I think I may be hypothyroid. A couple of my medically-minded friends recommended I be tested and I have an appt. with my PCP the weds. after Thanksgiving to be tested.

I've done a little research and found that almost half of all women with endometriosis have hypothyroidism. I have stage 2 endo. I also match about half of the normal symptoms for hypo...including edema, low libido, frequent sinus infections, hot/cold sensitivity, hypoglycemia, short cycles (lately about 3 weeks), occasional difficulty swallowing, "spaciness," sleep issues...

But my big issue is weight loss. I recently completed a half marathon and was up to running 25-30 miles/week...yet I have been steadily gaining weight. Granted, running makes me hungry and makes me eat more (often more than I should and not always *what* I should, thanks to cravings), but even during months where I was eating well below 1500 calories on a daily basis, watching the carbs and running 15-20 miles/week I would gain or really struggle to maintain.

Weight has been a major sticking point for me all of my adult life. I was up to 185 and got down to 124 with strict low-carb and exercise, but could not maintain my weight loss and REALLY struggled just to get down to that low weight (I am 5'3.5" and medium framed, so 124 was by no means underweight). I could not maintain my weight with diet alone, so this past Spring I started running, which required higher carb levels and calories. Unfortunately, running has not helped me to lose weight and it seems nothing I do works. I hate feeling like I'm starving and eating super low calorie diets...I can't run if I don't get enough fuel (calories and carbs), but it seems that if I eat more than 1200 calories or so that I gain.

Anyhow...this is long and rambling and I know I need to actually wait for my test results to confirm my suspicions, but what sorts of advice can anyone share with me? Are there specific things I should ask my PCP and/or endocrinologist?

TIA,
Kirsten

The FAQ stickied at the top goes over the test and other things. Your testing probably won't include those unless you really agitate for them.

So would my PCP likely have to refer me to an endocrinologist, then? And would he likely do that if my basic results don't come back abnormal?

It depends on the PCP. Some feel confident to treat hypothyroid themselves. You're not necessarily going to get better care with an endocrinologist.

Also... you gained 10# of what? You're training, it could be muscle and water. Are you eating more carbs? That'd pack on a lot of water. Is it fat?

Do you have any of the symptoms of hypothyroid?

I have not trained for a half marathon but I have kicked up my exercise routines and have gained. Interesting, I can still fit in my skinny clothes. I am at the age for peri-menopause so I am sure it is fighting against me. I think that it is more important that I can maintain a degree of exercise. I know this doesn't help you at all, I just wanted to share my experience.

It's most definitely not muscle weight, unfortunately...I was a size 4, now I am wearing some 8s and my midsection is definitely bigger. It's smooshy stuff, too.

I listed the symptoms I have in my OP. I don't have the tiredness issues, dry skin, or brittle hair (my nails have always been brittle, so I think that might just be genetic) that most people have, but I do have endometriosis (which I know can be a risk factor as an autoimmune disorder), allergies/sinus infections, insomnia, edema, temperature sensitivity, and non-existent libido, even though I thought oral contraceptives (which I took for my endo) were the cause of that, but I stopped almost a year ago and my sex drive has not returned.

So my thyroid test results came back perfectly normal. TSH of 1.899 and free T4 of .8. Neither is even borderline high.

Guess this means I just have a really crappy metabolism that even running doesn't have much effect on, unfortunately. No wonder the women on my dad's side of the family have such a difficult time with weight--by comparison I am tall and svelte.

So still no obvious cause for all of the other issues, either. I had really been hoping to find some explanation for many bothersome symptoms that fall under hypothyroidism.... Poo.

As a thought...
You might want to try something like the Paleo diet and see if that helps. I know a lot of people have weird, seeming random symptoms find that some sort of food issue is the underlying cause.

I'm going to look into that. I'm beyond frustrated. And if I have to hear my 5'8" 61 year old MIL bitch one more time about being 140 (which is less than I weigh) I might have to strangle her!

