Thyroid symptoms but normal blood tests

CalCat · 08-14-2002, 03:40 AM

Help! I have been having classic thyroid symptoms (hot flashes, vertigo, increased sweating, day time fatigue and night time energy, etc.) However... all my blood tests came back, "normal." I am wondering if any of you had "normal" tests yet your doctors pursued other testing and found that you did indeed have a thyroid problem.

Any help from you all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

MrsBuelna · 09-02-2002, 04:51 PM

I don't have an answer for you but I want to move it up. I'm sure someone 'round here knows what you are talkin' about.

Julie_21 · 09-02-2002, 05:16 PM

It is possible to have hypothyroid and not have it show up. It can depend on the time of day the test is done and your diet and such. It is possible to go in and have the test come back fine and then two weeks later to be diagnosed with it at a follow up panel of bloodwork. Wait a couple weeks and then get tested again if you are still having symptoms.

Good Luck!

shenacat · 09-02-2002, 05:45 PM

Sounds a lot like adrenal dysfunction to me rather than just thyroid. Adrenal dysfunction can mimic thyroid but now show up on tests. For more info visit the about.com thyroid board:

http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/

They will give you some info on how to get assistance from a better doc.

patu · 09-03-2002, 04:44 AM

Check out this site:
http://www.mercola.com/pc-hypothyroid-diagnosis.htm

I have had symptoms almost 5 years. Finaly this august the test results showed abnormalties. Have been taking the medication for 3 weeks, and after long time I start to feal better again.

svaldez · 09-09-2002, 10:29 PM

I have the same problem. They are constantly checking my thyroid and it always comes out normal. One naturlpath did mention adrenal function to me. She said that her biggest clue was my body temp, which always runs really low. She thinks that is one of the reasons my body refuses to lose weight no matter what I do.

shenacat · 09-10-2002, 02:47 AM

You are keeping lab results from those thyroid tests, right?? That is the most important thing here... also to test all of your thyroid numbers and not just the TSH. Sometimes things are out of whack without showing up in the TSH.

Low adrenals can be measured with a ACTH test... corticol stim test. Your adrenal response is measured in this test and if it is low, you are low adrenals. You could benefit in that instance from some cortef (natural corticosteroids your body would normally produce if it wasn't weakened).

This can improve everything from asthma to fatigue to depression, you name it...

For self-testing in the event a doctor won't help you visit http://www.healthcheckusa.com/

For tips on what tests you need visit the thyroid board at about.com:

http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/

Ask about adrenals in the adrenals section of that board.

For reading everything you need to know about adrenals see the book "Adrenal Fatigue: the 21st century stress syndrome" by dr. James L. Wilson. (Excellent book, gives self-tests for adrenal fatigue you can do at home.)

For a self-medicating tip that is harmless in small measures, buy a tube of hydrocortisone 1%. (Regular size.) Squeeze about 1/7th of the tube out in the AM, onto a fleshy part of your body (somewhere that flushes red when you blush like thigh, etc) and rub it in. See if you don't feel a little better that day.

If the hydrocortisone thing works for you get some rubber gloves to rub it in and rotate to different areas of the body to use it, because it will thin your skin if you use it in the same area all the time, and your palms from rubbing it in.

Sunn · 09-20-2002, 03:59 AM

I know what some of you mean about the testing and it saying normal. I have had my blood levels for thyroid tested a few times and the come up fine. I do have pcos and a bunch of hypo symptoms. but doc kept saying I was fine. until I got a bad cold and saw my allery doc to get some meds and he felt a pump on my thyroid (goiter) I let it go for a bout a year and then got another bad cold and saw him again and it was bigger. So i have an ultrasound that proved it was there then a catscan which really proved something was there so they ordered a biopsy sample and that came back inconclusive. meaning the cells could develop cancer or just stay benign. So they wanted to remove it. So in Jan 2002 they removed the left half of my thyroid and did a biopsy on it and found it was non-cancerous (praise God). But all the while that the allergy docs and ear nose throught docs were testing me for this my blood levels showed I had no probs with my thyroid. Immediately in the 2 weeks after surgery I lost 12lbs. And kept it off (I was 265 pre surgery, 253 post and now since july I have lost another 23lbs using the aid of doc prescribed meds.) I have more energy and I am on synthroid. I think I feel better since surgery but it is hard to say as each day that goes by is a new day and not what I felt like the day before. So who knows! And now off my soapbox.

flashing · 10-06-2002, 04:44 PM

Don't you just hate it when you feel so bad and all your test show that you are in normal ranges. I found this cartoon and it pretty much sums up how i feel. sorry your all feeling bad.

Shariki6808 · 11-11-2002, 03:22 AM

I really recommend you keep getting tested frequently. If you suspect that you are in the least hypothyroid, you should try and get placed on low levels of thyroid med.

It can take years for hypothyroidism to be diagnosed. I'm 20, been diagnosed with PCOS for several years now and when I was placed on the pill at 17 gained over 30 pounds in only three months. Since then, I've had all sorts of symptoms of hypothyroidism - lethargy, constant coldness, excessive sweating, major hair shedding and even balding in the temporal region. Nonetheless, my blood tests always showed my thyroid levels to be within the normal range. The truth is that what is to low for you, may be sufficient for another person. Finally this past summer, my blood test showed that my T4 level was slightly lower than it should have been - although everything else was in the normal range. I'm really lucky to have a physician as a father. He immediately placed me on cytomel. I cannot tell you what a difference it has made in only three or four months! I have so much energy back, am not cold all the time, I don't shed all over the place like before and a few days ago I even noticed that my hair has started to REGROW(!) where I was developing bald patches before.

