Brain fog .....

Uuuuggggghhhhh ! I feel such a twit!  When I was speaking to Mr Palazzo's secretary this morning giving her all my details for my appointment next week, could I heck remember my postcode!!! First of all I said it was PE1 then half way through our conversation I had a brain flash and said oh sorry I gave you the wrong postcode, it should be PE3 and made a joke of my HPT brain and that I'd only lived here eight years etc etc ..... For whatever reason that conversation just popped into my head again and I've remembered that my postcode is actually PE7 ...... aaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggghhhhhh!   #%*~€$+~¥.  I HATE this disease ....  I mean for goodness sake, it's my POSTCODE...and I've lived here 8 years!

OK rant over - I know I'm not stupid, in fact I'm an intelligent, well qualified professional (when I can work) but it's so embarrassing when you portray yourself as a babbling, confused wreck ...  

Jasmine x

Awww Jasmine,
I echo everything you have just written, saw GP today and forgot to collect my repeat prescription even though I had written it down to not forget, I forgot to read my list.  Friends say to me but we all do stuff like that but the thing is I never have unless I forgot on purpose.  I am doing it all the time now and it's scary.  Pin numbers at the till and passwords, getting the cold panic when it says incorrect is another!
I am sure any mail will still find you even if your postcode is a little off.
Hugs Sue

Hi Jasmine/Sue
I really feel for you I went to get petrol the other day. Couldn't remember PIN number to pay, put it in wrong three times it was then rejected then I remembered it was the wrong pin for that card and had to use another card !!!! I think cashier thought I was either penniless or I had stolen the card. There was a queue of people behind me all thinking what a Wally I was. The worst thing is getting into an intelligent conversation only to forget what point I was trying make very frustrating !!
Amanda xxxx

And here's another one of my stupidisms right here on the forum.... in my reply to 
one of your posts I commented on the nice picture of your kitty.  Now, although it really is a lovely pic, in my head I was thinking of Jen's post  where she was talking about the really sad loss of her cat and that she hadn't even managed to post a pic yet - yep, my brain was telling me that she had managed to post a pic, even though your pic has been in your profile since day one, and I commented on it.  You must have thought I was going nuts and thought eh?    I'm getting so mixed up and I think it's much worse than it was before my surgery, it's so upsetting and also a bit scary......

Jasmine x

I do believe we are all in the same boat here! Problem is, I'm supposed to be cured!   
There are a LOT of things I have trouble remembering, including my phone number, which we've had for 36 years! Now that's bad! My brain does feel less foggy now, but I still have trouble remembering a lot of things I should be remembering! Maybe that symptom is yet to totally resolve? Let's hope.

Audrey

When I'm making a call where I know they will need contact deets I right our address and phone number down so it's in front of me otherwise I wouldn't be able to remember it   

The worst for me are birthdays, I can never remember the dates the children were born when asked   I'm hopeless with numbers.

Nelly

Yes, I have started doing that too, Nelly. Isn't it awful that we can't rely on our brains anymore?!

Funny thing is, I am very good with birthdays and dates. Very strange! I just can't remember anything else!   

Audrey

I'm a teacher and luckily have a very understanding manager as I am really struggling to cope at work. I couldn't even explain what I've actually got and may have sounded like I was making it up!

Nope, you're not making it up, Meggie. All of us here understand this! Sometimes I really do feel like I'm totally losing my mind! On the Facebook support group yesterday, I told people that Dr. Toro performed my surgery in Tampa. Dr. Toro did not perform my surgery. He assisted. Dr. Lopez took care of the actual surgery!! I knew this well, of course, and I was thinking of him when I stated that, but I got the names confused! I knew that his name was Lopez! It was like I got some wires crossed or something in my brain. This happens all the time! And I'm supposed to be cured!    Let's just hope it's a lingering symptom.

