All the symptoms of Hypo, but normal TSH

[tdl07]

I have been dealing with many of the symptoms for hypothyroidism for the past 5 years.  The worst symptoms are extreme fatigue - I have to sleep at least 10 hours a day and am still tired.  Weight gain - I've gained over 30 lbs in the past 5 years, despite working out 3-5 days a week (40 - 60 minutes) - lap swimming, high intensity aerobics, weight lifting.  And add to that playing vollyball and basketball almost weekly.   Cold intolerance - I wear sweatshirts when it's 80 outside.  Dry hair, dry, scaly skin, cold hands and feet.

I've gone to several different doctors and since the thyroid tests come back normal, they think there is no problem.  About 6 months ago I hit 157lbs (37 lbs over what I had averaged for the previous 10 years)  At that point I basically quit eating - less then 800 calories a day and continued with the heavy workout schedule.   It took almost 3 months to get down to 150.   Not eating and excercising as much as I did was causing more problems so I went to the doctor again and begged him to do something.  He ran the tests again, said they were normal, asked me to start eating again because my body was in starvation mode and that I would temporarily gain weight but then would start losing it.   I went back to 1200 calorie diet.  Have gained back the 7 lbs and still going up.

I'm desperate.  I can not accept this as normal.  I don't want to continue gaining weight but I can't  work out anymore then I already am and I can't starve myself either. I'm tired of freezing everywhere I go, Tired of being tired all of the time.  Just plain tired of all of it.  

Has anyone been through this or have any ideas?  Please help.
My latest thyroid   TSH - 1.774, T3 393, T4 - 1.06
  

[SuzieQTT]

Have you been tested for thyroid antibodies?

[KathyK]

My sympathies because I can TOTALLY relate to what you are going through. I have been feeling like **** for a year now. Some of the symptoms I share with you are constant fatigue despite not sleeping all that well when it's time to. In fact, my most disturbing symptom is that of walking around in a daze all the time. It's hard to explain but it's kind of like every single day is like one in which you've gotten very limited sleep, even if you've gotten 7-8. Weight gain--sort of. I haven't really gained weight but I have no appetite whatsoever. I have to make myself eat twice a day. (Oh, and if I eat after 9:00 at night, it's almost a guarantee I'll wake up in the early morning hours with severe indigestion.) Yet despite eating far less than I used to (I'm probably in the 1100 calories a day range) I'm exactly the same weight I was a year ago when all this started. On the rare occasion that I can get a little extra food in me, I immediately put on a pound or two. This is on top of getting at least an hour of exercise EVERY day. Cold intolerance--if it drops below 70 degrees in my house, my hands are literally like ice. I used to not be able to stand the heat yet even when it's 90 degrees out these days I'm barely breaking sweat. I notice I sweat very little when working out too, even when it's close to 80 degrees in my house. I'm also sleeping with a blanket on me in the middle of summer when I used to be kicking off covers all night long. That part is totally not me. I'm not losing hair yet and I don't have dry skin or constipation, but my menstrual cycles, while quite light, are accompanied with days of pre and post brown spotting (which I never had before), making them last 7 full days (I used to be a 3-4 day bleeder.). I've noticed that my resting heart rate can often go down to the mid 50s as well. Anxiety and depression have plagued me for a year (they were what sent me to the doctor in the first place). So, I had my thyroid (TSH and T4) tested last October. When they both came back in the normal range (TSH was 1.164), my symptoms were written off as all in my head. I tried an antidepressant out of desperation. That made me feel WORSE so I weaned myself off it. It was then recommended I seek counseling. I'm doing that. It's not helping. When I complained to my doctor that I haven't lost any weight in the past year despite eating far less than I used to (in the last when I limited calories like this I was 15 pounds less than I am right now), she indicated it was probably stress related and that I'd killed my metabolism by not eating well for so long (that ole starvation mode you talked about) and seemed very reluctant to even consider a retest of my thyroid. So here's the kicker. I tried to consult with an endo and was told unless my primary care doctor finds an irregular thyroid reading, they can't help...wouldn't even see me in fact. I'm disgusted and about to give up trying. It's agony to drag myself through every day, to force myself to eat, etc. I can't imagine that so many symptoms could be caused by something else. I may try again with another endo, but I'm pretty sure the healthcare system has me written off as crazy. Again, I'm so sorry for what you are going through. Please keep me updated on your progress.

[tdl07]

No on the antibodies.  After reading more yesterday, I may ask for all of the following: Adrenil function, TPO, TRH and cortisol.  

[tdl07]

Kathy, I'm sorry you are having such a hard time also.  I think you should do the same thing I'm going to do, ask for a whole panel of tests - adrenil function, TPO, TRH, cortisol and also get the Free T3 and Free T4.   There's also a reverse T3 that needs to be ran.  Check the web for Wilson's disease.  I just learned about it last night and it has several of the same symptoms of hypothyrodism.   I'm calling my doctor today to have all of this done.

[kitcurious]

Thyroid meds are for  stabilizing your TSh at a good number. If your TSH is already around 1, well, about 1 is what they shoot for .
As someone previously mentioned, there are tests for other things you can have done.

Even 1200 calories a day doesn't sound like enough food for you to have any energy. Some calorie restriction over what you burn is helpful but not too much.
Recent studies have shown, in order to lose significant weight, a person needs to work out 60-90 minutes per day  at least 4-5 days a week.

If you go to a doctor open to ideas about what could be the trouble you may get an answer faster than pre-deciding what it is and only testing for that.

Good luck.