I found a doctor in my city who specifically takes on people in my situation, this was back in early December, I did an absolute mountain of tests from that month on until about February.
The medications I'm now on are
- Cortef 20-10-5mg every day (my cortisol levels were in the dr's opinion unacceptably low, he was shocked to find out that I had seen an endo two years prior and he saw roughly the same labs and did nothing).
- Fludorcortisone (my aldosterone levels were in the basement as well, I was having serious orthostatic problems, on a good day my upright systolic blood pressure would be in the 110 range, and at that level I would still feel pretty awful.
- Dessicated Thyroid (erfa) and Cytomel (my TSH when he tested it was almost 14, it had gotten progressively worse over the last year)
I also have to take potassium chloride because the fludrocortisone depletes me, and I also voluntarily take vitamin k2 in order to help keep my blood pressure up during the day to reduce my dependency on fludrocortisone.
I also had an electrocardiogram done, which confirmed some of the cardiovascular/circulatory problems I'd been having since around 2010, a part of my heart now doesn't work properly, which the doctor attributes to damage induced by extended periods of inflammation and hypothyroidism.
I'm still not 100% but I'm doing a heck of a lot better than I was, I definitely seem to get worse when the weather gets warmer in terms of my blood pressure. I think my next diagnostic approach will be to see somebody who can help figure out of I have some kind of catecholamine disorder, as low dopamine might explain my orthostatic problems post-treatment.
All I can tell any of you who were in my position for years is to keep faith in yourself and keep holding on until you can find somebody to help you. I had so many regular establishment shill doctors try desperately to tell me that it was all in my head and to pump me full of SSRIs. Now I have diagnostic proof that there were some very serious issues that required treatment, and I now have a history of positive response to treatment, so it will be very difficult for the government to pull the plug on them in the future.
The medications I'm now on are
- Cortef 20-10-5mg every day (my cortisol levels were in the dr's opinion unacceptably low, he was shocked to find out that I had seen an endo two years prior and he saw roughly the same labs and did nothing).
- Fludorcortisone (my aldosterone levels were in the basement as well, I was having serious orthostatic problems, on a good day my upright systolic blood pressure would be in the 110 range, and at that level I would still feel pretty awful.
- Dessicated Thyroid (erfa) and Cytomel (my TSH when he tested it was almost 14, it had gotten progressively worse over the last year)
I also have to take potassium chloride because the fludrocortisone depletes me, and I also voluntarily take vitamin k2 in order to help keep my blood pressure up during the day to reduce my dependency on fludrocortisone.
I also had an electrocardiogram done, which confirmed some of the cardiovascular/circulatory problems I'd been having since around 2010, a part of my heart now doesn't work properly, which the doctor attributes to damage induced by extended periods of inflammation and hypothyroidism.
I'm still not 100% but I'm doing a heck of a lot better than I was, I definitely seem to get worse when the weather gets warmer in terms of my blood pressure. I think my next diagnostic approach will be to see somebody who can help figure out of I have some kind of catecholamine disorder, as low dopamine might explain my orthostatic problems post-treatment.
All I can tell any of you who were in my position for years is to keep faith in yourself and keep holding on until you can find somebody to help you. I had so many regular establishment shill doctors try desperately to tell me that it was all in my head and to pump me full of SSRIs. Now I have diagnostic proof that there were some very serious issues that required treatment, and I now have a history of positive response to treatment, so it will be very difficult for the government to pull the plug on them in the future.
finding a good doctor is next to impossible and many of us never manage to do so.