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Posted 4/19/2012 11:59 AM (GMT -8)
Hi my name is Zach. I'm a male in my mid twenties and was diagnosed with Hasimoto's thyroiditis about 14 months ago. It took about 11 months for me to finally get on track by getting on both Cytomel and levothyroxine.

I thought I'd toss some details in in case it helps anyone: My endo adjusted the dosages based on my weight. I'm about 150 lbs, and so he put my levothyroxine at 88 mcg daily and Cytomel (aka T3) at 12.5 mcg daily, however the Cytomel is divided up into three dosages each day of 5 mcg / 5 mcg / 2.5 mgc. I take the levothyroxine at night because it is much more convenient than having to work my meal schedules around the levo pill. The Cytomel, I take 2.5 mcg in the morning then the 5's spaced evenly throughout the rest of the day to keep my energy at a decent level throughout the day.

I finally regained an appetite and emotional control back with this combo, but I still have some issues that won't go away like sleep problems, minor migraines, high blood pressure, constipation, etc. Each of these has improved slightly with my T3/T4 regimen, but I'm thinking there might be something else going on like fibromyalgia (wondering about fibro is what lead me to this board).

Anyway, if anyone has questions for me about my T3/T4 combo which worked well for me, please let me know I'd be glad to help. In addition, being in the minority with thyroid problems as a male, maybe I can have a slightly different perspective that could be helpful to someone (whether you're male or female doesn't matter to me - it's just another variable).
Posted 4/19/2012 12:56 PM (GMT -8)
Isn't it interesting the ratio of female to male posters here? I believe I've read that women are much more likely to suffer from all of the autoimmune conditions. Welcome to the board, Zach.
Posted 4/22/2012 7:59 AM (GMT -8)
Howdy, I'm Elbee. I'm in my early thirties and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in my mid-twenties. Honestly, I didn't realize I was sick. I didn't notice any symptoms until my thyroid swelled up like a softball on my neck. I went to the doctor, and after bloodwork results came back, she called me and seemed rather alarmed-- "You should feel horrible right now! Don't you feel bad?" Apparently, my TSH was through the roof, and my T3 and T4 were nonexistent. I also had very high thyroid autoantibody levels. Anyway, I started on Synthroid replacement, and I've felt fine -- thyroid-wise -- ever since. It has been incredibly difficult to find my Synthroid sweet-spot, my perfect dose, according to bloodwork (no matter what, my TSH is always high or low, never "in range"), but we keep on tweaking, and I feel okay.

I actually never think of my thyroid issues. I've been lucky to have my hypothyroidism easily managed. I ended up poking around HealingWell because I have some other suspicious autoimmune activity going on right now that is causing skin lesions (sort of like urticarial welts and purpura), godawful leg pain, tingling hands, blepharitis, and a general poopy feeling. Skin biopsies have indicated a connective tissue disease (my dermatologist is suspicious of dermatomyositis, but I don't have muscle weakness), so I hit the internet and ended up here.

I figured I'd say hi here, though, since I definitely have a thyroid problem! Hi, everyone!
Posted 4/22/2012 9:25 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome, Elbee. I had thyroid ablation with radioactive iodine for Grave's disease nearly 20 years ago and have done well on levothyroxine since then.

I'm sorry to tell you that for those of us with autoimmune thyroid problems (Graves and Hashi's) are much more likely to develop other autoimmune disorders. So welcome to the club, although I'm sorry you've become a member.
Posted 1/5/2013 5:46 AM (GMT -8)
Hi I'm Meghan, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1994 took synthroid for 19 years and since then was genetically tested and the tests revealed MEN 1 in 2010. Because I had tumors or neoplasms in my pancreas it had to be removed. To make a long story short, I now have an enlarged thyroid gland , ''goitrous'' and have had ultrasound of my thyroid, and parathyroid glands. I do not meet up with my physician until the end of February, so he can have a chance to look at all of the endocrine glands that blood work was taken for. Does anyone have any advice? I thank you all for your support.

Meghan sad

Posted 1/5/2013 7:52 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome to HealingWell, Meghan. I'm not that familiar with MEN, but I do feel for you because I know it's major. I'm sure you know that you have a greatly increased chance of thyroid cancer, but do you also know that most thyroid cancers are very curable?

I don't know if I'd be able to wait two months to see the doctor if all the tests are back. I think I'd probably be driving them crazy, calling every week to see if the results were in yet. Which probably wouldn't enhance my relationship with the doctor, lol.

Are you having any thyroid symptoms, either hypo or hyper? If not, you may have what's called a "euthyroid" goiter - one that doesn't affect the hormone levels. Goiters can also be caused by tumors or just normal but enlarged thyroid tissue. To make things even more confusing, they can be associated with either hypo or hyperthyroidism. The goiter is really a symptom, not the cause of problems.

