Not sure what to do with all these symptoms

brandalls · 07-20-2004, 07:49 PM

I've had symptoms of hypothyroidism for years and I keep mentioning them to doctors who do a TSH test and tell me that it's normal and not to worry about it.

If it's normal then why do I have these symtpoms? My hands and feet are like ice at bedtime and during the middle of the night they are like a furnace and sweating (doctors seem to think this is normal enough I guess because noone has thought much about it when I mention it). In the few weeks I've been charting my BBT, it's been between 96.3 and 96.8. I've been treated for chronic fatigue, depression, irritability, insomnia, weight gain, hair falling out, dry skin, muscle aches, weakness, constipation, very decreased libido, annovulation, and the most annoying of all - memory loss/concentration problems. I used to have an awesome memory. A mind like a steel trap as one prof used to say. I have a degree in Neuroscience for goodness sakes. Now I can't remember when my husband tells me we have plans for the evening. I know some of these can be attributed to PCOS, but are they all??

What's funny is that I've been asked by a few doc's if my thyroid has been tested because I had bulging eyes for a while and they thought I might have hyperthyroidism. But they did the TSH test and it came back normal so that was the end of it.

Should I just attribute all of this to PCOS and being overweight and just exercise more and eat better? Or should I keep asking to be tested?

babycakes17 · 07-20-2004, 09:59 PM

WHat is your TSH. THey will tell you they are normal compared to there lab standards which in most places are up to 5 and they really should treat for anything over 3.0.
I would get a copy of your results and if its above 3.0 find someone who will treat by the right range, preferrably a Endocronologists. GOOD luck. I know how you feel I've been there myself.

amshum · 07-21-2004, 01:15 PM

I have PCOS, IR and Hypothyroidism. I think a lot of the symptoms are shared by these 3 syndromes/diseases. Here's a pretty good list of hypothyroid symptoms:

Fatigue
Weakness
Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
Coarse, dry hair
Dry, rough pale skin
Hair loss
Cold intolerance (can't tolerate teh cold like those around you)
Muscle Cramps and frequent muscle aches
Constipation
Depression
Irritability
Memory Loss
Abnormal Menstrual cycles
Decreased libido

For me, I have the fatigue, weakness, weight gain, dry hair, dry/pale skin, hair loss, cold intolerance, depression, irritabilty, abnormal menstrual cycles.

Other symtpoms I have include insomnia and mood swings. I'm not sure if those are related to PCOS, IR, or Hypo.

I think you should ask to be tested. Print out some of the info here about the new TSH target ranges and ask for your TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 to be run. Hope that helped.

amshum · 07-21-2004, 01:19 PM

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I thought this was great! Its a checklist that you can print out, fill out and take to your doctor so you can be tested and diagnosied for hypo.

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyr.../checklist.htm

Good luck!

(edited to remove siggy)

brandalls · 07-29-2004, 06:41 PM

Well I called the last doctor that did the test a month ago. TSH was 2.2, which falls in the normal range even for the new range.

I did read somewhere that low progesterone interferes with thyroid function and can cause hypothyroid symptoms even when TSH levels are normal.

My dr. is giving me progesterone pills for half the month. Maybe that'll help?

You know it's really hard to take an accurage BBT when you have insomnia. Since you're supposed to have at least 3 hours of sleep before you take it, it's difficult when you wake up every 2 hours. The times I have gotten it before I was lucky in that I was waking up every 3 hours then. Now it's down to every 2 hours. UGH!

So anyway, not sure what I'm going to do (other than I'm SICK AND TIRED of going to doctors). I've lost a couple of pounds in the last month since I've been trying to, but it's mainly the same weight I keep losing over and over. I really don't want to go on metformin if I can help it. Three weeks ago I said I'd give it a month. I really started trying again June 23rd. I have not lost much at all. I guess I'll give it another week and see what happens. *sigh* I'm just sick of this.

shenacat · 07-30-2004, 08:18 AM

I want you to get a Free T3 and Free T4 test done. You could have secondary hypothyroidism which is where the pituitary is also mildly dysfunctional and is not sending the signals properly. The pituitary is where the TSH is coming from while the T3 and T4 levels are actual thyroid hormones.

When my TSH is 2.2, I feel sick. I feel best with it about 0.5-1.5.

If you can't get your dr. to test you go to http://www.healthcheckusa.com/ and sign up to get the VIP Profile Plus II. Use code 12345 to get a discount. (It's an easy code to remember for us with brain fog, lol.) You pay something like $75 with the discount to get tests done with TSH, Free T4 and Free T3. You can then post your results here along with the lab ranges, and show them to your doctor and demand treatment if you need it.