Seeking Info on Thyroid Disease

Well I have had these symptems as well and I do have thyroid disease. But with a 14month old it could be from the pregnancy as well? You may want to see an endroconolgist Gland Dr. They can help a lot.
J. S

I have a thyroid that needs help too. Other symptoms include weak nails, eyebrows that are thinning at the edges, dry skin and ridges on the edges of your tongue where your back teeth press into it. I saw Dr. Shipman at Shipman ENT and he does a thorough thyroid blood panel and does a great job of listening. I know it seems strange to go to an ENT for an endocrinology issue but it is in your neck so he takes care of it. There are a lot of differing opinions about the range of normal for thyroid function so make sure you see someone who will listen to your symptoms too. It may be that pregnancy made your thyroid go a bit bezerk for awhile too.

I have thyroid disese, and can tell you that having it checked is not that big a deal. I is VERY important that you get it treated if you have it. It can mess up your heart among other things so go get it checked it will be worth every penny. Other symptoms are: irregular heart beat, night sweats, grouchiness, or mood swings, too much energy, change in eye sight,...the truth is there are a lot of symptoms some of them are very vague, and no one has the same ones...so like I said it is an easy fix if it is a problem your body is having. I will have to take thyroid meds the rest of my life BUT the meds are cheap!!! Go get it checked before you loose too much hair! Mine never came back!...God bless you! W.

All of the symptoms you described do sound typical with hypothyroidism, but I am not a doctor. However, I do have hypothyroid and was diagnosed when my son was about 18 months old. I was having a hard time losing weight and my doctor ran some blood tests and discovered I had a mild case of it. The doctor thinks it was casued by my pregnancy because I didn't have this condition prior. It is very common in women and easily treated, thank goodness. My 6 month old daughter also has it, she was actually born with it. Which is a little more complicated than it is in adults to monitor. Bottom line is, if it actually IS your thyroid and you do start taking medication (Synthroid is the most common) then you wil feel so much better! Good luck!

B.,

There is a website that you can go to that explains hormone deficiency such as Thyroid Disease. The website is for a Health & Wellness physician in Katy named Dr. Hotze. He also has a daily radio show on 700am between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. He is a strong advocate for bio-identical hormones. Go to his website and listen to his show. The information is free and depending on where you live there may be a physician who is a protege of his. The website is www.drhotze.com

I have been using bio-identical hormones for my thyroid problem for over a year now and feel great. The doctor that I see is Dr. Mila McManus with The Woodlands Institute for Health and Wellness. One quick note - neither doctor accepts insurance mainly so they can spend the adequate amount of time talking with you and assessing what you will benefit from.

K.

I developed hypothyroidism after giving birth. I was completely devistated although it tends to run in the familiy too so that's something to consider. The symptoms I had were extreme cold of the hands/feet, memory loss, trouble w/my balance (falling over a lot), tiredness, constipation can be a factor, thinning eybrows/hair, loss of sex drive, extreme weight gain...I went from a healthy 155 (I'm tall so I looked fine, athletic build) to 229 in just a short time! I've lost some weight but from what I read, would only lose about 30-40 lbs. I'm still fighting it although I do take medication for it, I went undiagnosed for about a yr so it's very important to see your dr & get tested right away. You can find more symptoms to look at from both hypo & hyper thyroid disorders on the internet, just type in 'thyroid disorder symptoms' or the like. It's easiest just to look it up online. WebMd.com usually has good info. Good luck & don't wait too long if you think this is the problem, it CAN be a health risk.

I would go see a doctor just to be on the safe side. Keep in mind, especially if you nursed for a while, that your hormones may just not be quite regulated right now. If your Thyroid results come back alright, consider a low-dosage birth control pill...should help get the hormones more regular.

Dear B.,

I developed hypothyroidism after the birth of my second daughter. I was 42 when I had her and just attributed the severe lethargic feeling and lack of desire for anything to just being an older Mom. When the hair started thinning, I started looking into thyroid problems and the symptoms it causes.
I got checked by my doctor and the bloodwork showed sluggish thyroid. He said it may kick start again due to this happening to moms sometimes after having a child. Mine never got better.
I am on synthroid and have been for 4 years. A lot of people will suggest suppliments but the straight skinny is-that synthroid is the only medication to replace what your thyroid is not and will not produce. The adrenal glands all work together and if one of them is off, chaos can occur.

It is typical in you 30's for a decrease in desire for sex. Add kids on top of it, please no one else touch me!!! Your metabolism will slow down considerably and weight gain can occur if your food intake stays the same but your exercise is greatly reduced. Sometimes the two go hand in hand when your emphasis in on your children, husband, house, job if you work out of the house-it all adds up to overfunctioning and Mom having little or no desire to take care of herself-or time~.

