A Question and I would like some opinions :)

Kalyn · 03-16-2009, 12:37 AM

Alright, I know I have had blood work to have my thyroid checked. They have never really said much about it though...even when I asked.

My mom recently found out she has Hypothyroidism, a couple years ago my cousin found out she has it, my uncle has it, and my grandmother had it. This is all on my mom's side. On my dad's side my grandpa has it.

I feel this is something I should be more concerned about. I would say it has been about a year since I had any blood work done. How often should I be checked for this considering it runs so heavily in my family? I do have some symptoms...or what I think COULD be symptoms, but then again it could just be me....and this was all before I found out about my mom (which was a couple weeks ago) because I voiced my concerns to her about it before.

Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

alaskaflygirl · 03-16-2009, 01:10 AM

Especially considering your family history, I'd ask your doctor to perform a thyroid panel (TSH, free T3, and free T4) during every annual physical exam to evaluate if your thyroid is underactive. The nice thing about having it done every year is that, if your first test is normal, you'll have established a "baseline"- and can treat/catch any possible hypothyroidism early if the tests continue to show decreased thyroid activity over time.

Good luck, and I sure hope your family history doesn't repeat itself with you! :-)

herbprof · 03-16-2009, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalyn

Alright, I know I have had blood work to have my thyroid checked. They have never really said much about it though...even when I asked.

My mom recently found out she has Hypothyroidism, a couple years ago my cousin found out she has it, my uncle has it, and my grandmother had it. This is all on my mom's side. On my dad's side my grandpa has it.

I feel this is something I should be more concerned about. I would say it has been about a year since I had any blood work done. How often should I be checked for this considering it runs so heavily in my family? I do have some symptoms...or what I think COULD be symptoms, but then again it could just be me....and this was all before I found out about my mom (which was a couple weeks ago) because I voiced my concerns to her about it before.

Any advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

Hi Kalyn,
Some information for you that you may not be aware of about thyroid disease. Did you know that thyroid disease is really a very rare disease and yet there is an epidemic (1 in 4 people) of it in America. The truth is that an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto's or Graves disease probably (90%+) gave your family members this thyroid disease. Autoimmune diseases are very interesting, there are aprox 80 to 100 at this time with another 40 waiting for a name. Medical science cannot explain why and has not found a cure for even one. You can trigger one of them just by having an auto accident, taking aspirin or medicine, by starting a new exercise routine, or even stressing out says latest research. Naturopathic medicine says, "Look for the root cause. The cause is in the basics; beginning with what is on your fork, what toxins are in your body, what exercise do you do, what stress is in your life, what is your spiritual base". Science has led us down the wrong path, we better stop and take a close look at what is happening. Autoimmune disease is the worst kind of contradiction; for thyroid disease your immune system is attacking you at your own thyroid, a world upside down. God bless you in your search.

JoyannaWants2BaMommy · 03-16-2009, 08:29 PM

its like they say genetics loads the gun but environment pulls the trigger.(extreme stress triggerd mine) my older sister has some sort of hypothyroid, im not sure if its autoimmune or what. my other sister had a hyperthyroid problem, and had to have rai to "fix" (ie kill it.) so now she is extremely hypo. and i had graves disease which is autoimmune hyperthyroid now im hypo but i don't know if its hasimotos or anything. so we all had something a little different. my mom doesn't have any health problems though lucky her. i would definately keep getting regular panels done and it might help too if you feel they are just glancing at it and saying your fine to either ask them for the exact #s and the range they are using. or have them send you a copy of your results and usually it shows what range the lab is using. i have done this many times and they think im crazy! but dont settle for oh your good your in the range. that way like alaskaflygirl said you will have a record to see any changes. good luck!

AdisGirl · 03-17-2009, 01:35 AM

I was tested for thyroid problems several times over the years and it always came back "normal". Apparently it's not that easy to diagnose. My diagnosis (autoimmune thyroid disease/hypo) came last year after more extensive testing by an endocrynologist because I was symptomatic. They actually determined it by the antibodies in my blood because the thyroid levels themselves were very confusing to most doctors. I recently found out that my aunt and a great aunt on my mother's side also have/had thyroid problems.