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Strange thyroid problems
For about as long as I can remember I have been irritable, anxious, depressed, sometimes fatigued, and frequently had a hard time focusing. Then, over the years came the diagnoses of Schizoaffective Disorder, Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, ADD, and Idiopathic Hypersomnia. (The ADD is questionable because of the overlap of symptoms with other disorders, but I really think I have it.)
Although in the long run, I know doing without this hormone will cause serious problems of fatigue and depression.... when my thyroid went underactive and untreated for a while, I felt better able to focus and less anxious... but that extreme hypothyroidism caused some major problems; for instance, I think I vomited once or twice because of that and probably some of my sleepiness was because of it during that time.
But these days, if I skip my Levothyroxine, I can focus better, feel less anxious/obsessive, feel less irritable, less depressed; I start to get stomach pain, muscle aches, and joint aches. Didn't happen this morning because I didn't have the pills, but did happen this afternoon after I got the Levothyroxine from the pharmacy. Honest. The pattern is not going away. My primary care doctor says it's an imagined thing caused by my anxiety disorder(s). I am pretty convinced it is not caused by that.
Although in the long run, I know doing without this hormone will cause serious problems of fatigue and depression.... when my thyroid went underactive and untreated for a while, I felt better able to focus and less anxious... but that extreme hypothyroidism caused some major problems; for instance, I think I vomited once or twice because of that and probably some of my sleepiness was because of it during that time.
But these days, if I skip my Levothyroxine, I can focus better, feel less anxious/obsessive, feel less irritable, less depressed; I start to get stomach pain, muscle aches, and joint aches. Didn't happen this morning because I didn't have the pills, but did happen this afternoon after I got the Levothyroxine from the pharmacy. Honest. The pattern is not going away. My primary care doctor says it's an imagined thing caused by my anxiety disorder(s). I am pretty convinced it is not caused by that.
My PCP gave some of the results--the ones that were out of reference ranges-- over the phone. I got the blood drawn while at his office, then he called back me a few days later. I don't think he is trying to hide the results from me. I will get them in paper via U.S. mail or through my electronic medium that this health system uses.
I was somewhat thinking the same thing, I think, in the back of my mind about his saying I need not go to the internet. If I had not, I don't think he would have done the magnesium test.
Interesting about the selenium.... I don't think he had that test done.... I think he said it was very costly, and he might have given other reasons, too.
I think he said that if vitamin B12 was low, my blood cells would be out of proper shape.... or was that one of the other ones he decided not to get done? But my blood cells have always looked fine in the CBCs done.
Yes, I think I might get Seasonal Affective Disorder on top of everything else. My understanding is that that has more to do with light reaching the eyes than the the skin. My Adderall helps with that.
I was somewhat thinking the same thing, I think, in the back of my mind about his saying I need not go to the internet. If I had not, I don't think he would have done the magnesium test.
Interesting about the selenium.... I don't think he had that test done.... I think he said it was very costly, and he might have given other reasons, too.
I think he said that if vitamin B12 was low, my blood cells would be out of proper shape.... or was that one of the other ones he decided not to get done? But my blood cells have always looked fine in the CBCs done.
Yes, I think I might get Seasonal Affective Disorder on top of everything else. My understanding is that that has more to do with light reaching the eyes than the the skin. My Adderall helps with that.
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It's okay to post small comments and I'm sorry I haven't responded - "life" sort of took over for a bit.
In the U.S (last I looked at the map MI is in the US... lol), your doctor is required by law to give you a copy of all your lab reports upon request........ he can not legally withhold them from you... If you didn't ask for a copy, you need to...... I *never* walk out of my doctor's office without a copy of my labs. My labs are my "running record" of my thyroid condition; on each report, I note the medication(s)/dosage(s) I'm on, along with whatever symptoms I have, so I can show my doctor that I feel best at certain levels......
His comment that you "don't need to be doing this" tells me that his ego might be bigger than he is........ it also tells me that I might have struck a nerve with him........if he's doing his job properly, he shouldn't really care; he should be willing answer every single question you might ask, not just telling you you shouldn't be asking questions of others. We learn by talking to other people.......
I really need to know what your actual levels of the tests were - just telling me "high" or "low" isn't enough. I need numbers, along with ranges because just falling within a range means nothing to me - it depends on WHERE in the range you are...... some ranges are too broad and if you fall in the bottom 1/2 (or too high in the range), symptoms may be inevitable.
You asked: "What does the magnesium, selenium, calcium, and vitamins B12 and D have to do with this? I bet my B12 and D are O.K., because there is a lot in my diet"........... magnesium helps keep muscle/joint aches down, plus it can help with the constipation that's so common with hypothyroidism.
Selenium has been shown to help in the conversion of FT4 to the usable FT3 (if I don't take selenium daily, I can really tell it).
Calcium, of course, is vital for strong bones, teeth, etc, but it's also a calming vitamin and may help you sleep better, plus it controls electrical impulses in your body.