I hope you'll find the support you need here. For more basic information, you may want to read through our "Thyroid Basics" thread at the top of the page.
Posted 1/5/2013 10:46 AM (GMT -8)
I hope I'm still welcome since I haven't been officially diagnosed, but I'll share my story.
My name is Lindsay and I'm 21, almost 22. I started having lots of crazy symptoms after going through a lot of stress and then getting very sick with a virus, which all took place from about December 2011 - May 2012. After that I have just not felt well, and I think I have hyperthyroidism. My levels are normal but I have a low TSH that has been dropping, as well as many hyperthyroid symptoms. I'm trying to get an appointment with a good endocrinologist and in the meantime, talking to people online helps a lot!
Posted 1/5/2013 1:48 PM (GMT -8)
Judy,
I am having thyroid symptoms and they are hypothyroid as of recent, but an endocrine doctor increased my throxine dosage and felt my neck without saying anything further. Because my former endocrine was not informed of my condition, and because they were passing my behavior off as psychiatric, I sought a new endocrine and pcp. My new endocrine and new pcp were very concerned about my thyroid because they could feel the enlargement.
I do understand that I am at high risk for cancer, because I had pancreatic cancer from MEN1 when I was born. I had my pancreas removed because of it. All that is left is a small piece that produces very little insulin. I also suffered from multiple autoimmune diseases in addition . IDDM, endometriosis, uterine cancer pcos, epilepsy, hypothyroidism, and within the past 3 years UC, and now an enlarged thyroid that may or may not have nodules or tumors. I'm a wait and see kind of person, because I have been through so much I know the wait times are long. It takes a few weeks for the pathology reports to be sent to the doctor after the tests are done, even though we have the speed of the internet nowadays And the pathologists have long lists of patients files and scans ultrasounds to look at, so that means waiting another few weeks for proper results to be documented.
So, yeah it will drive me up a wall waiting, but I will wait 8 weeks and speak to my endocrine doctor about what was found and what we need to do next. I too am one who has been through the mill and diagnosed with what feels like everything under the sun. But I thank you for the support you show.
Posted 1/7/2013 2:43 PM (GMT -8)
Hello ...Judy
I live In Pennsylvania and I got my Goiter taken out when I was in my 40's something, and now I'm 54. I was seeing a regular Family Doctor and she seemed to have things under control, and I was taking Syn thyroid at the time. But then I got laid off and been having trouble paying for my Syn thyroid medicine. So when I got another Physician I asked if he could put me back on Generic brand of what I could afford. So we did, but he checks my thyroid every 6 mos. but since I've been taking the Levothyroxin for the past yr, my hair seems to be falling out and my sex drive is down and I think it's affecting other things as well but not sure. I have Osteoarthritis on my left side and Glaucoma in my left eye. A friend of mine says it's just age, cause she says that when I tell her my levels are right, that I need to except that I'm getting older. I really get confused with all of this but trying to understand what is happening. Cause for me I even hear people talk and if like I can't even understand them sometimes. But I check other people on here to see if they have the same problems that I feel. MY TSH-1.18 levels and he said they are in range. Thanks for letting me post.
Posted 1/7/2013 5:09 PM (GMT -8)
Hi this is Chris. Not sure if this is ultimately the right board for me but I was prescribed Synthroid for very high TSH a few weeks ago. So i'm now in my third week of taking 75 mcg daily. After a couple of days I really though I was feeling much better but now I'm not so sure. I am still experiencing fatigue, heaviness in my legs, slight loss of balance and the occasional fibro symptoms as well as cold hands and feet. Even getting my insomnia under control recently hasn't seemed to help. Anyway i'm seeing the doctor again in 10 days and not even half way into the 6 week period for the synthroid to take full effect so I am trying to stay positive. If this is just some sort of chronic condition I will make the best of it. I wish everyone here the best of luck.
Posted 1/7/2013 7:43 PM (GMT -8)
Don't despair, Chris. It takes at least six weeks for the synthroid to reach a stable level in your body, and sometimes it takes several dosage adjustments to get you back to normal. In my case, I was very hyperthyroid, had ablation, then became very hypothyroid. It took about three months to get me to a good place, and I had my last dose adjustment about two years later. Unfortunately, there isn't a chart they can use that says if the TSH is "this" you should get "this much" synthroid.

Welcome to HealingWell, and I hope you'll find helpful information and support here.
Posted 1/10/2013 7:34 AM (GMT -8)
Judy,
I am awaiting a call from my endocrine as to the results of my thyroid ultrasound results today. I will let you know how it goes.

Meghan
Posted 3/13/2013 12:00 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Judy and all. I'm Memaw12 and I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I just started Synthroid yesterday. I live a couple of hours south of the Smokies.