k

Current TSH range 0.5 to 5.0 has been considered too wide, so many cases of mild hypothyrodism are missed. Many cuting edge Endos consider anything around or 2 to be a sign, and over 3 warranted for supplementing with thyroid hormone, especially om presence of symptoms.
As for free T4 the reference range 0.8 - 1.5 ng/dL, so if yours is in the same units, it is rather borderline low, which alone can indicate a problem. I don't know how old you are, but if you are middle age or close, it can be very well due to begining of perimenopause and thryoid problems arise during this time too, as well as overall hormonal imbalance.
I would find a good Endo and go for further testing: FT3, antibodies, uptake. If it is indeed your thyroid, it can cause other health issues beside weight gain. so it is worth cheking out and supplementing if needed.
I've also read that most cases of hypoT are due to iodine defficiency, so eating more iodine containing food alone can resolve your problem.
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tnam...=69#foodsources
Also, avoiding goitrogens that inhibit normal thyroid function, is good idea too. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47


http://www.altsupportthyroid.org/tsh/tshmedrefs1.php#2
HTH

Thanks, Dina. I'm still trying to decide whether I want to pursue additional thyroid testing or look into other potential issues. I have had several people in the past suggest estrogen dominance (which would also be a contributing factor to my endometriosis and adenomyosis), but this seems to be very poorly understood. I have tried natural progesterone creams in the past, too, but from research I have done it appears that one would have to use a LOT of the cream to see any change in blood estrogen levels and that gets very $$.

My current OB/gyn seems to be clueless about endometriosis in the first place, so I'm trying to find a new doctor who can at least get me a referral to an endocrinologist if need be (and even a friend of mine in the area who also has endo is struggling to find a practitioner to help her. I love my PCP, but reproductive medicine is not his specialty, unfortunately). It sure would be nice to be rid of the weight issues, low libido, and acne (btw, I'm 33...had very little acne as a teenager, but have been plagued with it all of my adult life). I'm still very suspicious that there is something hormonal at work.

k

Are you doing any weightlifting or resistance training? With running, your body adjusts to it, so it gets harder and harder to burn the same number of calories. When you lift weights, you can always increase them and keep challenging your body. And increased muscle mass will make you heavier, but smaller, and make you burn more calories even at rest.
Sometimes, weightlifting gives a libido boost - it has some effect on testosterone.

I also enjoy running, although I can't do as much as you can! I hope you start feeling better.

Your symptoms didn't hit me as typical hypothyroid symptoms; just about all the hypos I know are exhausted, have brain fog, memory problems, hair problems. OTOH I would feel awful with my T4 where your level is. Some don't feel good unless their TSH is quite low. You may be becoming hypothyroid and your tests are lagging a little. Thyroid tests aren't that expensive, if you want to cut through the dr mess and just get tested you can get the info for about $120. Mainly you should know your free T3 and if you have antibodies to thyroid. It would help you to be able to cross this off your list.

Since you said a lot of your wt gain is on the abs- have you had your insulin levels tested along with a glucose tolerance test? Maybe your so carb sensitive the extra carbs are messing you up.

Did you have the whole hormone panel? I tested out as high estrogen for my age 44 and have had a bunch of gyno tumors. She suggested going on the progesterone type of pill. My body type is all the fat is around my hips and the top of my thighs, I've been told that its estrogen that makes you store fat there.

Weight gain around the stomach is also an adrenal thing and also related to steroids (actually cortisone is secreted from the adrenal gland). Are you taking any meds for anything?

There are some rare conditions that can cause adrenal problems but they're pretty rare.

I've also heard of women, especially women, who over train and under eat get really sluggish at burning calories. Lyle McDonald talked about that a lot.

I've been thinking about this for a few days and wanted to be sure that I didn't leave the wrong impression.

Your T4 is low normal, not normal. Most people feel good with the numbers in the top third of the test values.

Its possible that your pituitary hasn't increased tsh output yet beyond the normal, but will in the near future. Hopefully you will get regular thyroid tests. In 6 months or a year you may see it increase. Many people have their tsh adusted at or below 1.0.

T3 is the form of thyroid that the body uses. It is critical to bodily function. Without that data you have half the picture of what your thyroid is doing. Many people don't convert T4 to T3 well. Meaning it is likely your T3 will be below normal.

Hashimoto's is the most common form of thyroid. It is possible to have it with normal thyroid values. Some drs treat with thryoid meds at this stage to prevent the disease from progressing.

I find that your dr didn't test for T3 and antibodies indicates that they do not treat for that and wouldn't help you. Some drs treat by symptoms some by numbers. Endocrinologists--well think about how diabetics are being treated, those are the same people treating thyroid according to tsh.

www.thyroid.about.com has lists of drs by state that patients recommend and from what they write you could find one in your area.

Some holistic drs would probably already be treating your thyroid.

One usually has to be aggressive to receive thryoid treatment.