Hypothyroid symptoms with normal tests

I'm going through the exact same thing! They told me nothing was wrong and acted like I'm crazy. I was just discussing this with my MFP friend Lorlei25. Please feel free to get in touch with her as well. She's gone through a whole lot with thyroid conditions.

I'm at a loss too. I wake up every morning and sit on the edge of my bed and weep because I'm so tired. I feel like I'm in an alien body and the doctor's and specialists say that I'm 'fine' and to come back later.

Please friend me if you'd like

Do you have a health food store near you with a certified naturo path? I have all of the symptoms as well and my #'s fall in the low/normal range for everything and she put me on Thyrophin. It is a bovine derived suplement that will NOT shut down what thyroid function you have left unlike synthetic prescriptions. I have been on it for 2 weeks and have noticed a difference already and I am at the lowest dose.

ETA: I have also found the book "Prescription for Natural Healing" to be very helpful with diet tips to help with low thyroid function as well as other suplements that you can try.

Mine was all over the place for the longest time, like years. I'd get the symptoms, the enlarged thyroid, but it was always normal. FINALLY, after 3 years of monitoring it, it was elevated (TSH, making it hypothyroid). I'm on the lowest dose of Synthroid, and it seems to help me a lot. My mom has hypothyroid, but only her T3 Uptake is messed up... It's weird.

I, too, have had all the symptoms for hypothyroidism. My blood tests always come back normal. Now my mother and sister have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and I've been told that it's a hereditary condition. So why do my tests come back normal? I have no idea. But I'm always tired, I'm always cold, and I've put on 50 pounds in 3 years.

This is my story. Turns out I have a condition called hemachromitosis. It makes all the iron you ingest stay in your body. In me in masquerades as a thyroid condition which in fact is a liver issue. It was an expensive genetic test but now I know what to do for me and what to watch for. Much simpler check for low b, and low D. In combination they also feel like thyroid issues. Good luck.


Find a new endo, mine was great and I miss him. Also print out your diary the next time you go to the dr and demand someone listen to you.

I'm hypo. I can't believe the endo's response...what an a******.

Did they do a thyroid ultrasound? When I got that done, they were able to measure it and see if there were any other abnormalities. As *I* understand (and I'm not a Dr), if the thyroid is enlarged, it's because it's overworking, trying to achieve the normal production of hormones; just like an enlarged heart that's not able to pump enough blood.

Another point I'd like to make is that numbers are just numbers. Even if your numbers are in the normal range, your symptoms show that it's obviously not the normal range *for you*. This happened to me last summer when according to the results I was hyper, but guess what, for once I felt normal. Soon, I'll be dealing with explaining that to my new dr. and I'm already cringing at the thought.

My advice is to drop dr. a******, but it seems like that might not be possible for you. In that case, I'd keep talking to him/her, insist that you're not feeling good and demand more tests. Maybe track your daily symptoms and rate them. Make a chart. Show it to him/her next time.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It's unfair and trying to get a Dr to listen is sometimes -surprisingly- difficult.
Good luck!

Ask for these specific tests....free T3, free T4 and reverse T3. Standard TSH tests missed my hypo diagnosis. The "normal" range is so damn broad that it's practicality useless as a diagnostic aid. We can be severely symptomatic in the normal ranges. Finding a good Endo is critical. Don't let them take one vial of blood until you find a Dr who tells you that they're going to figure it out no matter what. For some reason with most endos you have to fight to get the care necessary to be well. Don't give up searching for your answers.

bump. I was just diagnosed as hypo last month and I too have almost all of the symptoms you listed. I'm just figuring this thing out so I don't have any suggestions but am interested in the info the others are providing. I wish you luck in getting some answers :flowerforyou:

I have most of the symptoms you described, so I went to my Dr. He ran a battery of tests and everything came back in the normal range except for Vitamin D was extremely low. I took prescription D for a couple of months and felt no change whatsoever. I went back to him and told him so. He figures I am depressed and wanted to put me on meds for that. I declined as I don't think that is my problem. Also, my sister and father have been diagnosed with thyroid problems. I told the Dr. that as well, and, apparently, that didn't make a difference. It's very frustrating as I have gotten NOWHERE.

Here's my two cents

I have been down a long road with hypo thyroidism. I have hashimotos (sp??) and until I convinced my doc to change me to a dessicated thyroid med (I take Armour) I had every single symptom on my original complaint list (and it was LONG). Back then I was on Synthroid and all my levels were normal. We did full blood panels on all the ones that have been recommended. I had the scans on my thyroid and on my adrenal gland. Everything was "normal" but I wasn't!

