THYROID PROBLEMS

[MrsFROSTgetful]

Am seeing my doctor to ask for a thyroid function test as i feel very 'strange' at the moment- cannot pinpoint any particular thin- just feel generally ill.

i suffer from depression- so have put this all down to that....but before christmas my psychologist said that some of my symptoms may not be depression related.....and then i saw a psychiatrist and he suggested i get my thyroid tested as he wondered if i had a low thryroxin problem.

at the moment my worst symptoms are :

weight gain
light headed
dizzy
hissing sound 'pulsing' in my ears
Irratable bowel flares up during every meal
cold hands
puffy feet/ankles
eyes feel heavy
find even typing this hard going.

feeling so lousy that i am SO irratable with my sons- feels an effort to do anything

Does anyof this make sense- particularily the 'hissing in ears' as that is driving me insane...don't think it's tinitus...as not high pitched- just like tghe sound of blood rushing through veins????

Sounds like an under-active thyroid is a real possibility - all of the things you mention can be symptoms. It's often mis-diagnosed as depression, particularly in women. Get the blood tests done, if you have hypothyroidism it's easily treated with thyroxine.

so sorry to hear you are feeling shite

but.... it sounds very much to me as though you have an underactive thyroid, if this is the case the GOOD news is that the rememdy is simple and effective within days.

If you do have this condition you will be prescribed a thyroid hormone replacement drug, usually thyroxine, the scripts are free lifelong, you will take one a day and feel like your old self again on the whole. It may take a few months and a few blood tests to make sure you are receiving the right level of replacement, but take my word you will feel human again one day.

Now I come to think of it I used to get the hissing in my ears when I lay down to go to sleep, never heard of it as a symptom before but now you come to mention it it makes sense

HTH

suzy....

this 'hissing' is the thing that really annoys me the most!
seems to be when i move my eyes....and my eyes feel 'full' and lids are heavy...

also happens if i bend/turn my head.

also...this light headed feeling reminds me of how i felt when i have my periods....and i get this unsatiable need to eat....i never feel hungry- just light headed- and the ammount i eat is disgusting.

i absolutely hatemyself at the moment- i really want it to be low thyroid.

i know it's odd to want an illness- but i feel so low

other possibility - which can be linked with low thyroid levels - could be that you are a touch anaemic? might be worth you getting your iron count done as well?

had appointment- none the wiser why etc....but am having blood tested for thyroid probs next week.

didn't like the doctor though... i mentioned i'd ate a mars bar this morning as i felt so lightheaded...and he replied "why did you eat a mars bar when you have gained so much weight?"

I then told him that at 9.15 i had a huge bowl of porrideg with sweetner and a banana chopped in and mixed....then 3 clementines at 10 as i still felt lightheaded- then at 10.30 i ate the mars bar.b4 leaving to go to doctors.

I am sat here thinking that if i accept that no ammount of food stops this light headedness....and i force myself to only eat healthily and not to excess....and then still gain weight or not lose any which is what seems to happen...then taht would 'fit' the probs associated with low thyroid- ie despite eating little- gain weight.

you have eye drag, that is another symptom

Tell your doctor chocolate stops you shoplift so you see it as medication - what an arse

Having been ill and un-diagnosed for three and a half years, I would bet my bottom dollar that you have some kind of thyroid disorder, if this doctor doesn't take you seriously ask for a second opinion and a referal to an endocrinologist - keep me posted Mrs F

hi- back again....got thyroid test back- scored 1.8???? what does that mean???
am booking a doctors appointmant.....as receptionist said this is in the normal range- but i still feel so cr*p....

ohhello I was wondering about that

well even if it's in the normal range you still feel tired so it's a good job you've got another appointment. keep me posted

Hi MrsF

I've got a thyroid book in front of me here, so if there are any specific questions that you'd like to know, I might be able to help you. It's quite comprehensive.
Apparently with Thyroid Function Tests, three measurements are usually made:-
thyroxone T4
triiodothyronine T3
thyroid stimulating hormone TSH.
With hypothyroidism, T3 level and T4 level are high, whereas TSH level is lowered. Anyway, just mentioning this as it might help you make sense of your 1.8 measurements.
T4 levels range for hypo to hper is 50 -160.
T3 level ranges for hypo to hyper is 1.0 - 2.9
TSH level range is 0.5 - 5.5 for hypo to hyper.

Way too much information?? Doubt I've helped you at all, most probably totally confused you, but I'm dangerous when I'm armed with information

thanx 2 u 2

Mac:- have u got a thyroid prob?