I also have CFS, FM, MCS, OA, IBS, Type2 Diabetes, and a couple of other problems. I am glad I found a board with thyroid information. I am in the dark about this. My TSH is 5.78 and my Free T4 is 1.07. (I hope I got that right!)
Posted 3/13/2013 2:54 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome to the forum, memaw. You must live in my neck of the woods. I'm on the Cumberland plateau.

Check your lab report for reference numbers on your labs. They are what is considered the "normal" range for that test using the method used by that particular lab. People with hypothyroidism usually have high TSH and low free T4 compared to the reference numbers.
Posted 3/17/2013 10:00 PM (GMT -8)
Hi
I am a 42 years old female with SLE for 25 years, and I was just diagnosed with hypothyrodism. I started Levothyrodicine three days ago. I have most of the classical symptoms. I am still in the dark and trying to learn more about hypothyrodism as much as I can. I also have hypertension, APS, and some nerve damage from military TB.
I am glad that the med somehow starts kicking because my muscle cramps have gone. I am in the lupus forum, and I am happy that they have thyroid also.
Posted 3/18/2013 4:59 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome to the thyroid forum, omega. If you haven't yet, you may want to review the "thyroid basics" discussion at the top of the list. It will give you some basic information on thyroid issues. For those of us with other autoimmune disorders (which, interestingly enough, seems to be the majority here), the issue can sometimes be a bit more tricky. On the other hand, I had classical treatment for classical Graves disease and have done very well. I hope you'll have equal success with treatment for your hypothyroidism.
Posted 5/1/2013 2:17 PM (GMT -8)

Hey everyone, I found this forum and think that it's great.  The one thread I was following however was from 2011 and didn't have very much information...or follow up rather.

I am 33, and was diagnosed as hypo 6 years ago.  I remember sitting in my doctors office crying, begging him to at least test my thyroid before prescribing anti-depressants.  I knew something was amiss and it was only a matter of hours before he finally conceded. I have a new doc now smilewinkgrin

Anyway, I remember thinking to myself that this diagnosis really fit and helped me understand why I was gaining weight, my skin was snakelike, why I had acne like I was 15, possibly why my son was so premature....the list goes on and on. 

However, with a new doctor, who I love, but she admits she's not very experienced in with hypothyroidism, I am back to being quite symptomatic.  I am currently on 150 ug  of levothyroxine, my TSH is 3.9 and my T4 was over 11.  My doctor just refilled my prescription, but since I am back to feeling symptomatic I want to go in and talk to her.  After reading up on this, I now know that I should have had my free T3 level checked.   I just thought I would solicit thoughts on here as well.

Any one have experience with high TSH and high T4 while on levo?  Better yet, anyone experience this and have a good suggestion of where to go from here??  There are no endocrinologists in my town.  But like I said I think my dr will work with me to figure this out.  I just want to go in loaded with questions!

Current systems (and who knows if they are thyroid related, I'm listing them because they are frustrating and abnormal for me): weight gain, very dry scaly skin, acne, foggy head, can't concentrate, dry brittle hair and nails, heavy irregular menstrual cycles, huge mood swings, fatigue, irritable, low libido, pale skin, good lord this list is long!

Posted 5/9/2013 7:26 AM (GMT -8)
My name is Marcia, i'm 33 and just found out yesterday that I have Hypothyroidism.

 

I don't know anything about it. I have been googling like a mad woman since yesterday afternoon. I don't think that I have/had the regular symptoms. All I knew was that there was something wrong with me. My weight is always up and down, sometimes i'm lazy sometimes i'm not.

 

The only thing that even let me know something was off is the fact that since my partial hysterectomy 2 years ago (i got to keep my ovaries and the pms, yay) it seems like I am being thrown into massive PMS twice a month to the point of not being able to recognize myself in the mood swings. I could feel them coming on and knew full well that it was going to be a bad day.

 

On the suggestion of a friend I had my hormone levels checked and was told that normal levels are between 0.270 - 4.670 and that mine were currently 25.0, that being said I have no idea what i need to change or not change. I was given Synthroid 100mcg.

Posted 5/9/2013 11:05 AM (GMT -8)
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Are you referring to your TSH when you talk about it being so elevated? It's helpful if you give us the name of the test as well as the normal range and your reading. If your TSH is massively elevated, that means your body isn't getting as much thyroid hormone from the gland as it needs. TSH is secreted by the pituitary gland in your head and regulates the thyroid gland in your neck.

The panel you should have is TSH as well as T3, T4 and free T3 & T4. This is the minimum, and if necessary they can also do antibody tests to see if your immune system is making antibodies that destroy the thyroid's hormones.

