Hypothyroidism

jmvh59

After faithfully consuming at least a pack each day for 16 years, I quit my cigarette habit in December of 2009 (alongside my lovely and loving wife, who smoked for about 20 years--Yay Chantix!). By the next spring, I was approaching age 35 and my health was deteriorating rapidly. I was putting on weight quickly, my hands were rough and bulbous. My finger joints felt tight and ached constantly. I could hardly walk any distance without feeling the burn in my screaming back muscles. Hills were agony. I went for a walk with my wife and had to lay down on the sidewalk because I could not keep up. I sounded like I was drunk when I spoke. I could not drive for more than 20 minutes without beginning a dangerous cycle of nodding off for a split second and jerking awake in terror of getting into an accident. I was commuting over an hour each way back then. It's a miracle I and everyone on the road with me survived those few weeks.

I had to switch doctors to get a proper diagnosis. Hypothyroidism. The worst case my doctor had ever heard of, from the test results. He was not sure how I was even standing, let alone moving around. He prescribed a new dosage of synthroid every six weeks or so until we got it dialed in for what my body required. It eventually settled at 175 micrograms. I take them every day. I am so thankful for those tiny little pills that turned my life back around. Untreated, hypothyroidism can lead to coma and death. I'm glad it never came to that for me.

Does anyone reading this suffer from this condition? I understand it is quite common. I would be interested in hearing about your experiences.

_CowgirlUp_

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism about a month ago. I'm taking a very low dose of synthroid for 3 months and then having my TSH checked again to see where it's at. My doctor said we would probably have to "tweak" the dosage until we get it right but I'm so happy to have figured out the source of some of my problems!

kaytonp

I have Hashimoto's, a form of Hypothyroidism, basically my immune system is attacking my thyroid. I take 60 mg a day and have to take Iron suplements. I still have not found the right dosage yet but luckily my condition is not so bad that It prevented my weight loss. I was able to lose all my excess weight through diet and exercise while still varying my dosage of thyroid hormone. I have now lossed all my excess weight but still can't quite get my TSH to normal.

JenniCH

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 18 (5 years ago) after I rapidly gained about 50lbs (within a few months!) even though my diet and exercise hadn't changed.
Unfortunately by then... my habits weren't what they needed to be and the synthroid wasn't enough to keep me from gaining 50 MORE lbs...which led to 4.5 years of living my own personal nightmare.
Thankfully last year I finally got my head on straight and shed all 100lbs (yay!) - now I just focus on keeping my good habits and toning!
Other than weight gain the only other experiences I had related to hypothyroidism before I was diagnosed and put on synthroid was falling asleep ALL THE TIME... friends/family were beginning to think I was narcoleptic!

scapez

I have it, but not nearly as bad as you did...that sounds awful! For the longest time I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I was very emotional, moody, tired, knees were aching...stuff like that. I didn't gain very much weight...maybe close to 10 pounds, but I was eating a lot then too (it was over the holidays). One day I saw Dr. Oz on TV talking about hypothyroidism symptoms and I stood there in amazement as he listed everything that I had been going through. I often wonder if I had not seen that show how much longer I would've 'suffered' not knowing what was wrong.

Fast forward to now, I've lost 20 lbs, feeling pretty good and oh yeah, I quit smoking too, it's almost 5 weeks now!

fiberartist219

Count me in!

My coworkers told me that my anger before lunch time was not normal, and they urged me to go get my blood sugar checked. I found out that my mom and grandma have diabetes, so I thought that I should go see if I was experiencing anything related to that.

My doctor did a full workup for my metabolism. Turns out I was hypothyroid, and at this time, my blood sugar is just fine.

I have had a whole host of problems, even when my lab results say my thyroid hormone levels are normal.

I am starting to feel a lot better lately, but there are many, many factors involved in my road to wellness.

delgud14

Hello!
I also have hypothyroidism. I was actually diagnosed around the age of 2...they found I was born with an undersized/under-active thyroid. My sister was born without one..we were told this in itself was rare for two siblings that young to have the same diagnosis. I have had my dosage move around my whole life. Around the age of 24 my dose started to regulate a bit, I'm 27 now. I have found the medication works best if I take it about a half hour before I eat. If I forget to take it, or once I let myself run out over a weekend and couldn't get a script filled...opps I notice a huge difference in my ability to think clearly, and especially my energy level.

Weight has been something I always struggled with, I always blamed it on the hypothyroidism and the fact that I'm so short..but I'm learning that even if my metabolism isn't the strongest I can still accomplish weight loss! I'm so glad everything has worked out for you. Hypothyroidism being a maintenance disease can be annoying at times, but completely manageable!
Good Luck!

ak_honda

I was diagnosed a couple weeks ago after doing follow-up bloodwork for my yearly. My bloodwork the past few years showed my TSH slowing rising. As of a couple weeks ago it was up to 6.8, up from the 2.75 it was in 2009. (I also started drinking soy a lot more then, up until early this year. I am now switching back to skim milk which is what I grew up on. I wonder if that isn't part of my cause if my other tests come back normal.)

I am going to start my very first ever dose of Levothyroxine .025mg tomorrow morning. I am hoping this will help resolve my issue and allow me to start losing weight that I need to.

I am also awaiting the results of my bloodwork today to help figure out why my thyroid is acting up (and to see if it's autoimmune or not).

