I live in the US and I just signed up for a functional medicine doctor that’s ~$500 / month out of pocket because there’s basically no endos in my area and my pcp is confused by my labs. Even endos I’ve worked with in the past in other states only cared if labs were in range and didn’t treat my symptoms or look at it holistically. I’ve always had to pay a lot to find better holistic care and I’m very fortunate that I can afford this (mainly because I prioritize wellness above things like nice housing) but it’s extremely frustrating and I feel a lot of anger towards the system here for making good healthcare so inaccessible. I’m just wondering if the lack of good medical care for this disease is a global problem or an American health care system problem ?? If you live outside the US, have you found it easy to manage Hashimotos or do you have similar challenges (and what country are you in)?
u/Classic_Pattern_2016
Feeling very confused about all my thyroid labs being low and I saw some posts about central hypothyroidism. Wondering about peoples experiences with this and what the solution is because my current meds don’t seem to be working.
I was diagnosed with hashimotos/hypothyroidism in 2018 and was prescribed armour then later added tirosint. I’ve pretty much been on the armour/tirosint combo since 2019 and it has worked well for me but recently my labs seem stuck and my doctor is pretty stumped.
Basically my TSH, Free T4, Free T3 and T3 are all below range. My doctor increased my dosage about 2 months ago and that brought my TSH from 0.08 to 0.22 but my Free T4 and T3 are about the same (low). Now she is decreasing it again but I feel like constantly changing my dosage is pretty annoying. This has been going on for almost a year now.
What has worked for people?
Current symptoms include:
Very nauseous for about an hour a day
Heightened anxiety
Decreased appetite
Insomnia
Motion sickness
Congested (this could be unrelated but it’s been continuous for a while)
Though a lot of the symptoms I had before are so much better, I am nervous they will come back with the decreased dose.
I have been on armour and tirosint combo for 5+ years now but I recently moved and I’m struggling to find an Endo that is willing to work with more “natural” meds. Additionally, I’m struggling to get my labs in range and my nutritionist recommended trying compounded meds to refine the dosage better. I’m looking for an endocrinologist or functional medicine doctor licensed in NYS who is open to alternative medicine and cares about my symptoms/wellness. I’m thinking about trying Allara or Paloma or one of those but not sure how good they are. Does anyone have experience with this?