I am new to living with hypothyroidism. I am now taking the levothyroxine 5mcg. I have switched to bottled water to avoid the fluoride. I stopped drinking iced tea as a main drink and green tea as well. I am TRYING to be concious of what I eat.
Actually I figured out the problem well over a year ago. I had gotten so down I had no energy to do anything except lay around and read...and pack on pounds that no dieting would touch. FINALLY, it showed up in blood work and is being addressed.
My face has slimmed up and may have lost a few pounds judging by clothing. Many, many, many of my symptoms are much better. I go back in a month for blood work to see if dosage needs to be raised.
Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks
Dianne

Exercise, smart eating and weight loss will help you tremendously. I can't take the meds (bad reactions), so I've been living unmedicated for about 4 years. Last year when my blood works was checked before surgery, my levels were in the high normal range!

Are you seeing an endocrinologist?

Oh, and avoid soy!

I have been living with this for about five years.

What is it with tea and fluoride? And soy??
Help me out here, ladies! I have never heard about this stuff!

Yes, I agree. Use an endocrinologist as your primary physician. Skip the Family doc.

I read somewhere that people with thyroid conditions should avoid soy. Will have to look into it further tomorrow, and I'll post the results. Never heard anything about fluoride or tea though....

If you take other medications, like Calcium supplements or a multivitamin with iron, take them at least 4 hours apart from your thyroid medicine. They will prevent some of it from being absorbed, and it will not work as well. There are other medicines that interact as well, but these are the two most common.

css, I had been told that by my dr and I read that on the synthroid site. I don't take either of these supplements at all because I am afraid of anything interferring.

Also, take your medication on an empty stomach, at the same time every day. I take mine first thing in the AM when I wake up, and wait an hour to eat. I do have my coffee right away though. I have often wondered if that would have any adverse affects, but am afraid to look that up!

Ah, I can't take the meds therefore this was never relevant to me.

I googled soy and hypothyroidism and here's several links (narrowed down because there were a lot!):

Do Soy Foods Negatively Affect Your Thyroid? / Downsides of Soy / Thyroid Disease Information Source - Articles/FAQs
Soy's Thyroid Dangers

This one says soy can interfere with absorption of meds, but also states you don't have to completely avoid soy. However, IMO, why slow down the affects of the meds???

Soy: Does it worsen hypothyroidism? - MayoClinic.com

Fluoride prevents the thyroid from fully functioning. I cannot remember what I read about the tea and green tea except that it was negative. Today when I searched for what I had read, I found contradicting information; however, those same sites were pushing product.

I take calcium supplements (sugar free chocolate chews are nice treat at bedtime, well away from synthroid dose.). I also take a women's formula multi vitamin at bedtime.

I take a B12 shot every 2 weeks because of hair loss and my nails are no longer terribly grooved and week. The synthroid has helped tremendously; yet, still I have a good way to go to being me again. My intellectual ability is improving but not back to par.

As far as exercise, I am forcing me to take a short walk at least a couple of times a day. I am doing ok with that and hope to increase the length of walk soon. I tried the eliptical but I just am not ready for that yet. 5 or 6 minutes and I am beat. That is pathetic I know.

Another big improvement I have seen is in my skin. It was so dry and scaly and looked horrid. My complexion looked horrid. I saw an immediate improvement there with the synthroid. I am sure that faithfully using olay wash and olay moisturizer has helped. Is wonderful to feel like taking care of my face. lol

I am on medicare and do not know if I need a referral to endocrinologist. I will look into that. I believe that there is much more that I can do besides take the synthroid. I want my life and health back.

Why do you say to go to an Endocrinologist?
It's just a blood test that anyone can take and send to a lab for results, isn't it?
My doctor has never suggested I go to anyone else.
My numbers always come up in the normal area.

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In many cases, your doctor won't suggest an endocrinologist because that's taking away from his job and many doctors feel just a pill will solve a lot of problems. And in your case, your numbers are normal, so thus an endocrinologist would be unnecessary.

I chose to see a specialist when it came to my disease and my life. If you had cancer, wouldn't you want an oncologist?

Ditto on the don't eat or drink for an hour in the morning after you take it. I wake up hungry, so that always kills me!
How long have you been taking the levothyroxine? I know when I started taking it, it took a good six weeks to build up in my system and really make a difference. I'm not sure if that is for everyone or just if you have your thyroid removed (I had the big "C").

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