A Severe Case of Thyroid and Adrenal Imbalance

By Valerie Little

I am a 45-year-old woman who had Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue. I believe this disease is a progressive one that conventional medicine has no time for. Thanks to Dr. Fassler I am feeling great now. Here is my story. Eight years ago I was diagnosed with Graves Disease. I was told by my endocrinologist that I had to obliterate my thyroid gland with radioactive iodine to stop the over activity of my gland and I had to do it quick. I didn’t have time to think about it and back then I believed whatever the doctor said I had to do. She promised that if I became hypothyroid because of the procedure, she could easily fix it with one pill a day. Was she ever wrong! I reluctantly had the procedure and only three months later my thyroid completely stopped working. I had a severe panic attack that sent me to the ER (I had never had one in my life), I puffed up like a puffed wheat, there were hives all over my body, I cried all the time, was severely tired and depressed. I put on 25 pounds despite having no appetite. I saw my doctor the next day and she started me on Synthroid.

Over the course of two years my dosage was adjusted according to my lab results, not how I felt. I never felt the same on Synthroid, tired and achy a lot. Whenever I questioned my endocrinologist she told me my thyroid was fine. It was all in my head.

A year ago my symptoms got a lot worse. I couldn’t sleep and I ached so bad it was hard for me to do much. I was cold all the time, I had severe hypoglycemia, was dehydrated, and could barely lift a jug of milk. I couldn’t concentrate and was very forgetful. When I tried to exercise it made me more tired, in the past it helped me feel better. I told my endocrinologist I needed to do something. She put me on T3 for a short period of time. I felt a lot better. She checked my blood levels of thyroid hormones after one month. They were elevated. She called me to see me the next day. I knew it was doom. She took me off the T3 because she said she was afraid of what might happen. I was back on the low dose of Synthroid.

She made me see a rheumatologist because she blamed my problems on another autoimmune disease, like Lupus, MS, or Rheumatoid Arthritis. The rheumatologist took every test he could think of and I was cleared of another autoimmune disease. He was stumped and said he didn’t know what was wrong with me. I said, “Maybe it’s my thyroid.” He said, “All you women want more thyroid hormone.” Wow! I had had enough!

I believed I had two choices. One was to find another doctor in my HMO. The other was to see someone completely different that will listen to me. I had read a lot about my condition and knew conventional medicine would only treat the symptoms. I wanted to feel better and I believed I’d need to quit work if I didn’t feel better soon.

I chose to see Dr. Fassler and am very pleased with the outcome. She listens, really cares and has helped me a lot. I am now on Armour Thyroid which has T1, T2, T3, and T4 in it instead of Synthroid. I am on a homeopathic remedy to help me sleep and various supplements. Recently we found out I needed to be supplemented with low dose adrenal hormone for a brief time. That has made me feel alive again. I have stopped using certain medications that interfere with the uptake of the hormone. I have lost 15 pounds, my cholesterol has dropped 60 points, my blood pressure and pulse are low and I’ve never felt better in 10 years.

All I can say is I’m not a blood result. I am a person. I believe thyroid problems are more common in the general population than conventional medicine wants to believe. I think doctors should use symptoms before blood work to prescribe medication. I don’t have an active thyroid gland and I was not listened to until I met Dr. Fassler. Despite normal lab results for many years, I was hypothyroid.