Thyroid Problem? Educate Yourself, Don't Rely on Doctors!

I was diagnosed with a low thyroid condition a few years ago. I wasn't experiencing any symptoms at all, my doctor caught it through a routine check-up and blood work. I was prescribed Levoxyl and my levels are completely normal now, and I still have no symptoms.

I immediately educated myself on this topic and have become quite knowledgeable. My "go to" book is "Living Well With Hypothyroidism," by Mary Shomon. She also hosts a great website: http://thyroid.about.com/. Through educating myself and talking to other thyroid patients I have learned about many people who have doctors that don't educate their patients a single bit on their condition. They just prescribe drugs, one after the other, trying to get their patient's thyroid levels within normal range, without regard to how their patient actually feels.

What the doctors and their patients often don't realize is that getting your levels within the normal range can be dependent on other behaviors and lifestyle choices, not just drugs. For instance, most people don't even know that they shouldn't have any calcium within 4 hours of taking their daily thyroid pill; it interferes with the absorption of the thyroid medication. This means no cereal with milk, no coffee with milk or half & half, no orange juice that is fortified with calcium, no yogurt, etc.

Most people don't realize that thyroid patients should avoid caffeine; it is known to produce carpal-tunnel like symptoms. Many patients experiencing these symptoms saw them disappear only days after eliminating caffeine.

These are just a few things I've learned on my own. Don't trust your doctor to know it all, or to know anything for that matter. EDUCATE YOURSELF, IT COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU FEEL EACH AND EVERY DAY.