How long to recover from flu?

[Joel]

It's been two weeks since I got the flu and all the symptoms are gone except fatigue. I went for a 20 minute swim and 1 hour easy bike ride this last weekend and yesterday I was slammed. Today is better but not so great. I saw my endo today. He told me I could have lingering effects for 8 to 12 more weeks.
I was having a lot of fatigue before I got the flu. He gave me a prescription for T3 to take 3 times a day. I have never tried T3 before so this will be an experiment. I also talked to him about B12 shots as that seemed to help the fatigue earlier this year. He said he would give me the B12 shots but wants to try the T3 first for a month.

Joel

[Shannon]

Joel,
Are you having symptoms aside from the fatigue?  Sinus, bronchial, GI, urinary etc, etc?

Just watch the HC as you go onto the T3, there is a possibility that you would need to up your HC a smidge if the T3 is speeding your metabolism.  T3 really makes me feel better in general, and I do take it 3 x daily.

Are you primary or secondary?  Do you use DHEA? any other missing hormones (GH)?
Shannon

[Joel]

Shannon,

No other symptoms, the fever and diarrhea I had are gone. I do have some slight stomach upset.
I do have anxiety and mild depression which has been going on the last year.
Exercise normally gets rid of it but I have been able to do much lately.

He prescribed 5mcg cytomel three times a day on top of my current 88mcg of Levoxyl.
When I looked it up 15mcg of Cytomel is equivalent to 60mcg Levoxyl so that seems like a big increase?
What doses are you taking? How did you know to increase HC?

I am primary and I do take 50mg DHEA.

Joel

[ShannonD]

Joel,
Yes, that is a big jump in thyroid dose.  I am a female, originally took 1.7mg T3 3x daily, now 2.5mg 2x daily and 1.7 once daily.  Anyhow, you may easily identify if it makes you hyperthyroid because you may feel palpitations, fatigue (almost like you took a long hike type fatigue), and possibly anxiety. Hyperthyroid symptoms with T3 feels a little speedy.  You might consider a half tab 3x daily or 1 tab 2 x daily to start.    

I do not think you would be in danger per se of a crisis if you don't increase HC, you may just not feel balanced.  

I know to increase my HC because I get some distinct symptoms......I get a pain in my back where my adrenals are.  I get a feeling of nausea and malaise (general feeling of ill under my rib cage on the left and where my liver is on the right) I start to get a headache (kind of like the headache I would get if I did not drink before I was diagnosed)

The fatigue that I feel from inadequate HC is like my muscles do not have strength.  Walking up steps feels like climbing a mountain.  Lifting my child is like carrying bricks.

The fatigue I feel from thyroid is more of a sleepiness. I do not feel muscle weakness. But with the right dose of thyroid, I feel increased aerobic activity tolerance.

If it is the wrong dose of T3, don't give up on it.  Compounding pharmacist can make the dose as small as you like.  Especially with a history of depression, it may be  helpful.  

How much florinef and HC are you taking?
Shannon

[Wanda]

Joel,

Anxiety & depression are both signs of low cortisol or thyroid problems.  Perhaps something changed a year ago & you need to increase the HC a bit.  Wasn't your T3 level normal?

Sure hope something works so you can get back to what you like to do!

Wanda

[Joel]

My normal HC dose is 25mg and 0.1mg Florinef and I increase to 30mg if I am exercising more than an hour.
My endo wrote back and said he does believe in Cytomel to Levoxyl equivalency and that 15mcg a day is a small dose. I think I am going to start with 5mcg twice a day. I took one yesterday afternoon and one this morning I don't feel any hyper symptoms just my normal anxiety which can be high.

