General help.. what do you think it is? If its not thyroid!?

[jenjen01]

Ok, long story short.. I have symptoms of underactive thyroid, but TSH shows 1.6.  Weight gain (or trouble losing weight when trying hard!), heavy periods, thinning hair, dry dry skin, tired ALL the time, etc.  If this isnt thyroid, what is it? Any ideas? Suggestions?  I have NO health insurance, so my resources are limited, when I walk into a Docs office, I need to have a list so I don't forget, it may be 2 yrs before I go again! Or longer! Help!

[Barb135]

You should be aware that if you have Hashimoto's, symptoms can show up long before lab tests show that there is an issue...

There are websites from which you can order the necessary testing and it's, typically, much less expensive than the labs we normally go to.  For instance the lab I go to charges over $500 for my TSH, FT3 and FT4 and I can get it from an online site for about $150 (some may be less expensive), so keep that in mind.

While low iron, vitamin D, and B-12 often go hand in hand with hypothyroidism and deficiencies can cause some hypo-like symptoms, you don't have to have those tests to determine if you are hypo.  Since resources are tight, get the necessary thyroid tests, then do the others as you can.

[flyingfool]

TSH is a nearly worthless test!  It is a screening tool at best.  it is NOT even a thryoid hormone.  It is a pituitary hormone.  You NEED to have the ACTUAL two primary hormones tested that your thyroid produces if you want to even have a chance to help determine your actual thyroid status.

you ABSOLUTELY must get more blood tests.

You need to have tested:

Free T4
FreeT3
Iron
Ferritin
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin D3

As stated above get the two different antibodies to determin if you have an autoimmune condition that affects your thyroid call Hashimoto's.  There are two tests for this:

TPOab
TGab

Please note above that the FREE T4 and FREE T are specific type of test and are VERY different than "total T4" and "total T3".  The total test is an outdated test of little value.  So you must ensure and DEMAND the "Free" tests.

The term "Free" comes from the test only counting the hormone molecules taht are NOT attached to a protein molecule and thus they are "free" by themselves.  This is a VERy important distinction because your body ONLY uses the hormone molecules that are "free" and unattached.

The "total" test counts both the free and the useless attached hormones.  So it doesn't tell you much.

[septembernow]

Yes, make that doctors visit count! Forgot to say test for parathyroid is Calcium, PTH and Vit D. As an adult your calcium should not be over 10. If you have high calcium your vitamin d is usually low. Read all the information above. And, always get a copy of your lab results when blood is drawn so you can check things out for yourself.

[septembernow]

Please be aware of parathyroid disease symptoms...read at Parathyroid.com--much information there.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6548840
http://www.bellaonline.org/articles/art39710.asp
http://www.endocrineweb.com/community/hyperparathyroidism/1084-parathyroid-disease-or-thyroid-disease

There are at least 6 sites on facebook concerning hypothyroidism and a closed group for parathyroid awareness...much help on these sites.

[Red_Star]

The most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Thyroid tests recommended include TSH, free T4, free T3 and thyroid antibodies - thyroid peroxidase antibodies, thyroglobulin antibodies.  

One easy test to try out is called the myxedema skin pinch test. This condition is unique to hypothyroidism. The demo is on youtube. Search: Hypothyroidism Type 2: Myxedema Symptoms.