Metformin is also associated with weight gain. PCOS and hypothyroidism are each associated with an activation of your sympathetic nervous system-- this is the "fight or flight" part of the autonomic or automatic nervous system. This activation can lead to difficult to control high blood pressure, higher than normal rapid resting heart rates, anxiety and sleep disturbances as well as increasing resistance to insulin which can progress to type II diabetes. The link I sent you is for an experimental procedure targeting the nerves that connect your brain and kidneys. The kidneys play a central role in regulating salt and water retention as well as the release of a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict. Constricted blood vessels re directs blood flow away from your muscles to your insulin insensitive thanks. Normally your muscles burn excess glucose with the help of insulin spikes but this doesn't work as efficiently as insulin spikes when the blood is flowing preferentially to your core. The kidney is also loaded with millions of pressure and chemical receptors which feed information thought these nerves back up to the brain thereby chronically activating your sympathetic nervous system. It's very new and still experimental but something you may want to watch should your high blood pressure worsen-- especially since you don't tolerate meds well. The procedure involves the use of radio frequency energy delivered via a small 2 mm catheter that is inserted into your leg blood vessel and threaded up to your kidney artery. The target nerves travel in and out if your kidney via the outside if the blood vessel so the energy is applied to the inside wall if the blood vessel and this permenantly inactivates the nerves by thermal injury. It takes about 40 minutes and is done with conscious sedation. So far complications have been pretty rare-- mostly related to the arterial access site which is common for catheter based procedures like angiograms and stent placement. Like I said its new and still experimental but potentially a very important advance. Google "Renal Denervation" if you are interested in learning more.

Hi Allison: Please keep us posted on Monday .. thanks for the info. of requested tests on Stop the Thyroid Madness site. In the old days, doctors went overboard in unnecessary tests & surgeries, but nowadays insurance put a restriction on that. Over a decade ago my sister wore her hair in an "onion" bun (capped with a metallic hair fastener), they took X-ray and the doc. thought it was a HUGE GOITER, or HUGE THROAT CANCER. They did CT scan & MRI & unnecessary tests just to find out that it's a bundle of hair & metallic cap. I wrote to my insurance asking for further thyroid antibody-test & neck-checking for my 12-year old daughter, and my insurance wrote back " You can submit a pre-authorization request for review. This normally includes a letter of medical necessity with medical records to substantiate the service. This review generally takes 15-20 business days and all responses are made in writing. " From StrawChicago: I will wait for the kelp snack to boost her metabolism, and if she becomes depressed again during the summer, then I will take her for further thyroid-test. When I read through the Earthclinic.com/People's pharmacy website, one person reported solving her hypothyroid just by consuming a few Brazil nuts a day (high in selenium, necessary for normal thyroid function). Another person solved her hypothyroid with Stress-Tabs (Vit. C 120 mg, Thiamin 10mg, Riboflavin 10mg, Niacin 50 mg, Vit. B6 5 mg, Folate 400 mcg, Vit. B12 100mcg, Panthothenic Acid 40 mg, Proprietary Amino Acid Blend 100 mg (Arginine, Glutamine, Taurine), Sensoril extract.). The NON-MEDICATED approach is more effective & less side-effects because it comprises of a vast array of nutrients to boost thyroid health. Plus one can adjust the dose by oneself (less Brazil nut, or less seaweed snack) ... without going through the doctor. There are side effects for Levothyroxine: Insomnia, flushing, muscle pain, fatique, mood swings. There's a long list of side-effects of Synthroid, see the link below: https://synthroidhaters.wordpress.com/synthroid-side-effects/ When I googled, "The problem with Synthroid", there are tons of info. of horrible effects either through buying less-effective generic drugs, or it doesn't work, or the dose is too high, etc. Here's one example: " Saw dr after labs and ultrasound dx cysts on thryoid and hypo put me on generic synthroid.25. On meds for approx 6 weeks became very hoarse to the point of not being able to speak, not sleeping for more than 3 hrs, terrible bloating and gas, increased racing heart and "shaking like tremors". ... Subsequently I felt so bad I stopped the med without her knowlege. Hoarseness, sleeping, hand symptoms and chest fulness, bloating have improved to what they were before starting meds." http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/problem-with-synthroid/show/1587399 From Stop the thyroid madness site: "Did you know that a healthy thyroid makes five hormones?? They are T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. T4, also called thyroxine, is simply a storage hormone meant to convert