thyroid
Posted By: mt47mtm on 2007-01-12
In Reply to: My 13 y.o. niece has just been dx with Grave's disease. Does anyone here have any info or sm - concerned aunt
Ok, I'm 59 yo. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 19, but I had the symptoms starting the summer I turned 17 - I remain the weight gain, social withdrawal, having to force myself to do everything, including brush my teeth. I thought I had lost my mind.
Turns out, my thyroid quit working - period. My TSH when I'm off supplement is off the charts. I had no discernible disease, tumor, goiter, etc., the thyroid just quit working. My condition can lead to toxicity, shock, coma and death if left untreated.
Graves' disease is usually only fatal in parts of the world where they don't have access to modern medicine.
Tell your brother not to beat himself up - he was acting on the knowledge he had at the time. He just needs to talk to his daughter and she will forgive him. It will make their bond stronger.
I am sure your niece will do just fine = s/l she's getting really good endocrinological advice.
Barbara Bush had Graves' disease - discovered in her early 60s. It can happen to anyone at any time of life.
Best of luck to your family. You're a nice aunt to be so supportive.
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Not sure about that, I think it's your thyroid
and your diabetes. I eat tons of junk food, in fact, that's about all I enjoy eating. I eat a few times a day of whatever I want, just VERY small portions. It is RARE that I eat a "full" meal. And I have no real problems with my weight. My brother in law learned he had a thyroid condition and gained a ton of weight. Now he eats much less and even goes to a gym 5 days a week(which he never did before) and he's bigger than ever. I believe it is the disease. Sorry to hear.
Thyroid
Has anyone had a thyroid problem (both lobes enlarged on exam) but thyroid blood tests were normal? I have been sick for a while with symptoms of both hypo and hyperthyroid and having a scan this week. 
Thyroid ???
Just want your thoughts to arm myself with before my next annual physical. I am 54 WF, decent health, BP controlled on Rx. For years and years (12-15), I have complained of fatigue, dry hair and skin, 10 pound weight gain that i cannot shed, all the usual symptoms of hypothyroidism. Every few years, my doc (who is Mayo-trained FP) does lab (I believe FSH and/or TSH), tells me thyroid is fine, etc. He does all the other labs which are all WNL, all GYN stuff is fine. No sleep apnea, etc. About 5-6 years ago, I had a goose egg size goiter type swelling in my throat. Had ultrasound with findings of benign cyst which eventually disappeared after some weeks/months. Other symptoms are becoming even worse. I drag myself out of the bed to go to work, take a nap after work, then do what I have to do before going back to bed. I could literally sleep round the clock, I think. I have practically no life but work and sleep. I have been on 3-4 different anti-depressants that don't seem to help me at all. If I am depressed its because I am worn out all the time! I do NO endocrinology transcription at all, so I don't know much about thyroid disease. My mom told me that she was on Synthroid for years but not now. I have tried an OTC supplement that does not seem to help. I want to demand a further work-up but if this is as clear cut as I think it is, why hasn't it been offered before? Is a Free T3-4 something that insurance company will balk at him ordering? Is it super expensive? Open to all suggestions/ideas. Thanks for any help!
I think my thyroid
has been messed up for several years now, but I don't go to the doc because I don't want to be diagnosed with anything that will cause problems if having to get different insurance down the road or maybe even long-term care insurance.
I have a couple other issues I would really like to check out as well but don't dare. Kind of like when people don't want to make claims on their car or home insurance for fear the premium will go up! The system is a bit screwed, heh?
then you obviously do not have thyroid problems--sm
and have not read food labels looking specifically for HFCS. You are entitled to your opinion, as I am mine. I just know that from my experience, and doing all that you suggest to do, I still do not lose weight, so, as far as I am concerned, being overweight is NOT my CHOICE. it is inflicted on me. I never go to fast food restaurants and I do not over eat. I eat organic foods, veggies, fruit and rarely red meat. i exercise. I do not have enough arthritis to keep me from exercising. and yes, the government does control what we eat. have you noticed all the growth hormones in our food, pesticides, and HFCS that keeps us fat??? obviously not. When you get fat and have tried everything to get rid of it, according to OTHERS' opinions, and are still fat, then you will understand where I am coming from. Until then, you have no idea. and you are also very uncompassionate to those who are in my position. but that is just MY opinion.
thyroid issues
Do you still have a lot of hypo and hyper symptoms? You could be under treated. Go have a look at http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ if you haven't seen the site already. There's also a patient-to-patient forum at http://www.realthyroidhelp.com/. Things you might need to address are B12 and adrenals as these are key with converting the thyroid and getting it into your cells. Most hypo people have taxed out adrenals. Hopefully if you deal with that stuff, you'll see improvement in your hair.
thyroid ultrasound
I have a family history of thyroid cancer but also many family members with thyroid disease, so on a routine exam a few months ago the doctor immediately noticed my thyroid was significantly enlarged and sent me for an ultrasound. Of note I never did think to tell them at the time there was a family history. It showed bilateral hypoechoic solid nodules and the radiologist recommended another followup test in a few months for stability. I know nothing about radiology. Should I be worried? Thank you.
thyroid nodules
I also have thyroid problems and have multinodular goiter.
