by Cindy
(Austin)
I am so grateful to find this site. I have seen similar stories to mine & am hoping to find relief. I am a 50 yr old (young) woman. I started bc pills when i was 21 due to acne & severe pms. It was a miracle. I lost 15 lbs, acne cleared up, & my mood was wonderful. At 33 yrs., i learned i had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. After a couple of years of misery & to the dismay of all endocrinologists, i switched from Synthroid to Armour. All was just o.k. for a few years, but i was willing to accept "o.k" to what i experienced. before. About 2 yrs ago, I had grown frustrated with brittle nails, asthma (new), anxiety, insomnia. I tried to lower my Armour dose to no avail. Aug. 2013, i tried to go to another endo hoping they had progressed...nope. She put me on Tirosint & my nightmare started all over again. I went from 123lbs to 133 by Aug 2014. I was only on Tirosint for a few months, but it was a slow journey getting my thyroid somewhat regulated. Aug 29, 2014 i realized my symptoms might be from the bc pills & switched to bio's from an M.D/Naturapath. I've been excited about the switch & am still hopeful, but i've put on another 10lbs (total=20lbs!!) & have new symptoms; numb hands, body aches, mild night sweats.
Beginning labs 8/29/14 were: Free T4= 1.12 (.73-1.95) Free T3= 2.9 (2.3-4.2) TPeroxidaseAB: 123 , Free Testosterone 0.1 ng/dl, SHBG= 304 NMOL/L, B12=242 pg/ml, & D3= 26. I started having symptoms a couple weeks after starting the bio's; hot flashes, swelling, numb hands, muscled aches, food cravings. Bc of my age, Dr thought it was bc of low estrogen. Several changes were made since Sept.; lowering/increasing prog, increasing estrogen, not taking b12, then taking it again, etc.
Labs 11/26/14 i was on Prog (Caps)=75mg, E2 .75 E3 1.25 (Caps), Armour 120mg, Test Cream .25/day. B12 5,000mcg, D3 5,000/day 10,000 3 x's/wk, Results= Prog =1.0, E2=61 E1=181, Total Estrogen 408, Free Testosterone=.1, SHBG=223, TPeroxidaseAB=242, Thyroglobulin AB= 8, Free T4=1.28(.73-1.95), Free T3= 5.3 (2.3-4.2), B12=1600 D3=50. On 12/3/14 Dr changed doses; Armour 105mg, Test. cream .25mg/.50 alt days, start using creams instead of caps for E2=.5/E3=.75, Prog =100mg,, Adrenal Support, Vit. D,Vit B12 stay the same, change from Estrofactors to DIM.
I don't know how much longer i can tolerate these symptoms before i go back on BC pills. I know it's not ideal, but 20lbs is too much & this swelling & muscle aches are unbearable at times. Do i need more Progesterone? I see your recommendation is from 100-200mg. Do i even need Estrogen? I decided to try not taking Estrogen for a couple of days to see what happens.
I appreciate any comments or suggestions anyone might have. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this drawn out story! I'm worn out just writing it!!
Cindy