Audrey

Thank you! When I first came on here only a month ago I only had very mild symptoms but now I am struggling to do anything, I am so tired and exhausted all the time and constantly dizzy - although that's quite pleasant, a bit like being drunk without the cost! My manager is being so understanding and has altered the classes I teach so that I can cope. I've got a bone scan next week, gut hormone levels and a short Syncathen Test then back to the consultant I hope. He had no idea how hard I'm finding things at the minute because it's come on quite quickly and is pointless going to my gp as it's out of their hands now. Oh well, 4 more weeks till the next holiday and I can sleep!

Brain fog is one of the classic Hypothyroid symptoms and not just a Hyperparathyroid symptom.

Edwin

It seems to be a symptom of everything I look at! - a friend told me it's just the menopause. I'm just relieved I've had raised hpt levels so that I'm not in the situation of feeling like this and not having to convince my gp that there is something wrong!

Glad to see you back on here by the way Edwin, hope you're feeling better now.

Hmmmmm..............might be the thyroid then too, Edwin. I just tried upping my dosage a few weeks ago, and had to cut back again because my eyeballs started aching. They have done this in the past when we tried to increase. Geez, why can't anything just be simple?!

Audrey

Your *eyeballs* ached?! That sounds horrific!

Audrey, are you taking T4 Levothyroxine/Eltroxin) only for your Thyroid?

Maybe you can try some T3 (Liothyronine/Cytomel).
If you do try T3, you need to reduce your T4 (T3 is equivalent to about 3 or 4 x T4).

The effects of T3 will be noticed in around 2 days and up to 2 weeks to take full effect.
Reducing T4 will take up to 6 weeks for the full effect, so you can experience some Hyperthyroid symptoms during the crossover period.

For me, the minimum dose of T3 was 20mcg before I noticed any positive benefits (I initially tried 5mcg, then 10mcg), but everyone's different.

Edwin

Meggy wrote:It seems to be a symptom of everything I look at! - a friend told me it's just the menopause. I'm just relieved I've had raised hpt levels so that I'm not in the situation of feeling like this and not having to convince my gp that there is something wrong!

Glad to see you back on here by the way Edwin, hope you're feeling better now.

Thank you Meggy.

I am feeling in a sort of limbo - not sure how much I can much myself physically and very nervous with every little ache and twinge.

Edwin

Well, that's very interesting, Edwin. Actually, I take Armour thyroid medication. So I am taking some T3, as it is included in the pills. I was wondering if I might be better off to take a synthetic medication and add the Cytomel. Knowing my doctors, though, I doubt if they would be willing to do that, as they think Synthroid is the way to go, and that is all they want to use! I only take Armour because about 10 years ago, I got tired of my doctors not diagnosing me as hypothyroid, and I started seeing a holistic doctor. He was the 1 who prescribed the Armour. My other doctors were not happy with that and begged me for years to stop seeing him. I finally stopped and told my doctors I'd give them 1 more chance to straighten my body out. I've been miserable since. They kept begging me to get off of the Armour, but I refused. I did try Synthroid once for about a month to make them happy, but I felt awful, so I talked them into letting me go back on the Armour. Over the past few years, since I realized I also had a parathyroid problem, I decided to wait and see how many symptoms would resolve after parathyroid surgery, and then take it from there. So I'm still waiting to see what will and what won't resolve.

Thank you so much for the info!!!

Audrey

Audrey, it takes 6-8 weeks for T4/Synthroid/Levothyroxine to be effective, so there will be some temporary symptoms during this period.

Also, some people in the UK have reported allergic reactions to a specific brand of T4 tablets.  It seems that different manufacturers can use different fillers and binders, so switching brand has made a difference. 

Edwin

Yes, I'm taking T3 only for my hypothyroid now - 20mcg in the morning and another 10mcg at lunchtime (when I can remember it).

The website www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has some interesting info on people who do better with just T3 which is probably the ones who don't convert T4 to T3 very well, which is me.

