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393685 tn?1425812522

Who are you with THYROID???

As a refresher for members and an invitation to ALL -

How did you come to the thyroid board here at Med Help?  Let us know what conditions you have and what you went through so far.

Do you have a parathyroid disorder? Do you - or did you - have cancer and have had your thyroid removed? Are you autoimmune and struggling?

So many - visit here and a thread like this is so important to know what's up.

We as Leaders and members would like to know what has brought you to this board so we and others can direct you to the best resources available.

Thanks and Happy Health!

NikkiP/Stella
289 Responses
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Avatar universal
This discussion grp is very infomative
I have Hashimotos thyroiditis dx 3 yrs ago
I knew I was hypo but antibodies checked much later. I believe the throid was a major contributor to brain fog, feeling jittery, hypersensitve emotionaly, anxious 4 mo. after birth of my 2nd son. Four to 5 mo later, could cry for no reason and very indecisive. Working full time & struggling to think. I left a vm to someone and they pointed out how slow i was speaking. I was embarrassed
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Here's where I responded.  Do you have another thread posted that I haven't seen?

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/Can-this-be-the-start-of-a-low-thyroid/show/1925210#post_8989685
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Avatar universal
yes hello barb, did you receive my response back to your comment? ty for responding...i am not use to navigating around on this site YET...ty again.
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Welcome to the forum.

I've already responded on your thread.
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Avatar universal
hi since 2001 i had my thyroid on and off inflame...it was noticed when i got pregnant...they took an ultrasound and there was a small nodule...after i had my son the swelling went away & i tried to forget about it...on and off through the years i could tell when it was swollen...2008 ask doc to take another ultrasound well the small nodule seemed to disappear & a new one popped up on the other side...recently in the past 3 months of 2013 i have been extremely fatigued,T3 low, LDL spiked, vitamin D went low, my feet are numb & i mean i sleep like 15 hours out of the day (maybe a couple days i stay awake all day long)...also, i am pre diabetic...went to endo today & he said i dont look tired and he doesnt feel any nodules my TSH is normal so therefore i dont have hypothyroid...very frustrated did you start out like this with certain things out of range...my sister has graves disease, heart disease & she was being told her hyperthyroid was allergy lol wow & i heard thyroid problems can cause all of those things...what do you know about this stuff....appreciate a response if you have the time...ty
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168348 tn?1379357075
I remember when this post was created ...........I agree with stella5349

Lots of good people and info here. Welcome!

C~
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393685 tn?1425812522
Lots of good people and info here. Welcome....

Create your own post on the message board and you 'll recieve good feedback.
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Avatar universal
(continued)
I felt hyper during the job change idea - some later told me I'd been miserable and could not believe I was so wound up ovrr minor things
can u spell mood swings? never like this before. Ive read where Hashi's can cause mania-like symptoms -- I cant help but feel thyroid probwas a major contributor. Anyone else have symptoms like this?
Also, to all physicians - when you prescribe "routine" labs, Pleeeze include full thyroid screening ( not just tsh) !!!! anyone with psych symptoms should be tested for underlying medical conditions. I believe the lack of testing and no psychiatrist both led me to become so much worse. Drs: please dont give women the brush-off as if pms is all it is. Men would get a full physical workup! Lastly, never get psych meds from anyone but a psychiatrist, and dont nake any major decisions when you are not feeling yourself (hypo/hyper) !!!
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Avatar universal
(continued)
I went to a therapist to discuss how I was feeling. Im a nurse but didnt think to go to my pcp ( nor did my therapist!) to rule out any medical condition-!- she thought i had PMS & suggested an antidepressant but didnt refer me to a psychiatrist (!). I got so stressed and hopeless. I started thinking irrationally & quit my job for something not even in my usual line of work & crashed & burned. Then really severe depression.
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393685 tn?1425812522
The unique post is for patient introductions and should be a consistant reference if needed. I'd like to keep the archived post live and open to all new members as a source of meeting.

Although, to new members, while posting here is very appreciated, if you have specific questions on your thyroid concerns, please post on the community as often as you would like to. Members will comment there for support more than looking here.

