Does anyone else have a hypothyroid problem?

[outstandinfarmer]

SO, after a friend suggested to me that I may have a thyroid problem, I did some research on it. I looked up the symptoms and saw that EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM I HAD TERRIBLY!!!!!! I made a doctor's appointment and they found that I had a severe thyroid problem. I am now waiting to get into a endocrinologist to see what type of medication to go onto.

I guess I'm glad to find out what is the matter with me. I just felt like I was a complainer and always sick. I am so tired all the time. I put on weight REALLY fast (20 pounds in one week). Gosh, I could go on forever. I can't wait to feel better, but I'm a little fustrated. I was always a REAL good student all my life, and then all of a sudden someting changed in high school and I had no amibition. College has been terrible too. I read for an hour and I need to take a nap because I'm so exhasted. Here my family has been giving me a hard time that I have no ambition and won't finish college. (They feel bad now)

I guess I think now, if I had been fixed YEARS ago, where would I be now? I know everything will work out, and God allowed this for a reason, but I guess I'm just upset. I'm extremely smart, but I couldn't study or do homework for very long so my grades suffered. (I still graduated HS in the top 25%, but I know my GPA could have been much better)

I guess this is a little bit of a vent and also a concern. How long did it take to get better once you were on medication? Should I take a semester off and wait till I get better before I go back to school?

You know, I think of how much I put myself to lose weight too. I tried so hard and I couldn't. All I did was gain weight. I have been depressed for several years about my weight, and for the first time it's a sigh of relief to find out it wasn't my fault. For the first time in years, I woke up this morning cheerful that things were going to change. To be able to stay up all day without having to take naps. To know my life is going to change in hundreds of ways. I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm thrilled because for a while, I didn't see myself going anywhere.

 

[vernon]

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid just over 3 years ago, although I'm certain that it's something I've had for many years. I was prescribed Thyroxin which I take daily and will have to take daily for the rest of my life. The usual way the start the medication is with a low dose (in my case 50 mgs a day) and ititially they take a blood test after 3 months to see if the level is correct. In most cases they will then raise the level (in my case to 100 mgs a day) and test again after another 3 months. I believe on that occassion my dose was left at 100 mgs but was later raised to it's current level of 150 mgs. The next year I was (blood) tested every three months and I am (will be) now tested annually.

It sounds like I didn't have anywhere near the problems you had, in fact with the exception of having to fight terribly hard to lose weight (and gain it very easily) I didn't have any major symptoms. While that is, I'm sure a blessing, it did mean it was only after a lot of badgering that I managed to persuade my doctors that something metabolic was not quite right in my system and had they listened to me 10-15 years ago I may have been able to manage my weight a lot better in the past. I believe it is quite usual to take a year to stabilise the dose, but I think it is likely that you will start to feel the benefit (even if in a limited way) after a couple of months.

Medication alone is only going to be a part of the solution, but hopefully the extra energy it will give you will mean you are able to get out and exercise without exhausting yourself. Exercise will also help to boost your energy levels and if you can get on a "virtuous" circle it will help speed up your journey to a full and active life.

Good luck

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my situation is not the same as yours, although i can relate..

when i was 8, i had half of my thyroid removed due to a tumor, and at 15 i had the other half removed due to anothe tumor....so ive had the symptoms since i was 8..in the beginning i was used to it and wasnt able to tell the drs anything..but as i got older (im 19 now) i would get SOOO tired and i would have the worst mood swings...

i am now on synthroid, and have been since the second surgery...i felt b etter pretty much right away, but i have had a hard time keeping my dosage stabilized..still now, i go every 6 weeks for blood work because my levels vary so much...speaking of, i need to go today good luck, and if i can help with anything, please let me know1

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have been on maintenance synthroid for ages, maybe 15 or more years, works great. A pill a day and I am fine. My best.

 

[vernon]

By the way , I'm movingto the US fairly soon. Can anyone tell me how much the thyroxin costs per month?

 

[Eeyore1954]

I take Synthroid daily (.75 mg dose) -- been on it for a few years. I couldn't believe the change it made. It may take a while for it to "kick in", but once it does you will begin feeling better. When I started I had blood tests several times a year to adjust the dosage. Now I have them 2x a year; I usually remind my doctor to order the thyroid test (among others). So far, I've stayed at this dose for quite some time. The bad thing is ... it's for the rest of your life. But I'll trade taking a tiny pill once a day for feeling better!

