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suspect thyroid issue, help
Hello,
I'm 38 years old, and have been suffering from many symptoms that I know are related to thyroid issues, for a few years.
I have had my thyroid tested a few times since 2001. All levels were considered normal but I was told a couple numbers were either slightly high or slightly low, but not enough to be considered abnormal and warrant any additional testing or treatment. I have to look up the paperwork to see the numbers. I haven't been on any type of hormones or birth control pills for at least 10 years. I'm wondering if I should pursue more thyroid testing with a specialist like an endocrinologist to see if there is something tricky going on that they can find with different testing or treatment methods.
I had a miscarriage in 2002, and after that I had extreme hair loss for a few months and had a very difficult time recuping emotionally even though I knew things worked out for the best and I was still healthy and young and could conceive again.
My son was born in 2004. About 4 months after I had him, I woke up one day and felt like a truck hit me. I remember that day vividly. Something felt extremely WRONG with me, physically. I was extremely fatigued, irritable and just having a really hard time doing basic chores and tasks. From that point on, I felt like more often than not, I was irritable, started losing a lot of hair, lost some weight (which I don't need to do as I'm small to begin with), very dry skin and hair, scratchy throat, trouble getting to sleep at night, and lots of anxiety and mood swings. I also had supply issues while breastfeeding my son. My supply would go UP and down, and it was a struggle but I kept with it. My doctors' office at the time basically blew me off and told me that if I had PPD, taking a pill wouldn't solve all my problems. I was horrified that they would treat me this way. I immediately filed a complaint with the office manager and the doctor there, and found a new primary care doc. He is still quite conservative but more willing to listen to me.
Both times that I was pregnant, aside from being cursed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I felt GREAT emotionally (how that's even possible with HG, I do not know!) I was otherwise healthy. I had to take Zofran to keep the vomiting at a reasonable level and keep out of the hospital for fluids. It was a Godsend. But I felt so good emotionally while pregnant and my hair was not dry or falling out anymore. My skin was not as dry, either. I wasn't overly anxious and I didn't feel irritable at ALL.
A friend of mine recently said she was having so much fatigue and on the opposite end having trouble losing weight, having mood swings though too, very irritable with everyone, sounds a lot like me. She found a specialist who found her thyroid issue and is treating her appropriately. She said her tests would come up normal with her primary doc, but this specialist is doing the testing differently and caught some issues by testing at a different time interval. My thyroid seems small and the doc I go to only checks to see if it's swollen. I wonder about that, too.
My current primary doc put me on Prozac last month as he thinks my issues are related to my menstrual cycle and hormone shifts, but I feel like there's more to it. My issues feel so physical, and the mood and anxiety issues seem to be a by-product of that. He also put me on anti-anxiety medication which I use sparingly. My son was ill all last year, as well, which was a huge stress on top of everything else, so I finally asked for some help with anxiety that was getting unreasonable. The Prozac and anti-anxiety meds do help with my emotional symptoms, but the physical symptoms are still there--dry skin, hair, eyes, a dry mouth (and have had lots of dental problems which I wonder if it's related also?) scratchy throat, trouble sleeping, brittle nails, and some fatigue still, too. My fear is that once I stop the Prozac and the anti-anxiety meds, the mood symptoms are going to come right back as well. Otherwise, I am very healthy, I exercise regularly, do yoga, and am very active with my 4 year old. I am about 5'2" and weigh about 108 lbs.
Sorry to ramble. I'm just frustrated at not feeling like I am getting to the bottom of all this recurring stuff. I truly do not feel that my problems are solely mood related or "in my head". There are a lot of physical issues I've been suffering from for years, but when you're "healthy" and thin, it seems to be a bit of a curse that docs just say it's all in your head. Any advice or assistance you can give is greatly appreciated.
I'm 38 years old, and have been suffering from many symptoms that I know are related to thyroid issues, for a few years.
I have had my thyroid tested a few times since 2001. All levels were considered normal but I was told a couple numbers were either slightly high or slightly low, but not enough to be considered abnormal and warrant any additional testing or treatment. I have to look up the paperwork to see the numbers. I haven't been on any type of hormones or birth control pills for at least 10 years. I'm wondering if I should pursue more thyroid testing with a specialist like an endocrinologist to see if there is something tricky going on that they can find with different testing or treatment methods.
