please help i need answers

just a few questions..

1. can you be diagnosed by only your antibodies.. mine was 180
2. has anyone experienced hypothyroid and vision problems.. mine only happens when i get anxiety
3. how long does the medication take to work.. i was taking levothyroxine. . 75..

i am afraid of taking a medication and being misdiagnosed.. some say you cant be hypothyroid only by your antibodies. but i have a lot of symptoms.. i am tired. depressed. anxiety.dry eyes and it seemed to get worse on the medication.. but is that because it may cause anxiety at first since your heart races.. but once it starts to work then maybe i wont have the vision problems and everything else..  im not sure if i am just depressed.. the symptoms are very familiar..  i have felt this way for seven years.. please help me.. i feel like if i dont get some help soon i will kill myself

[Rite760]

Please please stay strong, the great people on here will help you like they have helped me. I fairly new and they have been fantastic. I myself am swinging between hypothyroid and hyperthyroid and waiting for antibody results and I get very anxious too. Antibodies are only part of the tests they do for thyroid there are many more too. I am not on medication yet so I can't help there but the others who are experienced will help you with that. I know it is hard, I have felt very low with all the horrid symptoms, but you will start to feel better. Please hang on in there. And wait till Stella or Cheryl find your post and answer. They will help you enormously. In the meantime. Stay strong please.

[stella5349]

First - you have to collect yourself and know there is an answer for the way you feel. Here is what I suggest you need to do here to get clear answers and a way to get better.

Are you sure only your TPO labs were done? Here is the base test done to determine a thyroid disorder. A TSH test is the test number needed to determine the thyroid lab. Could the 180 number be the TSH number? Is the test number 180. or 18.0?

Regardless, you are on Levo 75 - so your doctor feels you have a thryoid condition and it would be classified as hypo. HUGE anxiety and depression is a major concern. This is a hormone disorder and that is what's causing it. You definately need to get an antidepressant (maybe temporary) to get you past this until your thyroid starts to behave.

Levo takes about 2 weeks to start to adjust - but the full picture will become clear in about 4 to 6 weeks when another blood test is done. Assisting the Levo with anxiety or anti depressants will help you.

What vision problem are happening? Some suffer dizzyness - twiching of the eye - eye pressure behind the ball - and not able to focus clear at times. Do these sound familiar? They do go away with treatment as time goes by.

OK - we will wait for another response and see what you say. I think you can get relief very soon but you will need to call your doctor tomorrow and request some additional meds to help pull you though this time.

[ChitChatNine]

I agree with all the others have been able to put together in words for you.  We are here for you ... feelings like you have really are trying on ones' self emotionally.  You have taken the hardest step and that is to write down what you are experiencing.

Will you please write us back later and keep in touch ... nobody should go thru this alone and I know all of us on this community most likely have felt as you do now ..

Keep in touch,

Cheryl

[Rite760]

Hi Suzanna, Hope you've read some of the replies to your post and are feeling better now.

[suzanna1]

they did all the other tests on me as well.. the tsh.. free t3 and free t4.. those were concidered in the normal range but they made me take another test because they were either on the low side or the high side i couldnt remember.. but they came back as normal once again but still on the the low or high side... so  she did one on the antibodies and it was 180.. so she said i had hashimotos.. as far as the vision i would say pressure behind the eyes and cant focus... is what is the best way to describe it.. fuzzy.. at times.. when it gets real bad....i am on anti depressants.. but the two meds at the same time make my vision worse.. that bothers me more than anything..  i also had a scan done.. i had nodules  and small cyst.. but they said everything was ok and that there was no concern... i dont get that..  on the medicine will my heart race constantly.. or will that go away too??? i havnt been taking it because i was scared to become hyper thyroid..

[suzanna1]

when they restested me also ... i think they only tested my t3 and t4... and said it was normal... after taking the medication.. it had only been a month i think,, not sure...my memory sucks.. my t3 and t4 were normal to begin with.. so how does testing that make a difference..  dont they check my antibodies.. so she only diagnosed me on antibodies alone   at 180...

[Rite760]

My TSH has been borderline high and low now too and I get my results for anti-bodies tomorrow, but they think I've got hashimotos too. I'm also waiting to have a scan on a small lump I've got. I too hate all these symptoms. Trouble is, I'm not on any meds yet, and I'm not sure how all that side works. So please hang on and see what replies you get from the more experienced ones like Stella and Cheryl on this issue. They'll be able to help you better. They're really goood. Hold on in there.

[suzanna1]

can anyone describe the eyes problems in any other way than.. floaters.. what else does the eye problems feel like

[jd2]

when i was hypothyroid i got fuzzy vision, and like you said for me too it was hard to focus (although i didnt feel pressure behind my eyes). i found it hard to see things far away, but i was sure it wasnt my eyes needing glasses (alhtough no-one believed me!) because it would get better and worse. anxiety didnt affect my vision though - i was like that most of the time. i also used to see a big black guy in the corners of my vision who wasnt there!!! (that was freeeeaaky!!!!!but i was hypo so i was too tired to worry!)
i've been on treatment for about a year, and my vision has got a bit better, but not fully yet - although i think it will, cos occasionally i'll have a day (or a minute) when everything looks really clear!

[dianamoon]

1. The antibodies show you have Hashimotos. People with Hashimoto can have all the hypo symptoms even when the TSH and T4 are normal and, yes, they should be treated. Dont be afraid of tanking the medication. The symptoms are showing that you need it.

2. Some people report blurred vision.

3. About 1 month. But for some people T4 only does not work. Test your Free T3. If the Free T3 is low, you should take T4 AND T3, not only T4.

Be strong now. It takes time but with the treatment you'll be better and all this bad feelings will go away (depression is a symptom). Dont forget to test your Free T3 (it has to be the "Free"), this is really important. Good luck, ok? Take care.