Thyroid Conditions

[OKthatsIT]

Hey,

I was diagnosed with 'Graves' 4 yrs ago. That's Hyperthyroidism.

First off, I was NOT diagnosed for many yrs. The normal levels of TSH range between 170 - 220...by the time I FORCED my doctor to do bloood tests on me, I was near death, @ 837 TSH range.

Disgusting, huh? My GP kept telling me I was going through early menapause, then she's look at me like I was in some sort of denial about my sex organs. Sooooo...my first advice to anyone with a health problem is...research, research research. Don't rely on doctor or specialist to figure it out..if you do, you may miss your own opportunity to participate in your own healing, even life itself.

By the time I got the radiation iodine treatment, my immune system was attacking my eye muscles and sockets. After the treatment, my eyes got most worse and I'vve lived with double vision for 3.5yrs.

Have you ever looked into a kaliedascope? My double vision is so bad they cant make glasses for me. You think you see the world screwed up? LOL, I gotta laugh at that...you have no idea. And the career and financial losses due to this disability has been devastating.

Anyway...i have lots to explain, advise and learn about this damn immune system. Thanks you so much FDA and EPA for destroying my immune system's balance. I am certain had I lived my life on a remote island somewhere AWAY FROM CIVILIZATION, I wouldnt be in this condition.

So, what's up with your thyroid?

OKthatsIT

[Missy Vixen]

1. I have the opposite problem

I have hypothyroidism. My thyroid is dead. I have the usual symptoms, because doctors treat to the "labs" and not the disease: Lethargy, brain fog, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, still gaining weight, the list goes on. I was doing much better on Armour (thyroid replacement,) but have gone off it due to heart palpitations.

Thyroid disease is horrible. People make jokes about it -- after all, it isn't really a disease, right? I hope that you'll feel better soon. I also hope that you find a tremendous doctor.

Julie

[zanne]

3. Question about hypothyroidism.

I have a hypothyroid also and I take Levoxyl. What bothers me more than anything else is the fatigue. Now, I have a history of depression, also, so if I tell my doctor about fatigue he just insists it's because I'm depressed, even if I'm not. He's never come out and said that a hypothyroid can cause fatigue, even though I've asked him several times. I've stopped answering the question "so, what's new in your life lately?" because he always find something in my life to blame it on. Does anyone else have this problem with their doctor? (I also have serious heart disease, but he never blamed the fatigue on that).

[OKthatsIT]

4. why dont you find another doctor?

I dont believe in being around people who arent genuinely supportive, especially if I'm paying ;)

I know its hard to make changes when you're not as socially ambitious, but sometimes its a simple shift and you're there.

Are you taking some really clean(no mercury) fish oil for that heart?

[Susang]

6. Hi zanne!

I think you may need to find another doctor. Pretty much every piece of literature on the subject lists fatigue and depression as symptoms of hypothyroidism. It sounds like you are not being adequately medicated. You certainly aren't being listened to by your physician.

Here are a couple of links that detail some helpful information about the condition. I was misdiagnosed for over 5 years and given buckets of antidepressants for my overwhelming fatigue before the third doctor I went to looked at my labs and noticed my abnormal thyroid levels. With so many uninformed doctors out there, it's crucial you make sure you are an informed patient.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=021FF7E0-FECE-4FE8-B7EBF6632546B116

http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html

[babylonsister]

10. I've been taking Levoxyl (25mg) for several years, and have

never noticed any additional fatigue, though I do like my occasional nap. Prior to being diagnosed, I never knew I even had an imbalance. I guess I need to pay more attention. I hope someone can explain your fatigue to your satisfaction, zanne.

[helderheid]

13. I have seen 5 doctors in the 5 years I've had this until I found one

who was willing to listen and treat. The first doctor said I was depressed. Yes, gaining 30-60 pounds out of the blue while dieting and working out 2-3 hours a day, feeling exhausted, watching your hair fall out WILL make one a bit depressed. UGH.

[DemBones DemBones]

2. I've been on thyroid medication for several years, but for hypothyroidism.

I had actually asked if my thyroid should be checked, after seeing a "Could Your Thyroid Be Low?" poster staring me in the face in my PCP's examining room. He said it was fine. A few months later, he decided it wasn't fine at all. I should have kicked up a fuss and demanded he check it earlier but it's really hard to kick up a fuss when you're having symptoms of hypothyroidism. I slept all the time and was cold all the time, plus my hair got dry and brittle. My brain was so fogged that I couldn't see that it was bound to be a thyroid deficiency. I decided it was just the lupus et al., and thought maybe I was dying.

It's very important to have your thyroid function checked as you get older -- and get all the thyroid tests done, not just the simplest. It doesn't require any more blood to have the whole lot run, as far as I can tell.

[OKthatsIT]

5. Why do you say "get all the tests"?

To check your pituatary gland?

