All the symptoms of thyroid issues but normal bloodwork

~Lori~ · 04-03-2009, 06:22 PM

GRRRR!!! I had my doctor check my thyroid levels because of all the issues I am having. I literally can go down a checklist for thyroid disease and check off almost every single thing listed.

The main issues I am concerned with are 1. chronic fatigue. I can barely make it through the day. I can not put into words how tired I am all of the time. 2. I also suffer from chronic joint pain in my fingers and feet, especially first thing in the morning. 3. Puffy face and ESPECIALLY my eyes. ETA: How could I forget...FREEZING all the time. I literally sleep in double PJ's, 3 blankets & heated throw.

My levels were: T3, Total 138, T4, FREE 1.3, TSH, 3rd gen. 1.43

So normal, right? I just can't figure out what else this could be. My head screams THYROID!!!

Thanks for reading and any input is GREATLY appreciated.

tripletmommy · 04-04-2009, 12:34 PM

I know how you feel. I just got my levels back too and they are normal. The Dr was even surprised.

ttcmydreams · 04-04-2009, 04:09 PM

I have had my thyroid checked since I was about 13 years old and they were all normal until about 2 years ago, even though my symptoms have remained the same. Aparently my thyroid was fluctuating and on the verge of collapse, but not bad enough to be low all the time. Im so glad I finally got my diagnosis though, because I feel so much better now.

MeganR · 04-04-2009, 10:45 PM

I have all of those symptoms as well, but my bloodwork continues to remain the same. My mom has hypothyroidism and with my symptoms as well, the doctor was sure that I would have hypothyroidism but the bloodwork says otherwise. Still, she wants me to be tested everytime I go in just to be sure. Just keep getting tested.

AdisGirl · 04-05-2009, 02:16 PM

My pediatrician had my thyroid checked over and over for years and it always came back normal. The basic testing for thyroid problems is not reliable, people often go undiagnosed. A university doctor then insisted on testing a couple of years ago and was very confused by the results: elevated TSH (indicating hypo) but normal thyroid levels. He sent me to an endo to figure it out. She tested for antibodies in my blood, which came back ridiculously high. I was diagnosed, after years of testing, with autoimmune thyroid disease (I'm hypo).

See an endocrynologist and get the right tests.

Goose00 · 04-06-2009, 10:57 PM

Lori, when my free T4 was 1.3 I still felt terrible. When my Endo (not RE) got my dosage up to the point where my T4 was 1.9, I finally felt good. And I lost nearly 8 pounds in an instant and dropped to the weight I was prior to my thyroid going crazy on me. Before that I tried everything short of starvation and I couldn't drop one pound. 8 pounds may not seem like a lot to some people, but that was nearly 7% of my body weight!

Granted, when my T4 was 1.3 my TSH was 4.8, so it was higher than yours. When my T4 reached 1.9 my TSH was .44. The TSH is on the low end of normal but thats a good thing since we're TTC. Good luck to you!

~Lori~ · 04-07-2009, 02:08 PM

Thanks ladies. I truly appreciate your input. I am still trying to figure out how to persue this. Since we are not TTC and my Diabetes is under control I can't seem to get any more testing done to get to the root of my problems.

mamagato · 04-13-2009, 01:48 PM

I have had all the symptoms, but a TSH of 1.5. Had a lump and diffuculty swallowing, a nodule was discovered on an ultrasound. The biopsy resulted in suspicious cells, of papillary follicular carcinoma.
Going in today for a surgical consult, having a thyroid lobectomy to determine the next course of treatment. Hopefully I will get to keep the other half of my thyroid.
Otherwise it's radioactve iodine chemo, and taking thyroid hormones for the rest of my life.

mewwon · 04-29-2009, 01:49 AM

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).

XxRaeRaeXx · 05-15-2009, 09:23 PM

Did your doctor check for thyroid antibodies?? I have all the symptoms of a thyroid problem and my THS is alwaya normal, but in Jan i was diagnosed with Hasimotos (thyroid antibodies destroying my thyroid). Although technically my hormone levels are fine, my thyroid is still having issues

Rachel

Mishee · 05-22-2009, 05:51 AM

Everyone's had good suggestions about other avenues to persue (e.g. checking the pituitary, etc.). I had the same problem for quite awhile. I had a bunch of symptoms of hypothyroidism (so many that one of the doctors I saw put me on thyroid meds until he got my blood work back) but my blood work always came back "normal". I actually don't have hypothyroidism anymore because mine was being caused by abnormal pituitary function due to a pituitary tumor. So it might be a good thing to have your other glands checked.