to T3, the active hormone. But a healthy thyroid doesn’t make you totally depend on conversion alone, and also gives you “direct” T3 plus the other hormones above ... Being on a T4-only med means you are missing out on four other hormones directly, and thus, you are being forced to live for conversion alone!" Many people complained that Armour Thyroid (dried pig thyroids) are no longer available, and the chemical Synthroid has tons of side-effects, which they can't handle. See an excerpt from below link: "I had been on Armour thyroid for several years and it worked really well. Unfortunately, my last prescription was put on hold by the manufacturer and I have not been able to get it filled. That was in July 2009. My dr. had to put me on Synthroid instead and I feel terrible now. I have insomnia and anxiety yet my blood tests look fine. I'm not sure what to do now. I've called the pharmacy several times in the last 4 months and Armour is still not available to the public. " http://www.endocrineweb.com/community/hypothyroidism/1288-armour-thyroid-vs-Synthroid "About a year ago I was prescribed Synthroid and almost immediately had a pretty severe reaction to it. Throat swelled, ankles and hands swelled, heart raced ... felt like crap. My doctor switched me to an all natural herbal product called "Innate Thyroid Response." It worked pretty well until just recently. So I'm going back for a tune-up. :o) Doctors and pharmacists are provided ve-e-ery generous "perks" by pharmaceutical reps for pushing what my doctor calls, "designer drugs." The more expensive the drug, the "more effective" it is often touted to be, when often that could not be further from the truth. I would question the motives of a doctor who "insists" that one drug is preferable to another ... especially a tried and true oldie like Armour." Tinyhandz said... 2 years 52 weeks ago "I was on Synthroid for a while and I really did not like the way it made me feel. I was shaky, nervous, couldnt sleep, and I became very anxious over the months that I was taking it." http://www.endocrineweb.com/community/hypothyroidism/1288-armour-thyroid-vs-synthroid

Based upon what Prarie love wrote, at least some people do believe that hypothyroid-induced seizures are common. Being hypothyroid and having seizures are not necessarily related, though they certainly can be. Unfortunately being that most animals do not get regular annual (twice yearly for older pets) bloodwork when they are healthy, but most people will get bloodwork done when their pet has a seizure, it is often the case that low T4 is discovered right after an animal has a seizure. But the seizure itself can cause low T4, and once the animal's seizures are controlled the T4 returns to normal- or not if the animal is on phenobarbital. This is euthyroid sick syndrome- normally functioning thyroid that is temporarily suppressed due to another disease. Euthyroid sick syndrome can be caused by any disease, including a disease that causes seizures or the seizures themselves. It doesn't hurt to judiciously supplement thyroid hormone in an emergency while waiting for a full thyroid panel, which takes 1-2 weeks (having just gotten one for my dog) as long as you don't go overboard, as oversupplementing thyroid hormone can be cardiotoxic. But you are not really controlling the seizures, you are actually preventing further seizures. In other words, even if a dog's seizures are caused by hypothyroidism, giving thyroid hormone won't do anything to stop the current seizures (explaination follows). The full thyroid panel can sort out euthyroid sick syndrome from true hypothyroidism if it is done prior to starting phenobarb, usually. Some pets refuse to be classified, like my own dog. I did a LOT of reading on this lately because my pathologists were stumped when I asked how hypothyroidism, which causes decreased cellular activity, could possibly cause seziures, which are caused by increased cellular activity. I would have asked the neurologists, but they were in rounds and then left before I could catch them. But I did find the info myself, and it seems that hyperlipidemia (VERY high serum triglycerides and/or cholesterol) may lead to atherosclerosis and then ischemic encephalopathy (low oxygen to the brain) due to hemorrhage or thrombus, causing seizures or other CNS signs (called a stroke in people). There are many causes for hyperlipidemia, hypothyroidism is one. One study showed that dogs that had atherosclerosis were 51 times more likely to be hypothyroid than dogs who did not have artherosclerosis (they showed similar results for dogs with diabetes mellitus). Hyperlipidemia may also cause hypercoagulable syndrome where an animal throws clots, which can end up anywhere. Clinical signs are referrable to location of clot, so if a dog threw a clot into the brain, that would also cause ischemic encephalopathy and possible CNS signs or seizures. Of course, bloodwork would pick up hyperlipidemia (well, a complete panel would show both cholesterol and triglyceride levels; some in-house machines can't do this), so waiting for a thyroid panel just tells you why the hyperlipidemia is present. Because hyperlipidemia may have causes besides hypothyroidism, it is much