One tip -- if you do take Synthroid -- my pharmacist told me to take it at least 1 hour before I eat or 2 - 3 hours AFTER a meal, i.e., on an empty stomach. It seems to work best that way.

My only negative side effect is that I tend to feel cold more easily now. On the other hand, I don't feel as bad in much warmer weather and a couple of weeks ago at WDW I tended to tolerate the heat better.

 

[Christine]

I had my thyroid gland removed 9 years ago due to thyroid cancer. So, I now deal with hypothyroid issues. You will start to feel somewhat better within 6 weeks, but it may take months to get your thyrorid hormone medication to levels you require. It would be *very* interesting to hear what your TSH levels are? You sound extremely hypothyroid. When I go off my meds for treatment purposes (cancer patients only), my TSH goes all the way up to 150!!! I feel bad.

Vernon--I take .137 of Synthroid. It runs about $24.00 per month but it is cheaper if you can buy it in bulk, you have a good insurance plan, or if you go on generic or other brands (Levoxyl). You could probably get it down to about $10 per month that way.

 

[meandtheguys]

Wow Christine! Mine was 105 and my doc flipped out!

A year on synthroid, and I am starting to feel human again! Good luck OSF!

 

[outstandinfarmer]

I don't know my levels are yet but I go to the endocrinologist tomorrow. All I know is the doctor said I have a severe problem and said I needed to get into a endo within a week. I tried calling the doctors and they said I couldn't get in for a couple months. I called my doc back and she said to page them and tell them it was an emeregency. My goodness. I was on the phone with my doc all day. She started to get me quite concerned the way she was throwing around the words "emergency" and "severe".

Someone mentioned moodswings. My gosh, you should see me. I'm usually a very happy person, a little tired, but happy. All of a sudden I'll flip out. My DH will do something that is NOT a big deal. I'll be thinking to myself, "It's not a big deal, just calm down" My heart will start to race and before you know it I'm screaming. It's terrible. It only happens a couple times a week, but gosh. Oh, and the stupid people helping me at stores. . . it takes all I have to not flip out, even when it's not that huge of a deal. I end up having to go back to the car and scream. It's almost like I have no control over how upset I get over things.

 

[Christine]

Heather,
It is good that your doc is treating this like an emergency. Depending on your thyroid levels, severe hypothyroidism can be damaging. When my TSH levels get too high, my doctor won't even let me drive because your reflexes are much slower. It will also cause your cholesterol levels to be high. I remember when I was hypothyroid my cholesterol was at 263. When my levels are normal, my cholesterol is about 160. There are a multitude of other problems hypothyroidism can cause. But it can be very insidious so you aren't even aware that it is happening and you get used to feeling that way. I know a woman who was dragging around for years and they finally found out her TSH was in the 300s!! They couldn't figure out how she was functioning.

I know for me, when I am very hypothyroid, I cannot sleep well despite being very tired and I get a lot of "charley horses" in my calf muscles. Also, when I type a lot my wrists and hands will start cramping. And, I have trouble focusing when I use the computer. It is really just amazing.

Please let us know how your endo appointment goes.

 

[Celluloidgal]

Yep. Diagnosed about 7 years ago (after the birth of my second child) Actually it is quite common, but doctors usually don't test for it unless you insist.

Isn't it freeing to know it's not all in your head!!!

You will be tested quite a bit until they get your med level figured out. Then only about once a year.

If ( like me ) it is severe, you will notice pretty quickly. The doctor said a month, but I swear...by day 3 I could tell a difference! I switched to a generic for a while, but it didn't work as well for me, so now I stick with Synthroid.

It's a drag to think about taking a tiny pill the rest of your life - but you'll feel so much better, it's worth it.

 

[hercamore]

You should also be checked for Hashimoto's Throiditis which can cause low throid. One symptom of Hashimoto is thin eyebrows.

www.mayoclinic.com has a bit of good info on low thryoid.

Good luck.

 

[outstandinfarmer]

It seems like within the past few weeks the symptoms have gotten TERRIBLY worse.