I have 2 beautiful girls, 8 & 4. My husband was an Army doc and retired full time. I however am not retired. (Sure would like to though) I have a B.S. in Physical Education with an emphasis in Adult Fitness, Corporate Fitness and Wellness Promotion. I do personal training on occasion.
I have a great book to recommend if in fact you are diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. "Living Well With Hypothyroidism" by Mary J. Shomon.

I live in Mertzon, Tx and highly suggest you go to your doctor for an exam and bloodwork.
Hope it is helpful.
Cheers,
S.

go to doc and sak to get tested. my doc found my enlarged thyroid upon exam. i have had tests and blood work and 3 biopsys, as part of my gland is cold and has small tumors on it. all ok. i noe just take a pill and am watched for need of more meds. i also have very thing brittle nails. dry skin and over weight, about 20 # doc said due to my hypothryoidisum. also i am hot all the time. but usually with hypo you are cold. get checked better to be safe than sorry, or worried. D.

I have not had thyroid disease myself, but my personal trainer had the same kind of symptoms as you. She was in really bad shape(losing her hair, not even able to get out of the bed). She said that she changed her whole life by getting to a doctor(getting the right medication for her thyroid), starting to exercise on a regular basis, and eating healthy. I know it's hard to exercise with little ones(I have an 8 year old and a 10 month old), but you can always take them out for a walk or run in the stroller, and some health clubs have nurseries. It's hard to get started, but try it for a week and it gets easier to make it a habit. As for the sex drive, taking care of a baby can take it all out of you. I noticed that starting an exercise/nutrition program brought mine back. Hope this helps!

Dear B. - I was diagnosed some years ago with hyperthyroidism. That is where the thyroid just keeps "running" all the time. Was tired and fell asleep while just sitting down to watch TV. Some other symptoms included hot flashes...where you can feel your face and body getting hot; sweating feet...so much so that I had to wear socks; and also some hair loss. My thyroid problem was found through some blood work I was having done at the time. I was referred to an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with hyperthyroidism. They "killed" my thyroid with a radioactive capsule and I have been on medication since. Once the thyroid is gone (killed or removed) you must remain on medication for the rest of your life. I was told that killing the thyroid was a better option than surgery and it also allowed for a more controlled dosage of medication. My thyroid is totally under control and has been since I was diagnosed and treated. I have to go for blood work every three months to make sure, but have had no problems with it. Thyroid disease is nothing to mess with. It can be very serious. I also have thyroid eye disease, but have been told that many who suffer with thyroid disease do not also have thyroid eye disease. If you are having symptoms, you should consult your doctor immediately and have the tests run. I am a 61 year old grandmother. Blessings, B. G.

Hi, Thyroid disease is one of the most UNDER-DIAGNOSED health issues that women have. If you suspect you may have it; it is important that you see a endocronoligist (spelling)? of course,regular M.D. can diagnose and treat but my experience has been that as long as your numbers fall into "normal ranges" they attribute your symptoms to stress.... Endocronologist specialize in thyroid and read test reports differently. Also can save you a lot of time and money. I have learned that Thyroid issues reveal themselves in ways that are easily confused for other things.... Get checked out by a specialist.

I know just how you feel. I had the same problems and weight gain. I went to my family doctor and he said sounds like you have a tyroid problem, but the test came back just fine. So I went to two other doctors, without any success. I could hardly stay awake during the day or while driving. Ater 10 yrs I finally got got diagoised with thryoid and was at the very bottom. It was my hair dresser that told me you have to go to a Endocrinologist doctor to get the right diagoisis. I am so thankful for that advice. Most doctors want to beleive you are depressed, I wonder how many people are being treated for depression and that is not even the problem. Just be aware that if you do have tyroid, tell the doctor you want Armour tyroid pills they are the only pills that are real tyroid (it is made from pig thyroid) I had been on Synthroid and another, but they are not as good. So before you make an appointment with a doctor check with the nurse to see if he prescribes that. My father in law is the one that gave me that useful information. He tried others and that is the only one that works. Babies can be born with this problem also.

Mood swings, constipation, night sweats, foggy head - add these to the list. Hypothyroidism eats your brain from inside the ventricles out, mimicking Alzheimer's. My husband's mother had this and died in her early 50's supposedly with Alzheimer's. Low iodine is sometimes a cause and Ioderol is a good product to try. Dr. Thomas Tong at Nature's Things in Bryan, TX can help. Jerry Brunetti for Agri-Dynamics can help, go hear him speak. Soy can cause this. Take soy out of your diet completely, any form of unfermented soy, you will have to read label and learn that it is also called some other names when it is raw. There is a book that I cannot remember the name write now that can help you. E-mail me privately and when the house is awake I will go dig it off the book shelf.