Vitamin D and magnesium are essential for the absorption of calcium; I've already discussed magnesium - vitamin D deficiency has its own laundry list of symptoms, which often mimic those of hypothyroidism.
Vitamin B12 is essential for proper nerve function. Deficiency can cause debilitating fatigue, numbing/tingling in the feet/legs/hands/arms, among other things.......
I have to take weekly vitamin B12 shots in order to keep my levels up, because even though I eat plenty of foods that contain it, my body doesn't absorb it. I also used to think that my vitamin D levels should be adequate, because I spend a lot of time in the sun....after all, I live in the "sunshine state", spend hours outside every day, but tests showed I was deficient.. you live in MI so there's a long period of time that you have to be bundled up outside, therefore, your levels of vitamin D may not be adequate, since the sun must hit bare skin, not layers of clothing..
You might also want to look into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is very common in northern climates - both my husband and I suffered from it, when we lived in Iowa, because so much of the year had to spent inside.
The sooner you can get lab results (and reference ranges), the sooner we can help figure out what's up with you........
BTW -- make sure you take that thyroid medication every day - it won't help you when it's sitting in the medicine cabinet...... lol
In the U.S (last I looked at the map MI is in the US... lol), your doctor is required by law to give you a copy of all your lab reports upon request........ he can not legally withhold them from you... If you didn't ask for a copy, you need to...... I *never* walk out of my doctor's office without a copy of my labs. My labs are my "running record" of my thyroid condition; on each report, I note the medication(s)/dosage(s) I'm on, along with whatever symptoms I have, so I can show my doctor that I feel best at certain levels......
His comment that you "don't need to be doing this" tells me that his ego might be bigger than he is........ it also tells me that I might have struck a nerve with him........if he's doing his job properly, he shouldn't really care; he should be willing answer every single question you might ask, not just telling you you shouldn't be asking questions of others. We learn by talking to other people.......
I really need to know what your actual levels of the tests were - just telling me "high" or "low" isn't enough. I need numbers, along with ranges because just falling within a range means nothing to me - it depends on WHERE in the range you are...... some ranges are too broad and if you fall in the bottom 1/2 (or too high in the range), symptoms may be inevitable.
You asked: "What does the magnesium, selenium, calcium, and vitamins B12 and D have to do with this? I bet my B12 and D are O.K., because there is a lot in my diet"........... magnesium helps keep muscle/joint aches down, plus it can help with the constipation that's so common with hypothyroidism.
Selenium has been shown to help in the conversion of FT4 to the usable FT3 (if I don't take selenium daily, I can really tell it).
Calcium, of course, is vital for strong bones, teeth, etc, but it's also a calming vitamin and may help you sleep better, plus it controls electrical impulses in your body.
Vitamin D and magnesium are essential for the absorption of calcium; I've already discussed magnesium - vitamin D deficiency has its own laundry list of symptoms, which often mimic those of hypothyroidism.
Vitamin B12 is essential for proper nerve function. Deficiency can cause debilitating fatigue, numbing/tingling in the feet/legs/hands/arms, among other things.......
I have to take weekly vitamin B12 shots in order to keep my levels up, because even though I eat plenty of foods that contain it, my body doesn't absorb it. I also used to think that my vitamin D levels should be adequate, because I spend a lot of time in the sun....after all, I live in the "sunshine state", spend hours outside every day, but tests showed I was deficient.. you live in MI so there's a long period of time that you have to be bundled up outside, therefore, your levels of vitamin D may not be adequate, since the sun must hit bare skin, not layers of clothing..
You might also want to look into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is very common in northern climates - both my husband and I suffered from it, when we lived in Iowa, because so much of the year had to spent inside.
The sooner you can get lab results (and reference ranges), the sooner we can help figure out what's up with you........
BTW -- make sure you take that thyroid medication every day - it won't help you when it's sitting in the medicine cabinet...... lol
Well, I did see my doc last week and I took a printout of this conversation along to ask him questions about what you said. He saw me looking at the paper, and he said, "Let me see that". Then he said that I don't need to be doing that and should come to see him instead. He did have a number of the minerals/vits you suggested tested, though (I don't have a complete list because I don't have the lab results on paper or released to me via my electronic records, so I don't remember them accurately)--along with TSH, FT3, and FT4. He had TSH, FT3, and FT4 tested in all the previous tests he did, too. I know magnesium was tested, too.... TSH was high (perhaps because I wasn't taking my pills as regularly as I was prescribed), and magnesium was low.
Sorry to keep posing small comments, but I've done some searching and it LOOKS to me that the supposed connection between lack tolerance of thyroid replacement and adrenal problems are not standard medicine/physiology, but suggested by nutritionalists.
Oh, and the areas where there might already be pain because of inflammation often are far more painful right after the Levothyroxine pill.
I think I forgot to mention before that I tended to get ringing or hissing in the ears (tinnitis) for most of my life. I know that can be a symptom of thyroid problems;.
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