I've gone through all the tests and biopsies. Most nodules are benign. You could call your doc and tell him about yout family history and that you want a radionuclide test for your peace of mind. Below is a link. Good luck.
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/nodulesgoiter.htm
could also be thyroid - happens in all ages
and I have a daughter that was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and that caused sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating and really labile behavior at times.
Get your thyroid checked.
x
Thyroid nodules - I have two
Try not to stress. When I started working for a hospital as an MT about 13 years ago, they required a physical and the doc felt a lump on my thyroid and I was referred to an endocrinologist. They did an ultrasound, didn't tell much. Then they had me do a thyroid uptake (take a radioactive medication and then they scan your thyroid to see how much the thyroid gland takes up). It turns out I had a hot nodule. My thyroid levels have been checked regularly since then and have been in the normal range, though do vary a bit, except during pregnancy. So I have just been watching the nodule for years. About 3 years ago when I visited the endo he felt a second nodule close to the first one, so now I have two. Until the nodules start messing with my thyroid levels, they are just monitoring them. If it starts messing with my levels, then I'll have it treated.
I'm betting the first thing they will do for you is evaluate the nodule to find out if it is "hot" or "cold." The hot nodules are active, which is what mine is, meaning that the nodule in my thyroid is conducting the majority of the activity while suppressing my thyroid gland, but as long as it makes the proper amount of thyroid hormone and doesn't grow to cause me problems, than I am okay. I've had it for over a decade with no problems.
A cold nodule is inactive and has a higher chance of being cancerous. That is probably one reason they referred you quickly, just to get the ball rolling to check it and make sure it's not cancerous or precancerous. Don't quote me, but I think cold nodules are less common than hot nodules. So it will probably turn out to be just fine, but you should definitely have it checked out to know exactly what you are dealing with and make sure it isn't anything serious. Hope that helps!
Thyroid problems
Hi:
Wanted to tell you I had hyperparathyroidism a few years ago, when they did the surgery they removed half the thyroid - there was also a nodule in the thyroid itself. Everything turned out fine. Hashimoto's does seem to cause a lumpy thyroid. I worked for a thyroid doc when I was 17 (that's where I began learning to be a medical transcriptionist) and even way back then (well, let's say 30 odd years ago) he thought my thyroid felt Hashimoto's-ish!
Hope all goes well for you also
thyroid disease
I have hypothyroidism and take Unithroid. I'm up to 150 mcg a day. The only thing I am sensitive to is hot and cold. My internal thermostat does not work well. No medication sensitivities though, but that does not mean much as each person is different. We all reactive diferently from each other. Good luck though. Hope things improve with this.
Have you had thyroid checked?
It could be from a variety of things, but you might want to have your thyroid hormone levels checked.
Check out this website before you do, because many doctors aren't up on it they way they should be:
http://thyroid.about.com/
have a lump on my thyroid . . .sm
anyone ever have a nodule or diagnosed with thyroid cancer? My twin sister had thyroidectomy 1-1/2 years ago for thyroid cancer. I am feeling a little scared right now . . . I go for ultrasound tomorrow.
Thyroid nodule
I have 2, one on each side. I was pretty scared, too, and immediately had the left side biopsied because it was the largest but it was benign. That was 4 years ago.
My doc (I worked for him then) told me not to worry about it unless I have trouble swallowing or breathing. I'm to that point now and know I have to get it taken care of, but am pretty scared. I haven't had an operation in 33 years and almost didn't wake up from it, but the left side has grown somewhat and know I have to take care of this, but I don't have a physician and don't care for our hospitals, yet don't want to go to a larger city hospital.
My neighbor, who is an RN and works for a city hospital had the same thing and got hers taken care of right away with no problems. She was home the next day. Of course, she's 20 years younger than I am.
Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much. The doc told me most are benign cysts and usually don't cause a problem.
I
Have you checked your thyroid?
Also read up on it, as the numbers many doctors use as the normal range really isn't accurate.
I never thought about thyroid...
I just looked it up a little bit and most of the symptoms are me to a T. Unfortunately, My husband just lost his job so I don't have insurance anymore.
So going to the doc is out of the question for a little while. School is starting next week and with 3 kids to buy shoes, backpacks, clothes for, etc. money is too tight.
I'm going to do some more research on it though and see if I can find some supplements or something.
