[bbvanb]

I'm a 25 year old Caucasian female. I believe that I am showing signs of some sort of thyroid issue, not because I desperatly want something to be wrong with me, but because I've always had that feeling that something is off, even when I was young. My symptoms are as follows: Fatigue, Heavy Menstration, Lower Back Pain, Constipation, Trouble Concentrating/Learning, Trouble sleeping, Mood Swings, Anxiety/Depression, Excersice Intolerance with red itchy rash on legs arms and chest, Weight Gain/Cravings for Carbs, Blurry Vision, Dark Circles Under Eyes, Dry Eyes, Brittle Nails and getting unbalanced and/or vision going dark upon standing.

I've actually been diagnosed with Clinical Depression, Menorrhagia and Herpes Simplex Type 1. I take Effexor 37.5mg once daily. I use a menstral cup that holds one ounce and I also use overnight pads. My period lasts 6 days and comes every 28-30 days. I empty my menstral cup every 1-2 hours for the first 2-3 days. I am not on any kind of birth control. I do not take anything for my cold sores because I do not get them often.

When I was an infant I survived Spinal Meningitus, my parents said I almost died.

When I was in college I contracted Mononucleosis.

I have a family history of Hypothyroidism, Anxiety/Depression, Irritable Bowl Syndrom, Diverticulitis, Colon Cancer, Gallstones, Diabeteis, Stroke & Dementia.

Here are my Thyroid Test Results:

Ordered Date: 06/10/2014 [11:45AM]
Test Name: TSH
Name Value Reference Range
TSH 1.870 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL

Ordered Date: 06/19/2014 [7:45AM]
Test Name: TSH+Free T4
Name Value Reference Range
TSH 2.560 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL
T4,Free(Direct) 1.08 0.82-1.77 ng/dL

Ordered Date: 06/19/2014 [7:45AM]
Test Name: T3 (Triiodothyronine),Free,Serum
Name Value Reference Range
Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum 3.4 2.0-4.4 pg/mL

Everything is in the "Normal" range...but I still feel like shit everyday.

 

[aparker01]

Do you have bad cramps? Pass clots?

Do you have any nodules, nodes, etc. growing in your thyroid?

Taking any natural supplements?

What type of food do you eat? Regular grocery store stuff, frozen processed foods or organic?

I had Scarlet Fever when I was a kid but I've never thought there could be a connection between that and my medical issues later in life.

I had severe endometriosis. 1 surgery to remove scar tissue and 2nd surgery was for hysterectomy leaving one ovary that had never been affected. Prior to the hysterectomy OB/GYN noticed my thyroid was enlarged and had a gamut of tests ran to clear issues related to thyroid. Found small nodules/nodes. Told to get regular blood tests and as long as they came back normal, I'd be okay.

2 years later and after all normal blood test results, I kept complaining I "just didn't feel right". Was told I had a high stress lifestyle and was depressed. Put on EFFEXOR - no help. I kept complaining to my GP until I guess they got tired of hearing it and sent me to an ENT. Dr. Hart in Frederick, MD. He was a lifesaver for me. Ran the whole lot of tests again i'd had two years previously and found known nodules had grown larger and was beginning to grow nodules on the other side. I had no idea cancer was a possibility. Now I don't know why I didn't realize it but I passed on getting a needle biopsy because we had planned on getting 1/2 removed anyway so I didn't see why we would do two procedures when we knew we were going to do the one anyway.

Well, test in the OR revealed cancer. Very early stage. Removed whole thyroid and did ablation therapy shortly thereafter.

have you seen an ENT? An endocrinologist? I would make sure you rule out any thyroid issues before looking in another direction or give up.

I'm not as educated as others are on other conditions that might be a possibility or a direction you might want to go in but I just wanted to relay my story because I "just didn't feel right" and was spot on.

PS: I also self diagnosed my endometriosis. I actually had the OB/GYN that I was seeing at that time when I came in for cramping so painful that I was crawling to the bathroom to throw up from the pain and passed out actually pat me on the head, tell me I was having a bad period and hand me a prescription for addictive pain pills. I wasn't having a bad period, I was ovulating and it was that painful.

As much as some might want to think you may be a hypochondriac, you have to rule out any serious conditions.

PS - I would highly recommend getting off of the anti-depressants. My personal opinion but I think they are very bad. I will never take an anti-depressant again. Please research any natural supplements or homeopathic medicine you can use in place of these awful chemicals.

A lot of people I know and see posting on these forums highly recommend naturopathy. perhaps you could look into that?