Best way i can describe i feel at the moment (and have done for 2 years) is that i look and feel pregnant constantly- feel soooooo hormonal -i cry at the silliest things- get the overwhelming need to sleep- ache after little exertion and feel 'sinus' congested all the time.
strange/silly things i've now realised are thyroid related are my brittle nails (used to have talons!!!!!) ,thin and coarse eyebrows, cold hands and feet, hate clothes round neck- easily choke when talking/eating/drinking and hard to get a 'satisfying deep breath' ...so yawn.......so when i read the Austrailian Thyroid website stuff i was gobsmacked as i identified with so much

for a good 3 or 4 years i have felt like a neurotic hyperchondriac due to my ever growing list of complaints...finally writing them down and showing them to my psychologist- who said that i should refer to my gp as they could all be 'real' problems....NOT in my mind...... but of course i didn't. then the psychiatrist directly refered to thyroid and i had the blood test- now the 1.8 figure (i think it's the TSH figure) is lowere in number than last time (2 yrs ago)... and so i am moving closer to the 'zero' mark..... who knows when i see the doctor he may agree a trial on thyroxine....as i am nearer the zero than the 5 so have 'margin for error' so that if the thyroxine is too strong and i 'zoom' towards the other extreme then i have a fair way to get to the 5.5????

just wish for once i didn't have to 'beg' to be taken seriously- as u know i have 'similar' probs getting listened to about my boys...not thyroid though!!

my DH just keeps calling me FAT LAZY and 'asleep all the time'....pretty much fits the HYPO description......and i cannot imagine waiting another 2 years for my bloods to fall into the 'acceptable range'

So after the GP appt- where i will ask for all figures from the results .... and assuming he refuses to try thyroxine etc...then i will find a private 'sympathetic' GP (WWW.ThyroidUK list a few) who will for a fee test me and if appropriate try thyroxine.....

slog slog bloody slog!

suzy......i feel some days i am way worse- shaky,weak,tearful-retreat to bed.....and wonder if on those days i should see the GP.....as an 'emergency' of sorts....and wheteher if my blood was taken then would it have a different result to when i am feeling less crippled????

I'm not sure about going back on another day when you are feeling awful, if you can get to a private clinic and just rock up and have it done on the spot that might be useful. because you certainly sound like you have it to me.

FWIW I had a real slog getting diagnosed too, won't bore you with the details.

Where abouts are you? I didn't get to see her before I left for Australia but Dr M. Rossi and the Whittington in N19 is meant to be very good.

That Australian website is very comprehensive isn't it?

I sincerely hope you get an answer soon because I know how shite you feel and it is indeed crippling. Poor you

I did have a hyperactive thyroid several years ago, caused by heart medication that I have to take. Fortunately it stabilised, and I didn't have to have any treatment. It has left a goitre, so every 6 months I have a TFT just to make sure everything is running smoothly, and I also have an ultra sound in a couple of weeks, as very very slim chance of it turning malignant.

Do I recall rightly that you mentioned that you are on antidepressants? Apparently those type of drugs can actually make symptoms worse. Low levels of thyroid hormones increase sensitivity to side effects of antidepressants. And one of the most common features of hypothyroidism is depression!!

So many of your symptoms are just crying out. You are very much at the lower end of TSH levels aren't you. I hope to god your doctor takes you seriously, you can't carry on suffering like this.

What you may find is that the T3 and T4 levels are normal but that the TSH is high - this is still hypothyroidism, the levels of thyroxine are still low but but your body over compensates and has to make too much TSH to control the levels of T3 and T4. Thyroxine in this case can be used to bring the levels of thyroxine up to a normal level without your body having to work so hard to do it.

let the battle commence..... i am phoning tomorrow to get the exact results.... i phoned last week whilst at butlins....so said i'd call again once home.

I am then planning to see the doctor everytime i feel completely drained etc....up till now i have just though that i'd be making a nusaince of myself etc...and that i was just imagining all of it- however now am certain that these probs are all related to my thyroid

thing i get most p*ssed off about is that there is no bloodtest for depression- so they happilty oprescribe antidepressants to me for 9 years- and it's possible that i am not 'truley depressed'....however when i present as possible low thyroid they are reliant on a bloodtest.....antidepressants are not sweets and in many ways are as potentially harmful as taking thyroxine when not needed.....yet i keep taking them.

I wish i could sign a disclaimer for the doctor so that he would prescribe thyroxine- on my head be-it- and he is not then liable if i feel worse.

OK---- so all they tested me for was the TSH which i scored 1.88 out of a range of 0.3-5.5.

18months ago i was scored 1.54......so (if i'm correct here)....the higher the figure 'the lower my thyroid is????)......

so looks like i'm in for at least 3 years of hell before i reach the '5' mark....unless ofcourse the doctor is keen to see if a dose of thyroxine 'picks me up'