thyroid questions?

[sunflower4]

Hi everyone,

I have not been feeling well for 6 months now. I finally went to the dr. yesterday and he thinks it is my thyroid. I get the blood tests back on Thurs.
Does this sound like thyroid? Here are my symptoms:
-Latest one is numbness & tingling in hands and feet, bad circulation, cold
-headaches
-fatigue
-hair breaking
-dry skin(always have)
-blood sugar crashes
-brain fog
-allergy symptoms w/ no allergies(sinus, postnasal drip, itchy nose) have to take clariton
-weight gain (8lbs) can't get in ketosis or stay there for long
-back/neck tension
-swollen glands in neck
-yeast infections every month since being on antibiotics this fall

I actually am really hoping it is my thyroid and I can take something to feel better. Also Dh thinks it is all stress and I am a hypochondriac which really bugs me. I started to feel bad 6 months ago and each month I seem to pick up a new symptom. Any of these familiar to anyone?

[slimwithin]

Hi there, :roll:

I am 41 years old and when I started the atkins WOL I weighed in at 265,
I am now down to 242.5 after 7 weeks.
I was officially diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Oct of last year. Then I weighed 257.
I had a doctor 6 years ago tell me I was but she never gave me any medication for it or suggested I needed it.
Last year I spent in a fog as you put it. I would get up in the morning and get my 4 kids off to school (9-17) then I would sit and watch a bit of the Today show. I say a bit because I would start watching at around 8 am and wake up around 2 in the afternoon. Just in time to grab a shower and be dressed by the time the kids came in the door. I got nothing done, unless I did it in a hurry between kids, homework and dinner when my husband got home.
Then I would be ready for bed again by 10 pm and sleep all the way through till morning. Each weekday was like this. Weekends I would sleep at least 2 hours in the afternoon.
This was not like me at all. Each year I would get a little heavier, even if I walked in the mornings and watched what I ate. (smaller portions, low fat)
I got tired of being tired and I searched the web for a doctor in my area and I found Dr G.
Now I am on Armour, I feel better, my hair is not falling out as much, and between the meds and Atkins I am finally losing weight.
My symtoms were as follows;
-no energy
-fatigue
-hair loss(the hair on the bathroom floor was not my husbands)
-cold
-poor circulation (swollen ankles)
-weight gain even with exercise (My Dh was unemployed for 9 months-we lifted weights and walked 3-5 miles each day)(then I slept)
-loss of interest in sex

Anyway, this has been my experience, I am on 60mg of Armour now and my levels are still between 7 and 8.
But I feel better, stay awake most days and now get my work done as well as exercise. Usually walk between 3-5 miles each day either outside or in on the treadmill.
Hope this helps. :lol:
I was afraid I was a hypochondriac (as my mother certainly is) but when my levels came back Dr G assured me I did the right thing by looking him up and making that first appointment. He said I would be back to my former self before I knew it. And he likes that I started doing Atkins. :yay:

[kay3osu]

hi sunflower! OMG, i read your symptoms and it's 100% me to the T. i can't believe you live in dublin. i used to and am now in grandview/arlington area. please let me know how things turn out. the reason i went to this section is because i am starting to take my temps and was 95.6 last night and now about 97.5. mornings have been 96 ish usually.

slimwithin, does lowcarb lower metabolic rate? well, hope you both feel better!!
and thanks for any advice...K

[wholper]

Just a word of encouragement to those of you who get accused of hypochondria. This is a common, but frustrating, response by both spouses and doctors.

Remember that actual hypochondria is a specific mental illness, the diagnosis of which requires that you meet at least one symptom in each of 23 different categories.

There is also something called "somatic influence" in which anxiety over an existing condition can worsen the symptoms of the condition by about 15-20%.

Other than the two above mentioned somatic effects on illness, this mythical illness of the neurotic patient who is constantly ill, constantly complaining about some mystery disease, and does not seem to be happy unless a doctor is prodding or prescribing something, does not clinically exist…although many MDs believe in it and diagnose it. My best guess is it was created by popular media influences.

In almost all cases, individuals with mysterious symptoms who "just feel bad" but have nothing medically wrong with them, are eventually diagnosed with legitimate illnesses...however, the average difficult to diagnose individual will see 27 different MDs before finding the one who correctly identifies the problem.

I hope this offers a little encouragement to those struggling!

[CONILUV]

I go to my doctor for my yearly checkup tomorrow and I am hoping that a change or the addition of Cytomel will help my symptoms. The weight gain is the worst, for me. I love summer and I hate looking like an apple in a bathing suit.
I have lost 15 lbs on Atkins in 2 months. Need to lose 30 more, but my body does not want to let go of the weight. This is typical from everything I have read.
about.com has lots of information on thyroid.
Also, use this site and type in a keyword. I typed in Thyrolar and Cytomel and got lots of good information.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day.
The luck of the Irish to you!

[sunflower4]

Hi everyone,
My doctor ran some more tests and a catscan revealed lots of cysts on my ovaries. Still waiting for it to be confirmed by my gyno but it looks like it might be PCOS. Could explain a lot of my symptoms.