Any of these syptoms sound familiar?
Posted , 5 users are following.
So I’ll keep it brief as I’m sure you get lots of traffic on this site.
Past 3 years have been a nightmare, I’ve struggled with the following
Red face
Stiff Joints
Pins and needles if I stay in same position for a very short time of lean on myself briefly
Fatigue
More recently
Ringing in ears - settled down a bit now
Dry eyes - More noticeable in the morning when I wake up, it can take up to 30 mins for me to get my eyes going
Hair loss - I’m a 38 YO male who had think hair but the last month it’s shedding rapidly. I don’t believe it’s Male baldness as the rate is far too alarming and my eyebrows and lashes are also falling out.
Fingernails - I had some vertical ridging which I put down to age. But I’m now getting a lot of horizontal ridges which from what I’ve read online signals an issue.
Any of the above sound familiar? I had a thyroid test in November and was told it was normal. Doctors seem to say I just have anxiety but I’m not in the slightest convinced. Thanks for your responses in advance.
0 likes, 19 replies
lee87080
Posted
MtViewCatherine lee87080
Posted
Thyroid symptoms can be mimmicked by many other problems. Many other conditions often accompany thyroid disease- gut disorders, food sensitivities, pancreatitis, diabetes, adrenal problems, fibromialgya... Chronic pancreatitis is often undiagnosed and can cause malnutrition and every gut problem imaginable.
Your fingernail ridges in particular might be useful in diagnosing nutritiinal deficiencies or other illness, as hypothyroid disease usually has dry, brittle, thinning nails.
Again, nothing us absolute in thyroid diagnosis, plus you could be having more than one problem.
Magnesium deficiency and diabetes symptoms can be very similar to hypothyroid symptoms.
After reading many posts here, I find an extremely high percentage of thyroud patients suffer for years or decades before they even get a diagnosis. They likely won’t get medication even once they get diagnosed. The medications are crap and don’t work. Every step of the thyroid treatment process is riddled with irregularities.
You’ll need to start by getting a full thyroid oanel blood test. You’ll need to check T3, T4 and RT3 at the very least. You may want to also check for TPO antibodies.
However, none of these tests are absolute. Another way to diagnose Hashimoto’s is by a thyroid ultrasound- they look for nodules. Nodules indicate Thyroid disease.
All this stuff takes time to get tested. Meanwhile, help yourself by getting some good quality vitamin and mineral supplements, increase your lean high quality protein intake, and consider a gluten-free-Paleo style diet. All these changes can help your overall health and nutrition to support your body.
Hope that helps give you some direction.
dave64969 lee87080
Posted
The medications do in fact work for many people but first you need a better diagnosis than “anxiety” for gosh sakes. Did you get get your thyroid results? Your doctor has to give them to you. When you get them, post them here for more feedback.
Fatigue is certainly a typical hypothyroid symptom but some of the others are not. Hence the need for comprehensives tests.
margaret22116 dave64969
Posted
Some of your issues also sound like the kind of issues you get around auto immune disorders like lupus (red butterfly rash) or Sjogren's (dry eyes). Problem is there are a lot of overlapping symptoms and it is difficult to work put exactly what is going on. It is so often the case that you are dismissed with a diagnosis of stress. That idn't goid enough. With joint pain my starting place would be a rheumatologist who should understand your symptoms a little bit better than your family doctor seems to.
MtViewCatherine margaret22116
Posted
mar75090 lee87080
Posted
Dont think it's thyroid related but you may have sjorgens syndrome or some other autoimmune disease going on. You should ask for an ANA test to start with and get checed for various autoimmune diseases of which there are too many to list and would be up to your doctor to prescribe. Do you have any autoimmune family history? Finger ridges are not due to age and are a sign you and your doctor need to investigate more.
lee87080
Posted
Thanks for the detailed replies. I’ve just done another blood test which I paid for instead of going to the GP. Something is definitely wrong and it’s not anxiety, I just feel that I can’t gonthe GP as it’s like they think it’s all in my head which it isn’t. I’ll post results of the tests in due course.
Also
I’ve seen a rheumatologist in the past and he didn’t think it was arthritis but did a blood test which found that I had very high iron. He referred me to haematology who made me do a fast and then said the results were normal. A recent blood test showed an iron issue again and high bilirubin but the doctor said it was nothing to worry about.
It’s just been a nightmare, I was told I had vitiligo at one point as all the pigment started to change colour on my face, some has cleared up but I have a few patches that remained. I also get loose stools as well but never have any adverse affects to certain foods so the doctor said it can’t be foods as it would wipe me out and I’d have stomach ache. I’m not really sure what direction to head in next, I know it’s not anxiety 😢
margaret22116 lee87080
Posted
There are no absolute blood tests for auto immune conditions so I am surprised your rheumatlogist was so little moved by your obvious health problems that he/she did not feel it was worth further investigation. Maybe see a different specialist. You are entitled to a second opinion.
lee87080 margaret22116
Posted
I’ve had the results of the thyroid blood tests that I paid for this week and I think it safely rules out this as a cause to my problems.