Another thing to consider is that the range that labs/drs use to determine whether your blood work is normal or not can be quite large. Meaning you could find that if you got blood work done through another dr or lab that your blood work would not come back as normal. Each lab sets these values for themselves, there's not necessarily a standard range for all labs. One thing to do if you're worried about this is to get a copy of your lab report and see where your values lie on the scale (which is listed on the lab report), i.e. are your values on one extreme of the range?

One more thing to consider is that not everyone who has hormone imbalances will have abnormal blood test results. This is because hormones don't actually reside in large quantities in the blood, they reside in body tissues. So a blood test isn't the most sensitive lab test that can be used to measure hormone levels. Saliva tests are actually far more sensitive. They aren't generally accepted though, so you'd have to find a dr willing to order one or pay for one for yourself. If you're interested in this way of going about things, you can order a saliva test for yourself through canaryclub.org. A good reference book for people whose hormone imbalances are minor is "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled?" by Richard Shames. It doesn't directly address hypothyroidism though and is mostly geared toward alternative remedies. Good Luck!!!

laurie52893 · 05-24-2009, 06:05 AM

For years I had my thryoid tested and my results were always normal. I was getting so fed up with my doctors. I had heard of a doctor in town that everyone who went to him had a thyroid problem. I had one test come back with off numbers but for a year my doctor never knew because the lab never sent him my results. So I had the test done again and everything was 'normal'. Well, I didn't buy it so I made an appointment with the doctor who's clinic is call Life Enhancement here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I got my labs done and a few weeks later he calls me on a Sunday night and he tells me to please get some vitamin D in me now and asked if I was feeling suicidal. I was so shocked because I had been feeling so low and weepy. I was severly depressed and I was ready to walk away from my family and I felt like I would be better off dead. I had tried to tell my husband how I was feeling but he thought I was being a drama queen. He's since changed his mind! Anyway I see the doctor and he tells me that I have Hypothyroidism and what I forgot to mention to him was that I was sure I had PCOS as well. My labs showed and had little progesterone and my testosterone was really high. I was also low in Dhea. This man is amazing and he literally saved my life. I thought it was the winters that were making me so miserable with all the darkness and cold. Well it was a combination of many vitamin deficiencies, thyroid and I was just officially diagnosed with PCOS. This man has women from all over the pacific northwest coming to see him. Find a doctor who specializes in natural homorome replacement.
When a doctor tests a thyroid he/she looks at 1 number. But that number isn't always accurate. It has to be broken down and that is where they find if you have a thyroid problem. I encourage you to find another doctor who will listen and trust your instincts. Going to this doctor was the best thing I ever did for myself. Because I was insulin resistant he put me on a low carb diet. Lots of green veggies and meat. I have lost 8 lbs in a month and half. My ob/gyn wants to put me on Provera to start my cycle and I refuse to take that. So Monday morning I am calling my Life Enhancment doctor to tell him of my diagnoses and he will prescribe something natural for me instead. I refuse to take provera. I'm not sure why some doctors are not more informed abouth the thryoid and PCOS. It's really sad how many women go undiagnosed. I wonder about how many years I had to suffer because some doctor was to lazy to really look at my labs. I'm glad I found this site and I hope to learn lots from you ladies.

sweetstar · 06-01-2009, 04:43 PM

This is interesting because my doctor wanted to check my thyroid levels as well. Above some ladies were talking about how they didn't feel good until her Free T4 was 1.9 (that she wanted it to be higher than 1.3, when she felt horrible) So does that mean that 1.3 is too low?

Well, here are my #'s and I am questioning if they are normal or not now. If any of you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Total T3, 110
Free T4, 0.8
Free T3, 2.8
TSH, 1.62

Thanks SO much!

proudmama16 · 06-10-2009, 03:56 PM

Lori
I just think you should keep perusing the issue because My bloodwork was fine. I was taking 1000mg of metformin to get my periods under control but had been on it for a year. The doctor could not find out why and would increase my dosage then lower it. Finally I was telling him how horrible I felt and he decided to try me on the synthroid because of my symptoms. Well one month later i recieved my period and have had one every month since. It was my thyroid but my levels were normal. So I would say keep pursuing it. Only you know your body!

daniellej · 06-10-2009, 04:12 PM

I have had the symptoms for years and with most of my family having it, they are always convinced I have a thyroid problem. I had the numbers check for years with normal results. Just recently they where checked again due to my complaints and this time it came back hyperthyroid. Which is totally opposite of any of my symptoms, so now I am really confused. Good luck. I am glad you are getting some response, as I posted about my results and didn't get any response. I hope you get some answers and feel better soon.