Does anyone here suffer from Thyroid Problems?

[Jenn218]

Originally Posted by Bizzymammabee

The thyroid levels are iffy depending on what doctor you see...some want to see a higher number than others. I don't want meds unless I absolutely need them. I hate to take anything unnecessary but I desperately want to get to the bottom of what is going on here.

I am the world's worst at taking meds....especially if I do not have to...I just found it odd (in a good, maybe bad way) that with all the different doctors and all the symptoms I have, I have not gotten to the bottom of what is causing it. One doctor (a specialist) actually told me that he just didn't know and that with the lastest scan results (which were very throrough) he said that he wouldn't waste my money (if he were me) and to just stick with my normal doctor. Aurgh.....so, here we go again...back at page one...starting over again.......it gets frustrating.....

Wanted to add too.....food allergies have about the same symptoms too.....so don't rule those out!

[Shanatink]

I havent read all the other post yet so Im not sure if this is still releveant but Im repsonding to the first post. I have hypothryoid and I take synthroid. About 5 years ago I went to the doctor to have a physical done because I was feelign so tired all the time. I never would have guessed I had hypothryroid even though it does run in my family and the reason I didnt suspect it is becuase usually it can be associated with weight gain and many people that have it tend to have constipation as 2 of the main symptoms and I had neither. Symptoms I do expereince are extreme fatigue, cold all the time (I tend to keep my house at 85 degrees), I have muscle cramps, lose hair, ridged fingernails that are brittle and break easy, and I feel out of it.

If you are diagnosed with hypothryoid and put on medication it takes several weeks to get your thyroid back on track so you will still have the symptom for awhile and also do not take thyroid medicine with orange juice- the calcium breaks down the medicine. This is just something Ive learned.

[xnatalie]

i have hyperthyroidism. symptoms i had were my hands shook a lot, bulging eyes, i was always hot even in freezing weather, i couldn't concentrate.
some otherrs that i didn't have are palpitating(sp?) heart, hair loss, etc. those are the only ones i can think off the top of my head.
i started off taking 10mg methimazole(sp?) twice a day, but they have cut it down to 2.5mg once a day over the past 2 years.
pm me if you want more info

[Bizzymammabee]

I totally appreciate all the info you had given me before on the topic. I Just got the results back tell me what you think:

I just spoke to the Dr's office and the nurse sent me a copy of the results. The Dr is actually out so I won't be able to speak to her until sat about them. I also made an appt to see my regular Dr for further inquiries. I am now on month 5 with no period.

Here are the results:

Thryoxine (T4) 7.2
T3- Uptake 28.4
T7 (FTI) 6.0
TSH 3rd Generation 2.67
HCG, Quantitative <2
FSH 4.6
LH 5.94
Prolactin 3.9

I appreciate any feedback you can offer. Not sure what the numbers are really supposed to be.

Thanks for your help and support with this.
__________________

[magsy17]

I have hypothyrodism for the last 16 years right after having my son. I take synthroid .300 mcg which is the highest dose. I had excessive bleeding, always cold, dry skin, weight gain, brittle nails, always tired, memory foggy & lose tons of hair.....thank God I have enough hair for 5 people. I have had terrible results when I skip my daily dose. A woman’s TSH level should ideally be less than 5.0. Mine have been as high as 30. Here is a chart on normal results.

Test-------------------------------Abbreviation--------Typical Ranges
Serum thyroxine-----------------T4--------------------4.6-12 ug/dl
Free thyroxine fraction-----------FT4F-----------------0.03-0.005%
Free Thyroxine--------------------FT4------------------0.7-1.9 ng/dl
Thyroid hormone binding ratio---THBR----------------0.9-1.1
Free Thyroxine index-------------FT4I-----------------4-11
Serum Triiodothyronine----------T3-------------------80-180 ng/dl
Free Triiodothyronine l-----------FT3------------------230-619 pg/d
Free T3 Index--------------------FT3I-----------------80-180
Radioactive iodine uptake-------RAIU----------------10-30%
Serum thyrotropin---------------TSH-----------------0.5-6 uU/ml
Thyroxine-binding globulin------TBG-----------------12-20 ug/dl T4 +1.8 ugm
TRH stimulation test Peak-------TSH-----------------9-30 uIU/ml at 20-30 min
Serum thyroglobulin l-----------Tg-------------------0-30 ng/m
Thyroid microsomal antibody titer---------TMAb-------Varies with method
Thyroglobulin antibody titer----------------TgAb-------Varies with method

