Thyorid levels and personal well being

[MrDarcy]

This thread is actually a "spin-offf" from another thread, continuing a discussion that didn't really belong in that thread. Not sure if such a thread belongs in this topic, but I felt it was the most appropriate.

 

Apparently having a Thyroid disorder can affect you in a number of ways, making you feel depressed, tired, causing pain in your joints and muscles, and lots of other symptoms. These could however be symptoms of other things, but they are also listed as symptoms of thyroid disorder.

 

Now the thing is, my wife has all the above symptoms, and more, but lack the basic external symptoms like swollen thyroid gland, swollen face and such. At least they are not very noticeable. She had her Thyroid levels tested a while back and the tests came back normal. According to various websites Thyroid level tests could show normal levels of Thyroid hormones, but you could still have a Thyroid disorder.

 

Anyone else have experience with Thyroid disorders, how to diagnose them and how they affect someone. I'm hoping for some more feedback from JamesM who has had some experience with this. Could my wife's symptoms be symptoms of something else? If so, what?

 

Any feedback will be welcome...

[Outcast]

I suggest your wife ask for a referral to an endocrinologist who should have more expertise in the subject. Her own physician should have ordered follow up tests if the thyroid tests didn't show positive - there could be any number of reasons for her symptoms and her doctor should be working with her to find out what they are.

 

If all she did was go to him and say 'please test my thyroid because I think it's a problem', she won't get the help she needs. She has to tell the doc all her symptoms and then let the doc determine which tests to order. Nobody here has the expertise to make that sort of recommendation.

[JamesM]

The spinoff to this thread is because I mentioned that my marriage lacked sex...or rather my wife lost her libido and regained it again when she changed thyroid medicine. I think Mr Darcy is looking to hear from others who may have had a similar experience.

 

People here may not be able to give an expert opinion, but when I did my research to figure why my marriage was failing, I had the great privilege of having someone share the fact that maybe my wife needed to have her thyroid rechecked even though she had tests saying they were normal. On another website, I developed an email correspondence with a female doctor (yes, she was) who had had the same problem and shared info as to where I could find help. This was also repeated here. Someone posted the same info. Without these posts which I can say were truly the turning poitn in our marriage, I may have never regained the beauty and joy of mutual sexual satisfaction.

 

Mr Darcy, caution IS in order. This may NOT be the problem that your wife is having. Did you get a chance to google what I suggested? Also, my wife never had all of the symptoms listed, but had some. Not everyone experiences the same thing. I would also add that the place I mentioned has a book for sale, and has direct email available to the doctors. This would be the avenue I would pursue now.

 

SO, has anyone else lost their libido? Has anyone's wife lost her libido and found that it was connected to bad thyroid levels? Has it been related to something else?

 

For me, this Board was an incredible means used to restore my marriage. Anything I can do to help someone else is the only way I can express appreciation for the help given me.

[MrDarcy]

JamesM, I do realize that this may not be the problem. I googled (or altavistaed) the problem and found a site with a list of symptoms, many of which applied to my wife. However, these could also be the symptoms of a number of other things.

 

Like I said, she took a test a while back, which came back normal. I'm currently trying to look into what kind of test this was, but like you say, and also what some websites say, she could have a disorder despite the facts that the tests came back normal. I would never have considered this if it hadn't been for JamesM's post describing his wifes discovery. How did you come to suspect that this could be the cause James?

 

Now, I basically just want to know the best way to get to the bottom of this as quickly and efficiently as possible. I'm not asking anyone to speculate or give their medical opinion, I'm just asking if anyone has experience with thyroid disorders and what they did to overcome them. I would have accepted the test results as normal if it hadn't been for the fact that my wife had so many of the symptoms.

[Outcast]

Did she tell all her symptoms to the doctor and follow his recommendations for tests or did she go with the idea that its thyroid and only get tested for that?

 

There are so many conditions that can cause symptoms; some common and some rare that you really need to be sure the physician has covered off all possibilities and that you've gotten second and more opinions before you try the Web. Yes, you can get some good ideas from people, but you can also be steered badly wrong.

[tinktronik]

Mr. Darcy,

 

I have a diagnosed thyroid disorder that can cause a range of symptoms. Many times when I am leading my life "low stress" eating well and getting plenty of exersize , my levels are balanced and I feel great , I will go in for a exam and everything comes back from the lab right as it should be.However if I so much as slack off of any of these things , healthy diet ,lots of exersize and have any unnessecary stress added to my life, even earlier work hours , a fight with my spouse, ect., I can actually start to feel many symptoms and return to the doc to find indeed my TSH levels are unballanced . So yes, I would suggest that your wife return to the doc and request both a full work-up letting him in on all of her symptoms and if it comes to it ask for a referal to an endo as Outcast stated above. Good luck .Also , no one here can give a diagnosis , so you really should refer your wife to see her doc again.

[seven]

Right after the birth of both my kids, my thyroid went out of whack (blood tests confirmed it). First I was hyperthyroid [i had a radioactive iodine test] then it burnt itself out then I went to the other extreme of hypothyroid which I still am now, though very mildly. My joints used to hurt especially when waking up in the morning, swollen gland feeling, persistent malaise feeling which caused me to push myself harder to be "normal" which then made me more tired. It can affect your whole body. Anyway, I take a low dosage of synthroid (which is exactly like the hormone your body makes). It took a couple of months after starting the synthroid to feel back to myself again. After my second pregnancy, I became more hypothyroid but I was aware and we caught it right away. It leveled out a few months later and I was almost able to stop taking it at all.

 

There are autoimmune disorders involving the thyroid: Graves' Disease, Hashimotos. Thyroiditis is inflammation of the thyroid gland. There's also thyroid cancer (I think singer Rod Stewart had cancerous thyroid nodes a few years ago--he's okay now).

 

I agree with Outcast ... have your wife see an endocrinologist and get another opinion. Mistakes can be made and/or the thyroid levels can change. Also, it does though take time for your body to regulate and figure out what dosage works -- you have to experiment a bit. I still get blood tests every 9-12 months now (8 years later), but in the beginning, I'd get tested more frequently. Frankly, understanding thyroid stuff is quite confusing. I recommend this book: The Thyroid Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal. Your wife may also want to get a blood test to check for anemia too.

[JamesM]

Mr Darcy, you should be able to PM and receive PMs. Check your profile and make that possible.

[Michael426]

MrDarcy:

 

I have had a thyroid disorder for many years, and for the longest time I thought it was untreatable. I was gaining weight, losing my hair, becoming listless and extremely depressed because of the condition. My doctor kept adjusting and changing my medications, hoping that some combination would work.

 

After who know how many years, we finally hit upon the right combination. Within the past six months, I have lost over 100 pounds, my hair is back, I have energy beyond belief and life is great!

 

If your doctor isn't willing to try different things and keep trying and never give up until it works, then shop around for another doctor. Everyone is different and what worked for me may not work for you. But I am now confident that there is a solution for everyone, if you look hard enough.

 

(If you want to talk in depth about this, PM me or contact me on AIM at mjrbaseball.)

[MrDarcy]

Thank you for that great story, Michael, although it's worrying to read that it took several years to find the right combination. Thing is I don't even know that Thyroid levels are to blame yet, so we have to get to the bottom of that first. Were your symptoms obvious, was your disorder easy to diagnose?