elucus

Hello,
Just like most of you I was missdiagnosed... I have been treated for hypo for almost 2 years. My dr put me on synthroid. Also she told me I had 4 nodules (lumps) on my thyroid....at my last visit, she said they could be cancerous now... then she said...see you in SIX months. I got a second opion. The synthroid was not helping me. I would feel alittle better then in a months time, it all came back again. the dose had to be increased. I had no period the entire time I was on synthroid. My new endo dr has since told me pcos. I am having a new work up of tests done and I go back the 19th of April to get results. I will let you all know what he says about hypo and pcos.... He told me the two are sometimes the same.... ?????? I will update this on the 19th...

hedda976

Hi. This was my first time visiting this site, and I read your posting and it just seemed a lot like my story. I haven't been officially diagnosed with PCOS, but I have all the symptoms and talked to my OBGYN today and he is suspecting that I have it. I will start the diagnostic work up later this week. I too have hypothyroidism and have had it for 4 years, but it's rarely been regular. Luckily I was able to conceive my daughter almost 2 yrs ago, but I have not had a period since I got off birth control 4 months ago. At first, the OB thought it was due to my thyroid levels being too low (which they were), but since then I have had normal TSH levels so that ruled that out. I have gained weight recently too, which shouldn't have happened since my TSH was normal. So, I am anticipating finding out what is wrong with me. I see my endocrinologist on Thursday, so I hope I know more then. Keep me posted on how everything goes for you. Good luck and God bless!

Sunshine1998

Note: got this from an abstract from discussion board about.com
"If you're hypo, your ovaries aren't optimal and may not produce enough estrogen to complete ovulation (the midcycle rise is lower than normal), and if you don't ovulate, progesterone levels can plummet. This causes a shorter cycle and heavier bleeding and duration. This also may be a cause of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)."




I was diagnosed in Oct of being Hypo. Had a test to determine if it was due to high antibodies and it was confirmed. In Feb ( at the time my cycle would come one month, be absent for about 2, then come back)..I told my doc that my cycle was still off (TSH became in range in Jan). She said we can do 2 things: continue for you body to adjust to the fact that your TSH is in range now and see if your cycle comes, or run a test for PCOS. With my TSH in range she tested my DHEA of which were high and she said it was PCOS.

NOW Im wondering.....do I have PCOS where my thryroid has been out of whack (though TSH was in range)..or do I just happen to be hypo and have PCOS? or did the PCOS caused me to be hypo to begin with?



Any one else have this experience?

ppfleiger

I don't have an answer, but from my own family I am convinced these two things are related somehow.

My mother and grandmother both had hyperthyroidism and thyroid disease. My grandmother also developed diabetes late in life and had an unusually high number of miscarriages (12!) - I am convinced she had PCOS, although I have no way of knowing. She died 12 years ago at age 88. My mother does not seem to have PCOS, although my health history very closely follows hers (more than my three sisters) and I think she may have had it too. (She is post-menapause now, so I'm not sure if she would be able to tell).

In any case - I have a similar problem with the criss-cross diagnosis. My family doctor first diagnosed me with hypo based on my basic bloodwork test, but a full test for hypo came back negative (TSH in range), A second time some months later I had a bladder infection and a blood test showed i had a high glucose level (worried about diabetes). But second test came out fine. Finally, my gyn did a full blood test when I had missed three periods which is when all of this finally came together as PCOS. I'm not convinced that the hypo diagnosis was completely wrong, but there is clearly more to the connection than coincidence.

LeaKatIt

Hi, i too am hypo, diagnosed 4 years ago, and have now, a month ago, been diagnosed as having PCO. Do you think the PCO's are caused by the Hypo??

Does this mean that it will be pratically impossible to conceive? Have any of you who have both got children? What were the pregnancies like?

It's so nice to find a place full of people who understand how I feel.

I'm just coming to terms with the fact that I have to cut out most of the foods I love (found out after reading this site), and that it's going to b e along long road.............

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Ellie710

Hi Ladies,

I'm new to the board, but I'm really glad there is a forum for hypothyroidism. I think it is all connected (all endo problems). I was diagnosed with hyperthyroiditis when I was about 16 (I'll be 23 in a few months). Then my thyroid crashed b/c it could not keep up with such a high output and I became hypothyroid and have been on synthroid (levoxyl) ever since at varying levels (currently 100 mcgs). Also around the same time I was diagnosed with clinical depression, so I have been taking meds for that too. I was only diagnosed with PCOS last year and haven't really done anything about it until now. I can't say which came first the thyroid problems or the PCOS because I have been on birth control pills since I was 16 (I stopped them for a few months last year and didn't have a period and after some testing was then diagnosed with PCOS). The problem here I think is that both PCOS and thyroid problems can cause a lack of a cycle. Personally, at least in my case, I think all my health problems started with my thyroid problems! Its been a year since I've been to an endo, but plan to go see one soon (hopefully a different one!) and get all my medical records! I mostly let my parents deal with my health care issues, but I've decided I need to take action now, as I'm an "adult" and want to live the rest of my life as healthily and happily as I can.

Sorry for the long post but I'm so glad I found this site and am able to share!