Hi,
I am a registered dietitian, but not actively practicing because I stay at home with my two babies! Along with thyroid problems, you could also have a nutrient deficiency. Many nutrient deficiencies (iron, copper, zinc, B vitamins and others) have hair loss and fatigue as symptoms. I do not know what your diet is like, but this is something to consider. I would go see a doctor just to have some basic blood work done to make sure everything checks out.

you can test for thyroid disease at home by taking your basal body temperature for three days, there is advise on doing this if you google basal body temp and thyroid disease it will explain how to do it, it doesnt replace a blood test, but will let you know something before you go to the docotr.

my main symptoms were fatigue - i could not walk up the stairs without almost collapsing at the top, dry skin, hiar loss, eyebrow loss, and major brain befuddlement! my memory didnt work at all.
good luck

Hi B.!
Don't mess around trying to second guess; get the blood work done so you can, hopefully, start feeling better. I have had all the symptoms of a thyroid problem: weight gain, extremely dry skin, memory issues, intolerance to cold, falling asleep at the wheel, extreme fatigue, hair loss & bald patch, thickening of skin on my soles, increase in depression and irritability, no libido, etc. My TSH, T3 and T4 all checked out NORMAL, believe it or not. However, my GP started me on a daily treatment of Armour thyroid due to the symptoms -- "subclinical deficiency." What a big difference. The HUGE caveat, however: 18 months later, my depression and fatigue returned into overdrive! Severe bone pain set into my fingers, wrists, knees, shins & ankles. My GP decided to test for VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY and found I was profoundly deficient, and a bone density scan found early osteopenia. High dose prescription vitamin D supplements helped eliminate the bone pain; however, I have had to repeat that treatment twice now. So, I'm finally going to that Endocrinologist I should have gone to 2 years earlier to determine what the "real" issue is.

That is why I recommend "don't mess around & second guess." Get your GP to do several tests: CBC, TSH, T3, T4, PTH, Vit. D, anemia, calcium. BTW, don't allow a dr. to just run a simple CBC or TSH and say everything "looks normal" so everything must be fine. As one of the other moms said, it took 10 yrs for her to find a dr. to discover she had a thyroid issue. That's why I say run several tests. Go to an endocrinologist, if you need to.

Also, another mom commented that thyroid issues can be passed on to your baby. My mother had a long history of anemia and had osteoporosis, both of which can be attributed by a thyroid issue or a vitamin D deficiency (neither of which she had ever been diagnosed with). I have not had a history of anemia; however, my youngest child had anemia for 2 years and has recently been diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency, like myself. So, please consider getting some bloodwork done so you can get your happy life back on track for you and your family. Best wishes to you B.!

You have HYPERTHYROIDISM. That's the same thing I am battling. The symptoms I suffered with were: Hair loss, weight loss (85 lbs - from a 22 to an 18), tired, sleepy, lack of sex drive (my husband didn't like that one), extremely dry skin, weakness, shortness of breath, rapid heart beat, anxiety, inpatience. All of that. I almost died in July 2006. Don't let yours get as bad as mine. My levels were off the chart. I had to take the Iodine drops (Yuck!!!!) for 10 days (30 drops a day for 10 days). I am on medication for my Thyroid and heart. We are looking at the end of the summer before my surgery. Surgery is the only way to control it. If anyone would like to see my pictures before, at my worst, now...email me @ ____@____.com. I will be happy to send them to you.

I am a 31 yr old first time mom and the fatigue problem is just annoying. I have no sex drive and I am always tired. It's not my son because he is great. I am on an antidepressant because of post partum depression and I could make a wig out of all the hair I lost. My family dr told me to continue taking prenatal vitamins. That fixed the hair problem. My thyroid was off and I was sent to an endocrinologist, that turned out fine but with my symptoms they wanted to do this special test on me where they draw blood every 15 minutes and hook me up to an IV. I have yet to go. The dr did tell me that there is a common post partum thyroid deal but again blood tests were inconclusive of a current thyroid problem. Hang in there and go see your dr. I am to the point to where I need to get pushed out of the house to have my life back.

C.

Having a baby sometimes will play a real part in hormones being out of sort. Thyroid is definitely one of them. Your symptoms could be fatigue from taking care of the baby, household, etc. However, under-functioning thyroid is an under-diagnosed problem for many people. You have enough symptoms to be tested for it. I have been hypothyroid for 20+ years and have worked medical for 30.