I had a miscarriage in 2002, and after that I had extreme hair loss for a few months and had a very difficult time recuping emotionally even though I knew things worked out for the best and I was still healthy and young and could conceive again.
My son was born in 2004. About 4 months after I had him, I woke up one day and felt like a truck hit me. I remember that day vividly. Something felt extremely WRONG with me, physically. I was extremely fatigued, irritable and just having a really hard time doing basic chores and tasks. From that point on, I felt like more often than not, I was irritable, started losing a lot of hair, lost some weight (which I don't need to do as I'm small to begin with), very dry skin and hair, scratchy throat, trouble getting to sleep at night, and lots of anxiety and mood swings. I also had supply issues while breastfeeding my son. My supply would go UP and down, and it was a struggle but I kept with it. My doctors' office at the time basically blew me off and told me that if I had PPD, taking a pill wouldn't solve all my problems. I was horrified that they would treat me this way. I immediately filed a complaint with the office manager and the doctor there, and found a new primary care doc. He is still quite conservative but more willing to listen to me.
Both times that I was pregnant, aside from being cursed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, I felt GREAT emotionally (how that's even possible with HG, I do not know!) I was otherwise healthy. I had to take Zofran to keep the vomiting at a reasonable level and keep out of the hospital for fluids. It was a Godsend. But I felt so good emotionally while pregnant and my hair was not dry or falling out anymore. My skin was not as dry, either. I wasn't overly anxious and I didn't feel irritable at ALL.
A friend of mine recently said she was having so much fatigue and on the opposite end having trouble losing weight, having mood swings though too, very irritable with everyone, sounds a lot like me. She found a specialist who found her thyroid issue and is treating her appropriately. She said her tests would come up normal with her primary doc, but this specialist is doing the testing differently and caught some issues by testing at a different time interval. My thyroid seems small and the doc I go to only checks to see if it's swollen. I wonder about that, too.
My current primary doc put me on Prozac last month as he thinks my issues are related to my menstrual cycle and hormone shifts, but I feel like there's more to it. My issues feel so physical, and the mood and anxiety issues seem to be a by-product of that. He also put me on anti-anxiety medication which I use sparingly. My son was ill all last year, as well, which was a huge stress on top of everything else, so I finally asked for some help with anxiety that was getting unreasonable. The Prozac and anti-anxiety meds do help with my emotional symptoms, but the physical symptoms are still there--dry skin, hair, eyes, a dry mouth (and have had lots of dental problems which I wonder if it's related also?) scratchy throat, trouble sleeping, brittle nails, and some fatigue still, too. My fear is that once I stop the Prozac and the anti-anxiety meds, the mood symptoms are going to come right back as well. Otherwise, I am very healthy, I exercise regularly, do yoga, and am very active with my 4 year old. I am about 5'2" and weigh about 108 lbs.
Sorry to ramble. I'm just frustrated at not feeling like I am getting to the bottom of all this recurring stuff. I truly do not feel that my problems are solely mood related or "in my head". There are a lot of physical issues I've been suffering from for years, but when you're "healthy" and thin, it seems to be a bit of a curse that docs just say it's all in your head. Any advice or assistance you can give is greatly appreciated.
If you think your problem is thyroid disease, I can tell you two things which my doctor did to diagnose my illenss. Number one he palpated my thyroid and found that it was enlarged. Keep in mind it does take years sometimes to enlarge, so if you do have thyroid issues your thyroid may not enlarge until some years down the road. Number two--he tested for thyroid antibodies which for me was positive. Autoimmune thryoid disease produces thyroid antibodies. People with this type thryoid problem for some reason simply do not usually show up on regular thryoid tests--TSH, T3, T4. I have talked to other folks who have the more traditional low thyroid--the kind where the thryroid just becomes dysfunctional, and many have told me their problem did not show up immediately on tests. Somtimes they had symptoms for a year or two or somtimes a little longer before tests revealed a problem.