[Izzy Princess]

Originally Posted by Shanatink

I havent read all the other post yet so Im not sure if this is still releveant but Im repsonding to the first post. I have hypothryoid and I take synthroid. About 5 years ago I went to the doctor to have a physical done because I was feelign so tired all the time. I never would have guessed I had hypothryroid even though it does run in my family and the reason I didnt suspect it is becuase usually it can be associated with weight gain and many people that have it tend to have constipation as 2 of the main symptoms and I had neither. Symptoms I do expereince are extreme fatigue, cold all the time (I tend to keep my house at 85 degrees), I have muscle cramps, lose hair, ridged fingernails that are brittle and break easy, and I feel out of it.

OMG - this sounds like me - I was going to have my doctor check my thryoid at my June yearly - now I am for sure. This is a great thread you guys - I have learned a lot.

[littlewhip]

Originally Posted by Shanatink

I havent read all the other post yet so Im not sure if this is still releveant but Im repsonding to the first post. I have hypothryoid and I take synthroid. About 5 years ago I went to the doctor to have a physical done because I was feelign so tired all the time. I never would have guessed I had hypothryroid even though it does run in my family and the reason I didnt suspect it is becuase usually it can be associated with weight gain and many people that have it tend to have constipation as 2 of the main symptoms and I had neither. Symptoms I do expereince are extreme fatigue, cold all the time (I tend to keep my house at 85 degrees), I have muscle cramps, lose hair, ridged fingernails that are brittle and break easy, and I feel out of it.

If you are diagnosed with hypothryoid and put on medication it takes several weeks to get your thyroid back on track so you will still have the symptom for awhile and also do not take thyroid medicine with orange juice- the calcium breaks down the medicine. This is just something Ive learned.

Iam on the same med, have been for 20yrs, I get it checked every yr, good point about the oarnge juice, I was told that to, Iam still always cold and very skinny, they say you burn off everything you eat when its underactive. musle cramps and tiredness are also bothersome. to the orignal op. i hope you feel better soon and find out for sure if thats whats it is.

[grayxie]

I have hypothyroidism/Hashimoto's disease, my Endocrinologist actually said it is severe Hashimoto's. It all started a few years back when I went to my regular doctor and he noticed my glands were swollen, he felt an enlarged nodule on my right side. He sent me to an Endocrinologist who is awesome btw, she ordered a blood test and ultrasound. Seeing her explained the constant fatique,sensitivity to cold, and now the slight weight gain but hard weight loss. Anyway after the ultrasound I had a biopsy of the nodule, very weird feeling since they don't use a local anesthetic. The nodule turned out non-cancerous, and has reduced in size with regular medication and kept an eye on with annual ultrasounds. I am currently on .88 Synthroid, it took a while to get the right dosage and now I may have to play the dosage game again since the blood test showed I am now taking too much meds. After the discovery of my thyroid issue, turns out there is family history of it (thanks for telling me peoples!!uggh....). Not all with hypothyroidism, but a related thyroid problem.

side note: should of seen the look on my bf's face when I told him I had to get an ultrasound.

[thyr]

Does someone have other details about thyroid problems?

[Bianca]

I also take Synthroid. I was diagnosed in 2003 after I became so physically exhausted and my neck was huge, it just was so big and I gained a lot of weight for NO reason I thought something was seriously wrong cause I was constantly tired. Now things are much better. I got a thyroid sonogram about 2 years ago just to make sure and everything was fine. I go to the doc once a year to make sure my dose is accurate, sometimes it changes for some, for me it hasn't. I remember to take my medicine everyday.

