temp is up close to 98 now. Some days it's over 98....it's been in the 96 and 97 for a long time.

Sorry you are going thru this. Many people on the: realthyroidhelp.com are very helpful but with the shortages of dessicated thyroid hormone I just don't know what to say.

Any chance of seeing a naturopath or holistic doc who deals with thyroid issues? jam


I just did some research on Iodine Deficiency and some symptoms of this deficiency are: goiter, hair loss, dry skin and fatigue. I'd sure look at this issue. jam

[This Message was Edited on 09/23/2009]

Get your lab printouts if you haven't already. Check what tests were run.

You can self-order your own thyroid panel at some labs. Insurance generally doesn't pay, but a complete panel shouldn't set you back more than $85- $150 out of pocket. Save the receipt if you itemize, or if you have a health savings acct, you can get reimbursed for the test.

A complete panel includes: TSH, free T4, free T3, and thyroid antibodies (usually 3). When you get your test results back, check to see where your results fall relative to the reference range. Even a result that is within the ref range, but at one end or the other of that range, is fair game for intervention.

As an aside, the AACE (Am. Academy of Clinical Endocrinologists) recommended in 2003 that the ref range for TSH go only to 3.0 at the upper end. Many labs & docs still go by the old 5.0 as the upper limit. Some cutting edge docs feel that 1.0 on TSH is closer to ideal, but for many of us TSH is only part of the story.

Best wishes.

I tell people to aim their Free T3 and the Free T4 at mid ranges to see if they feel their best there at. Not everyone feels great the same places within the 'normal' ranges. For me I like my Free Ts at mid ranges. For some other people it could be higher and for others still yet, they prefer it lower.

Knowing where one feels their best with the thyroid levels will help with the lessening of the thyroid symptoms.

are at the higher end of the range and tsh is very very low...I'm feeling pretty good in the thyroid arena. I don't have graves, but deal with hashi's.

Have you ever attempted to get on desiccated thyroid hormone. So many people do so much better on the "natural" thyroid hormone.

[This Message was Edited on 10/12/2009]