I've lost a few pounds (partly from the meds) but I am still really STRUGGLING to lose weight which is incredibly frustrating. But at least I FEEL so much better. Even my chronic migraines have disappeared and I don't have as many stomach problems as before (I've seen several GI specialist for this with no conclusive diagnosis, but the thyroid med seems to have helped.)
So please get help for this as soon as possible if you think hypothyroidism is a possibility. Good luck with everything.

NJELFS · 12-17-2002, 03:01 PM

Hi,

I seem to have most of the symptoms of Hypo Thuroidism, but
my blood test always comes back normal, so just been looking at the Thyroid Federation International Website, and It says the following:

IF YOU HAVE HAD X-RAY THERAPY AS A CHILD FOR ENLARGED ADENOIDS OR TONSILS, ENLARGEMENTS OF THE THYMUS GLAND AS A NEW BORN, BIRTHMARKS, WHOOPING COUGH, ACNE, OR
RINGWORM OF THE SCALP, YOU PHYSICIAN SHOULD PALPATE YOUR NECK CAREFULLY TO CHECK FOR THYROID NODULES AS IN
ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE THE THYROID FUNCTION TEST WILL BE
NORMAL.

I you want a browse yourself the address is:

www.thyroid-fed.org/intro.patients.html

Hope this is of some help

Nikki

DianeJ · 12-18-2002, 01:13 AM

I've been tested for years for hypothyroid and the tests always came back normal.......until this month. I've had so many tests done, it's not funny.

When my DH was diagnosed with hypothyroid a few years ago, I picked up a book that looked interesting, "Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat?" by Dr. Sanford Siegal. He works with overweight people, so he ends up working with thyroid problems a lot. He usually sees these people after they've been to all the doctors who say 'just stick to your diet; there's nothing wrong with you'. You know, all the doctors we've probably met over the years. lol His theory is pretty much that blood tests are useless because they're not consistant. He even sent off more than 1 batch of blood from the same patient one time with bogus names on all 3 to test it; all came back with different levels (not 100% accurate but on the idea of what he did; could have been more than one patient). I found it a very interesting book. I wish I had read it a few years ago when I had bought it (DH had never read it). Maybe I would have been dx before now. There's even a chapter in there for you to bring to your doctor explaining that he (Sanford) doesn't use blood tests anymore and other ways to test for hypothyroid (lots of doctors depend on test results only instead of paying attention to what's right in front of them, all the symptoms, etc.; there are also many who disagree with Dr. Sanford's views). It might be worth looking into, maybe see if your library has it? It was written in 2000 (I think; sorry don't have it in front of me right now) He also has a website although I'm not sure what info it has on it; I haven't checked it out completely yet. It does have a list of symptoms and a test to take to see if you might have it: http://www.drsiegal.com

Hope this helps. Good luck!

EDIT: Just found this site you might want to check out: HELP! My TSH is "Normal", But I Think I'm Hypothyroid

Frost253 · 01-19-2003, 11:49 AM

I'm glad I'm not alone on this...I thought I was the only one with Hypothyroid symptoms, and normal labs. I also have the fatigue, sweatiness, weight gain...and PCOS.
My Endro has tested my Thyroid levels many times, and they are all in the "normal range" (between 1-3) for TSH, and T3 and T4 are normal too. But one thing that he did notice was that my antibodies for my Thyroid were really elevated. The actual test is called Anti-Microsomal Antibodies. The range is from 0-35 and mine was near 200 both times I was tested. This might be something to get checked. Also, my actual thyroid (goiter) gland is enlarged about 2.5 to 3 times the size it shoud be. You can see this just by looking at me.
My Endro said that this means that I do have an Auto-Immune Thyroid Disease, but that it is still in the beginning stages, and wont actually turn into full blown Hypothyroidism until later in my life (he doesnt know how much later) So, right now since its still functioning normally, he is not medicating me yet, he is just going to repeat blood work every 4-6 months and monitor my Thyroid levels, and when they start to go up thats when I'll start taking meds.
This makes sense to me, but I still feel like I have symptoms of this, so I dont know. Especially the sweating. Its embarrasing.

Does this make sense to anyone else? Or has this happened to anyone else?

Good luck to you all....

shenacat · 01-19-2003, 05:06 PM

Frost, you may want to go to this website:

http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/

There are people there who have tried for years to find ways to lower the antibodies and they can give you advice on something you can try that may help you. One thing is selenium supplements, l-tyrosine, etc.. but you'd have to go ask there to get the right answers.

Some dr.s also believe that if there are antibodies, using medicine to suppress natural thyroid activity is the best way to go. There have been people with good results that way..

Frost253 · 01-19-2003, 09:11 PM

shenacat,

Thanks for your reply! I will definatley check that out. I'm so glad I have found this site...it has been so helpful for me.

Good luck TTC!