Journal

In December of 2008, I was in the hospital for what turned out to be appendicitis, and through all the testing - my appendix was in the wrong place, so I had absolutely no pain...a lot of testing was done - the doctor told me that my TSH was at 12.47% and that meant that I needed to be treated immediately.

At the time, I had no insurance so the surgeon gave me a prescription for Levothyroxine, but told me I needed to see a regular doctor for testing as soon as I got insurance.

My insurance started this month, so I made an appointment with the doctor who could get me in first, as I was running out of the medicine.

The doctor and his staff were very rude to me. I took the bottle along so that I could be sure I told them the correct medicine, and when I pulled it out to read the name, the nurse stated, "Just because you have that bottle doesn't mean you NEED it" and told me they were going to have to do blood tests, which I already knew. The nurse and the doctor both kept asking me tons of questions, like they thought I was faking the whole thing!

The doctor said he would call me the next day to let me know if my dosage needed to be changed, and promised to call me before I went to work on second shift the next day. He didn't call until I was already at work, but left a voicemail saying to just stay on the medicine I have. He said my TPO was "a little low" but everything else looked fine.

I'm currently looking for a better doctor, but I thought maybe I could find some more information online in the meantime. A lot of things I've had problems with for as long as I can remember on listed as symptoms on places like webmd.com, such as:

Since I was 10 or 11, I've gained at least 10 pounds a year, and no diet or excercise program seems to help.

Unless I have a good 9-10 hours of sleep each night, I feel like I haven't slept at all. But I have a lot of trouble actually falling asleep even when I'm exhausted.

I'm always cold. I find myself wrapped up in a blanket when my thermostat says it's 73° in my house.

I've always had problems with depression, especially as a teenager.

My periods have never been regular, and I often skipped 2-3 months between them. This has changed since Levothyroxine though; I've had a period every month since I started taking it, but never at the same time of the month and they last from 7-9 days.

My pulse fluctuates from around 94-125. Sometimes I feel a strange fluttering in my chest, and there's an almost-constant "woosh"ing noise in my right ear. I had someone put his ear against mine, and he said he could actually hear a thumping that sounded like my heart beating.

My skin has always been dry, especially my feet and legs.

I found my first gray hair when I was 16, and have a few more now.

During the appendectomy, the surgeon also told me that I have several cysts on my ovaries, and both of my fallopian tubes are dialated. I've never been to a gynecologist before, but now that I have insurance I plan to go very soon.

My father has been on Levothyroxine for over 10 years. I was never taken to a doctor growing up (I'm only 24, not the "usual" age for Hypothyroidism), and the few experiences I've had with hospitals and doctors weren't very helpful, due to the lack of insurance. Other than the change with my menstrual cycle, these symptoms haven't changed since starting Levothyroxine.

Now that I can properly take care of myself, I don't really know where to start. So my question for those more experienced with this condition is this: How many of the symptoms I've listed here are actually from Hypothyroidism, and what exactly should I be asking my doctor?