Lori--
I've had thyroid issues since I was 14 years old; first I was diagnosed with Grave's, and then since treatment for Grave's I've had hypoactive thyroid. At one point my TSH was 37; I lost lots of weight because I was too tired to eat. Now my endocrinologist keeps my TSH around 1. Two different endocrinologists I have talked to have told me that even slight deviations can result in symptoms. Right now my TSH is around 3 because I went off the bcp (changes in sex hormones can result in changes in thyroid levels), and even though that is technically in the normal level, I am still tired much of the time, my skin is very dry and itchy, and I am constipated and have a low appetite.
As for the deep-rooted coldness....I used to suffer from that, even after the thyroid was fixed. It went away after I had my gallbladder removed (I had chronic cholecystitis, no stones), and I was put on Plaqeunil (immunosuppressant). Plaquenil also "cured" my severe joint pain. It could be thyroid related, or it could be something else related to your metabolism. If you are very insulin resistant, perhaps your cells' metabolisms are really slow. Or, maybe you have a chronic, low-grade infection, like a UTI with no symptoms. What is your body temp? Does your blood sugar run low at night? Are you on a really low-carb diet (<125 g per day)? Eating less than 125 g of carbs per day can cause muscle wasting (this is from a physiology text). Also, I read in a scholarly article that very low-carb diets may INCREASE insulin resistance (the article may be on my computer somewhere; if I find it I'll post it). |