[kdmorris]

11. All the tests

Most doctors will only test your TSH, which determines your pituitary gland's opinion of how your thyroid is doing. (If TSH is high, your pituitary thinks you need more thyroid hormone and vice versa) However, to really determine what your thyroid is doing, you should also ask for a T3 and T4 test (try to get Free T3 and Free T4 is you are a female and haven't gone through menopause)

My current endocrinologist is the first doctor I've had that determines my Thyroid medication based on the actual thyroid hormones. For whatever reason (probably my pituitary not working correctly), my TSH stays low and needs to be suppressed to make me feel better. My Free T3 and Free T4 are always within range though, so he knows I'm not over medicated (I take 4 grains of Armour and 25 mcg of Levoxyl)

Hope that helps.

[we can do it]

7. I'm hypothyroid - with an added bonus of alopecia areata.

Both autoimmune disorders. The lucky part was my dr. found a small nodule on my thyroid gland , sent me to an endocrinologist, who sent me for a fine needle aspiration. OMFG - they poke around in your neck with a needle! Luckily the biopsy came back negative. But get this they want me to repeat the proceedure next year.

[REP]

8. Your're Not alone in the Alopecia Boat

My thyroid is okay but I'm nephrotic, which has alopecia as a side-effect. I'm lucky; my hair was very thick before it started falling out so while *I* can tell, most people can't and my bald spot is easy to hide.

[Maestro]

9. I had thyroid cancer.

And as a result I do not have a thyroid. I went through the radiation treatment as well to kill any residual thyroid tissue. My metabolism has changed drastically now and the worst part of the whole experience was that after surgery I had to go completely "hypo" before going through radiation. That was horrible. Thyroids for being so little can really screw you up. I am sorry to hear what you went through and are still experiencing.

[helderheid]

12. I was finally (after 5 years of suffering) diagnosed with hypothyroidism -

They took my uterus for abnormal bleeding before trying thyroid meds. I picked up my first bottle of Armour Thyroid today and start my meds tomorrow.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

15. I have had hypothyroidism for decades.

I am on Armour Thyroid which is much more bioactive than the synthetic stuff.

Please recommend this website to anybody you know who might have low thyroid:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

This lady has been thru all the crap I've been thru, and more. Many doctors go by the numbers on the blood tests, not by how you feel.

It is estimated that one in five American women have low thyroid and are not diagnosed.

[murielm99]

14. I was just diagnosed with Graves Disease, too.

My GP picked it up right away. I went in for heart palpitations. It turned out that the palpitations were atrial fibrillation. I have probably had this for a long time, and I did not know it. I am sorry you were so badly treated by doctors. I hate them usually, but most of the ones I have seen recently have been excellent. The only one I have anger toward right now is the urologist I saw for a minor infection some months ago. I was fibrillating then, and his staff was too stupid to take my vitals. If they had, I might have started treatment a few months ago.

I saw a cardiologist, who tested me for stress. That was okay. He did a TEE. I have no blood clots in my heart.

But they may want to remove or kill my thyroid, if meds don't work. I hate the idea of being hypothyroid even more. All of this stuff is making me angry and scared. If anyone has any experiences to report, please tell me.

[Warpy]

16. Doctors hate patients who self diagnose

almost as much as mechanics hate people who come in and tell them what part has failed. It takes a long time to get a doc to listen when you know what is wrong. "Humor me" always helps to get the proper diagnostic tests if you know what they are and are willing to pay for them.

Nobody should suffer for years because the doc won't test them for what they need to be tested for. A second opinion is absolutely vital in these cases.

Most laypeople who self diagnose will be wrong. However, getting it ruled out by tests at their own expense will put their minds at rest unless they are hypochondriacs who go looking on the web for another rare disease.

[Eurobabe]

17. Wow, a thyroid thread!

Hello fellow thyroid sistas and bruthas. :hug:

Isn't this a wonderful disease :sarcasm: I have autoimmune hypothyroidism, a lovely disease in which the body attacks the thyroid eventually killing it...but along the way you can swing from high to low thyroid levels, making it very difficult to treat. You sail along for awhile feeling ok and then WHAMMO, something upsets the apple cart. I was dx'd in 2003.

I urge everyone I meet to have a baseline thyroid study done while they are young. That way you can monitor periodically to see if it is going off kilter. MY daughters are in their early 20s and have had theirs checked already. Why doctors rarely think to check the thyroid function (esp. before they prescribe anti-depressants) is beyond me.

I honestly don't know what is worse, Graves or Hypo, although the times when I have been hyper make me think that over-active thyroid is probably the worse end of the spectrum. Especially because of the eye involvement. But any autoimmune thyroid disease, Hashimotos (which I have) or Graves, can make you susceptible to other auto-immune conditions if you don't keep close tabs on it.

Just my .02

48percenter

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. Autoimmune diseases run in families.

My mom's family as an example.

My mom had Hashimoto's as a young girl, about ten or eleven and she was put on Armour thyroid in about 1931.

Mom's little sister, who is about 80 now, told me she had 1/2 of her thyroid working and the other half is dead. I don't know how that happened. She seems to be really energetic and I don't think she takes any medication for it.

I had Hashimoto's too, diagnosed at age ten or eleven, and I take Armour thyroid now, many years later, and I take twice the normal dose.

Mom's father had rheumatoid arthritis, and so did some of her paternal cousins. They may have been diabetic as well, which is another autoimmune disease.

Fortunately I have missed the RA and the diabetes.