Thyroid problems?

[SiZzLE]

I am in the military, and of course they take your weight very seriously around here. If you are not weighing in in your "ideal" weight bracket, they send you to the hospital to give you blood tests and then put you on the "fat boy/girl" program (as we so lovingly call it).

I am wayyyy above my ideal weight (according to the military) of 155 (155 being my MAX weight allowed). I was sent to the docs where they did all sorts of test, one being the thyroid test. It came back normal. I have no idea exactly what kind of test they did.

I have been reading some of the symptoms of thyroid problems, like sleepiness, beeing cold, weight gainn, ect, and am wondering if this might still be a possible reason for my weight gain. I gained about 30 pounds in around a month or two. and have stayed consitently around 175-180 pounds, even on Atkins. I am VERY tired all the time, especially in the early afternoon, and take a 3-4 hour nap immediately after I get off work, then wake up, eat and go back to bed not long thereafter. I am tired even when I wake up after a full nights sleep. I get cold sometimes, but then again, I get really hot too, especially when I sleep. If it is not subarctic in the bedroom, I get horrible night sweats and can't sleep. Speaking of not sleeping, I tend to wake up 2-3 times a night unable to go back to sleep, and am very restless to boot. My doctor did prescribe me prozac to take care of what he thinks is PMDD (premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder(sp?), but I have stopped taking them since it doesn't seem to really do anything.

I haven't taken my temp 4 times a day to see what is going on there, but I know I am VERY tired of being tired all the time, very tired of not being able to lose weight, very tired of not sleeping well at night, and very tired of not knowing what the heck is going on. I am cold right now, actually have goosebumps on my arms and I am inside. I am just so tired :(

What I am wondering is could the doctors be wrong? Could there be a problem? And how do I convince them they could be wrong, because as you know, military docs are NEVER wrong (yeah right). I just want to live a normal life, and it's not happening for me right now. :(

[BaileyWS]

Sizzle ...

You need to find out what tests were given and what the numbers were. Most doctors give the TSH (measuring the thyroid stimulating hormone) and if it's in the normal range (something like .5 - 5.5) then all is well. however, the normal range is quite large ... and just because you test in the normal range that doesn't mean it's normal for you. Many women feel better if they test toward the low end of the normal range. Also, the doctor should test the levels of t3 and t4 as well as others in order to fully understand if the thyroid is working correctly or not.

The symptoms for hypo-thyroid are very similar to depression ... it makes sense that the doctor would see these symptoms as possible depression as well. Do you realize that you need to be taking the prozac for 2-4 weeks before you can expect to see results? There are side effects (of course) and you should tell your doctor if the side effects are bothering you.

Thyroid medication, too, take months to adjust ...

I suggest you tell your doctor that the medication didn't work for you ... find out what tests were done and what the results were ... tell him/her that you are still not feeling well ... document all the symptoms the best you can ... go with notes ...

[SiZzLE]

Thanks for the info :) Yes I do realize I have to take prozac for quite a while before it does any good :daze: . I took it for over a year, and didn't feel any better. Thanks for the advice though, I think I will go see the doc again and ask soe questions :) THANKS!!! :wave:

[BelleChere]

:confused: Sizzle.....

I have exactly the same symptoms as you. I was sure that I had hypothyroidism, and am not convinced that I don't. My TSH test came back at 1.1 which is normal. I have been taking my temperature and it ranges from 96.1 in the morning to 97.9 in the afternoon.
I have read about Wilson's Thyroid Syndrome but my doctor had never heard of it. She thinks my problem might be a serrotonin one but I don't feel depressed, just cold and tired. I don't want to take prozac so I am going to try 5-HTP for a while and see if it helps.
I have also read that Thyrolean can raise the body temperature. I may try that also, but have to be careful because I have high blood pressure.
Good luck trying to get a know-it-all military doctor to actually take suggestions from a patient. My husband was in the Air Force for 21 years and just recently retired so I am well aquainted with military doctors.

