Should I go to the doctors?

hi,

So i dont know how long really ive had the symptoms. i just put it down to i must have been eating more and stuff, obviously gaining weight i got tired and so on. But my symptoms include:

*Failing to lose weight - ive tried everything. I went swimming, did 10,000 steps, ate less and calories counted and nothing was happening and i gained more weight.

• My feet and hands get really cold at night and sometimes during the day. I have had people over and they say my room is a normal temperature. A few times ive came back after exercise and my feet are cold.
• I cannot get a good nights sleep for the past 6 months. I at first thought it was just because i was sleeping too little/much so i started recording my sleep and found on average i was sleeping 8 hours a day and I'd wake up and feel so sluggish. If i have a day off sometimes i can sleep for up to 12 hours a day and still feel sluggish. My naps can last for at least an hour.
• Most of the time my neck can feel quite swollen and tender.
• Recently ive noticed my hair is thinner than it used to be and my nails are really soft but theyve always been like that.
• My skin has become really dry. I have to exfoliate everyday to get rid and use E45 cream.

  I think thats everything there oh one more i am currently on the implant ive only been on it for a few weeks but my periods are usually quite heavy.

Hi Pippa,

I have;

• A decreased sex drive (baring in mind I am only 18) I could not careless if I had sex or not
• I have tried everything to lose weight. For the past 3 and a half years I have tried sticking to lower calories, swimming, walking etc. I have only gained more weight.
• Over the years, the cold is hitting me a lot more. My feet and hands are cold majority of the time. Even wearing socks and using hot water bottles don't seem to warm my feet up.
• I am tired all the time. I can have 9+ hours sleep and feel as tired as having 7 hours sleep. I also have naps most of the time. These naps could be between 1-3 hours long.
• My hair has become thinner and more brittle, I've noticed it also breaks a lot easier. My nails are also quite soft and break really easily.

  This may just be me looking into things too deep but I don't know whether to go to the doctors about it or not. I don't know if I'm showing enough symptoms to ask them for a test.

Hi again Lauren,

Yep! I would definitely say a trip to the doctor is called for. Are you finding it difficult to concentrate and remember things aswell? (ANOTHER common symptom.) If so, I recommend that you write down a full list of your symptoms, (you certainly DON'T need to show ALL the well over 370 possible ones, who COULD?) Make a copy and give one to the doc, and with yours in front of you, ask to go through them with you, one by one, as you 'believe from talking to a few Hypo thyroid friends, that you are aswell,' after all, this is EXACTLY what you have done here, you won't be fibbing. This will probably HORRIFY him, and therefore bring him quickly to the crux that you need, a blood test! PLEASE let us know how you get on, and ASK FOR A PRINTOUT OF YOUR RESULTS TO KEEP. You ARE entitled to this, though you may need to pay a small fee. Another way is to ask if you could take a photo of the computer screen for your records. This doesn't cost anything, or SHOULDN'T. xxxx