ALso, I have a new problem, that I'm not sure is related to this, but my depth perception seems to be off. Like whenever I go down the stairs I can't figure out where the next one is and I end up tumbling down them. It just started and it's kind of amusing because I almost have to sit down and slide down the stairs or grab onto the railing for my dear life otherwise I'll fall.

 

[Christine]

Heather,
I would say that your depth perception problem is indeed related. When I am severely hypothyroid, I kind of feel like when I walk I'm on a boat (if that makes sense). Or kind of like when I walk down the hall at work, I'm walking through the clouds. When I feel like my feet should be setting down to the floor, they don't and everything feels "off". I know I'm not explaining it well, but it is a strange feeling. Oh gosh, I wish I could send you some Synthroid!

 

[Towncrier]

I have an extremely mild case of hypothyrodism. Like Dan (and a lot of others here), I take a very low dosage of synthroid. My wife also takes synthroid for the same reason although her dose is a bit higher than mine. Neither of us had any symptoms of hypothyroidism and the condition was caught during routine bloodwork. Although my wife and I take our synthroid religiously, I haven't noticed any improvement since I started taking it a few years ago. But then again, I wasn't having the severe symptoms that some of you are describing here.

I often wonder if the reason that Sue and I developed hypothyrodism is a lack of iodine in our diet. We don't eat fish or seafood often. Although we use iodized salt, we rarely add salt to our meals. There is a part of me that believes that we brought this condition upon ourselves due to our low salt/low fish diet. Just a guess.

 

[Muffy]

My friend has hypothyroid. It went undiagnosed for many years. Synthroid alone did not do the trick. She had to have a small amount of cytomel added to the mix. She now takes 1mg synthroid (T4) and 5 mcg cytomel (T3) and never felt better. Evidently there is alot of research suggesting that not everyone converts T4 to T3 adaquitly. Good luck!

 

[JVL1018]

My brother had the opposite problem, he had an overactive thyroid, he looked like he had some terrible disease, he was so gaunt, his eyes bugged out, he was shaky all the time-he was finally diagnosed and given radioactive iodine treatment..which then made his thyroid underactive(he knew this would happen).
He now takes a pill a day every day and is healthy as anything.

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by hercamore
You should also be checked for Hashimoto's Throiditis which can cause low throid. One symptom of Hashimoto is thin eyebrows.

www.mayoclinic.com has a bit of good info on low thryoid.

Good luck.

I second this!! My mom was being treated for hypothyroid but they couldn't seem to get her levels right. 2 years later, still levels out of whack, they figure out she has Hashimoto's which means they need to treat her a little differently, and it has additional symptoms they never caught or connected to the hypothyroidism...

ALSO, to the OP....DEPRESSION is one of the top symptoms of hypothyroidism....in fact, if you go in for depression screening, they test your thyroid before they give you any meds, just to make sure the depression isn't from hypothyroidism!! So it's no wonder you feel low/not happy/have mood swings!

Good luck to you!

 

[outstandinfarmer]

ALSO, to the OP....DEPRESSION is one of the top symptoms of hypothyroidism....in fact, if you go in for depression screening, they test your thyroid before they give you any meds, just to make sure the depression isn't from hypothyroidism!! So it's no wonder you feel low/not happy/have mood swings!

I don't think I'm depressed, but VERY moody! I also cry histarically when when my DH leaves for work every day. It's the weirdest thing. Then after a while I'm Ok and back to my perky self.

I just found out that on my father's side, my grandma has lupus. (I don't talk with any of them, so I have no idea what they have and don't have) I'm praying it's not that too, just a thyroid problem.

 

[campinggal]

I'm also Hypothryroid- have been on Synthroid for the past four years.

Check out this website:
About Thyroid Website

Lots of good info to learn more on how to manage your condition.

Make sure you take your meds on an empty stomach and not with calcium (like milk or calcium fortified OJ) as that will interfere with the absorbtion of your med.

After you start on a dose, you should have another blood test in 6 weeks to see how your TSH levels are and have your dose adjusted. It took me a year of tests every six weeks before I had the right dose. After that it was just twice a year and for the past two years, I've just had an annual test.

Good luck!!