Some doctors are more open to prescribing synthetic T4/T3 combination. The endo I went to last week said he was willing to do that but would not prescribe desiccated. I actually used Cytomel for years – that is the synthetic T3. It is also now available in generic form.
I use Erfa Thyroid, aka Canadian bacon or the Canadian version of Armour. I was given a script for Armour around when it was hard to find so sent off to Canada for it. Armour was reformulated and some people have trouble with the new formula – I forget what is in the filler but it can cause digestion problems. The pharmacy I use charges $7 for shipping and I pay $25 for the 30 mg & $26 for the 60 mg. That includes shipping & you get 100 pills. I only use 1 of the 30 mg per day so that lasts over 3 months. I use 2 of the 60 mg so not quite 2 months on that.
You definitely need TSH, T3 and T4. All three numbers are relevant. Another way to check for Hashimotos is with an ultrasound. A Hashimoto’s thyroid looks pretty moth eaten and enlarged. But the metabolic panel should reflect this too. Graves will pretty rapidly result in significant weight loss. Ask for a full lipid panel too. Better to check everything.
So I checked my temperature again this morning. Exactly the same, 95.4 deg F. I’ll keep checking, but that is enough for me. I sent a note to my doctor. I’ve asked him to help me figure out what is going on, suggesting that perhaps I have hypothyroidism and requesting an appointment. We shall see how this goes.
The new kid on the block in desiccated porcine thyroid is NP Thyroid manufactured by Acella Pharmaceutical of Alpharetta, GA. From what I have read, many hypo patients are finding good results with it. Walgreens carries it as do many other pharmacies. It is a relatively inexpensive med.
That is what the doctor checked for my daughter & she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. The cortisol level is actually checking for Addison’s, I believe?? And they did that test with a 24-hour urine collection.
The cortisol test can also be done with blood draws. I’m not sure, what the deciding factor is, for determining which test to do. The 24 hr urine would be the easiest, I think, as the 2 blood draws are at different times of the day - on the same day. The two blood draws would be the hardest for me, as my doctor is an hour away. There is also one other test, which I had recently, that also is for Addisons, among a couple or so other things. I don’t have my lab papers right in hand, and I don’t remember the name of the test.
Well, for a third day in a row, my body temperature upon waking was 95.4 deg F. It is my understanding that the hallmark of adrenal fatigue and Addisons is wildly fluctuating body temperature. Is that right?
BSC, from what I read about the temperatures fluctuating, it is your average temperature over the course of 3-5 days and not the daily fluctuations. If on Mon, Tues & Wed your average came in at 96, 98 and 94, you probably have a problem. I originally typed that I lost the link and couldn’t remember the name, but when I went to copy the paragraph from STTM, saw that she linked to Dr. Rind’s site – he has a ton of good info so you might want to check that out also. From what I have read, doing the 24 hour saliva testing is the best way to check. Unless you have full blow Addison’s or close to it, your AM cortisol will probably be in range when you show up at the lab.
Here is a link to STTM talking about the temps - I don’t see how to indent here so everything below the link is from STTM.
WHAT IF MY TEMPERATURE IS ALL OVER THE MAP? It’s actually normal to have different individual temps throughout the day. Don’t fret about that. But when you are comparing your “daily averaged temperature” for five days (see the adrenal info page, Discovery Step Two, Test Four), and you find at least one of those daily averaged temps .2 to .3 higher than another, that could be a sign that you have adrenal dysfunction, a common condition with hypothyroid patients. Having an adrenal dysfunction means you aren’t producing enough cortisol for your needs. And for some folks, it takes supplementing with low-dose Hydrocortisone or other adrenal support products to bring that stability in the temperature back.
That is extremely helpful. So far, I’ve only sampled my temperature during the day, but it seems to be stay between 97-97.5 deg F. Dr. Rind suggests taking temperature at three intervals in the morning and that may display some fluctuation. I will have to try that. It does seem tho that with my morning temperature stable at 95.4 deg F for three days in a row, I am probably just hypothyroid.
But in the scope of things, it wouldn’t do any harm to collect the readings starting tomorrow for three days and see what it looks like.
You have been very helpful. As I look back at myself I actually think I have been a typical “man” and just ignored things and lied to myself. I went to bed at 9pm last night, I was tired. I then overslept and had to drive my son to school.
I have a doctors appointment on monday. My regular resident guy is unavailable, but I’ll see his colleage who is a member of the staff, a 2003 grad and hopefully has more experience, but not too old as to be of the “TSH obsessed” school of thought.