[yelena]

Chronic fatigue in association with weight gain, dry skin, mild hoarseness, or cold intolerance is most likely caused by hypothyroidism.
It would be nice if you could check your serum cortisol or/and even request dexamethasone supression test be done to rule out pitutuary-adrenal dysfunction. Panhypopituitarism can cause fatigue, lassitude, decreased libido, loss of axillary and pubic hair followed by symptoms of hypothyroidism later. High cortisol can also be associated with weight gain and fatigue.
Also, fatigue may be the initial symptom of hyperparathyroidism and other causes of hypercalcemia, hepatitis, renal or hepatic failure, heart failure especially if accompanied with fluid retention and peripheral edema.
Profound fatigue with low-grade fever and night sweats can be related to infectiuos diseases such as tuberculosis, Lyme disease, HIV. I doubt you would gain any weight with those though.
If nothing else found, you may just have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which is characterized by new onset of persistent or relapsing fatigue lasting at least 6 consecutive months in patients with no prior history of such fatigue. Associated symptoms may include migratory arthralgias, myalgias, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, new generalized headache, unrefreshing sleep, postexertional malaise, and impaired memory or concentration.

Laboratory workup for chronic fatigue would include at least CBC, ESR, CMP, TSH, hepatitis panel (if ALT/AST are elevated), HIV screen (if at risk), Monospot (if lymph nodes are enlarged).
Hope, this helps.

[darcijj]

Sizzle, I know where you are coming from... you sound alot like I used to be a year ago.. I had all those same symptoms.. plus dry skin, memory problems... would zone out... my body hair almost stopped growing .. my joints ached real bad all the time.. not to mention the weight gain and all the time spent in bed sleeping... my temp too ranged from 96.1-97.5 .. and Iwas talking Zoloft for depression too.... :(

when I went to my primary she really did not seemed interested in checking out my thyroid but did the tests anyway.. and of course they came back normal... lucky me... but I did not give up.. thanks to a website... www.thryoid.about.com.... lots of medical information and boards like this where people talk about this problem and how doctors dissmiss the test results..... Well I kept looking and went to one of the holistic doctors recommened by patients on about.com....

So its a year later and I feel great.. I am taking armour thyroid twice a day.. and adrenogen ( adrenal gland) supplements..... and I am OFF the zoloft :thup:

My new holistic doctor ( much closer, drove almost 2 hours for other one) suggested LC as the best diet for those with Thyroid problems... and Its working.. with the LC and the thyroid meds I can say I feel WONDERFUL... the weitht loss is a little slow but I will take it...

so don't give up.... do a lot of reading and don't let doctors dismiss how you feel.... oh and write down how you feel! people forget alot of their symptoms and signs when they visit a doctor...

Do your homework, list how you feel, be assertive with your Doctor and you may soon feel like this :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: too!

[cathyls]

Hi I'm new in here and happened on your post. I was told for about 20 years that my thyroid was perfectly normal according to all the blood tests. Little did they know that I had teenie tiny tumors throughout my thyroid that only could be seen on a thyroid uptake test. That is when they give you pills to take and then insert dye and catscan you . The radiologist said my thyroid looked like it had salt sprinkled all over it, and yet it was all tumors. Luckily they were all benign. I was given two radioactive pills to take and now take synthyroid and all the associated problems to thyroid trouble are gone. Then moral is, don't just rely on the blood test. Have a thyroid uptake taken, with some tumors that is the only way to see them.
Good luck
Cathy

[kellyherta]

Hello - read your post- - dont know if I can help but I can tell you my stroy - 5 years ago i found a lump on my thyroid - had bx and was told benign - I moved - changed dr. and in Dec/01 - I felt like the lump was getting bigger - had another bx - it came back malignant - I was quickly sent to a surgeon with all my prevous paperwork in hand - I happend to read it and noticed on the bx from 5 years ago that the pathologist said it was inconclusive and had recommened further bx - I was never told of this - anyway - had half my thyroid taken out in Jan/02 - the half left has hashimotos disease - I am now on thyroid meds - still low - takes a while to adjust - anyway.........be persistant - I now have a very good endocrinologist that I see and she goes on my symptoms and not just my thyroid levels -

good luck :wave:

[merrymutts]

Hi Sizzle !!

Where are you assigned ??? I work at the Ft Leonard Wood, MO hospital.

You should be able to ask for the test resuts whenever you want them.

I work in Release of Information and any soldier or family member who comes to me wanting a print out of their test results can get them. I am not allowed to "translate " the reports, though...although with the computer system anyone would be able to figure them out. The normal range is given and any Hi or Lo results are flagged on the print out.

If you have had any labs done, ask for a copy of them.