Yesterday I was diagnosed hypothyroid. I am quite sure there are sevearl people on t.com dealing with the same thing. I have been struggling with weight loss especially recently. For YEARS I have been dealing with being cold all the time. I go to the endocrinologist every 2-3 months. We talked about Raynauds but I don't really have the symptoms. When I was at the doc 3 month ago he says your hands don't feel cold. I said not they are not cold. If you will notice I have been sitting on my hands during our visit because they were so cold. LOL!
The numbers on my thyroid had been gradually dropping but the good doctor didn't want to put me on thyroid meds until necessary.
After doing a little research I was amazed that I have tons of the symptoms. I am a bit surprised that my numbers have just dropped the level of diagnosis when I have been having symptoms for so long. I recall a job I had about 8 years ago. I was wearing a coat in the building. My boss offered his space heater to me and that allowed me to stay warm without a coat in the building.
I was actually pretty down yesterday when I found out. I have been able to stay off meds all these years.
I has at a bookstore yesterday and happened to notice Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser coach) book Mastering your Metabolism. Jillian was diagnosed with a host of hormonal issue after the first season of BL. That is what prompted her to do the research and create her latest book. It actually helped me put ting in a new perspective about the meds. I am looking forward to seeing if this helps with many of the symptoms that I have been having.
I just thought I would start a thread and see if any of my fellow t.com friends are dealing with thyroid issues or other hormonal issues.
Love you guys!
For those of you that are curious here are a list of potential low thyroid symptoms
Fatigue
Weakness
Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
Coarse, dry hair
Dry, rough pale skin
Hair loss
Cold intolerance (you can't tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
Constipation
Depression
Irritability
Memory loss
Abnormal menstrual cycles
Decreased libido

I have hypothyroid and Hashimoto's. My doctor is pretty open and has let me take charge of my health in this area. We monitor my numbers every 2-3 months and all is well. I am very cold all the time and dropping weight/insulation has certainly contributed to the coldness factor. Don't get too down. Just another bump along the way.

Sounds like your doc is on top of things. Balancing the thyroid can be a challenge for some women - I have a friend who's going through this now. Be aware of how you feel and defiantely call the doc if you experience anything uncomfortable or out of the norm for you.

Thanks Sharen - I have been dealing with this cold for a while. This winter was probably the toughest. I have lost quite a bit of insulation and plan to lose more. Perimenopause and hypothyroid are just a little speedbump nothing I can't overcome. It will be nice to see if this medicine helps. I was really surprised when I did a little research on the symptoms. I knew some like cold and trouble with weight loss but didn't know some of the other things.

Kathy, I don't have thyroid issues but my hormones have been out of whack since I was 6-7 years old. It's a genetic thing from my mother's family. It makes weight gain very easy, weight loss difficult. Very discouraging sometimes to see the scale move up or my clothes not fit when I am exercising and eating well.

Hi Kathy,

My thyroid is funky too, and I am searching for answers as well.

I am like you. My symptoms have been going on way longer than what the numbers were showing. May I ask...have you had an ultrasound of your thyroid done? I recently changed doctors because of a move across the country. The first doctor didn't do the ultrasound, (the one who put me on the meds) but this doctor said whenever she puts someone on meds for hypothyroidism, an ultrasound comes right along with it.

We did an ultrasound last week. There are two masses on my thyroid, and I have to have even more tests done. Of course, she's not sure, but she said people have masses often and they turn out to be nothing. It's good to get a baseline though, in case something is going on.

I will say that losing weight is REALLY hard for me too. When I focus on just that, it can make me quite blue. However, I am sooooo thankful I am doing this process. I know my moods are better, my energy level is higher, and my overall health is way better than it could be if I weren't doing anything while dealing with this thyroid problem.

I didn't realize Jillian had written a book about it. I will have to check it out. Thank you.

Keep doing the program, and asking questions. Work with your doctor, and I'm sure you'll / we'll find a solution.

Please keep us posted.

