Sleepy all the time, speech difficulty, fatigued, disoriented, eyes feel dry

[hickoryguy28601]

I was wondering if this sounds like a thyroid problem to anyone.  I am a 26 year old male.  For the last 4 years I have been having this pressure feeling in my head every morning after waking up that lasts most of the day.  I feel sleepy all day long but when I try to sleep during the day I can't fall asleep.  I sleep fine at night but I wake up feeling unrefreshed everyday.  I have problems with finding the right words pronouncing words, my memory is terrible. I feel foggy headed or disoriented all the time  My vision is not blurred but seem slow to refocus and not clear my eyes feel puffy and dry but they water excessively sometimes. I have an almost constant tinnitus problem.  I'm not overweight an it doesn't seem to be diet related as I have went on just water, fruits and vegis for a 3 week period and felt the same.  Sometimes I get this popping in my neck and have a hard time swallowing.  I have lived in three different areas so its not environmental.  Drinking more than 3 drinks of alcohol makes me feel bad for 3 days or more.  Does this sound possibly thyroid related?  It runs in my family?

[Dixie1]

Your symptoms ARE symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have all of the symptoms you have(except for tinnitus)plus many more, and have been diagnosed with hypo. Tinnitus can also be caused by the thyroid. Get tested for thyroid, especially free T3/4, antibodies, and also get your adrenals tested. The eyes that don't focus well are a symptom of an adrenal gland problem, as well as several of your symptoms that both glands can contibute to.

I have fullness in in the head, disorientation, memory problems, dizziness, etc also. I am just now starting treatment, including adrenal support. Please go to StoptheThyroidMadness.com, and look at their long list of symptoms. They have greatly helped me! Read all you can....

[tinkerbell 2006]

Yes they are classic hypothyroid symptoms

What are you labs for TSH and more importantly for FREE T3 and FREE T4?  We need the ranges for the labs too, they should be in brackets after the results

[ancientmariner]

It sounds as if you could have an adrenal problem as well as a thyroid problem. You said alcohol makes you feel bad for a long period of time - alcohol is a huge stressor on the adrenals. Waking up unrefreshed can also be an adrenal symptom. So while you're there looking at thyroid information, check out the adrenal info at www.stopthethyroidmadness.com too.

am

[mmfd]

Hickory, it sounds to me like maybe you have a sleep problem that is causing you to not feel refreshed when you awaken.  You could have sleep apnea even if you are not overweight, or you could have periodic limb movements that cause you to awaken and not be aware of it.  Maybe  you have a silent gastric reflux that causes you to awaken during the night but have no symptoms, if that makes sense.  At the very least I would mention the possibility to your physician and maybe they will order a sleep study, which is what I would want if I were you.  It is a terrible feeling when you try to sleep and still feel horrible as if you didn't sleep at all.  That can cause many of the symptoms that you mention, like the disorientation.  Good luck!

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

does not sound like thyroid, but easy to test with simple blood test by your primary doctor - esp important given the family history.