ENDOCRINOLOGYThyroid Function
THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE 2.87 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.20
FREE THYROXINE 14.600 pmol/L 12.00 - 22.00
FREE T3 5.61 pmol/L 3.10 - 6.80
THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY <10 IU/mL 0.00 - 115.00
THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES <9.0 IU/mL 0.00 - 34.00
I nearly phoned the doctors today but then I thought there’s no point as I’d only be going to say what I’ve been telling them for the last 3 years. I’m guessing it’s an autoimmune disorder so at least I’m making a little bit of progress. Just wish the hair/eyebrows and lashes would stop falling. My nails are bothering my as the vertical ridges are large and the beau’s lines (I think that’s what the horizontal are called) are on every nail now 😢
MtViewCatherine lee87080
Posted
Lee, your TSH is nearly 3- high enough to show hypothyroid symptoms. Your T4 is on the low end of normal. This is pretty much what my thyroid results looked like at the worst point. I was exhausted all the time, my body temp was two degrees below normal and my BP was 90/60 on a good day. And, no, I didn't show high antibodies either. In my case, however, I had a giant cyst on my neck that acted like a neon sign. You see, the thyroid function is so important that the body will do wverything to maintain normal levels. This means that your body will start shutting down functions that are not vital, which is why you get a wgole bunch of peripheral symptoms with hypothyroid disease. In addition, the adrenals work hard to pick up the slack of the thyroid and become exhausted, so you get accompanying adrenal issues, premature menopause for women, liq testosterone for men... to banw a few, as the body struggles to maintain homeostasis.
If you still feel like you are hypothyroid, an ultrasound would show cysts. If it shows no cysts, then you’re negative for hypothyroid.
mar75090 lee87080
Posted
You have a nice FREE T3 level. Maybe that is why your FreeT4 isnt that high. On 150mcg my FT4 is near upper level but think it means it's just pooling and not converting enough to FT3 which is around one level down from yours or 4.7 UK measurements but 3.2 USA. All this with a superlow TSH which is annoying. Your TSH bit high but FT3 is good. You definitely don't have Hashis...Your FT3 is the most active and feeds mitrochondria to help produce energy. It took 200mcg of Levo to have FT3 like yours but then few yrs later another doc lowered dose to 150mcg. Can't say that at either FT3 levels I felt optimal. Think they need to devise a totally new thyroid panel altogether BECAUSE THOSE NUMBERS DO LIE. Good luck finding out what is ailing you. Take a deep look into your family history. Get autoimmune tests to many to list. Get vitamin and mineral testing. Any insect bites? Moldy living quarters? Cortisol levels? (morning fatigue).
lee87080 mar75090
Posted
I’ve had a vitamin and mineral test done which I’ll post below. Now you mention mould we’ve had a damp issue in our kitchen for the last few years which we are having rectified next month, I never for once moment thought it’d cause an issue. I’ve got musty cupboards in places but we don’t use them and I religiously wash everything before use. The thyroid readings are quite confusing, I’ll post another blood reading I had done in November below. Thanks for your input, it’s appreciated 👍🏻
MtViewCatherine lee87080
Posted
Horizontal ridges can be associated with thyroid disease, celiacs and pancreatitis.
Well, that’s what I came up with in my search.
lee87080 MtViewCatherine
Posted
I do have white spots on my nails too, the doctor said it’s just wear I’ve hurt my nail previously but they always appear in different places on the same nail. Doctor also said that both horizontal and vertical ridges are normal and that she even had them! I tried to show her but she didn’t pay much attention. I’ll post some more results below of a recent vitamin test and another thyroid from November.
Thanks for your replies, I appreciate the input 👍🏻
lee87080
Posted
Thyroid nov 17
ENDOCRINOLOGYThyroid Function
THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE 1.36 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.20
FREE THYROXINE 18.2 pmol/L 12.00 - 22.00 TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) 91.4 nmol/L 59.00 - 154.00
FREE T3 6.72 pmol/L 3.10 - 6.80
THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY <10 IU/mL 0.00 - 115.00
THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES <9.0 IU/mL 0.00 - 34.00
MtViewCatherine lee87080
Posted
Hello Lee, thanks for posting your tests. Lots of great data!
The difference in your thyroid labs looks suspicious to me and the dramatic jump in TSH is noteworthy for sure, as its more than doubled in a short period of time.
However, your thyroid condition is sublclinical, which means they don’t treat it. You could try some essential amino acids complex and see if you get some relief. Since your Bs look a little low, try a coblimated B complex.
Looking at your extensive blood results, without being an expert, I generally look for anything that looks like its either in the high or low end of ranges. Keep in mind, ranges are guidelines, not absolutes and particularly for nutrients, ranges are overly broad, meaning that if you’re at the bottom end, you're in trouble.
A a glance, I see that you have fairly low calcium and B vitamins.
Next, your bilirubin is elevated slightly. This indicates a sluggush liver. It isn't generally considered worrisome from a medical perspective. However, it could indicate low thyroid function or toxicity. TCM considers liver and kidney functions to be the core of health.
The liver is responsible for filtering and cleaning the blood. Sluggishness means the blood slows as it flows through, which can result in a ton of problems because it can affect blood flow and pressure.
The next questions I’d ask are: 1) How does your cholesterol look? Elevated cholesterol can indicate thyroid problems.
2) What is your body temp? More than one degree F below normal indicates low thyroid function.
3) How’s your BP? Has it changed?
The things that showed when my thyroid was out of whack were cholesterol (mine spiked!), BP (mine was very low, but some people can go high), body temp (mine was two degrees below normal- they say anything less than 1 degree F below normal is hypothyroid).
Its important to keep in mind that testing is simply a set of data points provided by some company, which is virtually invisible, no regulation, and no way for consumers to review. Truly, testing cannot replace a clinical exam. Your doctor shouldn’t ignore your clinical symptoms. Afterall, you know your body best, and if you’re feeling out of sorts, your observations are valuable data. If you feel your GP isn't a good match, you might want to shop around for a new doc.
You've obviously gone to great lengths to try and solve the problem. You’re the expert on what’s normal and how your body feels. Keep up the good work.