I am glad to see there are others here, this will be a good resource for me for questions :-) I am slightly nervous about taking a hormone, but do realize it is a small dosage I am starting with.

julespickles

I am glad to see there are others here, this will be a good resource for me for questions :-) I am slightly nervous about taking a hormone, but do realize it is a small dosage I am starting with.

hiya, don't be worried about taking a hormone - you need it! Thyroxine replacement drugs all contain levothyroxine which is nature-identical, eg, it's exactly what your thyroid SHOULD be producing but isn't, so having it in your bloodstream is no different to if your body had produced it. There may be some adjusting to get the right levels, but you should start to feel better soon. I was diagnosed when I was 21, and started on 25mcg. gradually ramped up to 150mcg, where I've been stable for 5+ years now with no symptoms

jmvh59

I have it, but not nearly as bad as you did...that sounds awful! For the longest time I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I was very emotional, moody, tired, knees were aching...stuff like that. I didn't gain very much weight...maybe close to 10 pounds, but I was eating a lot then too (it was over the holidays). One day I saw Dr. Oz on TV talking about hypothyroidism symptoms and I stood there in amazement as he listed everything that I had been going through. I often wonder if I had not seen that show how much longer I would've 'suffered' not knowing what was wrong.

Fast forward to now, I've lost 20 lbs, feeling pretty good and oh yeah, I quit smoking too, it's almost 5 weeks now!

Congratulations on quitting smoking! That's such a bad habit I'm so glad to be done with! I can hardly believe I used to love smoking so much...

There were a few other hypothyroidism symptoms I totally forgot about when I originally posted. I was FREEZING all the time, so I was constantly bundled up. I never wanted to get a shower because that meant getting undressed and exposing my body to the cold. I had ZERO libido. It was pretty awful. I'm so angry about how my original doctor only tried to treat the symptoms by prescribing me provigil which cost a ton of money and didn't do all that great a job of keeping me awake.

Thanks, everybody, for posting. It was good to hear your stories.

ksmekate41

I take 30 mg of Armour thyroid medication. It's the stuff our grandmother's used to take. Been taking that for probably 4 years, but I'm still at least 75 lbs overweight. I blame my eating on that though. Just trying to get motivated again after already losing 75 lbs, and gaining 60 of it back. Wish I could give up the emotional stress eating!

ak_honda

Thanks! I guess I'm more nervous/anxious on how the first few weeks will be, if I have any bad reactions to it or side effects, that sort of thing.

I've reacted bad to prednisone (high fever within hour of taking, puking) and levquin (caused my knee to swell up) in the past so it's made me a lot more cautious when taking things.

no_where1976

I take 30 mg of Armour thyroid medication. It's the stuff our grandmother's used to take. Been taking that for probably 4 years, but I'm still at least 75 lbs overweight. I blame my eating on that though. Just trying to get motivated again after already losing 75 lbs, and gaining 60 of it back. Wish I could give up the emotional stress eating!

You might see if your doc will take you off Armour and try you on Narture Throid of West Throidl I am starting West Throid tomorrow; i'm so excited! From what I found out the reformulation of Armour changed the way our bodies absorb the meds. I've done a bunch of research. I have no thyroid b/c I had Graves and had it removed in 2007. I took Synthroid for 4 years and eventually felt like crap so I finally found someone to switch me to Armour then started feeling hypo again so I am switching again.

Anyone who would like to do some research check out the website stop the thyroid madness...it's amazing and completely changed my life There are also yahoo support groups you can check out to. There's a ton of info out there.

alerica1

I'm on Synthroid, 300 mcg per day.

brandiuntz

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in early 2010. I take 30mg, compounded at my local compound pharmacy. Getting my levels back into a normal range has helped me so much. Amazing what a difference it made in my energy levels, and TOM issues.

@ak_honda: I can understand the nervousness, but you shouldn't react badly to the medication. It really is about giving your body what it needs to start functioning properly. The dosage amounts are increased in small amounts until you're in the best range for you. I've never had any side effects from my thyroid meds.

nicolio8699

I also have hashimoto's!

CraftHer

So glad you found the problem. A word of advice, from experience, if I may. Have your doctor keep an eye on this as you are loosing weight. As I was loosing weight, I was getting too much of the medication. The symptoms of high thyroid are as agonizing as low thyroid.

Also, watch what you take it with. There are some medications or supplements that will interfere with thyroid medication. The 2 I'm aware of are calcium and iron. Take them about 2 hours apart.

I've found that when I take it regularly, then the symptoms are under control. But if I start feeling sluggish, fatigued or lathargic, then I go to the doctor quickly and ask them to check my thyroid, iron and B12.

Good luck to you.

ak_honda

The only supplement I take is Omega-3 (and only Omega-3, not a combined 3-6-9) as it helps my skin, and I do not eat any seafood. I love peanut butter (has omega-3) but that probably is not something i should be eating all the time right out of the jar

I don't take calcium supplements as my levels are actually within a good normal range consistently each year (even thought I hardly drink milk).

I will have to change my routine though for breakfast of eating a yogurt every morning. :P

brandiuntz

I take my thyroid med when I first wake up, and make sure not to eat for over an hour.

Good advice from CraftHer. A friend of mine lost 60lbs and had that exact situation (hypo to hyper). She was miserable until they got her dosage lowered to the proper new level.

DanceForever904

i myself have hypothyroidism. but i take only 25 micrograms mine apperently wasnt too severe (thankfully)

susanswan

I was diagnosed with hypothyroid at age 19. Very sleepy and joint pain. Somewhere along the line they changed the diagnosis to Hashimoto's. I just thought it was the same disease with a different name - the official name. Can anyone clarify that for me? Anyway just as stable as I can be. Even through menopause my doc said we'd probably have to change the dose but I'm 54 and have been on 75 mcg of levothyroxine for many years. We only check my blood levels every other year. I've gotten off of milk so just drink soy in my coffee and oatmeal. I am also trying to go vegetarian - plant based, so wonder if that will mean anything different? We'll see!