 

[Andros]

TSI
Normally, there is no TSI in the blood. If TSI is found in the blood, this indicates that the thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin is the cause of the of a person's hyperthyroidism.
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-antibodies/tab/test
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Trab
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684583
(Copy and paste into your browser)

TBG (thyroxine binding globulin) up, hypo............down, hyper
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003374.htm
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Believe it or not; I am thinking hyperthyroid.

If you can; get the tests listed above and also another current ultra-sound of your thyroid and that biopsy. Symptoms can and do cross over. Many of us gained weight w/hyperthyroid/Graves'.

Welcome and I sure hope you can get to the bottom of this. Keep us informed on your progress.

 

[bbvanb]

I have never been to a Gynecologist, Ear Nose and Throat Physcian or an Endocrinologist.

Do gynecologists perform thyroid examinations or is that specifically an endocrinologists job or ENT's job? I have never had a doctor actually palpate my thyroid so I don't know if I have any nodules.

My Primary Care Physician just recently made me a refurral to see an OB/GYN to get an IUD placed. But, I somehow doubt that just trying to fix my heavy menstration will be the cure all. But getting it under control would be a plus. I take 400mg-800mg of Ibprofin to get through the first few days of my period because the cramps are bad.

I take a probiotic off and on for a couple weeks if I feel a bought of constipation coming on, and I also take L-Lysine when I feel a cold sore coming on. But other than that, the only medication that I currently I take daily is the Effexor. I'm not sure I like it, but I've been on it for a couple years now and I'm not sure I can go through the withdrawl (just missing one pill throws off my whole body). I just don't know. I've been on Paxil, Celexia, and Zoloft and all of them have been very difficult to wean off of even at the small doses. I would like to be off anti-depressants all together, but I am afraid of myself off of them.

As far as my diet goes I'm not the best about eating what I should. I work 10 hour shifts at an animal hospital and I already have a difficult time getting through the day...so forget about cooking. I usually have a coffee and begal for breakfast, some sort of sandwhich and chips for lunch, another coffee, tea, or smoothie before dinner, then whatever my boyfriend makes for dinner (since I don't cook and he's a great cook), and sometimes I'll have a dessert like banana bread, ice cream or chocolate pudding. My boyfriend switches meals up between vegetarian meals and meat meals but we don't really eat much red meat. I don't eat a whole lot of fruits and vegetables either, but I do occasionally. But like I said before. I crave carbs carbs carbs.

As far as my body condition I'm 5'5" and I weigh 160lbs. I gained 20lbs within the last year. All of my weight goes to my stomach and love handles. I'd be happy to be 140lb's again, but I've kind of given up. I tried to diet and exercise 3x/week and I actually just gained weight. I feel bloated and chubby alllll the time.

Should I ask my Primary Care Physcian to run my Thyroid Antibodies, TRAb, and TBG levels? Or should I just ask for a refurral to an Endocrinologist?

Thanks for sharing with me.

 

[bigfoot]

I have never had a doctor actually palpate my thyroid so I don't know if I have any nodules.

FYI -- palpating is not exactly a slam-dunk way to spot nodules, or anything else for that matter. Imaging is far more thorough. I had an endo look at my thyroid multiple times with no nodules noted and said everything was fine. Which is funny, because when another doc ordered an ultrasound, it turned out I had several nodules and my thyroid was swollen.

You need to find a doctor who is an outside-the-box thinker and who listens. It could be an MD, DO, ND, endocrinologist -- it doesn't matter. While that's easier said than done, I'd go to the Nature-Throid and Armour websites and look over their list of prescribing docs. Then I would also look over the list on the Wilson's Temperature Syndrome (not to be confused with Wilson's Disease) and compare them. Not saying you have Wilson's Temperature Syndrome, but the docs listed are a good resource and should be open-minded. Beyond that, I'd call a couple of local compounding pharmacies and see if they can recommend any area docs.

If your PCP can run the various thyroid antibodies and refer you to an endocrinologist in the meantime, great. But I would still search for a good doctor, as who knows how the endo will turn out. You have a personal and family history of autoimmune issues -- this should not be overlooked and discounted. Plus, you have a lot of signs & symptoms that point to something physical going on. Last time I checked, mood issues don't cause back pain, rashes, brittle nails, exercise intolerance, vision problems, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if nearly every single one of us here has been offered psychotropic drugs by well-meaning but misinformed doctors. The good news is that if any sort of anxiety / depression is connected to a potential thyroid issue, then getting it under control should help greatly, if not make it vanish altogether. Another area to examine is cortisol / adrenals. Check out Dr. Richard Hall's research on anxiety and endocrine issues: http://www.drrichardhall.com/anxiety.htm

