Underactive Thyroid

hey all,
I had a blood test today to check if I have an underactive thyroid and I have to wait a week for the results. I'm kinda nervous because I think it could be positive, if it is then it would explain a lot of things and I could hopefully fix them. If not, well I don't really know what's going on with my body.

Has anyone got Hypothyroidism?

If so, what were your symptoms like before and how are you now its treated?

Please I would like to know cause I think it might ease my mind a little even if I'm worrying over nothing, thanks in advance! xxx

I had thyroid cancer and my thyroid had stopped working all together. I was gaining weight despite exercising every day and eating very healthy. I had always been fit and thin until that developed. I had the thyroid removed and they put me on thyroid medication and it's been 16 years and I have had no recurrence of the cancer. To answer your question: my symptoms were, I was tired all the time, even after 8 hours of sleep. I was lethargic and did not want to do things after work or on weekends. I was cold all the time and I lived in Florida then! My hair began to get really thin and fall out, not a lot at once but it just was so sparse (I was 24 when this all began) I really didn't have much of an appetite, that was the maddening part, I was gaining weight and wasn't eating all that much.

It is a pretty simple fix, they put you on thyroid medication and within about 6 weeks your blood level will get back to normal and you'll feel pretty good again.

Hope this helps, relax, modern medicine has you covered!

Julie

I have all those symptoms and also my skin is drying out which the doc said could also be related. If it isn't my thyroid I will be so surprised and also confused! I'm glad things seem to have worked out for you, thanks for ur post, it's made me feel a bit more positive x

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 2002 and what I have learned from it is that I have to be very in tune with my body. When my TSH is high, I start gaining no matter what I do. My hair falls out, my skin is thick and flaky and I generally feel lousy. The Mary Shomon page is really helpful http://thyroid.about.com/.  If you haven't checked it out, it is worth your time.

Good Luck!

My symptoms were very similar to these only my hair didn't fall out and I didn't gain any weight.  I think I started out with Hyperthyroidism and then it bounced waaaay into Hypothyroidism where it is today.  I was really really tired all the time but I had this inner feeling of having to go go go all the time.  It would get to the point where I would fall going up stairs because it was hard to exert the energy but I still felt like I was racing.  Also my heart rate would get really high if I started exercising, in my college PE class we had those heart rate monitors and mine would jump straight to 190 if I started jogging.  After medication I noticed that I felt much better, happier, healthier, etc.  The doc says I have Thyroiditis, which basically means my thyroid just does whatever it feels like it, it's no longer receiving signals from my brain.  I think I may eventually have to have it removed.  I also would get these really weird shaky feeling, almost like low blood sugar combined with a small panic attack.  That stopped as well when I went on medication.  Though recently I have been able to stop taking Synthroid because my levels are pretty good.  Always make sure you're getting your blood tests done.

I have hypothyroidism, or rather Hashimoto's.  I've been on and off medication for years.  When I'm not on the medication my TSH rises (high TSH level = hypothyroidism and low TSH level = hyperthyroidism) I get depressed, sluggish, gain weight, etc.  At one point I was given the wrong strength, either a mistake on the doctor's part or the pharmacy, I was never able to figure it out!  My TSH dropped to less than 0, which is extremely hyperthyrodic.  I lost bunches of weight, had the shakes, anxiety, no reflexes and was in danger of going into cardiac arrest.  Stupid me, thought, "hey, I lost weight though, I'm going to keep taking it!"  I wound up in the hospital with malnutrition, dehydration, and tachycardia.  So, what ever you do - DON'T MESS AROUND WITH SYNTHROID!  Take as prescribed......

Just to clarify :) it was my doctor who took me off Synthroid.  You should not mess with medications and always have your blood work done on time.

Hi, I have had Hashimoto's for at least 30 years now.  I have been on medication and have been pretty stable. I get tested every year and very occasionally they have to do a minor modification.  My symptoms were feeling tired and cold, hair falling out, muscle cramps in odd places (like my hands) and a feeling of confusion.  Sometimes when I was in the worst of it before diagnosis, I had difficulty understanding simple instructions. 

Hope this helps. 

Hey thanks for all the great advice and help, it's nice to hear from others who are going through something similar. It's just a few more days til my results now so I'm kinda nervous but it will all work out fine I'm sure.

I realised I didn't state my symptoms before so will throw them in for good measure, I'm very tired all the time, my hair has been falling out a lot more than before, I gain weight even when I'm trying hard to lose it, my skin is dry and my nails brittle, I feel the cold a lot, I get confused easily and find it very hard to concentrate and I have quite weak muscles.

It all sounds like it points to one thing but I'm still not convinced as I haven't had my results. It could just be a bunch of things happening at the same time. I will keep you updated though and thanks again for all your posts :) xx

I had my results this morning and it turns out that I have borderline hypothyroidism at about 4.5

I'm not really sure what to do with that, It's not high enough to need medication yet but I am gonna need more blood tests to keep an eye on it.

My symptoms are making me really tired and probably a bit of a grouch and a bore to be around cause I don't really concentrate on what people are saying and always blame it on how tired I am. All my other blood tests came back fine so I'm perfectly healthy apart from this.

Is anyone in this situation who can help me out? Cheers all xxx

I would get a second opinion. You are at the very upper limit of "normal" but very clearly symptomatic. Check out this web site. Maybe there is a doctor on this list who can help you.

