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Medication

5 Ways to Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate

5 Ways to Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate

A lot of people are confused by what it means to be your own thyroid advocate.…

Things to Pack for a Holiday With Thyroid Disease

Things to Pack for a Holiday With Thyroid Disease

As someone who has travelled quite a few times since having a thyroid condition, I am…

How To Take Your Thyroid Medication Correctly

How To Take Your Thyroid Medication Correctly

Originally published on 7th November 2016 Last updated on 20th February 2019 How difficult can it…

How I Feel About Thyroid Patients Self-Sourcing Medication

TW: Suicidal Thoughts All around the world, there are people with hypothyroidism who source their own…

When on NDT or T3: Asking Your Doctor for a Letter of Medical Necessity

I’ve already written some tips about travelling abroad with hypothyroidism, but I still get asked the…

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☀️ Why may some thyroid patients need less thy

☀️ Why may some thyroid patients need less thyroid medication in the warmer months?

•••

🧡The main purpose of thyroid hormones is to ensure that the metabolism is running properly.

💛People with hypothyroidism (and possibly not optimally medicated for it) may have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism, such as feeling cold a lot of the time.

🧡We need the correct amount of thyroid hormones in our bodies to burn calories in order to create heat and fuel, which is important, in particular for our body temperature and energy levels.

💛 In the warmer months, due to the thyroid not needing to work as hard to generate body heat, we may not need as much thyroid hormone, and it is for this reason, that some thyroid patients find they actually need to lower their thyroid medication slightly in the summer or when they go on holiday to a warmer country, with the guidance of a doctor of course.

‼️I definitely do not suggest you do this on your own!

🧡It’s definitely worth talking to your doctor about this if you notice that you feel particularly worse at a certain time of year, and think you could do with a slight medication dosage adjustment.

💛You may also feel hyperthyroidism symptoms if you require a slight decrease of thyroid medication in warmer months.

🧡You should aim to have your thyroid levels (the full panel) tested twice a year if possible; once in the warmer months and once in the cooler months, so your doctor can adjust your dose as soon as possible.

•••

👇 Let me know below - did you know this?!

- Rachel 🦋💙

🩸 Periods. 🩸Along with many of the other s

🩸 Periods.

🩸Along with many of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism, menstrual issues is a common one.

•••

🩸Thyroid hormone is needed for every function and cell in the body, so when you’re hypothyroid, many processes — including your menstrual cycle — can be affected.

🩸Hypothyroidism can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, heavy periods, painful periods, short or delayed cycles, non-ovulation and struggles to conceive.

🩸Behind period issues or abnormalities/changes, there may be non-optimal thyroid hormone levels, oestrogen dominance and/or adrenal dysfunction, PCOS, endometriosis etc.

🩸Do ensure your thyroid levels are optimal as an initial step. For many thyroid patients, this resolves any menstrual problems.

🩸We shouldn’t be putting up with debilitating menstrual issues than CAN be resolved in many cases. Badger your doctors!!!

•••

👇 Let me know your experiences with this in the comments and as always, follow me for more thyroid info and please check out the resources linked in my bio for more support!

- Rachel 🦋💙

🩸Did you know that you could be diagnosed with

🩸Did you know that you could be diagnosed with both thyroid conditions?

•••

🦋 The short explanation is: it’s not possible to experience both at the same time, but you can be diagnosed with both.

🦋 Hashimoto’s and Graves’ Disease have the complete opposite effect on the thyroid gland (one leading to a decrease in thyroid hormone and leading to an increase), so it is not possible to experience the effects of both at the same time.

🦋 However, you can be diagnosed with both, and fluctuate between experiencing one or the other. Or, you may have an initial diagnosis of one (Graves’ or Hashimoto’s) and then switch to having the other permanently.

🦋 According to research, developing Hashimoto’s after Graves’ disease happens to approximately 15-20% of people with Graves’.

🦋 The other way round, developing Graves’ after Hashimoto’s, is quite rare.

🦋 Due to the nature of being diagnosed both Graves’ and Hashimoto’s at the same time meaning that you can fluctuate between the two states of thyroid disease, it’s not uncommon to have thyroid levels checked frequently to ensure that the correct treatment is still being given.

•••

👇 Let me know if you already knew this!👇

NOTE: definitely do not assume you have any medical conditions or diagnoses until you’ve been evaluated by a medical professional who can test for them.

- Rachel 🦋💙

🤷🏼‍♀️ Have you left an appointment fee

🤷🏼‍♀️ Have you left an appointment feeling totally confused because you were sure your thyroid levels were off but the doctor said they were ‘normal’?

•••

✊ You’re not alone!

🧪 The problem often lies with how a doctor is reading those results.

🧪 Yes, your results may fall ‘within range’ but are they optimal? If you still have symptoms, possibly not.

🧪 In short: it’s not just about falling within range. It’s about WHERE you fall in range.

🧪 ‘Optimal’ is a place within the range. It’s way more specific. ‘Optimal’ is the place a lot of thyroid patients will say they feel best at.

🧪 For example, a standard TSH test range may be from 1-4 and the more specific optimal place within this 1-2 🤯

🧪 So if your TSH is a 4, then your doctor may well say you’re fine because it’s within range, but it’s not optimal. And this can be causing your ongoing symptoms.

🦋 Getting your thyroid levels optimal - and this includes the FULL panel: TSH, Free T3, Free T4, thyroid Peroxidase antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies where possible - can make a whole world of difference.

💊 A slight medication increase can get you there, or you may find you need a different type of thyroid med. I needed a T3-containing medication to get my Free T3 levels optimal. Before this, I felt truly awful.

👇 Have you found the right type and dosage of thyroid med for you yet? Let me know below.

•••

📖 And as always, you can find lots more useful info like this in the book Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate. Comment BOOK for a link.

- Rachel 🦋💙

© Rachel Gask and The Invisible Hypothyroidism, 2015-2024. All Rights Reserved.

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