Sincerely, Alicia

I am almost in heaven - I have been so cold for so long! It feels so good to not be freezing all the time!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathytnt Yesterday I was diagnosed hypothyroid. I am quite sure there are sevearl people on t.com dealing with the same thing. I have been struggling with weight loss especially recently. For YEARS I have been dealing with being cold all the time. I go to the endocrinologist every 2-3 months. We talked about Raynauds but I don't really have the symptoms. When I was at the doc 3 month ago he says your hands don't feel cold. I said not they are not cold. If you will notice I have been sitting on my hands during our visit because they were so cold. LOL! The numbers on my thyroid had been gradually dropping but the good doctor didn't want to put me on thyroid meds until necessary. After doing a little research I was amazed that I have tons of the symptoms. I am a bit surprised that my numbers have just dropped the level of diagnosis when I have been having symptoms for so long. I recall a job I had about 8 years ago. I was wearing a coat in the building. My boss offered his space heater to me and that allowed me to stay warm without a coat in the building. I was actually pretty down yesterday when I found out. I have been able to stay off meds all these years. I has at a bookstore yesterday and happened to notice Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser coach) book Mastering your Metabolism. Jillian was diagnosed with a host of hormonal issue after the first season of BL. That is what prompted her to do the research and create her latest book. It actually helped me put ting in a new perspective about the meds. I am looking forward to seeing if this helps with many of the symptoms that I have been having. I just thought I would start a thread and see if any of my fellow t.com friends are dealing with thyroid issues or other hormonal issues. Love you guys! For those of you that are curious here are a list of potential low thyroid symptoms Fatigue Weakness Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight Coarse, dry hair Dry, rough pale skin Hair loss Cold intolerance (you can't tolerate cold temperatures like those around you) Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches Constipation Depression Irritability Memory loss Abnormal menstrual cycles Decreased libido

Hi, Kathy. Ive had hypothyroidism for about 6 years now and I pretty much had every symptom you list here. It was awful Took the doctor about a year to regulate my meds but the last few times I went for my check up which is every 6 months he had to increase my dose of medicine. Im now up to 125 mg. I feel fine now but I can always tell when my levels are "off" because I wil get some of the symptoms and sure enough when I go to the doctors he tells me my levels are off. Once your medicine kicks in and your levels get to normal, you will start feeling the difference. It will take some time but you will get there. ~Shannon

Kathy- This is a very timely thread for me as just last week my Dr said that my thyriod is probably out of whack. Like, you I have had the same symptoms: I am cold all the time, I have been moody and depressed, I am very tired, my weight loss has totally stopped, hair loss and cycle irregularities.

It took me a while to realize what was going on. I attributed the cold to just being winter. I have kept the house temp several degrees higher than last year, but thought it was just that we had a new, more correct thermostat. I would constantly ask the kids if they were cold because I was FREEZING all the time. I hav ebeen taking my temp for the last week, several times a day and my average body temp is around 96.5.

The tiredness and moodiness I thought was a result of having to stop running due to my stress fracture. And my cycle irregularities, I had been told were probably due to perimenopause (and I am only 35).

It was not until two weeks ago when I got my air cast off and I started running again, and things did not change, that I figured that something deeper was going on. I work with a Dr that is on the natural side. I emailed her and she said it was probably my thyroid. I have yet to have the bloodwork done, but I am pretty sure that that is what it is (I has had this problem after the birth of my first son).

We are going to try to treat it naturally first, with diet and proper supplements. I am hopeful that that will work. But, my diet is pretty good right now, so we will see. I have been doing a lot of reading on the subject and am increasing my intake of certain foods and fats.

I would love to hear what your Dr ends up doing Kathy. Please let us know. And know you are not alone!

Katie just like you my average body temp is low. If I was 98.6 I was actually running a fever.
Shannon he is starting me at 75 mg. I am not sure how much of meds taken by mouth I absorb due to my bariatric surgery. We will just play it by ear. The only thing I have noticed so far is that the issue with cold is reduced.
I have been taking a supplement that was supposed to support the thyroid and it seemed to help with my dark circles under my eyes but apparently didn't help my thyroid that much.
I have been playing with my diet and reading Dr. Wolfe's book - The dietary changes and reduced sleep during the Dallas Summit might be the reason for my fatigue at this moment.