As far as nutrition goes, I know how hard that can be. You want caffeine and sugar to try and stay awake, and food & meals that don't need much preparation. So you chug the coffee, eat fast food, order pizzas, down chocolate bars, microwave TV dinners, etc. Tough cycle to break. More fruits and veggies probably wouldn't hurt, and neither would reducing the processed & sugary foods. Maybe limit caffeine intake. Exercise sounds good, but then is difficult to tolerate. You come back more tired than when you left. Just have to do what you can, with what you have while in this holding pattern. Little improvements here and there that you are capable of. With a proper diagnosis, good treatment, and ongoing monitoring things will start to seemingly come together on their own. Weight, mood, energy, skin issues, etc will get better. Positive thoughts headed your way and keep us updated!

 

[bbvanb]

Well. I'm still waiting for my referral to my OB/GYN. I still haven't had a consultation.

I did get a chance to look at what my PCP logged my vitals as during my last visit via Patient Portal. Looks like my temperature was 98.0F. I read up on Wilson's Temperature Syndrome. I think I will be printing out a temperature chart to log my temperatures.

 

[Octavia]

What's taking so long? Have you made the appointment, or do you have to wait for the referral to do that?

Have you looked into anemia?

 

[bbvanb]

My referral is still "pending" whatever that means. I have to wait for the obgyn to contact me. Ugh.

My pcp did test me for anemia and b12 deficiency, both results came back in the normal ranges. I can post the results if need be but it seems redundant.

This whole thing is frustrating and it's making me have doubts. Maybe this is just what normal feels like.

 

[Octavia]

Ugh is right!

No, this is not what normal feels like. Can you call the doctors' offices and push things along?

 

[bigfoot]

I agree -- I'd directly contact the doctor's office where the consult is going to be taking place. Sometimes putting a friendly bug in someone's ear can get things moving along. I'd also stress that you have really not been feeling well lately.

 

[bbvanb]

I've called the obgyn's office three times already. They told me to wait until someone called me. I just got off the phone with them for the fourth time and finally got an appointment scheduled. I told them I'd provide whatever information they needed over the phone and bring in whatever else they need to my consultation and it seemed to go more smoothly. BUT I still don't think it should have taken this long or been that difficult to send/receive a fax.

Day one of temp recording and my average temp is: 97.7F

Something interesting happened to me today while I was driving. I was running some errands and suddenly felt a panic attack come on. I felt like I was going to pass out while driving and I started to sweat and shake. I literally had to pull over and get out of the car because I thought I was going to be sick. It took about 20-30 minutes for me to calm down and drive home. I looked at the time and it was around 2:00pm, and I realized I hadn't eaten much of anything after breakfast. Could I have had a hypoglycaemic attack or just a plain panic attack. It was just so weird. This has maybe happened to me once before.

 

[bigfoot]

What you are describing sounds very, very familiar to me. Before I was diagnosed with Hashi's (they thought I was just hypothyroid, and not only that, they also had me under-medicated), I would get what seemed like panic attacks and bad anxiety literally out of nowhere. This was strange for me, as I wasn't one to be anxious before. That being said, thyroid isn't always the only culprit, as out of balance adrenals/cortisol or sex hormones can bring about some of these symptoms, too. Or even low blood sugar as you mentioned, especially with the sweating and shaking. There can be many pieces to the puzzle. Hopefully this endo will be able to help you put it together -- glad you finally got an appointment!

 

[bbvanb]

Well I made another appt with my pcp to get more blood taken for the thyroid antibodies and others mentioned above. Ill ask about a cortisol/adrenal. Test and maybe even get my blood sugar tested .

 

[bigfoot]

Sounds good, keep us posted, and good luck!

 

[bbvanb]

It has been a long time since my last update. There hasn't been much progress since my last post either. I was never called by the OBGYN for my IDU placement. I called my Primary Care office for a referral to a different OBGYN clinic and the same thing happened to me. My life is too busy to be dealing with incompetence.

I've been going through a sort of depression as well.

I asked my Primary Care Dr. for a referral to an Endocrinologist, which he declined due to my "medical record not indicating a need for such a referral." I gave my Dr. a list of my concerns, complaints and symptoms to no avail. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a hypochondriac and that nothing is wrong with me.

As the weather has been getting hotter I've been having more panic attacks and have been nauseated.

I'm starting to think that due to my list of problems/symptoms/concerns that it is just all in my head.

I have lost faith in diagnostics, medicine and even in doctors. They don't even care.