Thanks for the idea though. I appreciate it. I'm willing to look at all avenues to try to fix this thing. I also have depression so when I get so fatigued I feel useless, bad for my kids, husband, etc which compounds my depression. So I'm pretty much willing to try just about anything.
Thanks again!
Have you had your thyroid checked?
I have hypothyroidism and before it was diagnosed was absolutely freezing, sounds like what you describe, could not get warm. That would be where I would start because being cold all the time is 1 of the symptoms. In the meantime, do as I did. Got a heated throw and that can be used around your shoulders, over the legs, throw on the bed to heat your covers, so glad I invested in one.
What are your symptoms with the thyroid?
I have also so wondering about you.
Even if your thyroid issue
was the cause of your hairloss, Rogaine could repair this. Consult your doctor again.
I have never heard of Topik.
thyroid manifests in many ways
Thirty years ago, a friend's daughter, 15, was thought to be manic-depressive, having breakdown. She was diagnosed with Graves' and medication made immediate difference. Today she's a happy grandma and still doing well.
Not Hashimoto's but thyroid and the tests I had done
were not only the T-3 and T-4, which by the way were fine, but the testing more extensive- I have all the symptoms you have and this particular physician ordered thyroid peroxidase, normal is 0-34 and mine was 283! My Synthroid increased but really cannot tell any difference. The only thing not bothered with a lot is fatigue. I have hair coming out, dry skin, cold year 'round. Ask for this additional test, like I said regular tests on me ok but this not. By the way, this was not an endocrinologist but a dermatologist I went to for something totally unrelated.
Armour thyroid supplement..sm
it is a natural, not synthetic or man made, form of thyroid replacement hormone. It contains T3 and T4 hormones, where synthroid only has T4.
It is a thyroid preparation, wanted to
stop the Synthroid because have heard from others it helps to cause hair loss and got enough of that.
Anyone here with thyroid problems or MS symptoms?
I have been having a cluster of very odd symptoms starting a few months ago that include: Heart palpitations, internal vibration/tremor, fine tremor in hands, eye pain, blurred vision, hives, balance problems, dizziness, muscle twitching, hot flashes, and more. These symptoms come and go. One day I'm fine, the next day BAM! I have had blood tests so far...doc thinks it's anxiety. I will be seeing my doc tomorrow to "go over the tests" so he can again tell me it's anxiety. I wonder if anyone else out there has these symptoms that just come on all of a sudden.
TIA
Anyone with hypothyroidism that has been told to have thyroid out?
I have the problem and have never lost weight. I just read a report where some physicians suggest having the thyroid out and then you might lose the weight? Just wondering if anyone has done this? Thanks
Every woman in my family has thyroid disease...
and only about half of them are overweight, so that's just another excuse. You really need to stop blaming other people for your weight problems and take control of your own situation. I too have hypothyroidism, but I am a size 6 and was only overweight when I was eating unhealthy and not exercising. If you're really only eating one meal a day, I can guarantee this is why you can't lose weight! Your body is probably holding onto everything you eat because you're starving it!! You absolutely need to eat 3 (small) meals a day and 2 snacks. There's a book called The 3 Hour Diet that can really help you with what you should be eating, how much and how often. You sound like a very angry person and like you don't want accept that you're responsible for your own health. Honestly, you're not overweight because of what the government does or doesn't do, it because of what you're doing to your body.
They usually remove the thyroid for hyperthyroidism not hypothyroidism. SM
If you have hypothyroidism, then your thyroid is low producing or not producing at all which causes you not to be able to lose weight. So removing your thyroid would basically be useless.
Does anyone have thyroid issues with normal free T4? (sm)
I have heard there can be T3-T4 converting issues that make your T4 appear normal but you can still have a thyroid condition. Just wondering if anyone on here has had that issue? Thanks for any info.
Thyroid Nodule - Questions/Info??
Two weeks ago I had a physical and my doc felt a lump on my thyroid. She sent me for an ultrasound one week ago to check it out. Yesterday, the nurse called and said that I have a 2 cm solid mass on my thyroid and my doc wants me to see an endocrinologist. Does anyone have experience with this? I don't have any health problems. Always get my thyroid checked every year and it's always fine. I'm not overweight or underweight, so not sure what this means. The nurse made a couple of comments that worried me a little though. She mentioned that the endocrinologist doesn't have a very good bedside manner, but he's an excellent doc?? Also, he was able to get me in on Tuesday, which seems very quick for a specialist appt. I don't have any experience with endocrinology, so maybe this is normal for them to see patients faster?? Surely though they wouldn't really be able to tell much from an ultrasound right? I would need to get a biopsy before they knew if it was more than a nodule? I know I'm probably just freaking myself out a bit, but if anyone has any personal or professional experience with thyroid nodules and/or endocrinology, it would be great to hear from you! Thanks!
