Hypothyroidism Support Group
Hypothyroidism is the disease state caused by insufficient production of thyrohormone by the thyroid gland. There are several distinct causes for chronic hypothyroidism, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism following radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism. Advanced hypothyroidism may cause severe complications, the most serious one of which is...
Hi everyone!
Well, I was officially diagnosed with hypothyroidism last week, and have been spending a lot of time doing research, which included reading discussions from this group. It seems like a great place to join for support and answers from people who have been where I am now.
My story: I am now 26, and have been struggling with my weight for several years. I was always skinny growing up and never had to think about what I ate or if I was exercising enough. I started college at about 110 lbs. (which, at 5'7" is almost too think, I think). By the time I graduated, that had gone up to about 140. Not a huge shock if I considered that I had taken on some poor eating habits and really had no physical activity beside walking to classes. Two years later, after getting married and changing my eating habits somewhat (cooking more meals at home from scratch) I was weighing in at 155. My husband and I joined a gym in January of 2012, as we both could stand to lose some weight. For the first 6 months we went 2-3 times per week, but didn't change our diets. I gained 3 more pounds. That July we made a significant change in our eating habits. In a couple of months I lost about 15 pounds, which I was reasonably happy with. Then we got a bit lazy and the holidays happened, and I was stuck around 145. Kicked it in gear again in late winter and got down to 139 with better eating and much more exercise. Finances got tight as I finished grad school in the spring and had students loans going into repayment, so we started shopping cheap rather than healthy for a while, but I continued working out hard through the summer. Went back up to 151. Dieted again for a while but only dropped to 149. Went back to normal (but not bad, low carbs, low bad fat, plenty of fruits and veggies) , kept working out, now at 154. So frustrating.
Went to my annual gyn. checkup just over a week ago and got talking about my frustrations with my weight. After asking some questions, my doctor said it sounded like something else was going on and it wasn't totally my fault (!!!). She sent me to the lab immediately to get thyroid levels checked. I got a call last Wednesday saying "Yep, you have hypothyroidism. Go see your pcp."
Friday I went to my pcp. Waited around for an hour only to get MAYBE 5 minutes of her time, in which she barely looked up from her laptop, and seemed to know slightly less about hypothyroidism than I knew from 2 days of researching on my own. She told me my TSH was 9.something, but that was the only number she had. Prescribed 50 mcg of levothyroxine and said she didn't need to see me again for 3 months. Soooo... needless to say I am looking for a new doctor! I have a couple in mind already who are in my area and seem to be known for taking a more holistic approach, testing for fT3 and T4, prescribing armour and T3/T4 combinations. I'm thinking for now I'll at least give my levo a month to get in my system, and then make an appt. with one of these new doctors to see where I am, and hopefully get my longterm treatment on a better course.
Right now, I'm just feeling highs and lows. On one hand, I'm kind of thrilled to have this diagnosis, because I have been feeling so generally crappy for a long time (tired, unmotivated, depressed). That combined with the weight was making me feel like a big, lazy failure in a lot of ways. Knowing there is an actual medical reason and there is treatment for it is a huge relief. But it's also daunting knowing that this is something I will be dealing with for the rest of my life, and knowing it may be months or years before I get my levels stabilized to where I actual feel good, and I may even feel worse before I start feeling better.
On day 3 of my levo. now, and no noticeable changes except my skin seems a little extra dry and itchy. Looking forward to the future and getting better.
Well, I was officially diagnosed with hypothyroidism last week, and have been spending a lot of time doing research, which included reading discussions from this group. It seems like a great place to join for support and answers from people who have been where I am now.
