On the way to Recovery

Member Stories
#94

I don’t think 15 MG will be enough. I was taking two 50 MG pills 3 times a week. The first 2 weeks were complete hell, it felt like a war was going on inside my body.

I forgot to ask my doctor though if Clomid could have possibly had any effect on returning my thyroid to normal due to increase testosterone. Because as soon as I started taking Clomid I started to feel sick and I thought it was Synthroid that was doing it so I quit.

My body felt like it was telling me I shouldn’t take it so I stopped.

Next thing my doctor and I will be looking at is pituitary feedback to the adrenals(I have below range cortisol) since we’ve established that the main cause of my problem is pituitary dysfunction.

Clomid has been a miracle for me. I have no joint pain or brain fog of any kind because of it, I feel great but it will certainly take my body some time to reverse a lot of damage that fin did to me.

Also I’d like to add that Clomid causes an increase in hair shedding. When I went on fin and after I quit I hardly shed any hairs. Since being on clomid, every time I comb my hair I have about 10-20 that fall out. I’m probably shedding 200-300 hairs everyday. Though it has not caused any hairloss yet which is what I would expect.

#95

Shippen has me on 15mg time release clomid. I havnt started it yet, waiting for it in the mail. Maybe he was thinking because my FSH and LH were in range that he is only using it as a little boost. From your LH and FSH levels I can see why you would want to hit it hard with clomid. That must have really jump started the loop for you, which is great. Shippen also has me putting Testosterone drops on my penis once a day although I cant see that having a huge effect on my testosterone levels.

I do my thyroid labs tomorrow AM to get the baseline then I’ll start the T3 cycle.

If I get hair shedding I think I’ll consider it a good sign. Ive basically lost no hair in last 2 yrs since using Fin and being off it. I dont think Ive lost much of the hair I regrew while on it either.

Was nice out today… saw so many hot girls… how depressing to see them and know you couldnt do anything if you wanted.

#96

I think I have fianlly reached that point where I can say definitively I have recovered. I had a lot of help in the form of Vitamins, which I felt helped improve my condition even more than what clomid had done.

I take this everyday. B-6 100MG, Calcium 600mg, E with Natural d-Alpha & Selenium 50mcg 400 IU, Vitamin C 500 mg, Fish Oil 1200 mg, B-12 500 mcg, Super B-Complex with Folic Acid plus Vitamin C.

I’m also on doxepin due to the pain I had in my feet which has gotten better since taking it.

But anyways, those vitamins can be found at most convient stores. I think anyone here should probably take that as well.

And for the question about how well my penis works, I don’t have any problems with it. It has a lot more color in it due to the vitamins, My problem is actually premature ejaculation, I didn’t have that while I was on fin.

#97

Anyone else try something similar to Dury? Thyroid meds then clomid.

#98

I think he’s the only case of pfs male recovered via clomid. And also the only one who took clomid together with T4.

#99

i am doing pretty much exactly what Dury did. I will update you all if anything particularly good/ bad comes of it. Hopefully i will recover :laughing:

#100

can anyone who’s taken synthryoid or other thyroid medication chime in here? this is the 3rd or 4th comment i’ve read about recoveries revolving around thyroid buildup. half being iodine related recoveries and the other half being synthroyd recoveries. although, i’m not sure where clomid plays a part in this.

#101

I’m taking Armour Thyroid, which has both T3 and T4. It has helped me in many areas, namely with mental clarity/focus/stamina and cold hands/feet. No sexual improvements to speak of - libido and erections might actually have gotten a little worse.

I’ve been taking a 60mg dose for about three months and will continue.

#102

our thyroids are definitely affected, but I dont believe it is the root cause. Many articles that progesterone problems can lower thyroid FUNCTION, so your numbers might actually be ok but have thyroid problems. May explain why it has helped just somewhat.

#103

agreed. I have met many thyroid paiteints in my real life none is like us.

#104

Do you have any links about this that I can read?

#105

just do a google search thyroid and progesterone. My hands warmed up after 5 days use of progesterone.

BTW Merry Christmas (how fitting tonight), you have been off for almost 3 years, have you had any improvements?

#106

If I had known I would be ill this long, I definitely would’ve picked a better username. Hah.

Friends and family tell me I’ve improved a lot. Cognitively I’ve improved steadily, but I’m still missing my emotional “compass”, since I don’t get excited, have motivation/drives, or libido. I’m kind of a spectator of my own life. (Sounds like the kind of thing only pfs’ers can relate to.) Looking forward to trying new things in 2013 and reporting some good news here.

#107

are you still taking thyroid meds?

#108

yo MerryChristmas, let it be known in PH (eg in this topic or your member story) what you’re trying and what you’ll find. I’d definitely like to hear what sort of stuff worked/did not work and what you find etc, the whole adventure.

Are you still doing armour thyroid (btw congrats on even attaining one) and have you read on any books about hypo/hyperthyroidism, eg. Stop the Thyroid Madness, Recovering with T3, Dr. Brownstein’s iodine-book, etc? Or are you just following some internet side protocol or similiar?

#109

I think you are very right. Women used Mirena IUD, their progesterone went below normal after removing IUD and now many of them are hypothryoid. some of them are claiming to have hashimoto’s (maybe Hashimoto is individual case) . Please read the entire thread curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1580744

#110

I feel like I am 100% right. Although Dr. Jacobs has taken a lot of criticism for his latest blog, I feel he was right in diagnosing me with something called “Pseduo cushings” (high cortisol) Basically it is a lesser form of cushing which does not involve a tumor. So the question remains why do I have elevated levels of serum cortisol after discontinuing propecia. I am starting to dig through some information and I am finding a link between problems in the progesterone pathway and pseudo cushings, bascially increasing levels of estrogen in the brain…which is exactly what I feel has happened.

I think MartinM was starting to bark up the right tree with the thread below:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4659

#111

Will definitely report. I’m taking one step at a time, but if Armour thyroid alone is not enough, I’ve been given prescriptions for sulfasalazine (for inflammation), selegeline (increasing dopamine), and Xanax (for better sleep and GH production). Sulfasalazine and Xanax seems a little too scary right now, but I might give selegeline a try.

I’m checking in with a doctor about every six weeks to monitor progress.

#112

OK, Thanks for that! I literally know nothing about those drug’s SE’s but it’s good that you found someone who would prescribe all that stuff.
I think the book i recommended are good read but honestly, you can get almost all info re: thyroid by reading the STTM - site and i got the guide for iodine supplementation in pdf form if needed. If you feel like that armour isn’t doing the best then considering trying synthetic T3 only - there are cases where that would be warranted (abundance of RT3, resistance to thyroid hormones).

#113

Be careful with Xanax. It’s very powerful and addictive. Also, never take more than the recommended dose. Ever.