Men and Hypothyroidism

[Boristhespider]

Is it terribly uncommon for a man to be hypo? I am a male who had a TSH of 16.96. I went and had more blood work done monday and still have not received a call from my doctor. I am just nervous and feel bad. I was just talking with guys at work and they never heard of men having thyroid problems, and then I check on line and it is rare. I was just wondering if anyone here knows of any men who have thyroid problems?
And if my 16.96 TSH is something to be concerned about.
THANKS!

[gimel]

This is a duplicate post.  See thread under marky_mark's own name.

[marky_mark]

I'm 17 guy and have hypothroidism, and have found it to be challenging to say the least, I've been on synthroid for about 2 months and haven't really noticed much difference, is this normal? And emotionally its rough but the worst part is my hair won't stop falling out. This is obviously very distressing and I was wondering if I can expect this to stop any time soon and if anyone has the same problem. Thanks!

[mycool2727]

i am 17 years old and i also have a hypo thyroid i've been diagnosed with it for a year now but felt symptons from in for some time now.

i always thought i was just a teenager that really didnt keep up with all the other boys i mean i am physically capable but i do find myself getting drained of energy extreamley fast.

Also if i stand up to fast some times with out remembering to take my medicine that day i tend to feel extreamley dizzy and some times tend to faint.

if anyone has the same types of feeling please feel me in i'd like to learn as much as i can therefore me being so young and all.

[Benjamin00]

I have found fish oil capsuls to be beneficial and less symptomatic than any other treatment I have tried for myself for constipation. Rectal swelling sounds like hemrroids and can be extremely painful to the point of not being able to walk.

If you can get your hands on any high quality fish oil cap, (I use Optimum Nutrition), you may experience they won't give you that nasty fish oil burp like some of the more generic brands I have tried. I take 2 capsules every night right after dinner and although I am still constipated frequently it has helped reduce inflammation, and swelling related to passing hard and or compacted stools.

Also, IMO best way to hinder constipation is through proper eating and limiting intake of certain foods that tend to stick to the intestines like glue and slow things down. I myself do not tolerate supplements like Psyllium Husk, and I have heard that long term use can actually be harmful.
So, to sum it up I would try the best you can to mitigate those things through diet rather than a drug that simple tries to cheat the system by relieving it of performing its duty rather than actually assisting the system work. Hope that makes sense for you...

Also, the other supplement I have found somewhat relief from has been L-Glutamine. Typically body builder's use this, but I have learned it is an amino acid that specifically your intestines feed on. So, although Im not making a scientific claim about L-Glutamine here, I definately have gotten a bit of relief from it too.

[Benjamin00]

Thanks again Gimel and Flying Fool. I really, really appreciate the feedback and all the things you have done for the community here. I have read a bunch of your other posts on the forum and including one about the clinical presentation of hypo symptoms and resulting lab findings, Connection between low ft3 and symptoms.
My current doctor is a GP and it is highly unlikely he has the skillset to begin treating based on symptoms alone, also, bear in mind this is military medical coverage and treatment is "overly cautious" to the point of people getting turned away with Motrin for life-threatening conditions.
Having said that, I am close to the 6 week mark for requesting more treatment now that I have been getting CBT and wellbutrin for the past month. Having said that my options are to
1) request more labs,
2) get  referred to internal medicine to a different (probably just as against treating thyroid) Dr, or
3)just waiting until I get back to the US (roughly one year away.) to $$$ pay for and locate my own treatment

Also, there is a very unique complication with my hypo symptoms. I was Dx with Gastric Diverticulum in the upper fundus (kind of like a Hiatal Hernia) that is definately aggravated when I am constipated. So you can imagine the cycle here hypo symptoms which seem to flare up like low stomach acid / metabolism and resulting constipation causes additional pain in stomach and chest. I declined to get 4 port laproscopic surgery to fix it, its just too much going on I dont think I could handle the stress of having an operation while still trying to salvage my military career through these times.

So, having said all of this, I am really just need some help with a game plan. I can show all the peer review medical articles in the world but I doubt it is going to suddenly enlighten my GP and starting any trial of medication (and especially not armour thyroid). He has referenced studies that show that in chronically ill patients administering t3 has had mixed or conflicting results and is inconclusive whether to treat.

If I go for more labs, so what, they will probably be ""Normal"" anyways right? Please help, and thanks again, I cannot thank you enough for the support.

[Ryan222]

im 15 and i found out i was hypo after about 2 months of feeling horrible symptoms and i was wondering if any other men went through a period of really terrible sickness and depression before finding out as i did

so basically i started feeling odd and i didnt know what was wrong with my body i experienced loss of appetite, constipation, sensitivity to cold, the slowed down feeling, weird pains, "brain fog" i guess, increased need for sleep, a huge decrease in libido, and what i believed was rectal swelling which made it really hard even begin to try to go to the bathroom combined with the constipation.

i can easily describe it as the worst and scariest two months of my life the depression and physical symptoms were overwhelming. i cant even begin to describe how difficult it was to think clearly or enjoy anything what so ever.

i would never wish what i went through upon anyone

i first started taking levothyroxine in late November and have stayed steady at 88mc so far