Hi! I don't know how many times over the years I've had a blood test run for thyroid. One Dr. insultingly said I was overweight and my boobs didn't correspond with my size. They should be bigger. I finally went to a Dr. who (bless his aging little heart) actually listened to me.Yes, after I'd gone back to him with 2 pages typed of ?s he read every bit and made notes on the sideand then handed it back to me and started writing orders for tests, etc. None of this had to do with thyroid but I had mentioned that I was concerned about plaque buildup in my neck. For this he ordered a doppler which is like an ultrasound. It showed no problem with my veins but it did show nodules in my thyroid. After this I had to go through a thyroid scan and then biopsy and low and behold the scan showed that I was actually low thyroid. I could have kissed the Radiology Dr. The biopsy was Ok and now we just watch.. Every year I have to have repeats. They have grown but are not hot. Blood work does not give a complete picture and you probably need to request that a scan be done if there is no problem with cost. Depending on what you chose. Now about the difficulty swallowing. I questioned this and had a barium swallow done and there was no mechanical problem or sign of interference by the nodules they aren't big enough. More reading and I decided that it had to be from the MS because I found talk of that and it made sense to me because I have also had to deal with the fact that I never know what is coming out of my mouth when I speak. Squeak, sqwak or nothing. It always sounds different. Believe me I am no singer but Now I don't very often indulge even at home when I'm all alone. In church the best I can do is kind of talk the words. I hope this helps a little. Good luck with the Dr. If you are thin then you should have an over active thyroid if anything and I think they remove the thyroid in that case. Not sure. It might be beneficial to have the scan just for your piece of mind. From my experience there are a lot of Drs. out there who think they know everything and justwon't listen. I was upset when a certain Dr. magically appeared where I am. He had been my Dr. for a long time and when I went to him when I was in tha hell that comes before diagnosis, he would not listen to me and said it was all in my head. Silly woman! After him in desperation I went to a foot Dr. I'd seen who is a Christian and poure out my story and begged him to give me a referal to the local Rheumatologist. He said it was all in my head but he was going to run ALL the tests to prove it to me. They took about a pint of blood and when the results came back he said he didn't understand and couldn't rightly say what I had but lets call it RA. This was when I had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized and while there I was paired up with a Dr whose speciality was hematology. He ran all the tests again and puzzled over it too and decided I had MCTD. I did a lot of reserch and this is like a precursor to Lupus,scleraderma, RA and sometimes I saw MS mentioned. Well bingo! mine turned into MS. Which isn't to say something else might not show up. I've been wondering about lupu because of the amount of body pain I have but I doubt I'll get to run an ANA. Will see next time I go. I may have to wait until I get to the MS DR. mine has promised she has lined up for me when my Medicare kicks in next month. My wonderful Dr who was rural healthcare Dr. of the year last year has been having trouble with his legs and since he had my multitude of problems under control he has turned me over to a PA who I also love. She's like an earth mother. Dr. Beguelin was understanding enough to let me diagnose myself. I went to him with the ? could I have MS. After runnung an AVG that said I had balance and dizziness problems with no cause. He asked if it ran in my family and I said my family was really close mouthed about things so I didn't know but I questioned that. He ran an MRI and when he read the results and came to the part- similar to that seen in MS- turned to see if I were going to fall apart. He then ran out of the room and got on the phone himself and called my Neurologist and told him that I neede to see him ASAP because my medicaid was about to run out. He ordered more tests- MRA, spinal tap and a sleep test. So now I sleep with a CPAP because I have hypopnea and the other 2 showed the same thing. I had 5 distinct bands in the spinal fluid. It is so vital to have a Dr. who listens and questions right along with you. One who wants to know and set your mind at ease. One who accepts that you are the owner of this this body and may be a little more in tune with what is going on in it. He now laughs and calls me his most interesting patient and I think until the day one of us dies he will trust my intuition and listen. I've gone on way to long but maybe it will give you hope and the insight into my problems may help you with yours. I went to lab school as an intern and was nurse aid for years and also a tie for Valdictorian. It went down to extracuricular activities and I was oh so glad to lose then because the thought of giving a speach terrified me then. I have a natural affinity to understand and dig in when it comes to medical things. I have the Merck Manual on line marked as a favorite. This is one of the Drs desk reference books. I also have an old book version and an old PDR. I need a new one but they are very expensive and I will be living off $483 each month. I'm very concerned about making ends meet now. Whoever coined the phrase- the Golden Years- should be shot although they are prbably dead by now! Ha! Just one cat lover to another and my baby is waiting beside me here for some love. Got to go.

I have an over active thyroid and grave's disease which is connected to the extra thyroxine bombing around my systems. A under active thyroid is more common and the symptoms are as follows;

Skin thickening
Loss of hair
Slow pulse
Slow mentality
Constipation
Fatigue

A goitre can be present, but not always obvious. A Dr can feel if the thyroid gland is swollen. I think an MRI scan would show any problems as it's a 3D image, but nto entirely sure about that.
My thyroid levels were checked after my right eyeball began protruding, but as it was only the one eyeball the Dr was unsure, it's usually both eyeballs that protrude. This is oneof the last symptoms of hyperthyroidism. If your thyroxine levels are coming back a little on the low side, then I'd ask the Dr to do more tests to be sure that there isn't a problem.
Good Luck, hugs,Owlxxx

Rebif can affect thyroid.

You should see an endocrinologist --they're best equipped to do an array of thyroid tests.

The "normal" range of TSH, T3 & T4 has changed recently; plus many docs don't take thyroid issues seriously.

So see a specialist.

Lovelace,

For those of us with MS vision issues - your posts are about impossible to read?!