Thanks! Wishing you all Wellness and looking forward to more stories here!
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Avatar universal
Yes your symptoms are very common for someone who is low thyroid.

You may want to start a new thread as you'll likely get  more responses on it than one with almost 300 reply on a 3 year old thread.

On the new thread if you could post all your lab results.  I hope you had more than just TSH.  If not you should go back to your Dr and demand the Free T4 and Free T3 tests.  These test for the two ACTUAL hormones your body uses.

Are you on any thyroid medication, if so also state what and the dosage you are taking.  These will all aid us in providing advice.
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Avatar universal
I'm so glad I found this forum. I am 33 years old and found a lump on my thyroid 3 months ago. I have always had a hard time losing weight as well as gaining weight by just looking at food but I have gained over 20 pounds in less than 3 months. I went to see my Dr. At the beginning of June to find out that I had sluggish reflexes and my TSH level was 8.4. I had an ultrasound mid June where they found multiple nodules with the largest at 3.4 cm as well I had a FNA done in July but have not received results yet. I have been feeling like crap and completely out of it the past few months. Just the other day I felt drugged and confused to the point that i'm not really sure what went on at work. I have been forgetting everything and have been unable to concentrate on my work. I do work out have been overheating to the point that I just want to lay down and go to sleep despite ensuring that I drink a lot of water. Some days I can function but feel I have to fake feeling ok when I am truly miserable. I have just started my 4th full period since July 11th.
Does anyone else have these symptoms???

Help!!!
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Avatar universal
My daughter was 14 when she had real bad periods, so I put her on the pill. She was doing fine except started having headaches, so they switched, now she became very ill. She had her tsh checked it was 4.2 or 4.5. I read being on the pill can raise your TSH, so I had her get off the pill. Thyroid level dropped,but it wasn't until she started kelp for 2 weeks, started iodized salt and having seaweed that her thyroid level is now normal. She didn't have hashimoto, so she was missing iodine  in her body.Sometimes are body is trying to tell us something is missing. I did this on my own, but check with your doctor to see what he recommends.Now she just makes sure she has iodized salt or seaweed at least every other day.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for taking the time to relate all that.  You have really been through it.  Glad to hear that things have improved so much.  I am curious as to what your thyroid test results look like now, along with their reference ranges.  Also, since many hypothyroid patients are low in other areas as well, have you been tested for Vitamin A, D, B12, ferritin, and a full iron test panel?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I never took the old Armour but the new one is my replacement for Levothyroxin.  This is the best I have felt in years.  
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Avatar universal
I just turned 60 on July 3rd.  I grew up competing athletically with 5 brothers (so that I would not be called a sissy).  As a child I grew erratically, lost clumps of hair but always competed successfully.  I never expected my 60th to find me like my mother.  She always said she just wasn't a "sport".  She took me to the dr as a child and asked why I was so hard.  She had so little muscle, she did not recognize it!  Because I was not growing in height (no growth from age 3 to 8) they looked at thyroid.  l seems that I was always on the low side of normal.  I started growing at record pace when I was 8 and stopped at age 13, at exactly 5 feet tall in spite of coming from a tall family.

In 2005 I was rebuilding my house after a hurricane and holding my own with the much younger men doing construction work.

In 2006 I realized I had grown 2 inches since 1985 (from age 33 to age 52). I was having jaw and ear pain.  One brother had just recovered from a pituitary tumor. I started seeing a local pcp.  The first thing I told him was that I thought I needed to see an endo.  He ran some blood work and found that my TSH was high and T4 was low.  He put me on levothyroxin and periodically retested.  He adjusted the dose once.  In all the years since, I feel that I have gone downhill. I lost all the hair on my arms and legs, my stamina was gone, my skin was dying, my hair was dry.

I was diagnosed with RA in 2007.  My blood pressure went totally out of control in 2009 despite 5 different bp meds.  My arms developed purple spots that would begin with and itch and end with blotches of broken capillaries for no apparent reason. I was functional 3 or 4 days a week while the rest of the time was spent recovering from a day of activity.