My story: I am now 26, and have been struggling with my weight for several years. I was always skinny growing up and never had to think about what I ate or if I was exercising enough. I started college at about 110 lbs. (which, at 5'7" is almost too think, I think). By the time I graduated, that had gone up to about 140. Not a huge shock if I considered that I had taken on some poor eating habits and really had no physical activity beside walking to classes. Two years later, after getting married and changing my eating habits somewhat (cooking more meals at home from scratch) I was weighing in at 155. My husband and I joined a gym in January of 2012, as we both could stand to lose some weight. For the first 6 months we went 2-3 times per week, but didn't change our diets. I gained 3 more pounds. That July we made a significant change in our eating habits. In a couple of months I lost about 15 pounds, which I was reasonably happy with. Then we got a bit lazy and the holidays happened, and I was stuck around 145. Kicked it in gear again in late winter and got down to 139 with better eating and much more exercise. Finances got tight as I finished grad school in the spring and had students loans going into repayment, so we started shopping cheap rather than healthy for a while, but I continued working out hard through the summer. Went back up to 151. Dieted again for a while but only dropped to 149. Went back to normal (but not bad, low carbs, low bad fat, plenty of fruits and veggies) , kept working out, now at 154. So frustrating.
Went to my annual gyn. checkup just over a week ago and got talking about my frustrations with my weight. After asking some questions, my doctor said it sounded like something else was going on and it wasn't totally my fault (!!!). She sent me to the lab immediately to get thyroid levels checked. I got a call last Wednesday saying "Yep, you have hypothyroidism. Go see your pcp."
Friday I went to my pcp. Waited around for an hour only to get MAYBE 5 minutes of her time, in which she barely looked up from her laptop, and seemed to know slightly less about hypothyroidism than I knew from 2 days of researching on my own. She told me my TSH was 9.something, but that was the only number she had. Prescribed 50 mcg of levothyroxine and said she didn't need to see me again for 3 months. Soooo... needless to say I am looking for a new doctor! I have a couple in mind already who are in my area and seem to be known for taking a more holistic approach, testing for fT3 and T4, prescribing armour and T3/T4 combinations. I'm thinking for now I'll at least give my levo a month to get in my system, and then make an appt. with one of these new doctors to see where I am, and hopefully get my longterm treatment on a better course.
Right now, I'm just feeling highs and lows. On one hand, I'm kind of thrilled to have this diagnosis, because I have been feeling so generally crappy for a long time (tired, unmotivated, depressed). That combined with the weight was making me feel like a big, lazy failure in a lot of ways. Knowing there is an actual medical reason and there is treatment for it is a huge relief. But it's also daunting knowing that this is something I will be dealing with for the rest of my life, and knowing it may be months or years before I get my levels stabilized to where I actual feel good, and I may even feel worse before I start feeling better.
On day 3 of my levo. now, and no noticeable changes except my skin seems a little extra dry and itchy. Looking forward to the future and getting better.
I have been hypo most my life. I was in high school when my mom realized that I was adding weight and sitting around a lot more than usual.( I am not 52 yrs old) I was also having problems with my cycles. We consulted with our family doctor , who said, "I can send you to the city for a lot of blood work, or I can do the blood work here and tell you within two test, probably, what is going on." We stayed in my little town and let him do the blood work. Sure enough, he told me with-in two blood test that I was hypo. He then explained what had to be done.
I was very lucky, because at that time, most hypo people were misdiagnosed. I knew a guy who almost died because they were unsure what was wrong.
The thyroid gland is much like a thermostat on a car. It regulates all and any part on the body. All the way from what type hair you have, (greasy or not), to your feet, (pain and other problems).
I have been lucky with the majority of the care givers I have dealt with. I have come to realize this because of the horror stories I have heard here on DS. The most recent advice I got from an endocrinologist is that I need to take my meds on an empty stomach (two hours after eating) and not take in anything, not even coffee, one hour after taking meds. She suggested I set an alarm and take them early morning. I wake up almost every morning about 3:30 to 4 am to pee. I take my meds at this time. I do have an alarm set just in case I don't wake up. I have done this a time or two!!
It is good you're giving your meds time to work in your system. Most meds take 7-10 days to get in your system properly. It then can take up to 30 days to get in your system and start working like they should. Don't give up, though. Keep researching and looking for a doc that seems to know what they are doing. Just because they have MD behind their name doesn't mean they know it all. They are just as human as anyone else. They have lots of patients with lots of different problems. I'm lucky. I have found a clinic that doesn't only have fantastic docs, (so far) but also has a computer system that not only the docs can access any part of my health record, so can I.
Keep you chin up (I really hate using clichs) and allow God to help you deal.
Once again, good luck and welcome!
GL