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.h tm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=thyroid&cdn=health& amp;tm=7&gps=384_322_1020_565&f=11&am p;tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//ww w.thyroid-info.com/topdocs.htm

Good Luck

Yeah I'm hypothyroid to, I was diagnosed last year with it before I had it I was hyperthyroid. I felt really tired all the time and really hot. Sometimes it was hard to breath. Then in fall 2007 I went to the Dr. and they gave me the iodine pill thingy and my thyroid went from hyper to hypo. Which sucks, because it is really hard to lose some weight. Since then I have gained 20 pounds, I now weigh 150 and in June this year I weighed at 130, which I didn't want to weigh I want to weigh 110. I have a small frame and I'm 5'3" so 150 doesn't look good on me at all. My Dr. told me I needed to lose weight anyways so why not.

I'm taking Levothyroxine Sodium tablets 100 MCG. I hate being hypo it feel inpossible to lose the weight sometime but others have done it so it is possible. Right now I'm on a low carb high protein diet, I'mon south beach and I heard it does work for hypothyroid patients. And when I do lose the weight and go off my diet I'm gonna eat less carby food (which is a challenges I will have to learn to deal with and moderate my sweets and other carbs.

I wish there were. My uncle is a Doctor of Naturpathy at a major medical school and his wife has Hashis like me. She takes Armour Thyroid. There really aren't any other alternatives that are effective.

If anyone else has any ideas, I would love to hear them too.

I found an article about the Zone Diet for thyroid patients. Has anyone tried this and did it work?

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/dietweightloss/a/ zonediet.htm

this is just what i needed to read...

i was just recently diagnosed with a pituitary gland tumor...in non-medical terms, my body is over-producing the prolactin hormone (the pregnancy hormone), which means my body thinks i'm prego. awesome!  swollen belly, swollen boobs, and crazy mood swings...in addition to that, i have Hashimoto's...they've only prescribed one med- bromacriptine...i've only started in yesterday, but i sure do hope it helps, and fast....

lost my period (over a year ago), weight gain, crazy food cravings, crazy mood swings, always cold, and the confusion thing...that's a new one, but yes, i suddenly feel really, really stupid.  when i shouldn't be. like reading a recipe takes me forever to figure out what it is i'm supposed to do!

does anyone have anything helpful to tell me?  sometimes all you need is to talk and to vent to people who understand...my family doesn't get it.  and i'm so supersensitive that the slightest thing sets me off....:)

The whole thing frustrates me no end !  I always have cold feet, thinning hair, dry skin and am overweight, have been tested and tested many times over the years, it always comes out negative.

Going to see if I can kick start it a bit with some natural supplements/food choices as I no longer have health insurance, so no more doctors for me right now. 

Victoria.

Hi everyone!  I'm new here. 

   I was recently diagnosed as hypo with TSH level of 4.5.  But, my symptoms seemed pretty bad, though not out of the ordinary from what I've been reading about this condition.  I developed swelling in my hands, forearms, legs and became puffy around my eyes.  My joints ached and still ache.  I lost my voice and became very hoarse.  I also believe I've developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my left arm.  I awaken everynight from the pain in my wrist, forearm and shoulder.

  I've been on 50 mcg of levothroid for two weeks and am hoping that my symptoms with the swelling, mood swings and joint pain will soon get better.   I've gained 10 pounds in three months but I must admit that I could have made better choices about the food and quantity of it!  Though I hear that weight loss will be a challenge, I'm optimistic that I can make some changes in my weight with healthy choices.  I've started the YOU: On A diet plan by Dr. Oz and have already lost 2 lbs this past week.

Good luck to everyone"!

I'm hypo and wondering if anyone has experienced this before - you have a hard time gaining or maintaining weight.  I have a history of an eating disorder and blamed my weight maintenance on not eating enough.  But even when I eat around 2300-2500 I don't gain.  I am older (38) so I thought that amount of calories should be enough to help me gain  (I'm 5'4 and 102 and would like to gain 13 pounds).  My dr. said my body might be reacting like its hyper even though I'm hypo.  Is this possible????  Thanks.

Original Post by erinsongbird:

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos in 2002 and what I have learned from it is that I have to be very in tune with my body. When my TSH is high, I start gaining no matter what I do. My hair falls out, my skin is thick and flaky and I generally feel lousy. The Mary Shomon page is really helpful http://thyroid.about.com/.  If you haven't checked it out, it is worth your time.

Good Luck!

 

 Thank you for the link.  This past year I've been suffering from thyroiditis and a hyperactive thyroid.  I had rapid, sudden weight loss and terrible heart symptoms during which my heart actually stopped. I became mentally confused - felt as if I'd lost in the IQ department, couldn't concentrate, read or sit still. 

I'm taking tapazole, having monthly bloodwork with followup visits to the endocrinologist, and now I'm having symptoms of hypoactive thyroid.  I was warned that this might happen.

Thank you for the really good information.

WOW! That is so scary! I hope that they are able to keep everything under control for you.

I went for yearly check-up and felt great ! But then my blood test came back that I was hypo... Went on tapazole, gained 5 lbs. but was soooo tired..... When my old timer doc died , my new thyroid doc took me off the tapazole ASAP !, did biopsy , had cancer, removed thyroid. That was a year ago...( PLEASE delve deep into research on tapazole )

I felt 100 % better before they ever checked it out. I had no complaints

Now I am getting B12 shots every week, eating every type of vitamin for energy, I wake up STARVING, I've gained 20 lbs. I crave foods I hated before, my hair is thin, my skin is horrible, I can't think straight....but my cancer /medication doc says the bloodtest says my meds are correct and won't change them... told me to go on anti-depressants ( which I did ) and in a indirect but obvious way suggested to take diet pills !!!

(BTW, I was told to use Rogaine shampoo to regain thickness of hair)

I'm miserable and need to find a new doc.... Anyone in Toronto who can suggest a doc ?