~Ellie~

ppfleiger

Ellie, thanks for sharing - that is really interesting. I wonder if I should endo docto as well, as i am at risk for all of those issues. Did you have a good experience with your endo? My mother had hypo-thyroidism and was on medicine for it when she had me at 35, and my sister at 41. My sister does have down syndrome though (that may not be related - anyone age 41 has a 1 in 4 chance of having a child with down syndrome.) It doesn't seem like having PCOS/HypoThyroid prohibs having children, but it's definately not a walk in the park either.

If anyone has any expereince with working with an endocronologist, I'd love to hear it. I was told that "that wasn't necessary" unless I was actively trying to have children. However, having been misdiagnosed and bounced around for so long, I'm considering seeing one just to get the strait story on what my body really does. It seems like the ob/gyn and my family practicioner are just taking blind shots at what they think is going on.

Ya'll might be interested in these links about the connection between the two issues:
http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/news12-hypothyroidism.html

Ellie710

Hi ppfleiger,

Do you think you have hypotyroidism? If so you should definitely get tested for it because its not something to mess around with. Having hypothyroid can affect one in so many ways from wait gain to fatigue to hair loss. Also, since your mother had hypothyroidism and if you are experiencing symptoms like hypothyroidism there is a good chance that you might have it as well. Research has shown a genetic link in thyroid issues though it is not always the case. At least for me, I know thyroid problems run in my family. My great-grandmother had a huge goiter and was over-weight for much of her adult life according to other family members and as can be seen in pictures. As for getting pregnant, when one has both hypothyroidism and P.C.O.S., I can't really say how easy or hard it is because I'm not TTC at the moment, though I suspect with proper treatment it is highly possible.

I'm not sure who told you not to go to an endo, but if it turns out you do have hypothyroidism you should definitely go to one. The thyroid is part of the endocrine system and an endocrinologist specializes in that area. My experience so far has only been ok. Even after I was diagnosed with a hypothyroidism, my first endo didn't want to prescribe me any meds cause she thought I was young enough (16 at the time) that it might recover on its own. Well unfortunately it didn't get better on its own and even though I had been seeing her for a year she still didn't want to prescribe meds because of my age, so I switched docs and got proper treatment. That's my experience. I hoped it helped.

Ellie

sylviac

Hi ppfleiger,

Like you I was not sure if I should see an endo or not. Over a year ago I asked my dr for a referal to see one. He said there was no need for that, but I insisted and he agreed. Well today I had my first endo appointment. Not only did he know as much as I do about pcos, he answered my questions before I could ask. It was such a relief to see someone in the medical field understand and form a plan of action to treat this disorder. He also told me that pcos is caused by an endocrine disorder. I too spent years running to the gyno looking for answers and found none. Here is what I know, every woman with pcos should have a good gyno, and an endo. This syndrome is caused by an endocrine disorder, but it also affects the reproductive system. My endo told me today that once we can get things to where they should be with my thyroid (found out I have a goiter), and manage IR, my gyno problems along with my many other symptoms should improve. So YES see an endo even if you're not ttc.

Sylvia

hopefulspring

Ellie,
I am in the same position as you with the . I am twenty-three and I never had a period of my own, I don't know if you did or not. At 16 I was put on birth control, and I wasn't diagnosed with Hypothyroidism until I was TWENTY-ONE! None of the obgyn's looked into why I didn't have a period until I was married and said that I would like to have kids. They just said that I was a "late bloomer", shame shame. I am now taking Levoxyl 125mcg, Metformin (for lack of period ), Lovastatin for my cholesterol, and just recently started Progesterone to hopefully aide in getting my way to being pregnant. I go back every six weeks to check my levels and so far every six weeks the mcgs have went up. It saddens me to think of other people going through what I do, but in the same instance it is comforting knowing that I am not the only one out there. I don't see an ENDO because I am TTC thats what my obgyn is for, I see him because without my regulated Thyroid I feel like a slug.

Ellie710

Hi Hopeful,

Wow, its nice to know that there are other people out there who have gone through what I've gone through. I can't believe your obgyns didn't look into your missing periods for that long! That is insane. Just goes to show you that we have to be our own advocates. In my case I did have periods on my own but then they just disappeared. I was really concerned and luckily I have a primary care physician who is on the ball and she was the one who first tested and then diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. It was taking the time to find an endo who would actually medicate me that was the problem. Anyway, I had an appointment with an obgyn nurse practioner yesterday (She's totally awesome) because I was having ovarian pain, luckily it was nothing major. But she wants me to get on metformin (I'm so happy about that cause Im totally IR) to help with IR, but she said my endo should prescribe it when I said I was hypothyroid too. I guess cause PCOS is an endocrine disorder. I'm kind of worried about having him prescribe met for me because he's kind of an a** even though he was the only endo to give me levoxyl for my hypothyroid. If he doesn't want to give me met, I'm so finding a new endo. Ok, enough about all that. Let me know how things are going with you and getting pregnant, I'm not TTC right now, but I'll definitely have my fingers crossed for you.

Ellie

camarofanatic90

hi i am hypo and pcos symptoms long time since jr high but wastold that it was growing pains i was told hypo and pc in 2002. i went on synthroid and glucophage and was pg 5 months later i did great on meds but i feel terrible when i am not on them. havent been for a year wanting for the new insurance. but my pg was great until preterm labor was on bed rest for a month and Logan was born at 30wks and was a 3lbs 11 oz does great never been be hind or anything sometime ahead if anyone is looking for a new endo around houston mine is great he listen and does everything he can

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