In July last year my face and neck looked thoroughly bloated and when I lay down the skin of my neck lay across my throat and seemed so heavy it was going to throttle me! I thought it was the thyroxine having this effect so I tailed it off and then stopped taking it. Luckily I had already persuaded my endo that I needed some T3 as well as T4 so I was able to take just the T3 I had in stock as an experiment, and that bloated thick face and neck is now a thing of the past for me.

Love Tigerlily xx

Thanks again, Edwin. All of this info is GREATLY appreciated!! Maybe I'll try adding that little bit of extra Armour again. It just scares me when my eyeballs start aching, and I cut back again. Maybe I just don't wait long enough to reach the end result.

Tigerlily, that is very interesting. I don't know if I've ever heard of someone just taking T3. When you think of it, that actually makes a lot more sense, since it is the T3 our bodies actually utilize.

Audrey

Tigerlily wrote:Yes, I'm taking T3 only for my hypothyroid now - 20mcg in the morning and another 10mcg at lunchtime (when I can remember it).

The website www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has some interesting info on people who do better with just T3 which is probably the ones who don't convert T4 to T3 very well, which is me.

In July last year my face and neck looked thoroughly bloated and when I lay down the skin of my neck lay across my throat and seemed so heavy it was going to throttle me! I thought it was the thyroxine having this effect so I tailed it off and then stopped taking it. Luckily I had already persuaded my endo that I needed some T3 as well as T4 so I was able to take just the T3 I had in stock as an experiment, and that bloated thick face and neck is now a thing of the past for me.

Love Tigerlily xx

How are you feeling when taking 20mcg + 10mcg?

I found that taking a single dose in the morning was better for me that split doses.  Apparently, this is the best approach for people who are not converting T4 to T3 very well.

Edwin

Thanks for your input, Edwin. I would prefer to take the 30mg straight off, but my endo pointed out that T3 has a very short half life and so she thought that another 10mcg a bit later might work better for me. I often forget to take it, however, which confounds the situation somewhat!

The Wilsons Syndrome website (much discredited over here because he was upfront enough to put his own name to a syndrome himself .... Dr Wilson in the US) also suggests nibbling on your Cytomel tablet throughout the day to get a sort-of timed release effect.

I used to be able to sleep for England but have terrible insomnia these days, so your suggestion might help me with that. If I take the whole 30mcg in the morning, then the lunchtime 10mcg can't be blamed for keeping me awake, by having taken it later in the day.

I'll give it a try, Edwin - thanks again.

Tigerlily xx

Hi Jasmine

I think Meggy is right - it seems to be implicated in all sorts of conditions.

I read that compromised kidney function can cause cognitive slowness and memory problems. |Who'd have thought it? I had a wry smile on my face when I ran this past my GP, but he actually confirmed that this is the case!

Love Tigerlily xx

Hi Tigerlily

Chewing T3 is not one that I have heard-of before, but leaving it under the tongue to be absorbed is one way of taking it, the other being with water.
T3 seems to be OK to take at any time, with or without food.
T4 medication needs 2 hours either side of food and there are also some specific medications that should not be taken within 2 hours.

The two main recommendations for taking T3 are, either in one go in the morning, for people do have a conversion problem ((Dr Lowe's book), or, for people who have adrenal problems, timed to follow the adrenal peaks (the circadian method - Paul Robinson's book).

I know that it sounds logical to take T3 over-time during the day, because it starts to work quickly, but my experience is in-line with Dr Lowe's recommendation.
Firstly, there is a minimum dose before the effects are felt (20mcg in my case) and a taking it as a single dose in the morning.

Edwin

Tigerlily wrote:Hi Jasmine

I read that compromised kidney function can cause cognitive slowness and memory problems. |Who'd have thought it? I had a wry smile on my face when I ran this past my GP, but he actually confirmed that this is the case!

Love Tigerlily xx

I can vouch for that !
Hypothyroid and stage 4 CKD here.

Edwin