more important to include cholesterol and triglycerides in a seizure work-up than to include thyroid testing. You can always go back for a cause of hyperlipidemia if needed. That said, you need to have a full thyroid panel done before a pet is placed on phenobarbital because that drug suppresses thyroid hormone in some animals. It does not always cause clinical disease and may not always need to be treated. Once on phenobarb, it is very difficult to impossible to sort out true hypothyroidism from phenobarb-induced thyroid suppression. Without clinical signs though, there doesn't seem to be a need for treatment. Atherosclerosis appears to be rare in dogs overall, but common in dogs with hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus. The actual incidence is unknown because you need either MRI, CT, or a necropsy to diagnose it. Most people don't have access to MRI or CT for their pets either because of expense or because it isn't available. And most people refuse necropsy. The unfortunate part about atherosclerosis is that once it is in the brain, you can't get rid of it, even by treating the underlying cause. If you can get the animal to stop having seizures and if there isn't too much permanent damage and if you can treat the underlying cause, you may be able to prevent more seizures depending upon how much of the brain is affected by atherosclerosis. The damage is done, and you have to prevent further atherosclerosis by treating the disease. In some cases, the damage to the brain may be too great and the patient dies despite best efforts, even if the cause was "just" hypothyroidism. Controlling hypothyroidism would also prevent further seizures due to hypercoagulable states caused by hyperlipidemia, but the same "ifs" apply. This is why supplementing thyroid hormone when presented with a seizuring animal isn't really necessary, even if the seizures are caused by hypothyroidism. You do need to control the hypothyroidism, but that can wait until the animal stops seizing and you have at least a clue of whether or not the animal is actually hypothyroid. It appears that the reason hypothyroidism is a rare cause of seizures in dogs is that most cases of hypothyroidism are diagnosed and treated long before a patient develops clincally significant hyperlipidemia and subsequent atherosclerosis. It seems that mild hypothyroidism without clinical signs does not cause the a high degree of hyperlipidemia, so the risk of seizures in this case is very small. I guess if you ignore the clinical signs long enough and don't do screening bloodwork on a regular basis, a dog could have severe hypothyroidism and seizures. BTW, collies are prone to hyperlipidemia without hypothyroidism, so in the case of poor Shelby, testing cholesterol and triglycerides is much more important than thyroid testing. You have to know what is common in certain breeds and ages, otherwise you end up running every test in the book and that is a waste of time, money, and effort.

Marti8a, I can not explain it. I think I understand it from your DH side because I am sort of there myself.Sometimes it is so hard to shed things we feel comfortable with. The decisions do have to come from within. My DH would talk to me about it and I was a deaf wall. After the flood and I thought everything had been lost some thing changed in me and suddenly I did not want as much around me. I still have lots but only about a third of the just stuff I used to have. Furniture is anther story. Sigh. I find fun things and can't part with them. Do not know why. I also understand your frustration because I even have it with myself. LOL And THAT is bad when I make myself mad. DH built me a storage loft in the shop where the extra furniture goes when not in use. I rotate things around as I change the house around. Since we just moved in here I am still not sure exactly what will be the perfect piece to fit where. Still working on that. But time goes on and in my experience I sometimes just feel like a change so I go out and scout through the extra pieces I have stored and make the house feel all new again.I also have some of my pieces to eventually be sold up there. Maybe you can move some of the den furniture out into his shop area and cover it for protection from the elements. Maybe when it is out of the house and in his way he might be able to shed it easier. I think you might talk to him until you are blue in the face and not get anywhere but angry if he is anything like I am. It is just so hard to let go of some things.A sad situation I am a hard case myself. I know I am not helping you just trying to explain how hard it is for some of us to get rid of stuff. I do do it eventually. And had to big time when we went to a way smaller house. I am glad the stuff is gone and really do not miss it. I feel lighter in the brain. OK NO AIR HEAD COMMENTS please. Not so much to have to mentally keep track of. I will admit I was a hoarder. A clean hoarder but still a hoarder. Every inch of space in every cabinet was packed until nothing else would go in. Not even dirt. I did not hoard papers and trash.Just things. So I have come a long way It takes time and the mind set has to be there before shedding things can happen. Chris