Hypothyroid?

[dmto]

I am wondering if I might have problems w/my thyroid.  Have had extreme fatigue, depression, uncontrollable high pressure,  no interest in anything, brain fog, chronic constipation, shortness of breath and have put on about 30 lbs since the first of the year.  I have had most of these symptoms for 7-8 yrs and have been to dr after dr.  The drs generally refer me to specialists who say nothings wrong and they try to  treat the symptoms related to their specialty but have no interest in trying to help get to the bottom of my problems.  I've seen  2 cardiologists who have done all tests and say heart is good but can't seem to help BP, I've been on as many as 5 bp meds at one time w/no help in bp control.  GI dr has done scopes and says no problems but still have severe, chronic constipation even with taking Amatiza and Miralax(small BM maybe once every 2 weeks).  Had ct scans of body that were clear.  Had to see vascular surgeon last year when veins in my legs went bad in a matter of months and had to have closure and stripping of veins. Have seen nephrologist and he has no answer other than to try to kill me with meds(put on meds that caused b-12 deficiency that almost killed me 6 mo ago)  Recent tests with a new dr show TSH near 4.0 with T4 In normal range.  Two previous tests had TSH at 2.3 in 2006 and TSH @ 2.6 DEC 2007.  Recent test also showed nuclear antibody two times normal.  Waiting on more test results, I believe the dr is testing thyroid for antibodies. I forgot to mention that my skin has really changed, particularly on my arms and legs.  Hair had fallen out and the skin is very thin, with very slow healing. and areas where the skin has darker pigmented areas along with areas of vitiligo(white spots with no pigment).and the skin is very dry and flaky and very itchy. The skin changes have mostly been in the past year.  I also have very severe cramping of all major  muscle groups anytime I try to do any physical activity and even if I do an activity that requires mental concentration or and  stress. In the past I had my right arm and shoulder amputated and chest wall reconstructed because of cancer in 1981 which also claimed my right lung.  No recurrance or test evidence of cancer since that time .  Following that procedure I had elevated cortisol for over tens years but drs never treated me, they just  commented that it was elevated. I'm sure I had cushings as I had all of the symptoms. Adrenal tests are presently okay according to drs.  I'm beginning to really have mental challenges, changes in short term memory, can't do simple cognative tasks or handle any stress.  I sleep 12 hrs and waken to a feeling that I've run a marathon.  By 9 or 10 oclock in the am I'm done for the day due to the fatigue and/or whole body cramping.  The symptoms have forced me to quit working as they are that bad. If I hear one more dr tell me it's all in my head...I'm a person that recovered from a major cancer amputation at 21 and started and ran several successful businesses working 12-16 hrs a day from 1981 to 2000 when these symptoms first began.  I worked through a total rebuild of my remaining shoulder due to overuse, running my businesses w/no arms for over 2 years before I could gain use of my remaining arm, so I can assure you it's not all in my head and I'm unmotivated w/bad work ethic, etc as I've been told by previous  drs.. Most of the dr want to just give you anxiety/depression drugs and I've have been down that route  many times in the last 7-8 yrs but they don't work and just make me sicker.  I can't get to an endocrinologist where I live because they need a referral from a family dr but none of them realize the test parameters for hypothyroidism has lowered to 2.5/3 for TSH and have even given them the new info but they won't go against the holy grail of the lab tests where I live that show you are nomal if under 5 for TSH. So you never can get referred to an Endo.to even get a workup.  I can't figure out why the drs won't at least investigate for hypothyroidism(I have all of the symptoms) as they've ruled out every other illness at some point in the last  8 yrs.   My bp goes up even higher when I take bp meds which none of the drs can understand, so they just prescribe more and more until it just dangerously shuts my digestive tract down and most bp meds do something to my electrolyte balance causing blackouts, fainting and eventually full  blown seizures.      It is amazing that I've been tested for every secondary cause for extreme uncontrollable high blood pressure except, tests for hypo and hyper thyroidism and hyper alderstonism and pheocytoma, all of which are endocrine disorders. The drs just say I don't have any of them, and won't even test for them....It's totally unbelievable!   I have done some reading and of course I recently found some articles relating high blood pressure  and hypothyroidism and it's effect on sodium and fluid/blood volume which makes the body produce up to 30 times the aldersteronism resulting in high levels of adrenline being produced w/high blood pressure as a result.  I'm currently taking bp med Teckturna which has no impact on my blood presure but does shut off the renin which controls the aldersterone which helps me not to feel like I'm having panic attacks and feeling of suffocating to death.  I've shown the drs my findings and the possible connection to my bp problems but they just blow it off and don't even look at it.  I'm really getting  desperate, my health is so bad right now. I'm only 50 and still have lot's of things I'd like to do instead of basically being totally incapacitated.  I'd like some help.... NO I NEED SOME HELP!!!!          

