I'm with Oakley - I don't think its that rare either. I think its something that isn't widely talked about because one might think its contagious. I've never been one to share drinks or lip gloss or whatever, but I do make sure that if my mouth is broken out, I keep my drinks away where my Grandson can't reach it. His parents share drinks with him so he just assumes others will. So many things pop up when you go through menopause, like the Frozen Shoulders I mentioned before. I had a total hysterectomy when I was 36 but stayed on HRT until 10 years ago - a couple years later, these strange things started happening. I know this sounds - weird - but I had to have a tooth pulled a couple years ago and this oral surgeon mentioned that he had read an article about something similiar and it was thought that the constant irritation could be brought about when a person has alot of metal in the mouth from fillings and crowns(gold). There could be a small electrical current going on which would keep the lining of the mouth sensitive, especially if the body chemistry is off - I think he said low potassium, magnesium, and perhaps zinc. I have several gold crowns, and a gold bridge, plus old fillings that contained some metal. I know at one time when I was having issues, my potassium level was low and the doctor started me on a supplement. I still take it daily. Let us know how the allergy tests go - no fun there.

The pills I have are too small I think to try & split; I will try the flush-free niancin pills again though. Yes, I think a lot of it has to do to heridity also: I am out in the sun (no sunscreen/tan-no burn... ashamed to say!) some days 6 hrs. at a time & live at a mile high, hot summers/cold winters,arid area- zone 7. Still, after taking 5,000 IU of Dry Vitamin D-3 daily my levels are on the 'low' side but bone density still OK! Daughter-in-law is a therapist & believes in alternative medicine ... herbs, 'tapping' etc.& I am western medicine trained so find it hard to accept/understand some of it. The mfg.& testing of those things is not scrutinized as well here in the U.S.as prescriptiom drugs are I feel! Our doctor is from Pakistan & he will suggest some things like tumeric capsules, the B12, etc. but doesn't push it. Mediterranean diet? we don't care for seafood nor olive oil, wine... but the fruit, etc. OK! One study of a group of close knit people in a small mediterranean village had one of the highest blood lipid levels on record ... & also very long & healthy lengivities! Go figure?!

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

Sam: Your lupine is WOW- lovely. I adore Lupine ever since my Mom had a bed in MI, it was heavenly beautiful with so many different colors. I tried to achieve the same effect with different colors German Iris (over $100 worth), but they died during a spring flood. We get more heavy rain in Chicagoland. Your Wedgewood rose is stunning, big with many petals. Our heavy clay retains water well, so our grass doesn't get brown unless we get weeks of no-rain. Went outside to check my garden after today's heavy rain. The dark-green leaves and those grafted-on-Dr. Huey can't handle the acidity of rain. I put ALKALINE pea-gravel on them, but that wasn't enough. I should had put dolomitic lime on the aggressive-dark-green-leaves like Crown Princess Magareta. One thing I did right: 4th of July I dug up Pink Peace (BS-fest grafted on Dr.Huey), I put 4-cups of garden-lime in the planting hole, plus compost. It was pale for a while, but now is clean with healthy leaves & buds. The acidic rain neutralized the lime in the planting hole. My other grafted-rose ($6.59 Lavender rose) with dark-green leaves .. that got BS and dropped most of the leaves after blooming. So I put pea-gravel, and I saw the new growth, pale, but has a bud. I WOULD RATHER have pale leaves & blooms, than zero leaves or with black spots. Roses can be pale in alkaline-clay due to high pH, but bloom very well, if their roots are aggressive like Dr. Huey to extract nutrients for blooming. I would like to a start a "sunshine club" where each of us pledge to 20 min. of sunshine a day, be it working in the garden, or going for a walk. Then we report the progress as to what we accomplish in that "sunshine time". So many diseases, cancer, MS, diabetes, belly-pouch are linked to lack of sunshine. It's nice to enjoy the sun: taking care for one's health & and gardening. It's so hard to catch the sun here, it would rain or snow for the entire day, then the sun pops out for 10 min, then goes away when I got ready to go outside.