Hypothyroidism at 27

[armadilloboy]

hey there,

I see there are plenty of other guys out there with the same problem as me, at the same age as me.I would just like to talk to someone as I feel so lost and isolated in my knowledge of the problem at the moment...I'm from the UK so my meds are of different names. I had leukemia as a child and as a result am now on male hormone replacement, (TESTOGEL) I've been on testosterone replacement since I was about 15/16. In April of this year I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and have been having my dose of Thyroxine increased 25mg at a time....this is every 4 weeks...so really slow. I am due to have another blood test soon and think I'll probably be put up to 125mg (i'm at 100mg daily) at the moment. The endocrinologist told me that I would probably need to be on 125mg due to my height and weight...

My main reason for posting here today is to get some actual feed back from guys who have had the same problem and can remember what it was like at the beginning. As I know i'm still in my early days, but I keep getting high's...then after a week or two after being on the increased dose for a month I feel crappy again. Depression, fatigue, mood changes, lack of enthusiasm are all symptoms that keep sticking around and I'm getting so fed up with it. It's starting to show in my relationship too, my fiancé, though she know's about my situation, still feels she has some sort of effect over why I'm not happy. And it's hurting me to see her sad, because I am....I really have no control over my moods....some days I wake up with a little more life in me, then come the afternoon....im drained again....

is there anyone who can relate to this? is it normal to feel so down and moody even after being on a 100mg dose? how long will these symptoms stick around for? (of course I know everyone is different...i'd just like an approximate)

Here are a list of the symptoms I have/had from the beginning (the star is next to the ones that I still suffer with)

Fatigue/exhaustion*
Feeling weak
Loss of concentration
Loss of memory
Mood swings*
Depression*
Anxiety* - though it is only mild now
Heart palpitations
Aching all over/muscle pains
Dry skin
Sorry looking/withdrawn/tired eyes*
Sad facial expression*
Weight gain
Constipation*
No motivation

[Martinique1987]

Hi, I am 27 years old and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 2 months ago. I am presently on Thyronorm 25 mcg. Am feeling a little better with the Thyronorm but sometimes the fatigue returns and so does the brain fog. Have to get tested again to see if my dosage is adequate. Since hypothyroidism runs in my family, I was aware of the condition and got tested.

[Brucergoldberg]

This is from my blog "the first year"

Here were my symptoms for about the first 9 months in order of severity:

Horrible back pain.  The pain felt like someone had their knuckle in my back right underneath my right shoulder blade.  The pain radiated around to the front and ended underneath my rib cage.  I had 3 back rhizotomys (cold water nerve destruction) to help with this pain.  NO ONE could figure it out.

Knee pain. My knees hurt so bad.  Was told that I had a weird rhumotology illness that causes arthritis.  More kookery and wizardry from the mouths of people who only saw the nail from the hammer.

Thirst
Fatigue
Tremors
Anxiety
Galbladder pain
Feet pain
Sweaty
Memory problems (what did you just say?)  had to write everything down.  Thought first that i had dementia.
Weight loss, then weight gain
Nausea
Hard to sleep
Hard to wake up
Better after 5 pm

Then as time went on, my symptoms changed.  The back pain eventually went away.  The knee pain as well.  I do recall how bad it was.  felt like someone had a knife in my knee.

Then about 5 - 6 months ago I took a step back and realized my new symptoms


Felt like I smoked weed and then drank 10 cups of coffee
Horrible fatigue around 2:30- 3:00
Motion sickness
Anxiety, and agitation that was very extreme
Eye dryness
Hunger (air hunger - eat eat eat!)
Craving for salty foods like cheese, potato chips (found out later this was adrenal)
Better after 6PM
and the newest and most horrible symptom was EAR RINGING.  High pitched, all the time.
Heart palps.
zero sex drive.  zero

Taking thyroid of any kind only made the symptoms worse.  And on top of that, my hands and arms fell asleep all the time.  I had a weird buzzing in my head.  Not to mention horrible diahreah about 1 hour after taking the meds and lasting for about 4 hours.  Blank stare, could hardly use brain.  It was locked up as if i was injected with rat poison.   Also could now fall asleep but couldnt wake up.