[Cirlonde]

Hi! I wanted to chime in here because I have recently been dealing with problems with my thyroid. It started out that I had very high blood pressure (I'm 25 and it was running 140+/90+ consistently at home and much higher at the doctor's office). I've also been "hot-natured" for as long as I can remember...my perfect situation was to have the bedroom window open with a fan in it when it was about 40 degrees outside. The rest of my family complained...a lot.

So, mainly because of the high blood pressure, my doctor had a couple of tests run and sure enough, my thyroid numbers came back showing that I have hyperthyroidism. She immediately sent me for some kind of scan where I had to swallow a radioactive pill and then wait, go back six hours later and have a bunch of pictures taken of my neck and thigh. I don't really understand it, except that it wasn't uncomfortable or anything. This scan showed that I had five centimeter nodule (or goiter) on the left side of my thyroid. The doctor pinpointed this as the cause of my over-active thyroid and recommended scheduling for surgery. I flipped out and basically ran the opposite direction. In other words, I went from November of last year until April of this year pretending the problem didn't exist.

In April, I actually felt the nodule on my neck and it was becoming visible through my skin when I tilted my head. That scared me into making an appointment with an endocrinologist (a specialist). This doctor was very helpful and knowledgeable. Over the next few months, I went for a lot of blood tests and the doctor finally determined that the problem was in my thyroid and not my pituitary gland (this was a good thing...much easier to fix). However, my problem couldn't be fixed with medication only (something to do with my TSH levels) so I had two options.

Option #1: I could have surgery and they would try to remove just the side of my thyroid that had nodule attached. However, the doctor warned that there was a 50/50 chance that the surgeon would get in there and see that the other side of my thyroid was "at risk" for developing the same problem again and he would remove that side as well...leaving me with Hypothyroidism (under active thyroid). I would also run the risks of surgery in general...them cutting something wrong, etc.

Option #2 (and the one I chose): I could take a radioactive iodine pill which would literally kill my thyroid. This process has minimal risks associated with it (and those are mostly just for parents with small children or women who intend to become pregnant soon). And the result is the same as if my surgery had revealed other thyroid problems. Also, I will no longer be at risk for thyroid cancer or new nodules appearing.

So, in June, I popped the pill and stayed home for 3 days. I experienced a very small amount of nausea but nothing bad and then went back to work. The doctor said it will be at least 3 months if not longer before my levels settled out and he can put me on hypothyroid meds, so I go back for that appointment at the end of this month. And I'll have to have follow-up appointments each year for a while and/or forever. But the meds are cheap and have very few, very mild side effects if any. The only change I've noticed so far is that my tolerance for heat seems to be a bit better...I still don't like to be hot, but keeping the house at 75 is comfy...compared to the 68 it used to have to be!

Sorry this is so long...but it's a lot of history to cover!
-C

[ch774]

I have thyroid problem and taking natural med. My doctor always prescribes me natural med. Anyway my systems are tired all the time no energy. Always want to lay down. Don't sleep at night, Gain weight I am going tomorrow to get blood work done to see how mine is doing.


If you think you have a problem I would go and have my blood work done and see.


Cheryl

I take one at night and one at 5:30am only because one helps the other. When I'm on them I feel Wonderful

[magsy17]

Originally Posted by thyr

Does someone have other details about thyroid problems?

The web is full of information there are two types which is Hypo and Hyper.

Hypo (Under active thyroid) you usually feel, tired, cold, gain weight by just looking at food, weak nails, dry skin and loss of hair.

Hyper (Overactive thyroid) you usually have a tough time gaining weight, always hot and some times get Goiters and enlarged eyes (seems like if they are popping out).

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Thyroid Disease, including Risk Factors, Tests, Checklists for Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, Goiter, Nodules, Cancer

[gypsyqueen]

Originally Posted by Bizzymammabee

I was wondering what your symptoms were and what treatments you were receiving. I think that I need to be tested and wanted to know any information you guys had to share.

Thanks.

I do
Weight gain in eight years 40 pounds and I was running 5miles 5 days a week ,tired, brittle nails my toenail are so ugly the doctor did a blood test and gave me some meds and in three months 30 pounds are gone 10 more to go its horrible especially the weight gain and the other symtoms are something you can over look thank god for a check up.

[gypsyqueen]

always hot and hairloss chalked it up to menopause