Thyroid

[Guest guest]

>> Doh ~ I can't believe what you said the symptoms were of a thyroid

>> problem.....I have every one of those symptoms and have asked the doc to

>> check my thyroid and hormones but they said it wasn't that.....no other

>> explaination just not that.....what other symptoms do you have if I may

> ask?

>> STacy

 

Stacy,

Did your doc actually do a thyroid test and find nothing, or did he just

dismiss the possibility without testing? That would determine my next

suggestions for you. It is possible to have extreme symptoms and not have

the numbers show much of a problem. It's also possible that one type of

test (the easy kind) to show your thyroid as being normal, when a full

thyroid panel will show you to have problems. So if he tested you at all,

you might call and ask *specifically* what kind of test was done, and what

the numbers (results) were. It also will depend on what the *lab* considers

normal, so their idea of " normal " may still be waaaaay off for you. Or you

could have low-grade hyperthyroidism.

 

Also, the symptoms may be caused by some other glandular problem (pituitary,

adrenal, etc) masking as a thyroid issue. So the thyroid would be secondary

and thus change the way the diagnosis would be found.

 

It could be too that you don't have a glandular problem, but something that

looks like it, as admartin discussed with her stress-related illnesses.

 

Some other symptoms, which, I don't know if I mentioned, cycle in and out,

coming and going and being replaced every few weeks. So there was hair loss

(little thin spots at my temples), constant hunger/eating a lot/no weight

gain for how much I was eating, and irritability. I couldn't understand why

I was having such a hared time with my son's age/phase - i was so quick to

snap at my sweet toddler! (He couldn't understand, either.) Those were the

main ones that led to my self-diagnosis and got me to the doctor, though

from the first notice of hair loss at 7 mos post-partum to the doc's visit,

I suffered for aover 1.5 yrs. Things I found out later were/are caused by

Speedy Gonzales' thyroid are: insatiable sex drive especially when ovulating

(and sadly, for months I had no outlet! Lucky is the man I'm now dating!

LOL ), dark pigmentation " blotch " on my forehead (not so dark that anyone

noticed unless I pointed it out), very fast digestion which caused diarrhea

sometimes and frequent bm's, rash on my torso that doesn't itch or hurt,

small scaley patches (like, 1/8-inch in diameter) that stick around for a

couple of months and then disappear but aren't itchy or red, temperature

*change* intolerance or feeling very hot (being small and thin, this is very

unusual for me), shorter menstrual cycles with shorter periods, constant

excessive sebum production which led to lots of pimples and tiny cysts,

*very* sensitive skin (had to really simplify my cleansing process and find

the right way to care for my skin, this took maybe a year), shrinking

breasts (hoping it's the thyroid anyway), dry skin, and sheer exhaustion

(for about a week, it took me 3 hours to get off the couch every the

morning, and I'd nap once or \twice a day). Last time I had heart

palpitations was well over a year ago, but when it was happening, it would

occur just as I lay down in bed and would last less than 10 seconds.

 

Here's a symptom list from a book (I'll mention below).

General:

Weight loss

Fatigue

Shakiness

Feeling hot and becoming intolerant of warm and hot temperatures

Restlessness, disorganized thinking

Increased thirst

Hair loss

Anemia [often B12 anemia]

Eye irritation

 

Skin:

Increased sweating

warm, moist hands

itching

hives

brittle nails

 

Heart:

Rapid heartbeat, palpitations

Shortness of breath

chest pain

 

Gastrointestinal:

Trembling of the tongue

Increased hunger and food consumption

Increased frequency of bowel movements

 

Muscle:

Weakness

Decreased muscle mass

 

Reproductive:

Irregular menstrual periods

Cessation of " "

Decreased fertility

 

The malabsorption of nutrients causes anemia and bone loss, so I have to

take higher-than-the-RDA of vitamins and minerals.

 

Two good books that you may want to read before you get a test are:

The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women (author?? Dr. Carol ...??)

The Thyroid Solution by Ridha Arem, MD.

I have read both and both are very thorough but very medicinally oriented,

if ykwim. They support alternative health measures such as good nutrition

and stress management, but both also fully support taking medicine. I have

had great success mananging the day-to-day discomfort with good nutrition

and sleep, but the search for a " cure " or at least the wait for the thyroid

to return to stasis continues....

LMK if you need more info or if you go back to the doc. Most GPs are

worthless on this issue, even if you can get them to agree to a test.

HTH,

Doh