The meds are working and I’m starting to feel better. Even I can’t believe the difference a week made 🙂
An update on my new treatment and more.
video: hypo diaries, pt.3 | it’s not all in my head (and that’s a good thing)
The meds are working and I’m starting to feel better. Even I can’t believe the difference a week made 🙂
An update on my new treatment and more.
marginalia and such 
So now you have me wondering. I’ve never paid any attention to TSH scores before because mine have always been normal, but the symptoms you describe are very, very similar to the ones I experience. I went back through the last eight years of my lab reports (what I have access to) and what I see is that I’m on the high end of the normal range and have been progressively going up, with one little dip downwards in late 2014 when I was on a medication that was very bad for me (not thyroid related). Now I have questions. How did you get diagnosed? What did they flag in your tests? Did you have to see an endochronologist to get someone to pay attention?
There’s a lot of controversy regarding the “normal” range scale. Much of the original research that led to it’s development included elderly patients, who tend to have higher TSH levels, so the averages are skewed to allow for higher levels than are ideal for some patients. I myself tend to do better on the lower end of the scale and really noticed a difference despite only being just on the edge of the higher end of the scale. I was first diagnosed when I switched to a new pediatrician and told her my main symptoms: unexplained weight gain (no amount of exercise or diet could shift it and I was always hungry), extreme tiredness (I just wanted to sleep all day and was falling asleep in first period classes), hair loss (by the handful), what amounted to depression (looking back), anxiety, shaky hands, brain fog, and extreme cold. My original diagnosis revealed a TSH of a little over 7 (if I recall correctly), it may have been 10, so the pediatrician recommended I see an endo right away. It took some doing because no one wanted to take me on with my mom’s insurance, but finally I found my current doctor.
I definitely recommend an endo. My pediatrician listened and made the connection, but a lot of general practitioners rely on the scale and blow off symptoms because they are so easily confused. My current GP thinks my numbers are fine; clearly, they’re not, which is why I’m so grateful that I don’t have to rely on his diagnosis. An endo will dig deeper and will usually look at other co-existing issues.
I felt off when I started having issues with my period, but I saw my obgyn before my endo and started looking at the possibility of PCOS. She also suspected my thyroid, but considered my levels normal, so she didn’t pursue that route. Looking back now, I know it started around the time that my levels started to rise. A lot of women develop thyroid issues during and after pregnancy, so hormone imbalances can arise as a result and vice versa, Thyroid disorders are rampant but often remain undiagnosed and undertreated.
It took a few years and a lot of visits before we found my correct dose (until now, that is). Synthroid works well for me (there’s a generic that fails to work for a lot of patients, but works great for others).
In addition to the PCOS symptoms, I started having a hard time growing out my hair, and experienced difficulty losing weight, while watching the pounds creep on. The tiredness came back with a vengeance and the brain fog. I blamed it on estrogen imbalance until I had my checkup.
TSH isn’t a perfect indicator, but it’s the base test that most doctor’s will run. An endo may run a few more tests (it depends on their philosophy). If you can see a specialist, go for it. It’s extremely common among women.
Thanks Gricel. This has been eye-opening. I’ve never even considered thyroid problems before because my levels are normal, despite my doctors always suspecting thyroid when I tell them my symptoms. Until they run tests, that is, at which point they just assume they were wrong. Maybe I’ll see what’s available on my insurance for endo. I don’t need referrals or anything, which is good! I’m currently doing the neurology thing for sleep disorder and possible epilepsy in the form of partial seizures (runs in the family) so maybe the endo will be next.