[dmto]

Thanks for your comments.  I'm new to the forum and will be looking at past  comments by users.  I found a website concerning bp and hypo as   a cause and the story revolved around someone who had similar problems w/bp and on multi bp drugs w/no results. She was finally given    thyroid hormone for hypo and her bp is now near normal, lost excess weight and consumes iodized table salt(heaven forbid according to the cardiologists/nephrologists or should I say deathologists). It seems w/hypo caused bp you start out w/lowering of bp initially but over some amount of time(over years in my case) the body reacts to the low bp as if blood/fluid volume is low so it starts the adrenal/aldersterone adrenaline complex continuously which constricts the arteries particularly in the extremeties. Of course the sodium/salt issue is involved and the bp is raised as a result along with glucose levels.(Mine is high but not diabetic level YET)  It makes sense to me, when I'm on any bp meds which affect the aldersterone complex , I get terrible cramping in my legs and arms and delirious w/blackouts and seizures which I'm sure is from the sodium and other electrolytes getting out of whack along with too little blood flowing to my extremities.  Gout follows and is chronic and a major side effect of many bp meds. I'm sure the connection to hypo is an accurate one when you look at the vascular damage that has occurred in my legs recently while I was on a whole cocktail of bp meds/diuretics etc. that did eventually get my blood pressure down but I could not even get out of the bed I was so ill.  I'm sure much damage was done w/the destruction of the vascular system I endured recently.  The new dr I'm seeing is an internist and actually listened to my symptoms and even was interested in my past med history going back to my cancer amputation in 1981. He spent over 1 hr talking about my symptoms  which was astounding to me, and made 4 pages of handwritten notes. He mentioned borderline hypo or subclinical hypo but I will find out when I see him again after the latest  tests come back.   He's done more blood tests than any dr I've seen to date and he is flabergasted that the other drs I've seen haven't done through blood testing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I looked up his patient ratings  and he's the only dr in my area who will prescribe armour thyroid which I hear is good...at least he's open minded I hear. If I don';t at least get to try a thyroid med I'm thinking I may have to try to find armour somewhere online w/out prescription.  I don't why the drs wouldn't at least try it, they've put me on meds that have nearly killed me several times.  You know they talk about the obesity epidemic and diabetes epidemic in the country but I believe it's a thyroid epidemic going on.  Thanks again   Dmto

[peggy64]

You have come to the right place. We all here need some help and we support one another through issues, such as the one you are having with your dr.

I don't know what kind of dr yours is, but could you call him, or go back, and ask him to at least do a trial of hypothyroid meds. Take him a copy of the new lab values as per the endocrinologist assoc.

If he will not help, then cross him off your list and move on to the next one. In the meantime, you can be checking some natural things you can do until you get a dr to listen and help you. You need to get very pro-active and learn all you can.

My GP is not very knowledgeable about thyroid issues, but listens to me and we work together. I have found they are usually more into a working kind of relationship than endo.

I hate to say it, but if you will read most of the posts here about endo;s, they are a waste of time and money. Most of them specialize in diabetes.

In the meantime, do you have any xanax laying around:c)