I was put on medication for ADD, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety disorder as well as the meds for RA.

A few months ago I switched doctors because my skin was dying over large areas of broken capillaries.  On the first visit he diagnosed enlarged thyroid with palpable nodules.  He sent me for an immediate ultrasound and referred me to an endocrinologist. The ultrasound and minimal, but new, labs confirmed another immune disorder, Hashimoto's He warned me that the endo was not very talkative but he was smart.

Last week those two doctors actually talked about me.  They switched me to Armour at a very low dose.  Within 3 days I started to feel like what I used to think of as normal.  I have a better appetite than I have had for years but lost 2 pounds in 3 days?!?

I am scheduled to have complete labs run 5 weeks after starting the Armour.  I am scheduled to have another ultrasound and probably fine needle biopsy in November.  In the meantime my blood pressure seems to have normalized on 2 medications.

What do I think?  I think I have at least 1 (of 3) thyroid nodule that dumps hormone into my system in a batch which is adequate to give me hyperthyroid symptoms, such as high blood pressure and palpitations.  I think my body does not convert T4 to T3 normally leaving many of my cells in hypothyroid state. I think the T4 has ramped up my heart. I think the unconverted T4 is passing through my bloodstream unused all while showing normal levels on TSH and T4.

All of the research I have done does not answer the question "What is the function of T1 and T2?"  

It is kind of funny that it took an old, old-school physician to say that if nature creates it, we probably need it, even if we do not know why.  I AM curious but most of all I am just happy to have hope that I may make a real comeback.

Funny story...I showed my cardiologist my bicep (flexed).  He asked if I had been working out.  I said no, this is what is left after two years of being afraid my heart would explode.  Now I am looking for a good, cheap treadmill or elliptical so I can work on getting the rest of my life back from the comfort of my air conditioned living room.

People can have both hypo and hyper symptoms.  I can not stand heat and never have a problem with cold.
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Avatar universal
I was diagnosed with Papillary (thyroid) cancer when I was 18. They had to remove my entire thyroid and they had me take different medications until they set on levoxyl. I was not the best with keeping track of my medication and often would miss dosages. It became at bit out of hand with my irresponsibility that my TSH levels increased dramatically. I even had my endo tell me that I could take a whole weeks worth of pills at the start of the week however,  he end the converststion with he "wouldn't recommend it." Needless to say I've been doubling up on my pills if I miss taking a dosage due to my memory or insurance companies which has manage to bring my levels down. Can this be dangerous to my health  in the long run?
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Avatar universal
I am new here and ran across your post. I also beleive Levo is dangerous. Can you give me an update to your health? I have Graves and TED terrible. Had Rai131 in 2009 and its been hell ever since. On 100 mcg of levo and still hyper. Please reply.thanks
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Avatar universal
Hi there, artfemme here.

I came across this forum while researching hypothyroidism and my various symptoms online after getting little medical help. I had every worsening symptom of hypothyroidism, yet my TSH was in the lower level of the normal range, so I was told that I must have some other medical problem or problems to explain all my symptoms and in addition probably needed psychiatric help. My hair fell out in bags and I gained 40 lbs without eating any more that usual. The outer edges of my eyebrows were missing but I was told I was "just getting older." In addition, my endo, a middle aged woman in not-very-good-shape, told me that anyone would kill for curly hair like mine. She said this while thumbing through a magazine as I enumerated my worsening symptoms, which started to include disorientation, depression, and panic attacks.

This made me very angry and finally after a year of continued complaining, during which I DID go to a shrink who did not help me, my endocrinologist deigned to feel my neck and discovered that my thyroid was enlarged. I was sent for an ultrasound, which showed nodules, and put on a small amount of Synthroid.....not because I "needed it", but simply to try to keep the nodules from growing. I was never given FREE T tests, only TSH and total levels. The fact that my TSH had gone from it's usual .89 to double that was considered inconsequential.