Found a thyroid mass about a year ago too
just came up overnight or so it seemed, always had thyroid checked on annual exam, but just happened to reach up on my neck one day and there it was, rather large. I too saw family doctor, got an ultrasound which really cannot tell much, other than the size of the nodule and then was referred to surgeon. Because of the size and the way it appeared so quickly, there was mention of very slight, slight risk of cancer, etc, but that even thyroid cancer is hightly cureable, etc. I did some internet research etc and did not let it worry me too much, but followed up and my doctor had an ultrasound-guided needle thyroid biopsy performed by a radiologist at our local hospital who specializes in these procedures, that way he was able to make sure to take enough specimen while I was there (so I would not have to go through the procedure again, if the specimen was inadequate) They ended up doing four passes with the needle to get enough, after using local lidocaine, etc. Did not hurt a bit (went out to lunch with my girlfriends about 2 hours after the procedure) but you could feel the needle when it went through into the gland (the gland is rather tough)kind of like a popping sound. The best part was that I could get a preliminary result in about 5 minutes while I was still on the exam table, no waiting and worrying. Luckily it came back benign, but I do have to take thyroid medication now. They were hoping it would shrink the mass, but it has been about 9 months now and I am due in April to have another ultrasound but I can tell that the mass is not any smaller, probably larger and so I can look forward to having partial thyroidectomy (not really afraid of surgery, just don't have time in my schedule for such things). My advice is to do some internet research on WebMD, etc, make a list of questions to ask your doctor, and I would definitely try to get a specialist to do any biopsy and see if you can get preliminary results the same day to put your mind at ease. Remember most doctors don't have the greatest personalities but if they know their stuff that's what matters. Try not to worry.
Anyone with thyroid disease experience sensitivity
I have had thyroid disease for about 5 years now and am on Synthroid for it. I find that I cannot tolerate caffiene very well and narcotic/anlgesic medications, such as Novocaine make my heart race and make me feel so weirded out I can no longer tolerate this. I cannot even have a wisdom tooth pulled because of this.
Anywa, I thought it was just me but I recently read in a magazine that thyroid disease could cause sensitivity to medications. It would stand to reason once your thyroid levels were adjusted this would go away, but such is not the case with me. Does anybody else have this problem?
I agree with poster below - maybe check thyroid. sm
A little over a year ago I had what I thought was a *severe* sore throat. Over the course of about a week, I also had a low-grade temp., body aches, headache, chills (but only off and off) then came night sweats, heart palpitations and tachycardia (142 bpm).
I thought I was coming down with the flu, or maybe had strep throat. The weird thing is that the symptoms would come and go, and were always much worse at night. I'd feel horrible at night, then wake up feeling pretty much back to normal.
I finally got tired of it and went to urgent care, and when they saw how high my heart rate was, they did an EKG and told me to go immediately to the ER. At the ER, they gave me fluids, but my heart rate didn't come down. (They asked me if I was anxious. Nope. Calm as could be, and felt pretty good right then, actually.) They drew blood, gave me fluids, etc. and found I was hyperthyroid. I was in the hospital from Sun. afternoon until Tue. afternoon (mostly so they could monitor my heart to make sure it was okay, do more tests, and give me some pain relief for the throat pain).
What I had is called subacute granulomatous thyroiditis. (Maybe Google it and see if the symptoms sound like how you're feeling?) They *think* it's caused by a virus (it's not an immune system thyroid disorder). So basically it runs its course, they treat the symptoms, you're fine. (Though a small % of people may be left hypothyroid and need to go on thyroid replacement.)
I had follow up with an endocrinologist, and he said he was really surprised the docs in the ER diagnosed me so quickly. I guess most don't. If they hadn't thought to check my thyroid levels, I don't know what would have happened!
Now the runny nose symptom you have doesn't fit with this, so maybe it's not your thyroid, but it's easy enough for them to check your thyroid levels and see. They sent me home with Vicodin for the pain, and I needed it! Whatever it is, I hope you get relief for your throat pain soon. I'm sitting here remembering how much it hurt, so you have my sympathies. :o)
Would it still work if thyroid issue is causing it?
It seems like that might make it a different story, but I hope I am wrong.
I hope it (or something) helps you out. :)
Thank you for sharing that. Yes, thyroid disease left untreated can sm
be a very serious thing. I appreciate your response. Good luck to you!!
Time to get the thyroid and hormone levels checked AND
s
SIL's dog had horrible itching problem and vet found thyroid problem...
low, I think, and put the dog on thyroid medication and he is doing much better now.
or a thyroid problem, or another endocrine problem, or .... sm
Hard to know without checking some things, usually routine tests when there is an unexplained weight change. I have PCOS and what I eat more than how much I eat makes the biggest difference in my weight, even when the calories are otherwise equal.
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