Hi there. I am so sorry to hear all that you are going through. My menstrual cycles are very short now, sometimes only 23 days long, and I fear I'm in pre-menopause as well. I'm only 38 and hope to have another child...but not before I get this figured out. My son was ill for almost 2 years and it was a huge lesson to me to STAND firm and be heard even when people didn't believe something serious was happening. Turns out he had a congenital defect in his urinary tract, causing a partial blockage to his left kidney. He just had major surgery to correct the issue, thankfully and can look forward to happier and healthier days. I realize though that I've been just accepting a lot of **** from doctors for many many years and I'm just at a point where I know my intuition and inner strength is right, docs don't know my body as I do and I have to find the answers. I'm going to ask my friend about the specialist she is seeing, she highly recommends and said also that the numbers on the tests aren't the be all, end all. So that also gives me hope. Keep striving and stand firm about what you are experiencing! Thanks so much for the added reassurance! Good luck to you.
Pleae don't think you are alone. I too suffered with the same problems after my miscarriage years ago and after having my daughter. Now in a premature menopause it's hell again. And I'm currently suffering with problems with my thyroid which is being investigated and I like you suffer with awful anxiety. My test results over the past year have been all over the place but still within borderline result limits. So it has been so hard to get doctors to take me seriously, when they kept saying it was stress or depression etc., which I know full well it is not. So I know exactly how you feel. But I have had to push after all the people on this forum gave me hope to stand up for myself and it's working. But it does take a long time sometimes to get the right help. So please don't give up trying. I nearly did last week I was so fed up and demoralised, but my new friends here gave me the strength to keep on fighting for answers. It's the only way. Go for it. Good luck.
Thanks so much, Miss Ladybug. I had a feeling that just routine tests are not enough to figure out what's up with hormonal fluctuations and how they relate to thyroid issues. That gives me a lot of hope and help to stand firm with my doctor and ask for some more in depth help, or at least let him know I'm going to pursue a consult with the specialist my friend went to see. I am tired of being told I'm an over-sensitive new mom, and why wouldn't I be tired, etc. I am young and healthy so I shouldn't feel this crappy all the time!
Take care, and good luck with your health also!
Take care, and good luck with your health also!
Hi,
I am fairly new to this board, but not to thyroid issues - have had Grave's Disease for 18 years now.
Thyroid binds to estrogen as it travels through the bloodstream, so it makes sense that when your hormones are going up and down with pregnancy, so will thyroid levels - they are all mixed in there together.
My endocrinologist states that thyroid dysfunction can take years to finally manifest itself so that it will show up enough on bloodtests to facilitate treatment.
It might be a good idea to have some more thyroid bloodwork done, and also some estrogen hormone levels done, just to see where you are. Personally, I think doctors are too quick to put people on antidepressants, but unfortunately the medications DO help in changing brain chemistry, which often helps symptoms stemming from other things, whether hormonal, mental or emotional. So they all use it to help with symptoms and sometimes it's like shooting mosquitoes with a cannon, especially if something like your thyroid could be isolated, and treated properly.
Take care and enjoy your 4 year old. I have a 2 year old grandson - boy, my daughter has her hands full! Guess it's why young folks have the babies!! Ha!
I am fairly new to this board, but not to thyroid issues - have had Grave's Disease for 18 years now.
Thyroid binds to estrogen as it travels through the bloodstream, so it makes sense that when your hormones are going up and down with pregnancy, so will thyroid levels - they are all mixed in there together.
My endocrinologist states that thyroid dysfunction can take years to finally manifest itself so that it will show up enough on bloodtests to facilitate treatment.
It might be a good idea to have some more thyroid bloodwork done, and also some estrogen hormone levels done, just to see where you are. Personally, I think doctors are too quick to put people on antidepressants, but unfortunately the medications DO help in changing brain chemistry, which often helps symptoms stemming from other things, whether hormonal, mental or emotional. So they all use it to help with symptoms and sometimes it's like shooting mosquitoes with a cannon, especially if something like your thyroid could be isolated, and treated properly.
Take care and enjoy your 4 year old. I have a 2 year old grandson - boy, my daughter has her hands full! Guess it's why young folks have the babies!! Ha!
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