hypo vs hyper

[ckaa990507]

I have been waiting to see the endocrinologist for about a month now, and my appt is still 6 weeks away(very busy office) about hypothyroid symptoms.  I had bloodwork by my internist over the summer, which I believe show my numbers on the low side of normal, so he referred me to the endo before he would treat my "depression"(what he believes is the only thing wrong with me).  (I "forced" him to give me free t3/t4 tests).  But I've been thinking about things as I've been waiting.  I was always very skinny as a teen/early adult, no acne, fast metabolism, and was almost 16 at the onset of menstruation.  Is it possible I was hyperthyroid all those years and didn't know it(my mother never took me to a dr) that has now turned into hypothyroidism?  My symptoms got worse after the birth of my 2nd son in 07(had my first in 05)  My symptoms now are: inability to lose weight, tired all the time, yet can't sleep at night; memory loss; hair loss; no sex drive; acne; choking feeling when I wear turtlenecks(which I used to wear with no problems before); increasing blood pressure & cholesterol; periods that come every 28 days, but are odd lengths/flows from what they were before.  I can pull my numbers if anyone wants to review.

thanks for opinions.

[ckaa990507]

so I finally had my appt with the endo yesterday-so hard to get into for that first appt!!
she looked over the copy of my bloodwork I brought from August, and she said that they did look "normal" but said that the blood is often the LAST place that is affected by thyroid disease.  After all I found online about terrible thyroid doctors, this was music to my ears:)

She did say that my thyroid is enlarged, and has ordered a slew of tests-blood and urine-that I will do in the morning, after tonights' fast.  I go back in a month for my blood/urine workup follow up, and she is also suggesting a scan(ultra sound, I think she said)

My bp was 156/90 both times it was taken yesterday, so she's doing some workup to determine what's going on there.  I had also been diagnosed mitral valve prolapse during my first pregnancy(by a cardiologist when I was having palpitations).  She said that many of my symptoms overlap-between the reactive hypoglycemia, mvp, and enlarged thyroid, so she wanted to cover all bases before suggesting treatments.  

I can't say what relief I feel just from knowing I'm not "just a normal depressed 34 yr old sahm of 2 little kids", which is what my general doctor "suggested" back in August.  Shows me that YOU have to be the one in charge of your health!!

So, what can I expect next?

[gimel]

Please be aware that just because a doctor is an endo doesn't mean that he is a good thyroid doctor.  Many specialize in diabetes, not thyroid.  Even those who claim to be thyroid specialists frequently are so rigid that they treat only by TSH, not symptoms.  So, I would not wait around for very long without knowing for sure if they are good thyroid doctors.

You might try posting a new message asking for members to send you a Private Message if they have a recommendation for a good thyroid doctor in your area.  There are also different lists of top thyroid doctors on the net.  Some have mentioned having success with asking their pharmacist for names of doctors that prescribe Armour or Nature-throid.  It seems that doctors willing to prescribe a natural T4/T3 med are more open to treating a patient's symptoms rather than TSH level.

When you have a good candidate call the office and say that you are looking for a good thyroid doctor and would like to ask a nurse a few questions.  Then ask the nurse if the doctor is willing to treat a patient for symptoms, by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 levels as necessary to alleviate symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Then ask if the doctor is willing to prescribe medications other than T4.  If the answer to both is yes, then you might have a good thyroid doctor like you need.  If the answer is no to either, then you might as well keep looking.  

[ckaa990507]

thank you so much for the reassurances!  I called another endo, and the soonest that office has availability is in JULY-that's nearly a year after I was first referred!  This is just crazy-what the heck do people do to get proper care?!  I am absolutely miserable now.

I've been doing some more thinking, and while I was preg with my first in 05, I was diagnosed reactive hypoglycemic by doing a 5 hour glucose test-I'd always had symptoms, but it got worse when I was pregnant, and it continues now.  So I googled to see if there was anything that came back relating hypoglycemia to hypothyroid and found a couple sites that showed a connection.  I'm praying that this doctor I've been waiting to see for so long now will take all this into consideration and help me.  I just keep adding things to my list of symptoms.  

[mommyjamieof2]

I have a pretty similar situation to you
found out my labs suggested hyper when I was first pregnant with my first after his birth got worse after the birth of my second got horrible finally treating now 3 years after birth of second trying to find the right dose.  I just hope one day I will not be tired again and maybe shed some of the extra pounds.

Your not alone just keep demanding you want to be treated

[gimel]

No, there are several other meds, including dessicated types Nature-throid and Westhroid.   There is also a synthetic T4/T3 combo called Thyrolar.  And of course you can always take both a T4 and the T3 synthetic called Cytomel.

[ckaa990507]

thanks for the link-almost reads me to a "t".  I've read about Armour before-is it the only treatment for adjusting t3?

[gimel]

Your FT4 and especially FT3 are too low.  They need to be adjusted into the upper part of their ranges.  You can read about it on this link.  

http://hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

Your biggest problem right now will be finding a doctor that is willing to treat your symptoms by adjusting your FT3 and FT4 levels with whatever meds are required to alleviate those symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels

[ckaa990507]

cholesterol 209  blood pressure was 155/??

TSH - 2.070 (.450-4.500)
Free T4 - 1.06 (.61-1.76)
T4 - 8.3 (4.5-12.0)
Free T3 - 3.0 (2.3-4.2)
T3 - 136 (85-205)

[gimel]

Yes, please post the results and reference ranges for those tests.