You also may want to start a new thread in order to get more input on this topic from other members.
Posted 5/9/2013 6:39 PM (GMT -8)

Hi,
I'm Amanda, I'm 22 and I was just diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. I have been through a few blood tests as well an a thyroid ultrasound. I am going in for a thyroid uptake test next week and then a biopsy. The only thing that has been confusing my doctors is that I have been gaining weight instead if losing. Has anyone else had this problem and do you know why?

Thanks!

Amanda
Posted 5/9/2013 6:40 PM (GMT -8)
Oh, female by the way in case that helps :)
Posted 5/28/2013 7:16 PM (GMT -8)
 

 Hi Everyone,

 My name is Suzanne and I will be 65 yrs. next month ( yea ) !!! Anyway I have been dx. with thyroid nodules and the FNB showed benign in one... come to find out the endo didn't biopsy the other.

I have been having symptoms for yrs, but was thinking it was the B 12 anemia ( pernious anemia) that I was dx with 16 yrs ago. Now they have found 2 nodules ( 4x4 cm. and 2x3 cm) my endo only FNB the larger one ??? Don't understand but went with it. Now my symptoms have gone wacky. I never know have I will feel when I wake up, BUT a lot of the time I feel like crud.... extreme fatigue, thinning hair, muscle and joint pain ( I know I am 65 and there should be some pain But this is crazy) weight loss 33 lbs. since  Oct. 2012. My skin and nails have gotten so  

dry and thick I feel like a reptile...the list could go on for ever. I will see my endo next week.... he is a wait and see person. I am considering talking surgery.. as my nephew that is an ortolanthigist ( eyes nose and throat surgeon) and he was here in April and examined me and said if you came as a patient to me I would want it OUT. Ethics prevent him from treating me. Oh by the way all my test are within normal range, my TSH does go up and down...low to high normal..The pain in my neck is really upsetting, pain in my ear, lymph nodes on that side seem always to be very touchy. Cramping in my throat and choking at nite. Does anyone else seem to have the same symptoms?

Posted 5/29/2013 4:55 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome to HealingWell, Suzanne. I've never had nodules, but I think I'd be inclined to get a surgical consult also if medical treatment wasn't doing the job for me.

You might want to consider starting a separate thread with a title indicating your issue, as this will likely elicit responses from other members who have dealt with thyroid nodules.
Posted 6/4/2013 8:42 AM (GMT -8)
Hi, my name is Karma,

I have been struggling with hypothyroidism for 13 years and not struggling well. When I started on this road I was an athletic active individual. Fast forward 13 years and I am 110 pounds heavier, exhausted still, depressed, frustrated, and now battling pre-diabetes and fatty liver disease (oh, and I'm anemic on top of it). I've been through 6 doctors and just started seeing an endocrinologist last fall. I don't know why I waited so long to seek out a specialist, I just figured my general practitioners would help I guess. I have no idea why I am hypothyroid, no doctor has ever said I have hashimotos or anything and I don't think there have been any tests to say why either. I just had a slow thyroid for a few years and then 13 years ago, my "TSH" (the lovely test) said I was hypo.

On the bright side, my endo did listen to me about trying out a T3 approach. We tried cytomel for 3 months but I didn't notice any difference. He also sent me to a sleep specialist and now I'm on a CPAP which is helping. My synthroid has been increased to 175mcg and that seemed to help too. On the down side, as an idiot, I ran out of the 175 and didn't find my old scrip to send in (have to send to a mail order place per my insurance) so I've been taking the 137mcg in lieu until I can get back to my doc on Wednesday. I have noticed a huge decline since that happened. I am back to feeling like I'm carrying a refrigerator in 4 feet of snow when walking. Just standing is exhausting. When I explained all of this to doc the first time I saw him, he doesn't believe this kind of fatigue can be the hypothyroidism, but now that I've seen the medication impact, I KNOW it is. Why do the doctors refuse to listen to us?

I managed to drop 10 pounds from January and February and then messed up the meds and wasn't watching what I was eating, so now I'm up 14. I know the doc is going to yell at me on Wednesday. I am just so tired of fighting and failing. So, I am joining a support group. Something I should have also done a long time ago. I do see a counselor and we spend most of my time discussing how I cope with my health. I look forward to meeting you all. Thanks for listening.

Karma
Posted 6/4/2013 10:05 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome to the forum,
First thing I think that you need is stay on a specific dose for six weeks, then test your levels of TSH,FT3 and FT4.
Once you have those post them with reference ranges and we will be happy to evaluate your treatment.
It could be that you are not on the right dose for you, either over or under medicated, also with hashi you will need to adjust your dose several times until you reach the correct dose for you, this can take a while, to be sure whether you have hashi, ask to be tested for TPOab and TGab.
How did you reach 175 mcg/day? this is relatively high dose.

S
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