Please if anyone has dealt with either of these issues, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you!!! Thanks!

It can take a couple of weeks or longer for acid reducers to show a difference. If Prilosec doesn't do it for you there are many others. You can try some of the over the counter versions if you run out of options. Usually it is on the dosage amounts that vary between over the counter and prescription medicines. The acid from your stomach has to make it all the way up to the back of your mouth before you can taste it. There are no taste buds in your throat. Lots of people suffer from acid reflux and never know it. I've never heard of thyroid medicine affecting any sort of vitamin deficiency.

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