I ended up hospitalized after a panic attack that lasted for 4 days. That's when I decided to fire my endo, do my own research, and ask my primary to prescribe T3 in addition to T4, which helped immediately but could easily have not....I was just guessing, which is a pretty unsafe feeling. Thank goodness it worked and cleared my head enough that I could do my research and find this forum. (I also lost 15 lbs. in 3 weeks.....obvious myxedema, which I was also told I did not have. I have gained it back in 3 weeks when my T3 is lowered)

I have spent 6 years trying to recover my health and am only just now on a dose of 2 thyroid hormones that brings my FREE T4 and FREE T3 into the middle and upper levels of the Bell Curves and reduces my symptoms. I have been through 5 endocrinologists and used my extensive scientific research, printed out and taken to my primary doctor, to get her to help me deal with what is an obvious conversion or tissue resistance problem when endocrinologists would not. Finally, she believes me....as all my CBC and metabolic panels and blood pressure have normalized as well with the only change being thyroid hormones.

Through all of this, I could not have been as strong, informed, or persistent without the help of the members of this forum. Just knowing that others have the same symptoms and have gone through similar struggles with not only their health but also with their doctors has given me great solace.....in addition, I have received invaluable support from the members in learning how to read my labs and in how to evaluate them as well as tips on scientific articles and other sources of information that have helped me enormously and saved me research time.

I absolutely feel that Med Help has helped save my life. I continue to post questions, and do my best to give back by sharing what I have learned with others.
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Avatar universal
I was diagnosed with Graves Disease in December of last year. I don't think I really noticed any syptoms other than the hot flashes and my legs hurting but I just put that off to menopause and fibromyalgia.
I had RAI in March and still have to take medicine for hyperthyroidism.

I found this forum by searching for information about Graves and weather or not I would still have it after the hyperthyroid was taken care of.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
  i have just read your,letter to the forum+i am also new to this site and so pleased that i did because i have also been diagnosed with hyperparathyroiddism because had a blood test that showed i have a high calcium count, i have had a blood test,  and now have to wait 2weeks for the result, i really dont want to have the operation to resolve this complaint but would rather see if medication will help, hope that you find the right treatmet that will help you.!!
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649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
This is a very old thread and many of the persons who commented on it, no longer participate in the forum.

In order for us to help you better, why not start a new thread of your own, and post your lab results, with the reference ranges, since those vary from lab to lab and must come from your own report. We can then help assess your situation and offer suggestions.

To start a new thread, click on the orange "Post a Question" button at the top of the page, type your question, then click the green "Post a Comment button just below your post.

Sounds like you are having hypo symptoms.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had thyroid diease for 17 years and know nothing about it i just go in and do the blood tests and take the medicine but lately i feel so hormonal my tests keep coming up abnormal and had a piturary test done was high had mri done no tumor but i have breast milk ( i am not  able to get pregnant my tubes are tied ) so when there was no tumor my doc said nothing then the last time i got tested abnormal again but this time low (wouldnt that indicate hyper well im far from that i have no energy depression fatigue  fat hair loss bladder infections all the time and more ... the first one said tsh was 22.120(abn:h) and she did not change my dose it is at .175mcg now i did again and it is 0.037(abn:L) so another doctor put me on .137 mcgs now iam doin another one and i will see tuesday but i dont have insurance so i go to a sliding scale clinic i get insurance in june i just wanted to know am I doing something why would it change back and forth i just wanted to see if anyone knew anything i cant belive i just started learning bout this thanks
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Avatar universal
To: More Awareness Needed
I love this sight so far.  I can relate to most of the stories here.  I'm always looking for things I can do that are "outside the box" to help improve how I feel  Its hard to understand why GP's don't notice the signs of hypothryroidism more often and refer to endocr.  It took several doctors to find that my underactive thyroid was at the root of all my health issues.  It brings me to tears when I realize how many years I spent suffering and miserable - always hearing there was nothing wrong.  We all have to be pro-active about our health and keep pushing until somebody listens when we say "I know my body and I don't feel right".  Been on prescrp for 4 years now and changed doctors because I still have symptoms.  Tested for TPO antibodies for the first time and now confirmed with Hashimotos.  I was interested in suggestions on diet and nutrition that may help.

Thanks for reading.
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