My list was crazy long and all of them except about 3 things are now gone. I've been on Armour for nearly 3 years and my three final battles are my weight (mine is a roller coaster, I go up and down 10-15 pounds a couple of times a year, it's nuts), my hair loss (also fluctuates) and my fatigue (I do think that could be due to my work load and lack of sleep...)

However, I would bore you if I went through all the symptoms that are totally gone. It includes less common ones like pain in the bottoms of your feet, piercing light pain that is momentarily blinding and they water, and the far more common ones such as dry skin, headaches, depression, anxiety, cold intolerance, cold buns, hands, and feet, constipation, and so many others.

At any rate, it's worth considering giving a dessicated medication a try. As always, it takes time, so commit to the change for at least 6 months before deciding to stay with it or not. For me, I'll never go back.

Check out the website stop the thyroid maddness dot com. It is jam up full of information!

I've had thyroid type symptoms for many years but have never been diagnosed. My doctor finally took a thyroid test and my TSH was above normal, but my T3 and T4 were normal so he didn't do a thing about it. In the meantime, my mom found a book that gave some suggestions about how to help your symptoms even if you aren't diagnosed.

#1. Maintain normal/baseline blood sugar levels at all times. This means eating protein before bed, and making yourself eat protein immediately after waking up even if you aren't hungry. Don't go over 3 hours during the day without eating, and don't consume sugars and things that will make your blood sugar spike and drop. Hypo and Hyper glycemia can aggravate thyroid conditions. If you do eat sugar, make sure its accompanied by fat, fiber, or protein to slow own the absorption. Don't use fake sugars or chemically synthesized stuff, and stay away from soy just to be safe.

#2. Get adequate high quality sleep each night. At least 7-9 hours a night.

#3. Exercise daily. Exercise helps reset your metabolism. Could be as simple as going for a brisk walk. Just move your body and sweat.

My doctor took additional blood tests at my physical and it turned out my Vitamin D levels were low. But, taking vitamin D hasn't changed the fact that I get cold clammy hands for no reason, cold body when its 70 degrees, sometimes my heart races, and I get overly exhausted here and there. I just wish science and tests would get more thorough and meaningful. So many people get the run around. Its disturbing.

First of all, do not push to hard to get a doctor to put you on meds. They will tell you that you need to take those meds for life bc once you start taking them, they REPLACE your thyroid's function, so eventually, most people's thyroid actually shuts down.

Now, there is one other thing to consider when you are having those symptoms but "normal" thyroid tests. Your adrenals. Here's some info on adrenal exhaustion. I just googled it quickly, there are lots and lots of pages:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/endocrinology/a/adrenalfatigue.htm

That being said, I took thyroid drugs for 7 years, but I don't any more. Here's what happened to me:

I had endocrinologists put me on Synthroid, Armour, and all manner or drugs for over 7 years and NOTHING addressed my symptoms! Up this one, take another one, take 2, take 3, stop taking this one, add in that one. ridiculous.

I was exhausted every day by 2 pm. I lost a baseball size chunk of hair on the right side of my head, my skin was gray, nails cracked and ridged.

Oddly, I only got help when the manufacturer of Armour thyroid medicine began having manufacturing problems in the US about 3 years ago. My medicine was intermittently unavailable and eventually I could not get it at all. Some people were buying it from Mexico or Canada, but I didn't want to buy unregulated medicine, so I went without.

One day I mentioned to my chiro/kinesiologist that my med was unavailable. He suggested an OTC supplement that was $12 for a 30 day supply. $12. My prescriptions had been about $115/month.

Holy smokes, I got better. I couldn't believe it. My chiro said I was fortunate that my thyroid had not shut down completely from being on the meds, and that this supplement, instead of replacing the thyroid hormone, instead stimulates the thyroid to make its own hormone. The supplement is by Standard Process, it's called Thytrophin PMG. They make an adrenal supplement too, called Drenatrophin PMG.

I've been fully off thyroid meds for over 2 years and at the 1 year point I actually went back to the endocrinologist for blood tests. Everything was perfect. Perfect for the first time in almost 10 years.


Anyway, try a visit to a good chiropractor / kinesiologist for a holistic point of view without drugs.

good luck.

blessings.