Please come and talk to me about hypothyroid-ism if you have it or know much about it

[ZeroMinusZero]

I am 26 and had my first baby six months ago. My Mum has had hypothyroid-ism since she had her third baby 17 years ago. Her weight ballooned and she suffered from fatigue a lot. She got diagnosed and now takes medication.

She is convinced that I have it too. The symptoms I have that correlate are that I really struggle to shift weight (my BMI is 30 and I have worked reasonably hard to shift it, and my diet is pretty decent), I also feel the cold very easily and have very thinning hair. I don't really suffer from fatigue especially.

I know my symptoms are pretty innocuous but I am becoming increasing convinced that I might have inherited it (or a predisposition to develop it). I have mentioned it a couple of times to my GP but she just brushes it off and says that it isn't inheritable. My internet research suggests that it is, though.

I know that given that I'm not really suffering that much, I shouldn't worry, but I am increasingly concerned that if it goes untreated then it might get worse (if I have it). I am also a bit worried about my thinning hair, and that if it carries on for years, I might go irreversibly semi-bald.

So anyway. If anyone has any thoughts about this or if you have it yourself, I would love to hear them.

Thank you :)

I would go back to Gp and ask for a blood test - see a different one if possible if yours hasn't been helpful so far? List your symptoms and say you would like it ruled out.

I was diagnosed with this after my second baby was born...I thought I was anaemic and would never have thought it could have been my thyroid. My employers were thrilled when I began taking medication for it, as I finally stopped complaining about my office being too cold!

By the way, I would maybe go slightly over the top when describing symptoms to the Gp...you are only trying to get a blood test, and you shouldn't have your concerns brushed off if you think something isn't right.

does your mother have the auto-immune version? In which case you are more likely, though still not that likely. Your symptoms could be hypothyroid, from my googling (got diagnosed a month ago myself so reading up on it) but you don't have many.

how worried are you?

Thanks ctchy will consider that.

I don't know if my mum's is the auto immune version perar6ua I will ask her. I agree that I don't have many symptoms so I guess it does come down to how much inheritance is a factor, as I suppose if it wasn't for my mum I wouldn't even be talking about it. The worry isn't ruining my life or anything. It's more of an ongoing niggle.

Thanks for your replies.

i foud out i had it after having my twins, i saw it on 'this morning' and just knew that was exactly what i had. other members of my family have it as well. my dr did a blood test and at first i was overactive then underactive and it took a while to get into see a specailist and she sorted out my dose. i was desperately tired, really really cold, had really dry skin on my hands and feet, thining hair and lost alot of weight then put it back on rapidly without eating much (i was too busy with newborn twins). the tiredness did turn out to be gluten intollerence though and i didnt really lose much weight untill i stopped the gluten as well.
i would go back to the dr and ask for the test. but i wouldnt too much worry about the hair yet as alot of mums do lose it after having a baby and it does all come back. my SIL had really thin patches for about a year and its fine now.

mel - you were putting on weight with gluten intolerance? I thought you lost weight with that?

i dont think it was the putting on weight it was losing it, i have lost 2st since july and i lost the pregnant looking bloated belly, bloated/swolen face and half a stone within the first week. i was not massively overweight or anything just really bloated. i do eat propper meals just gluten free but i do have much more energy and an not tired like i was, i havent been exercising any more than usual (which is pretty hard with toddler twins in tow). some people do lose alot of weight with gluten intollerence some dont but lose essential vitamins etc, it is the reason why something mad like 80% of people dont know they have it. i am not an expert or anything though just saying my experience. i have hashimotos which can also be linked to gluten intollerence.

ok, thanks, that's useful information and [green] at the 2 st!

Just for the record, I have always had very thin hair and that it seems that it's got worse over the last few years, not just since having a baby.

Will speak to my mum this weekend, but if I go back to the doctors I might ask for a different GP as my usual one has told me in the past that "it's not inherited"