Am I really imagining all this? I have every symptom.
Posted , 6 users are following.
I am a 24 year old female, suffering from many symptoms of hypothyroidism.
I am constantly lethargic no matter how much I try to avoid the feeling, I have hair loss, dry hair, skin, and brittle nails. I have a very low tolerance to anything that might irritate me and I just snap, often times leading to panic attacks. Additionally and more seriously I have unexplained weight gain and uterine bleeding, sometimes for months at a time.
Doctors say I do not have anything serious. They've checked blood, done ultrasounds, etc and only come up with a slight hormonal imbalance, that they do not deem as serious enough to be causing all this. It's as if I'm making up or imagining these symptoms.
Recently I went to an independent lab and gave a blood test asking for the thyroid panel and my results all seem to be in the normal ranges. I wanted to know if anyone else has gone through this, with similar blood levels.
TSH 2.63
0 likes, 8 replies
confused2016
Posted
EDIT:
Sorry, I'm new to this site and accidentally posted without all the information. The bloodwork results are as follows:
TSH 2.63
Free T3. 2.9
Free T4. 1.20
MtViewCatherine confused2016
Posted
What are your thyroid levels and TSH. You should have a complete thyroid panel done. Oh, I see you posted. TSH above 2 is enough to make you really tired. For the T4 and T3, use the ranges as a guideline and if you're on the low end, you have more evidence toward hypothyroidism.
No. You aren't imagining. You're dealing with the typical difficulties most thyroid patients run into. Here's the deal... Many thyroid patients spend years trying to get a diagnosis. In the old days, they would have diagnosed based on a clinical exam: are the fingers colder than the palms of the hands? Is the body temp 2 degrees or more below normal? Things like that. They would also have dosed meds based on a clinical exam.
Now, they use bloodwork. And unfortunately, more than half of people with thyroid disease don't show significantly elevated TSH levels. TSH is the standard screening, so you can see how many people don't ever get diagnosed, because a proper diagnosis requires a full panel.
Next, the ranges are set by the labs based on averages throughout the year. So the ranges are way too broad to be useful, and a good endocrinologist uses a stanndar day range, rather than those offered by the labs. Most people do well when their TSH is at about 1, and feel pretty lousy if the TSH goes above 2. Yet the ranges usually allow up to 5 as normal for TSH.
Then, the TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone produced by your pituitary. So it only tells you what your pituitary thinks is happening with your thyroid, nothing about what your thyroid is actually producing because there are about a million variables in this feedback loop.
Lastly, if your having "slight" hormonal imbalances, this could be due to low thyroid, as when the thyroid is low, the body starts shutting down other functions. Low progesterone, spotting, heavy or frequent periods can all be symptoms of hypothyroidism. In addition, if you're seeing a spike in cholesterol, this can also be an indicator of hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, low progesterone and elevated cholesterol are not recognized as related to hypothyroidism, even though they are all part of the endocrine system.
ok, one more thing. The meds for thyroid disease are it bioidentical. So many people find the side effects worse than the disease. For this reason, many people, choose dietary and supplements for treatment over medication. I have severe thyroid disease and after more than 6 different meds, went on a supplemental regimin.
Do do all the research you can about thyroid disease. Read the many posts here so you can get a good understanding of what you're dealing with. Also see an endocrinologist for another opinion.
confused2016 MtViewCatherine
Posted
Thank you so much for your response. It's, for lack of a better word, comforting, to know I'm not just trying to be pessimistic and insisting there must be something wrong. I don't know what to do to get a normal diagnosis. At this point, I've given up on doctors and so have taken it into my own hands. I did the blood work at an independent lab, and asked for the tests myself. Can you please tell me if I missed anything that would help me point to if I have hypothyroidism or not? I did the TSH, T3, T4, Thyroid Peroxidase Ab TPO, and Thyroglobulin Ab.
As for the meds, I know this should never be done, but when I insisted I was suspicous of hypothyroidism years ago, despite my doctor telling me I was perfectly healthy, I decided to try Levothroxine (sp?) to see if I felt a difference. I took it for 5 days, and saw a considerable difference in energy levels. But I'm just afraid of taking any more without being sure.
anna29752 confused2016
Posted
Thank you
chiffon40 confused2016
Posted
Oh god I know Wht ur going through I've had every test u can name I was diagnosed in 2014 wth hyperthyroidism then had the iodine ablation that killed part of my thyroid because I had 2 nodules on each side of my neck. I went from takin no medication to 10 bottles. I hve every kind of doctor you can name. Been to the E.R at least 30x last yr and 3 times ths yr I am a complete wreck. My rheumatologist tested me for fibro..hep-c etc all test were negative. But I keep goin to the emergency room for chest pain leg pain And then BP goes up every time. All the doctor ever say is it's your Anxiety. Also I have lost my hair so I wear wigs and Rembr just becse your levels are normal doesn't mean u r.
MtViewCatherine chiffon40
Posted
Hi Chiffon, so sorry to hear you're still having so much difficulty. Unfortunately, since the meds aren't bioidentical, you'll get problems. An imbalanced between T4 and T3 cause anxiety, high T3 causes anxiety, low T 3 causes anxiety. So if your T4 is on the high end and T3 is on the low end, you'll have anxiety even if meds show you're in range.
Thyroid meds increase BP. Fortunately, mine was extremely low with the hypo, so when I was on the meds, it was only slightly above normal. Many others on this site have asked about high BP as a side effect. The higher the dose, the worse the side effects.
From everything I've read here, people either add another medication to helpnwith the T3, or they go on ThyroGold because the ratios are closer to human ratios. I tried a bovine glandular and it was much better than the levo, but I finally went off it because my immune system was so bad I couldn't handle the meds any more and th levo nearly killed me. I've used acupuncture treatments throughout to help reduce the ups and downs effects of the thyroid disease and meds.
So there are options, they're just a ton of work no matter which you choose. Thyroid disease is NOT easy to manage.
Hope you're feeling better soon.
gary19610 confused2016
Posted
cara20573 confused2016
Posted
Hi I am a 25yo female and have been experiencing pretty much all the same symptoms you have for about 4 weeks (minus hair loss and dry skin). I've been having slow heart rate as well so I thought it might be a heart issue but a cardiologist pretty much ruled it out. Because my mum was diagnosed years ago (even though her thyroid hormones were normal/lowish) I think I probably have hypothyroidism too. She said that it is possible for your bloodwork to look fine and still have the condition. She had a great doctor who has passed away since (Dr Gordon Skinner). I am seeing an endocrinologist next week privately, so hopefully I will get diagnosed.
I would suggest that you see a specialist as well. Tomorrow I will get some supplements with iodine as I've read that it helps your thyroid work properly.