Hi, ladies! I, too, have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I think I have probably had it since I was in college (20 years ago), but I was just diagnosed about 3 1/2 years ago. When I was in college, I went to the doctor once when I was ill. A nurse took my blood pressure and resting heart rate, and then the doctor came in and seemed very concerned. He asked if I was an athlete. I told him I was a recreational runner, and he said, "Oh, okay. That probably explains your really slow heart rate and low blood pressure. If you weren't a runner, I'd want to do further testing." (Bradycardia is a symptom of hypothyroidism, and it can cause low blood pressure.) I should have asked him to do further testing, because I suffered so many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism (intolerance to cold, fatigue, depression, difficulty keeping my weight down, frequent infections, skin problems, etc.), but I didn't know what was causing them.

Anyway, I am on medication now, and I feel a hundred times better than I did 3 1/2 years ago, but I still have days where my energy is low. Most days, I feel good, but every now and then I'll get hit with fatigue. I'm just happy that most days I have enough energy to clean my house and run my kids to their activities, because before I started on thyroid and adrenal medication (I also have adrenal insufficiency), I felt like a zombie. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I hadn't slept -- like all the life had drained out of my body. So really, I'm not going to complain about a day here and there where I am extra tired, because every day used to be like that.

Anyway, now I encourage anyone who eats well and exercises, but struggles to lose weight, to have their thyroid hormone levels checked. I used to weigh everything I ate, track my calories, and exercise, and I would beat myself up because I couldn't lose weight. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I didn't know that a little gland on my neck could wreak such havoc on my health.

Best of luck to all of you who have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Just know that you will feel better once you figure out which medication (and which dose) is right for you.

Hi Ladies! Although I don't have this medical issue, I do have other ones that require finding the right meds, at the right doses which in and of itself is its own challenge - so that part I understand. I just wanted to drop in and let you all know that I am sending you love and light as you each move forward in becoming more healthy as you take on overcoming health issues such as these. I love you all! Kateri

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Originally Posted by kathytnt Katie just like you my average body temp is low. If I was 98.6 I was actually running a fever. Shannon he is starting me at 75 mg. I am not sure how much of meds taken by mouth I absorb due to my bariatric surgery. We will just play it by ear. The only thing I have noticed so far is that the issue with cold is reduced. I have been taking a supplement that was supposed to support the thyroid and it seemed to help with my dark circles under my eyes but apparently didn't help my thyroid that much. I have been playing with my diet and reading Dr. Wolfe's book - The dietary changes and reduced sleep during the Dallas Summit might be the reason for my fatigue at this moment.

Kathy, it will take time but your doctor will get it under control for you. I had to be very patient but finally got it under control.

Kathy - I feel your pain! When I was 17 I began to have strange symptoms but it wasn't until a year later that my allergist realized I had nodules on my thyroid (lucklily they were non-cancerous tumors). I was originally diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, but once I left for college it took a turn and they rediagnosed me with hypothyroidism (I can tell you hyper was better than hypo in my opinion!). I was on medication for about a year and then when I was 19 I had a partial thyroidectomy. My mom didn't want them to remove the whole thyroid becasue she worried about me being able to have children. Once I had it partially removed I fairly quickly balanced back out to a normal level and I haven't had any issues since. I'm now 28 and have a 3 year old. I don't know what your doctor has suggested to you, but I worried about the options I was told because the first was to drink this iodine solution that was supposed to kill the whole thyroid - the down side being there was a very long period of time where you couldn't exercise. Then there was also the possibility of it growing back and still being a problem. The other option they gave me was surgery and complete removal followed by being on medication for the rest of my life. In my case I was lucky and still have half a thryoid that works. You should definitely research your options and speak with your doctor, you may also want to get a second opinion. Things have certainly changed since I had the surgery in the medical field and I am no expert, so I would consult your doctor about all of your options - and get more than one opinion. Good luck and let us know how things progress! ~Jacquelyn

Hi, Kathy. Thanks for the thread! I wish you much success in resolving this condition. www.ultrathyroid.com (Dr. Mark Hyman) is a great info. source.

