im thinking about getting my throid checked

[bambii]

but what are signs if you have a throid problem.

 

[Buz]

I am hypo thyroid (lower than normal levels) and was falling asleep at my desk at 9am after 10 hours sleep the night before. My skin drys out a lot, if I get too low, I get a tremble in my hands.
Good luck.
Buz

Here are 2 sites for info.

http://www.thyroid-info.com
http://thyroid.about.com .

from the first link-
I HAVE THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS OF HYPOTHYROIDISM

___ I am gaining weight inappropriately or unable to lose weight
___ My "normal" body temperature is low, and/or I frequently feel cold
___ I feel fatigued, exhausted more than normal
___ I have a slow pulse, and/or low blood pressure
___ I have high cholesterol
___ My hair is rough, coarse dry, breaking, brittle, or falling out
___ My skin is rough, coarse, dry, scaly, itchy and thick
___ My nails have been dry, brittle, and break more easily
___ My voice has become hoarse, husky or gravelly
___ I have pains, aches, stiffness, tingling in joints, muscles, hands and/or feet
___ I have carpal tunnel syndrome, arm or leg tendonitis, or plantar's fascitis
___ I am having irregular menstrual cycles (longer, or heavier, or more frequent)
___ I am experiencing infertility, or have had one or more miscarriage
___ I feel depressed, restless, moody, sad
___ I have difficulty concentrating or remembering things
___ I have no or low sex drive
___ My eyes feel gritty, dry, light-sensitive
___ My neck or throat feels full, pressure, choking, lumpy, larger than usual, and/or I have difficulty swallowing
___ I have/may have sleep apnea
___ I have puffiness and swelling around the eyes, eyelids, face, feet, hands and feet

 

[lisajl]

I am hypothyroid, too.
I, too, was falling asleep. I thought, it's just the kids are keeping me busy, my job, etc. Then I went to have my cholesterol checked. It was fine, my thyroid was not.
The doctor told me it was genetic, but no one in my family has it.


At any rate, you may not have all those symptoms that Buz listed.

I have the dry skin, lower voice, trembling hands (occasionally), tired. I had a few more too, but it was mostly being tired.

How long have you been on meds Buz? In March it will be one year for me, and I feel much better.

Lisajl

 

[DaisyDebbie]

I'm Hypo also

Bambii - it's a simple blood test, so go have it done, then you will know for sure. I also started to notice alot of hair falling out of my head. And I could never seem to get warm enough.

 

[Rajah]

We suspect I'm borderline hypo -- my mom, three aunts, one grandma, and half a dozen cousins all are hypothyroid, and I have over 50% of those symptoms, worst of which is the tiredness. We've been watching my thyroid, and it's a little on the "low" end of normal, but still falls in the normal range. That happened to my mom until she was about 30 -- symptoms without the bloodwork showing the hypothyroidism -- so we're expecting the same thing with me.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hypo here also, have taken synthroid for quite a few years. My symptom was uncontrolled chills all the time, could not stay warm. A simple blood test detected it after a nurse friend of ours suggested I best get it checked. Very simple and am fine with the med.

 

[Beauty]

Add me to the group. My main symptoms were weight gain, hair falling out, heavy monthly problems and dry skin. The funny thing though was that I stay hot all the time which is the exact opposite of hypo. Then when it got colder down here in Mississippi and I did finally get cold I realized what they were talking about....you aren't just cold you are freezing. Anyway I've been on the meds for about 6 months and they are still playing with dosage. I go in in a few weeks to see what the new dosage readings are. I say have it checked. Its just a simple blood test and you have nothing to loose!

 

[Buz]

Originally posted by lisajl

How long have you been on meds Buz? In March it will be one year for me, and I feel much better.

Lisajl

I've been on sythroid for about 10 years now. I started with 50ug and got up to 150ug about 3-4 years ago. Seems to have stabilized.

The co-pay on my insurance just went up to $20 for a 30 day supply this year. I asked the pharmacy how much the month supply was. It's $20.42. Boy, I love my insurance. LOL

Buz

 

[Jenzebelle]

I have hypothyroid. I inherited it from my Mother.

My symptoms were tiredness, minor hair loss, patchy skin, aching joints, carpal tunnel, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, and being thirsty all of the time.

 

[Beauty]

LOL! Yep I'm on Synthroid too and thankfully its affordable without having to be sent off to the RX by mail that DH's company uses....My Paxil on the other hand is close to $100 dollars per month so we send it off and get a 3 month supply for $20. Whats funny is we put it on our J.C. Penny Card.....Weird what companies are combined or work together.

I only take.50 of synthroid and think I need my dosage to be upped. I still get sluggish really easily and my hair is still really dry and falls out easily. Its a slow road finding the right dosage.

