@lindy9 Thanks, Lindy! We are of like minds. I am 82 this month. I have, however, taken thyroid supplements for 50 years and never missed a dose. I had such extreme symptoms that I became anal about never missing a dose. My dosage has fluctuated over the years. Cut in half after the divorce. And along the way lowered at different times.

Like you, I believe in diet and exercise. I still exercise (much more than others in my age group), but over the years have gone back to some bad habits on the diet front. Thanks for the reminder of the importance in this area. I will now direct my efforts to eliminate sugar and cut down on coffee.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Cheers,
Dana

@lindy9 hey Lindy, I share most of your attitudes, when I discuss any meds with a doctor I'm always pushing to start with small doses and to know about discontinuance and have discontinued several heart-related drugs because they weren't helping or had awful side-effects, ... but let me tell you about the beta blocker I've been on. The moral of the story is sometimes they really do help.

I had high blood pressure but worse I had a variety of strange arrhythmias confirmed by Holter monitors and such so besides an Arb and diuretic was given atenolol, supposed to be 25mg twice a day, a standard small dose. But I took the first one - and it was like I'd been hit in the head with a brick, my heart rhythm did not respond to exercise and little issues that I'd expect to cause little blips of mental excitement - did not. I talked immediately to the doctor and ended up taking just 12.5 mg once a day, and that was plenty. And I took it only as-needed, probably a very rare way to take a beta blocker. But for me that worked, for a couple of years. It was a small enough dose that I could stop for a week sometimes, no ill effects. BUT over time, well, the breaks got rare, and I even went to 12.5mg twice a day. This is still below any standard dosing but the point is, I really need it. In fact, in retrospect, I probably needed it for many years before I first tried it! Odd little symptoms I've had my whole life, if taken more seriously, I now think in retrospect indicate a beta blocker would have helped.

(I also know that chocolate contains natural beta blocker, and I can feel that at work if I eat even a little (which I do!), but to equal even my very small pill dosage would be a LOT of chocolate every day!)

So let's appreciate a useful drug when we run across one. People have a huge range of genetics, and conditions, and diets, and activities, and sometimes there are drugs that live up to at least some of their claims!