water retention

[mandy72]

ive been sitting where i normally sit and had my leg just leaning to the side on a storage box full of my wool and stuff

there was no pressure or anything but when i moved my leg i had a massive indent that stayed for a while

im just wondering now exactly how much of this weight gain is actually water

my ankles are usually puffy when i need an increase (now) but ive never noticed my legs actually being swollen

now for a question

do i ask at drs next week for water retention tablets?

is there a herbal remedy or something else i can use that will shift it

i dont mind the reg visits up the stairs as im not doing much of anything else at moment

[Brubru]

I'll be following this post because I have the same issue but no answer. My water retention is so bad that I can drink a pint of water at 9:30 pm that will stay with me till next morning!!!!

[shaws Administrator]

It's not really water retention. It used to be one of the main clinical symptoms before blood tests were invented and this is an explanation:

The skin characteristics associated with thyroid hormone are classic. The name “myxedema” refers to the associated skin condition caused by increased glycosaminoglycan deposition in the skin. Generalized myxedema is still the classic cutaneous sign of hypothyroidism. It is caused by deposition of dermal acid mucopolysaccharides, notably hyaluronic acid. Despite its appearance, the skin does not pit with pressure.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxedema

emedicine.medscape.com/arti...

It should disappear when you get to an optimum of meds.

[mandy72 in reply to shaws]

so really i just need to sit and wait for it to go

not sure how optimal i can get as TSH 0.50 but still hypo symptoms

guess i really need to get my T's checked

[shaws Administrator in reply to mandy72]

Before the blood tests were introduced along with levo we were diagnosed according to our symptoms and dosed until well and given NDT.

[mandy72 in reply to shaws]

true

ill just keep trying increases until i feel better and see what happens then, i see endo either january or february next year so might try for NDT again

[greygoose in reply to mandy72]

Mandy, it's nothing to do with your TSH. 'Optimal' is how you feel, not a number on a page.

If your doctor just tests TSH, and not the frees, then he's missing 99% of the picture.

Your TSH can be suppressed, and your FT3 still too low - especially if you're not converting.

You need to know your FT4 and your FT3, and if your doctor/lab won't do them, then you should consider doing them privately.

TSH alone will not give you a true picture of your thyroid status. And, as you still have hypo symptoms, you are still hypo no matter what the TSH level.

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

i have a nsty feeling about this

i cant get tests after christmas

but endo wants my TSH mid range

[greygoose in reply to mandy72]

Then change your endo! He is keeping you sick. A TSH of mid-range is not 'normal'.

The TSH of a person with absolutely no thyroid problems is between 0.8 and 1.25 - so that would make a top of range of 2.5 maximum - I've never seen a range like that! However, people on thyroid hormone replacement usually need a TSH much lower, for various reasons - quite often suppressed.

A doctor who insists on a TSH of mid-range knows nothing about thyroid - neither how it works, nor how to treat it.

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

im increasing my dose anyway screw what she says

she dropped me from 62.5mcg tiromel to 40mcg liothyronine saying i was over medicated because fast pulse, anxiety and at the time i was quite sweaty

ive suffered with fast pulse since starting thyroxine 2 1/2 years ago its my main undermedicated symptom

ive been on 40 liothyronine and 12.5 tiromel for a while now so another increase is needed

[greygoose in reply to mandy72]

OK, I didn't realise you were topping up your dose yourself. I thought you were following your endo! lol

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

i tend to go by how i feel

my pulse started getting high when i was first diagnosed and started on 25mcg levo and it just stayed high

while on NDT things were great then my adrenals screwed and even 1/4 grain had my pulse above 100

i seem to cope well on T3 starting at 5cg a day and increasing every few days until i got to 20mcg then slower increases, i was actually feeling the need of an increase when i seen endo and thats whn she dropped my dose, i did stay on her dose for a while and i was in zombie mode just felt awful, started taking beta blockers more and more, now im increasing im still on the beta blockers but i take 1/4 of a 50mg aenolol a time as 1/2 slowed my pulse too much, some days ill have 2 1/4's in a day thats on a bad day, anxiety allso got much worse on the lowere dose of T3 to the point i was begging drs for meds, now on buspirone and so far so good