 

[MrsPiglet]

Don't get me started about the thyroid. But I am 37 years old now and Was diagnosed when I was 13. Been on medications ever since.

At the time I was diagnosed the normal procedure was to radiate the thyroid and kill it and go on the medication for the rest of your life. (Of course being 13 at the time I was not told all this.)
Throughout the years I would go off the medicine for a few months here and there but no real troubles (just the normal irrating symptoms) till after DD was born. I went off the medicine not knowing how serious it was for two years and my thryoid level was well off the chart. I had all the above mentioned symptoms severly and even telling the doctor my thyroid was bad he didn't beleive me. I was hospitalized for the symptoms because they were becoming life threatening. Finally they checked the thyroid. I didn't even have one.

To make a long story short, my thyroid almost killed me due to not taking the medications and keeping it under control.
So whatever you people do Please take your medicine.
Doctors don't tell how bad the thyroid can be without the medicine.

Don't mean to scare anyone, because with the proper medicine the symptoms can be under control.

 

[momof2OH]

My son is Hypo also. He was on Synthroid for about a year and they stopped him. At first they thought another med he was taking was causing the problem. Well, he just had another blood test and his TSH was 4x what it should be, so they put him back on the Synthroid. The doctor also noticed that he hasn't grown in over two years. He has the weight gain too. The bad part is it can be tricky with all the other meds that he takes so we never know what is going to happen.
Like others have said, I would definitely go and get the blood test. Real simple test and then you'll have peace of minding knowing for sure. Good Luck!

 

[lisajl]

Wow! There are a lot of us out here!
Everytime I run into someone who has it, I ask what their symptoms are or were.

Interesting that some of us can trace it genetically. I cannot.
I have no idea what happened with me.

Does everyone get theirs checked once a year.

I am starting to feel a little sluggish, too. Maybe I should have it rechecked now.

I am also on .50.

My mother in law had her thyroid out when she was in her 20's, so she is on a high dose of synthroid.

Interesting thread....it's nice to hear other reports of this disease.

Lisajl

 

[Buz]

I have posted a poll about synthroid dosages at :

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=322379

Buz

 

[piratesmate]

Even though thyroid problems run in my family, had a BP of 80/50, pulse rate 52, could not lose weight, hair & nails didn't grow, eyes very light sensitive, very dry skin & hair, irregular cycles, extreme fatigue ... the doctor had to be really pressured to even test me. It was tested several times & each time it would come up OK - borderline, but OK. The doctor kept insisting I just ate too much.

Finally, an endocrinologist tested my TSH & found out that it was 6x higher than normal - to give me the absolute bottom "normal" number for the regular test.

I took Levothroid for years before a pharmacist told me it was important to take it in the AM & at least an hour before eating. (I'd been taking it whenever I remembered. ) My sister found that changing her schedule really made a difference, but for me everything still seems to be about the same.

Deb

 

[lisajl]

An Hour? mine says 1/2 hour.../

 

[piratesmate]

Lisajl - I get info sheets from the pharmacy at least twice a year. The last several have said 1 hour before or two hours after. However, there's no sticker on the bottle. I always wondered how accurate that stuff was . . . . I guess this just goes to show that it isn't.

Deb

 

[lisajl]

This is really odd. My doctor never told me to wait a half hour.
I just saw the sticker on the bottle. I have never waited. I take the meds and then eat breakfast.

After viewing this thread..today is the first day I am going to wait the allotted time.

Lisajl

 

[piratesmate]

I was surprised when my sister first mentioned it. I'd never gotten an info slip (different pharmacy) & the doctor never mentioned it. Her numbers didn't change enough when she started the meds - even when the increased the dosage, which was too much. Finally the doctor asked her when she was taking it. The doctor said that the protein was interferring with it. (She eats a very high protein diet as she had polio as a child & was told it was important.)

Speaking of interferring . . . . does anyone else have trouble eating cabbage or broccoli? I was told to limit anything in the cabbage family (like broccoli, cauliflower, etc) because they interfere with thyroid function. I mentioned to the doctor that I wanted a "note for my mother" (LOL - I was 30 at the time) because eating broccoli had always caused me to . . . . um . . . . well, it wouldn't stay down & my mother thought I was making it up because I just didn't "like" it. His response was "of course it wouldn't stay down!"

So I'm curious - does anyone else with hypothyroid have stomach trouble when eating broccoli, etc?

Deb

 

[lisajl]

Yea...actually I do. I never thought about it, though.
I love broccoli, and was wondering why I felt sick after eating it.

Wow....you all are really giving me a lot of info I never had.

Thanks again for this thread.

Lisajl
P.S. I never got an info sheet from the pharmacy either.