Thyroid Problem Someone Please Help

[PleaseHelpMe25]

Please someone help me I am so confused. My doctor drew blood work on my thyroid cause i have been battling weight loss for three years. My hair is falling out, I am tired all the time, my skin is dry, i am cold all the time, not matter what kind of diet or excersise i do i can't loose wieght i gain it and my memory is like a old persons no pun intended. Anyway they called me last week and tell me that my thyroid is low. That to me meant it isnt working and i thought it meant i was Hypo not Hyper am i right? Well they drew more blood work did my iron and free T4 and they called today and told me that my free t4 came back fine and that my iron is really low and to go get a supplement. Well i asked the doctor about the thyroid thing and she tried telling me that becasue my thyroid is low that i am Hyperthyroid not Hypo and that i can ahve the symtems of hyper with Hypo i have searched and searched the dang internet and cant find anything to support what this doctor says at all. Someone Please tell me she is wrong.

 

My TSH level was 0.236 my free T4 was 1.5 they did not draw a T4-T3 level on me at all. She said that she wants me to come back in 4-6 weeks have another blood draw and then they would put me on something to slow my thyroid down something just doesnt sound right here becasue i am gaining wieght not loosing wieght. Someone please please help me

Thanks

Tara

[moimeme]

I'm not sure why you care whether you are hyper- or hypo-thyroid unless you just think that your doc's got it wrong. Either way, you need medical intervention.

 

Here is a link about hyperthyroidism.

http://www.endocrineweb.com/hyper1.html

 

Here is a link about hypothyroidism

http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html

 

You can always print the pages and take them with you and ask them to explain the diagnosis. Diagnosing physical ailments can be tricky.

[PleaseHelpMe25]

i was just confused but with further viewing on the web i see that he is right. He is not wanting to treat me right now he wants to wait 4-6 weeks to see if my body fixes it. I have had this problem for three years i doubt another 4-6 weeks is gonna change anything. I just want help which right now i feel like he is not offering me. I have tried every diet under the sun and work out all the time and i just gain weight instead of loose it. i didn't realize that you can have the symptoms of Hypo but actually be Hyper that was what i was misunderstanding

Thanks for the links

Tara

[befuddled1]

your symptoms sound like the classic symptoms of underactive (hypo) thyroid. I was very much in your boat for about 3 years also: constantly freezing even in the middle of july, had gained 25 lbs though had always been a slim woman, hair falling out, horribly tired all the time. My family doctor was useless. I finally had to put my foot down and see another doctor, who did the correct tests (which included "thyroid antibody levels") and presto, I was finally diagnosed with a type of hypothyroidism that's officially call "autoimmune thyroiditis" (it's an autoimmune condition, tons of women live with it and sadly are undiagnosed because doctors do the basic thyroid testing but not "thyroid antibodies." I was then sent to an Endocrinologist (specialist who deals with conditions of the glands, of which the thyroid is) and I was put on the correct dose of daily thyroid hormone replacement..and after 2 weeks I felt like a million bucks.

 

Your doctor sounds completely confused about how to interpret your results. It's really very straightforward. What on earth would waiting 4-6 weeks do? I agree with you, nothing. Has an ultrasound of your thyroid been done? Did he feel any swelling or lumps to your thyroid gland? Did he even FEEL it??

 

Here is by far, the best Thyroid Information Site online......there's thousands of women there who are dealing with both hypo and hyperthyroidism. Click on this link below to take you there, and the best forum to post in (I think you have to "sign up" first, to be able to post) is the "General Thyroid Support and Info" (you'll see the link to that forum when you go to that main page). There's also a forum there, called something like "Thyroid Top Doctors"..where people from all over the world will make recommendations for a great doc who's knowledgable about diagnosing and treating thyroid disease. Search that page to see if there's one listed, in your area. Or ask on the "General" forum if anyone can make a recommendation for your area.

 

I will tell you right now, from personal experience and from reading the countless experiences of other women who have hypothryroidism or autoimmune thyroiditis.....most family doctors know diddly about it, they are clueless. That's why these are 2 of the most undiagnosed conditions women have, sadly. Some women there have suffered with symptoms like yours for years and were rudely told they had the symptoms because they were "lazy" or it was "all in their head" or they needed "more exercise." I can personally attest to the fact that if your thyroid is underactive, all the exercise and healthy eating will not ever help you to lose the weight you need to lose...because your metabolism center in the body is the thyroid gland, and if it's underactive, it's not producing the hormones it needs to, and your metabolism will be very slow.

 

Just know that you are not alone.

 

Please, get yourself to another doctor ASAP. A new doctor can arrange to have your records from current doctor sent there so that he can see what the results of your recent tests were.

 

Now here is the address to the Thyroid Forums:

 

http://thyroid.about.com/mpboards.htm

[PleaseHelpMe25]

Thanks for the link i will be posting there i found this site through a search engine heheheh. I figured my doc was a quack this is the second doc i have been to for this. I know i need to go see a endeo but my problem is insurance i have non casue me and hubby are self employed and insurance is very EXPENSIVE LOL but i called and it will cost 300 for the initial visit and 60.00 there after doesnt include labs or anything else. No i have never had a u/s done at all:(

[befuddled1]

Because you don't have insurance, could you still at least see another general practitioner? When you go post on that site, like I said, there's a Forum there called "Top Thyroid Docs"...and many of the docs recommended aren't endocrinologists....some are just regular GPs who happen to be very knowledgable when it comes to thyroid disease and who knows, there might be one in your area that someone can recommend.

 

Something interesting that I learned....with autoimmune thyroiditis, a very common condition of the thyroid in women, the thyroid basically attacks itself, thinking it's a "foreign body"......and while a person with this will usually have periods of their thyroid being underactive, they can also have periods where they thyroid gland is OVERactive. So, that being said, a person who has the symptoms of HYPO could at some point have bloodwork that appeared to be that of someone with HYPER.....this is why it's essential that "thyroid antibody levels" be done...because these are the only things that will confirm there's an autoimmune problem with the thyroid.

 

From what I understand, in your doctor's defense, I believe that Free T4 level is more sensitive/accurate than a plain T4. Also important, though, to have a T3 done, too.....

 

Many of the women on the Forum volunteer their time and have been living with thyroid disease for years...and although they are not substitutes for a medical doctor and always make the disclaimer that one should always check things with their doctor, they are great at helping to explain a person's test results.......so go there and explain your history, your symptoms, your TSH and Free T4 values.......ask what they suggest.

 

Not sure if you had a baby within the last year but often times, having a baby can really put a woman's thyroid out of wack.......usually just temporarily.

[PleaseHelpMe25]

I gave birth to my daughter in 2000 and gave birth to my surrogate twins last october 20th:) I have had this problem though since i had my daughter in 2000 with the wieght:( i just think the twins really over did it this time:(

tara

[Jamie31]

I think you may want to get a second opinion. All the symptoms you described are symptoms of HYPOthyroidism, not HYPERthyroidism.

[sweetrose72]

hi i am 23 yrs old and i have hypothyroid and hyperthyroid. my thyroid goes back and forth. let me tell you that i have the same symptoms with both. so it is possible that you have hyper. they thought the same with me the first time i had hyper, they had to give me a second blood test.