Not thyroid disorder then what?

Hi,
  I am 27 years old. I have a history of a hyperactive thyroid. 5 months ago I experienced a drastic increase in weight. I gained 20lbs in one month. This is pretty extreme especially for someone who has had to work hard to gain weight her entire life. I didn't eat outrageously unhealthy foods and tried to stay organic. Portions were always small. I instantly revamped my diet and now the only meat intake that I have is fish. I have cut out dairy and replaced it with things like almond milk or soy cheese. I even tried a weight loss supplement. I have simply managed to slow down the weight gain...but still gain it. On top of the weight gain I have been experiencing other symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, fatigue througout the day, hair falling out, mind being cloudy, inability to focus (my grades are slipping due to this),migraines unexplained by CT scans, depression, mood swings, dry itchy skin, acne that I have never had in the past, I break out in rashes a lot, now my fingernails are begining to lift up from the nail bed and most recently a severe loss of appetite to the extent that I have had to set timers to remind me to eat. Even then I can't eat much before feeling full and queasy. A miriad of tests have been run. I have seen a dietician who informed me that my diet is perfectly healthy and exactly what she would have suggested for me. I have seen endocrinology. My TSH, T3 and T4 were tested and I was told that my thyroid function is on the low side of normal now which is perfectly fine. I have been tested for Hashimotos and told that the test was normal. Diabetes, blood count, b-12, iron levels, all perfectly normal. The one issue that was found in my bloodwork is that I have high cholesterol. But my doctor assured me that the eating habits I've already adopted would assist in lowering it, therefore I was given no medication. The doctor wants to send me to a new dietician since the thyroid blood work was ok. I feel like I am going in circles. I was just wondering if anyone had any clue what these symptoms could indicate if it has nothing to do with my thyroid. Losing my fingernails and hair is getting a little scary especially since no one seems to be close to figuring out what is going on. Does anyone have any ideas as to what should be looked at more closely? Perhaps with some educated suggestions I could spark some ideas for my doctor and get her searching down a warmer path? Or at least lift a little frustration off of myself. I would appreciate any and all opinions.

Jeana

[Red_Star]

Are you able to post your labs?  Being in range and being optimal are two very different things. As for your symptoms, i have had most of them. The migranes (migraines) were due to severe magnesium deficiency but almost every other symptom was thyroid related.  

Type into the search bar: "Hypothyroidism Type 2: Myxedema Symptoms" to try an easy pinch test.  She talks about type 2 hypothyroidism which is based on the book by Hypothyroidism Type 2 by Mark Starr, MD. I found this an interesting test to try out. I have severe hypothyroidism to the point of myxedema is thickening my nose.  I cannot pinch any skin basically anywhere on my body.

[Red_Star]

Sorry i forgot to add, the pinch test is a video demonstration on youtube so i mean the youtube search bar. ;)

[jeanapa]

I'll have to get a copy of my labs from the doctor. I did try the pinch test and interestingly enough I can't pinch any skin on my arm. I didn't even realize that I couldn't do that! That will be the next thing I discuss with my doctor. I mentioned in my first post that I had been more recently suffering from a serious lack of appetite. This has been going on for 4 days now. I saw today that I have actually started to lose weight, but at a not so healthy rate. In the last 3 days I've dropped 6lbs out of no-where which is a little frightening. Previously I gained the weight very quickly but no matter what diet I tried or exercise I could only slow down the gain. Now I can barely eat and it's dropping away. Is this by any chance something that is generally related to hypothyroidism? I was under the impression that you only gained weight with it and lost weight with hyperthyroidism.  

[Red_Star]

I didn't realise i could not pinch skin either lol!  In general, hypothyroidism shows up with weight gain and hyperthyroidism shows up with weight loss.  However you can lose weight or gain weight with either condition.  Google "forumotion myxedema" for an indepth article on myxedema. This is which is where i found out the pinch test and had a look on youtube (as you do lol) to see if there was a demo on it. :)