I couldn’t remember Dr. Rind’s name but when I checked STTM, it led back there anyway. The bad part of being tired as a symptom though, we all get caught up in doing too many things and it is easy to blame what is happening around us. Hopefully, the doctor you see won’t be TSH obsessed!
It is also a hallmark of other conditions as well. You can’t just assume that it is adrenal fatigue. If you really feel that you are in adrenal fatigue, get it checked out. Adrenal Storm is not something to fool around with. I was very, very ill, for almost 2 weeks, before my husband dragged me to the ER. They didn’t waste any time in getting me admitted. I don’t have Addisons yet, but one of the most recent labs, is showing that it is getting closer, to being full throttle. For what it is worth, I’ve had adrenal issues off and on, for many, many years. As I also mentioned previously, sodium levels play a huge part in Addisons, as per my nephrologist. It could also be, that your normal body temp in the morning, is 95.4. Our body temps fluctuate as much as our Bg’s do.
When I did a temperature log, mine was all over the place, all of the time. I did more than just 3 temps in the A.M. I did about 10 - 16 checks daily for a week. When most people are starting to go up with Bg’s in the wee hours, is when my Bg’s are the lowest. Cortisol? Other? Maybe just my normal time to have the lowest Bgs and body temps, for that time of day.
I agree that you are probably the typical man, and most men do need to pay attention to what their body does and listen to it, as well as getting informed about their current, and or potential medical issues. If more men did that, there probably wouldn’t be near as many widows quite much earlier than expected.
Thanks for the input. I’ll have to see if I have any fluctuations going on. I’ve actually always had a slightly high metabolism, my normal temperature was always 99-99.5 deg F. My wife always used to hog my side of the bed in the winter because it was always warmer. I’ve never tested my morning temperatures, but it is not normal for me to be 97 during the day.
Well, I want to thank everyone for their advice. I think I owe everybody an update on my “adventure.” In summary, it appears that I don’t have any obvious thyroid issue, but my problems continue. So I need to visit an endo and I am not seeing my last endo.
So I visited the new general practice I started seeing, and made an appointment with a staff doctor (rather than my 2nd year resident). He generally agreed to the tests, TSH, Free T4, Hashimoto’s titers, B12, Lyme disease, and a bunch of other stuff. He took the T3 uptake, but not the Free T3. All the thyroid came back normal. Everything else is fine. I’ve kept up the morning temperature tests and I continue to run low, even record a bunch of readings under 95 deg F (legally hypothermia). I continue to have fatigue and my wife noticed some hair loss the other night.
So it must be something else. The doctor was basically at his limits. I asked about T3 problems, he didn’t think tht was. I asked about adrenal problems, he didn’t feel competent to diagnose. I asked about malnutrition, after all I have been following a very strict diet and suffering through metformin for years. He didn’t think so citing my B12. But I augment B-12 with a super complex with like 2000% and I eat lots of meat. So I don’t know.
So, my adventure continues. He suggested seeing an endo and a GI guy and perhaps a colonoscopy. I’ll get referrals and make some appointments. Getting into a new endo will take a while. This will take weeks/months. So in the meantime, I think it is time to stop my beloved metformin. I am now using insulin so it plays basically no role in my control. I may have some increased insulin resistance, but stopping and restarting metformin before never changed my A1c. And I’m going to back off the diet a bit, not more intermittent fasting. Maybe that will help.
I really don’t think a body temperature of 94 is in the range of normal. Maybe for you, but I’ve always run a bit hot, maybe 99.5. For me this is odd. It may well be diet, but I would expect any downregulation in my metabolism to be reflected in the tests.
Some of you have asked me what happened with my low body temperature. Well, it has been an adventure. I still have a low temperature upon waking, sometimes as low as 93 deg F. I did get a new endo, we ran additional tests, which essentially ruled out all the basic thyroid issues. But she also suggested that I have a sleep test. And that took quite a while, but eventually I had the test in September. And the result is that I have severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). I stopped breathing at one point for nearly three minutes. I have not been sleeping well. This would explain my fatigue, but I don’t know if it will restore my body temperature. Chronic OSA is known to increase cortisol, increase insulin resistance, cause weight gain, stress your heart, mess with your metabolism and generally totally mess up your health.
So I get fitted with a mask tomorrow and I will continue to measure my body temperature throughout my journey. I’ll post again the results, but I cross my fingers and hope that I have found what is wrong and the treatment that can bring me back to tip top condition.