I am a 45 year old woman who was diagnosed with thyroid disease 11 years ago. One other symptom that you did not mention is weight fluctuation. You will struggle with that problem until your thyroid is under control. I don't want to alarm you but although I have the proper medication it seems that I have always struggled with the tiredness, dry skin, brittle nails and changes in my menstrual cycle. The hair loss will go away once you are on some type of medication. I have also had trouble sleeping.

it sounds like you're a tired mommy. You're a mom to a 14 month old....no wonder you're tired and don't feel like having sex!! And I don't know how much hair you're losing, but when I quit breast feeding (when my daughter was around 10 mos. old) I lost some hair too. It would come out in the shower mostly and seemed a lot thinner than it used to. I didn't have any bald spots, just thinner hair over all. But go get some bloodwork done and see if there really is something wrong. Maybe you just need a romantic weekend getaway with your husband so you get some sleep and some sex.

I have had an inactive thyroid for the last 10 years. My gyno first diagnosed it when I started having rapid weight gain and was unable to get pregnant. I had puffiness around my eyes and in my neck as well. I as tired easily, had hair falling out, and no sex drive what so ever (due to being tired). If you read up on hypothyroidism, it helps to understand how important your thyroid function is to the producation of hormones through out your body. It is a simple blood test to find out if you have it or not....so don't put it off. Just ask your doctor to do it....better to know than not!

http://thyroid.about.com/ is a good source of info about thyroid disease, it is run by thyroid patient advocate and author Mary Shomon.

Another poster was correct to mention that vitamin deficiencies can cause some of the same symptoms as hypothyroidism. I knew someone who had more than one symptom of hypothyroidism that didn't have a thyroid problem, she had anemia; her ferritin or iron stores were bottom of range.

Your GP is a good place to start. You want a doc who will work with you to get to the bottom of what is causing your symptoms, whatever the cause may be.

It sounds like you may have hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid). I was diagnosed when I went to see my doctor for a regular physical before my husband and I started trying for children. The thyroid aids in many bodily functions that you don't want to mess around with, one being your hearbeat. The thyroid helps to keep your heartbeat regular. Through the miracles of modern medicine, a person can live just fine without the thyroid, but must take medication everyday and have bloodwork done at least once a year. Definitely don't wait to see your doctor about it. Once it is under control, hypothyroidism is not that big of a deal. Oprah was diagnosed this summer with it. She probably has a lot of info on her website about it.

Also, a regular thyroid level is very important before and during pregnancy. When I was diagnosed, my doctor told me that low thyroid levels can cause miscarraige or birth defects in the child if you are able to carry the baby. So my husband and I had to wait 6 months while we got my thyroid under control before we started trying for children. However, we now have a beautiful 3 year old son, and I had a great pregnancy with him.

I have a 2 yr old grand-daughter that was born without a thyroid at all. Thankfully, the blood work ( PKU ) done when babies are born is now a federal law to be done. If it were not for this test and a wonderful doctor, it would have taken Lord knows how long to find out she had this problem. She is on synthroid daily. The doctors said she would be slow in learning, be tiny and would not hit 30 lbs before she was 4 or 5 yrs. old. Well, they were wrong about this part. She is walking, talking, learning so quickly and smart as a whip. Thank the Lord for the folks at Texas Childrens. Please go to your dr. hun. Request they do these important tests. Of course they won't do a pku like on an infant just born, but there are tests that will show what is wrong. Good Luck and you are in my heart and prayers. Oh yeah, booboo went for checl-up last week; she is 30 lbs even LOL. She has showed them, even told the dr thank you. :)

I was reading the other responses and some were telling you to start with you GP that probably is not a good idea. I went to my GP several years before I was actually diagnosed. The regular doctors do not run the right test for this disease they will tell you they are but they do not. This is way I suggested going to an endocrinolgist of the bat to test for this. Or you may go longer without being properly diagnosed if this is your issue. Good luck to you.

You probably read a response that I sent. I have hypothyroidism and not everyone will get all the sympotms or the same ones. Here is a list of some of the symptoms:

Hair Loss
Weight gain that will not go away no matter how much you excersize
Puffy face
Thickining of the skin
Dry skin
Heart Palputations
High B/P
High Cholesterol
Lighter periods or no periods at times
leg cramps such has charlie horses (alot mostly at night time)
brittle nails
Extreme tiredness feeling
depression
Trouble swollowing (this is if they disease as been around for a long time without being treated)
Memory problems

Hope this helps. You will not have all of these symptoms but it you have 3-4 of these it is worth getting checked out by a endocrinologist.

Thanks,

T.