Recently I am having all the types of fatigue you mentioned.
Usually if I do any exercise the next morning I feel wiped out and very sleepy and tired, like I did not sleep.
I also have weak muscles and soreness usually in my legs.
I think some of this may be due to the flu which started 2 weeks ago. Most of the symptoms are gone except fatigue and slightly upset stomach.
I was told it could 2 months to fully recover from it. Right now I don't feel I can do any exercise.
This morning i took 5mg extra because I felt so weak. I think maybe I should stay at 30mg until I feel some improvement.
In May / June I was starting to feel better and doing a decent amount of exercise and then crashed again in July.
I had some Vitamin B12 shots in February that seemed to help although i don't have B12 deficiency.
My endo said he would give me B12 injections but wants to do one thing at a time and try the Cytomel first for a month. My most recent thyroid tests were pretty normal, TSH 1.6 fT3 333. I have never been able to correlate thyroid test numbers with how I feel except when I first diagnosed TSH was 4.6 and T4 was low.

[ShannonD]

Joel,

Let me know how it goes with the T3, I think it is wise to start at just 2 x daily.  I know that supposedly your body makes all it needs from T4, but I sure feel better on the combo.

The fact that you are so fatigued in the am and not sleeping effectively....makes me wonder if you are getting enough HC in the later evening.....I know that is not routinely recommended, but I do know that some folks will take an evening real low dose....so there is a little adrenal coverage at night.  

When I work, I do 12hr shifts 8am to 8pm.  I will take a very low dose of HC(2.5 to 1.25), late in the day, as late as 7pm.  If the dose is low, it does not seem to keep me awake (I do use melatonin).  

Also, perhaps some of the folks on dexamethasone or solucortef could comment.   Those have a longer half life....so you don't get that lull in the am and in the middle of the night.  

Anyhow, I do think that it is a good idea to go to 30mg for a while, especially in the recovery phase.  

One other thought/question....do you think you are having hypoglycemia(low blood sugar).....or hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia swings.  Are you craving sugar?  eating sugar? really hungry? Sometimes blood sugar ups and downs can make people really feel lousy.

Hope you are feeling more energized
Shannon

[Joel]

Well I took 2 cytomel today and I can't say it made a difference and no hyper symptoms. I would think if you add more T3 your body will just reduce conversion of T4 to T3.

I saw a new doctor today that a friend recommended. He is an endo and more. He does a lot of fertiltiy medicine and sees mostly women. He went over a strategy to diganose and improve my fatigue which is different than anybody else has done.
I am hopeful he will be able to help. He gave me a list of supplements to start right away and wants me to come back in 3 weeks to do more testing after the flu is completely gone.

Joel

[Idaho Dusty]

Joel,

Have you ever tried taking melatonin?  I started taking it to help get rid of migraines and I noticed that my sleep became much, much better and more restful.  Waking up feeling rested helped with fatigue the rest of the day.  

Looks like Shannon takes melatonin too.  I use 3 mg, 30 - 60 minutes before bed.  

You're making a lot of changes right now so maybe it's something you can put on a list for the future?  Or maybe just say what the hell!

It's awesome that you've got a doc that is taking a totally different approach to your fatigue!  Keep us posted!

How's your stomach?

:) Dusty

[Joel]

Dusty,

Haven't tried melatonin. I have had some sleep problems like waking early and not enough deep sleep. Last night I slept like a rock until the alarm went off at 7:30. It's been a while since that happened. I hope it continues.
Somebody working in the vitamin section at the store told me Melatonin should only be used temporarily. Are they wrong?
My stomach is better than it was gradually getting better. I have lost some weight so I need to eat more.
Wish I could swim or walk or something but I still feel too weak and it will probably set me back like it did last weekend.
I am going stay at 30mg HC until I feel some improvement.

Joel

[Idaho Dusty]

Joel,

How's your stomach?  Back to normal by now, I hope.  Do you ever eat ginger when your stomach is bothering you?  

Perhaps melatonin should only be used temporarily but I've been using it consistently for about 6 months with only beneficial effects.  The person in the health food store might be right!

Do you get migraines?  I can't remember.

:) Dusty