[nat649]

I feel for you its a nightmare i have all your symtoms and have been taking levoth for 3yr going up from 25mg to now 125mg all I can say is my symtoms have got worse my doctor has not been much help with taking blood test for ft3 and ft4 so i have gone private and am awaiting my bloodwork back so please dont give up keep trying until you get well this forlum has been a great help for me so keep posting and i am sure you will get answer that help you. We all just have to turn the page and no we are living a different life with thyroid problems good luck nat

[armadilloboy]

Thanks so much for the link!! I'll be sure to read it in depth. I've been looking into it a lot more recently, as there are so many things I can do to help get the meds into my system...like for example, I read that any source of calcium can  restrict the absorption of the meds if taken within 4 hours either side of consuming any kind of calcium...i.e milk, yogurt etc. so I'm adjusting my diet again...and have actually seen a result in change. But am still obviously going back to the doctors soon to talk about everything in more detail.

Thanks again for your information!

[armadilloboy]

Thank you so much for sharing your story! I will take your advice into consideration for my next visit to the doctors. Thanks again.

[gimel]

Just wanted to add my frequently used statement that a good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.  Test results are valuable mainly during diagnosis and afterward to track Free T3 and Free T4 as meds are increased to relieve symptoms.

You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with from a distance after an initial personal evaluation.  The letter is then sent to the participating PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

In the letter please note this info.

"the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient. I have prescribed natural dessicated thyroid for your patient (Armour, Nature-Throid) because it contains both T4 and T3 (40mcg and 9mcg respectively per 60mg). This assures sufficient T3 levels and thyroid effects in the body. Since NDT has more T3 than the human thyroid gland produces, the well- replaced patient’s FT4 will be below the middle of its range, and the FT3 will be high “normal” or slightly high before the next AM dose."

[Catareen]

Hi, I had a Total thyroidectomy done. I wasn't noticing my symptoms as such untill after I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Then my new doctor says "hey so your have any of the following..." I relised just how many of them I had, thinking I was just getting older. After the surgery I was placed on Cytomel (Liothyronine Sodium) 25mcg twice daily. I had not felt so good in years! then being switched to levothyroxine after radioactive iodine treatments, it was right back to where I started all the symptoms were back, some worse than before. I asked the doctor if I could take cytomel again, and he added a small dose along with the levothyroxine and things are getting better. So long story short, You may need to take an additional type of thyroid medication if your body can't or won't convert the thyroxine. Just remember it can't hurt to ask, and always get copies of your labs for a second opinion if needed.

[armadilloboy]

thank you for your information!!

[Red_Star]

From the book "Running On Empty" by Robyn Koumourou. An excerpt from the 5 pages on "Symptoms that worsen during treatment"....

"There are some individuals who find that they keep increasing their thyroxine dose every few months and only have temporary relief of symptoms. Some patients have ended up with taking 200 mcg to 400 mcg per day and still suffer with the symptoms of hypothyroidism.  In some cases the symptoms become even worse when they were initially diagnosed, and they wonder why they have not improved on such a large dose of hormone replacement.  

It is more than likely that these patients have a problem at a cellular level, where cellular metabolism has not improved, regardless of normal amounts of T4 and T3 in the bloodstream. Sometimes blood test results will indicate that the person has poor conversion of T4 into T3 and results show a low T3 level.  

More often, blood test results appear normal, even in the face of severe symptoms.  The reason for poor cellular response to thyroid hormones may be difficult to determine.  In these rare circumstances, the patient may only improve when placed on a combination therapy, taking T4 and T3 hormones together. Generally, adding T3 to the treatment protocol will restore cellular metabolism to normal and give a person their life back."