Before being diagnosed, I had multiple symtoms: freezing cold, no energy/constant fatigue, hair fell out all day and by the handful when washed. So exhausted I couldn't get out of bed before noon or 1 pm (even later). Suddently gained 20 lbs. in just one month. Was very bloated and puffy with dark circles under my eyes. Felt really frightened that something bad was wrong. Suffered alone for months. Tried many different supplements and even Chinese herbs. Unfortunately nothing worked. Finally went to the dr. for an annual physical. She only checked the TSH level and declared it was 'fine'. I discovered that: 1) there are FOUR different thyroid blood levels that need to be tested, not just one! 2) She was using the old scale which meant my level was much lower. I insisted on further testing. Then discovered she really didn't know anything about this. Very frustrating! So, I empowered myself and changed doctors. He was great initially. But after 6 months of still being tired and very fat, he would not listen or make changes. So I switched doctors again. This one (female) has had advanced training and is fabulous. I'm now on 185 mg. of Armour thyroid (natural, dessicated not synthetic drugs). Frustrating, expensive challenge because it is not currently available and must be compounded. Expensive and there's no quality control, so the quality varies. I also changed Pharmacies and it made a positive difference. Feel great, but losing the weight has been extremely hard no matter how much I starved myself and worked out before finding T.com. (I'm now 45 lbs. overweight; was 52 lbs. at my all time highest after having been 5-10 lbs. under weight my entire life! So disappointing). Hoping and praying that following Transformation will help my body release the extra weight. Hang in there and keep trying until you find the solutions that work for you! - Nancy

Kathy, On a positive note, so glad you found an answer to what was 'off' in your system. And that you're working with an endocrinologist. Best of luck in finding the ultimate solution to resolve this! Let us know how you progress. - Nancy

Nancy I had a doctor put me on Armour thyroid several years ago and it helped but that doctor wanted you to pay cash rather than take insurance and it got very expencisve even out he gave a discount. My current endocrinologist has concerns about Armour thyroid, possibily because of the quality issues you mentioned and really not available like is was when I was taking it.
The cold situation is resolving but the fatigue, and weight issues etc. had not resolved. I have only been taking it about 2 1/2 weeks. I have a very active job so extra energy would be nice.

Thanks for all the comments on the thread ladies - It helps me and others to know we are not alone.

Thanks for the info. about Armour thyroid, Kathy. It's very helpful to find out more from others about all of this. Great to know we're not alone and that there IS a solution!

BTW, other symptoms I had include very dry hair and skin, plus brain fog and slooow speech (yes, slower than my Texas drawl)!

I have hypothyroidism and have been on meds for almost 20 years. I started on Cytomel then because of an insurance change, doc changed me to Synthroid (many many years ago). I only had one adjustment in all those years and then after blowing off my blood work this past year, I went the day I flew home from Dallas to have it done knowing my doc would was probably over calling in my refills and boy did my T4 tank. It is almost non-existent. I have been sick A LOT in the past year and this could be a contributing factor. Anyway, my doctor increased my Synthroid and I am hoping that I stablize soon. I was sick with a bad stomach virus about a week before Dallas and got a cold the day after I got back from Dallas which I am still dealing with - UGH! Be patient as it can take a few weeks of being on the medicine to start feeling more "normal". I should have known too, but it is hard to pick out those symptoms apart when I have been sick. I was just attributing everything to the colds and other viruses I kept getting.

Keep us posted and be sure to follow the instructions on how and when to take your medicine - and remember if you are on Synthroid, DO NOT HAVE ANY ANTIACIDS WITHIN 4 HOURS or it is as if you never took your Synthroid. Read all of the information though because there are other things that interact.

One of the challenges I have been having is trying to figure out which supplements to take when. I have to take a lot of vitamins including iron. You are not supposed to take iron with thyroid meds. Calcium reduces the absorption of iron. I have been feeling tired a lot lately but I am trying to do so many things. The only things I have definately noticed is I am not as cold as I used to be. I have been taking the meds for about 3 weeks now.

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Originally Posted by kathytnt One of the challenges I have been having is trying to figure out which supplements to take when. I have to take a lot of vitamins including iron. You are not supposed to take iron with thyroid meds. Calcium reduces the absorption of iron. I have been feeling tired a lot lately but I am trying to do so many things. The only things I have definately noticed is I am not as cold as I used to be. I have been taking the meds for about 3 weeks now.

I keep my Synthroid out on the dresser so that when I get up in the wee hours of the morning to wee (haha), not long before I get up anyway, I take it then so that by the time I get up at least an hour has past. I think my mother does the same thing. The hour works for food but not your supps. That you would have to wait longer. Maybe take those with your M2 or M3. It is a little bit of a pain, but it is worth it.