This is my first time posting. I am at the end of my rope and wondered if anyone has any advise. Here's my story.
Do these symptoms look familure to anyone?
Extreme fatigue
dizziness / lightheaded 24/7
Hangover feeling every morning
moving in slow motion
dropping sensation when walking
depth perception problems
ground shaking
unable to concentrate
sinus / throat infections
full painfull breast - I feel 5 months prego.
mid section weight gain
pimples on buttocks
dry brittle hair
deep ridges in thumb nails.
yeast infections
Six weeks after the birth of my 3rd child I felt like I hit a wall. I had the above symptoms for 2 1/2 years. But all blood work normal.I have seen ents, neuros had mri's and they can't find anything wrong. My doctors isn't and never has taken me serioussly. He keeps bringing up postpartum depression. My youngest is 4ys old now. I told him that I would argue till I was blue in the face that it isn't depression. I have improved over the years. I still feel tired all of the time and have pms (painfull breasts) and irregular periods ( I have it for a day or two, then it stops for a few days and returns for 3 days).
My TSH levels range anywhere from 1.39 to 3.8
I am so tiiiired of feeling like this. I need some advise.
could certainly be hypo problems, especially with your TSHs in the moderate range. it could be you feel better with the TSH below 1... did you have any other thyroid blood tests taken?
hypothyroid problem often occur after pregnancy. i'm surprised your doctor isn't taking this more seriously. if s/he isn't working with you to help you feel better, you need a new doctor!
Hi... the one thing that jumps out at me when I read your post is Yeast infections. That is a surefire indicator of low immune function. You might have intestinal candida which goes hand in hand with hypo because of the low immune function.
I had the nasty candida and I still have to be very careful not to trigger it.
You can be hypo with normal thyroid function tests. I had normal tests... very very normal.
The abdominal swelling is a symptom of PCOS also.. maybe want to check that out also.
From what you describe it sounds like your hormones are definitely off.. whether it be female or thyroid or could be both.
Good luck with this... I know how horrible it is to feel so sick... especially with little kids.
Oops.. just noticed that you wrote your Tsh goes from 1 something to 3.8. 3.8 is over the new guidelines [url="http://www.aace.com"]www.aace.com[/url] for tsh and you would be considered hypo at that.
The fluctuating tsh may indicate hashimotos.... or may not.. but you should have the thyroid antibodies tests done.
Annoy the bejeezus out of your docs. I had hypo symptoms back in high school but all the docs I saw said I was just fatigued, stressed... one even had me tested for mono and when my white cell count came back a little high, he treated me for that. It took me 9 years to get a doctor to pay attention to me. I think the only reason she was even concerned about hypo was because I had just given birth and had pretty nasty postpartum depression. I'm on a very low dose of synthroid, but I'm feeling so much better. BE PERSISTANT!! ...and good luck!
Seek out a Thyroid specialist. You are more inclined to be taken seriously by a specialist. get a refferral from your current dr. if you have to. You have been feeling badly for too long now. This sounds to me like the logical place to start. Good luck, KK
Thanks for all of your replies. I am conviced I have pregnancey induced hypo. I had three children in three years. That totally screwed up my system
The problem is getting a Dr. to treat me because all blood tests are normal. I did see an Endo. and he said the same thing. I have just started seeing a new dr. If he won't help me I will request to see a female endo.
This is my first posting and I feel like I am going to burst into tears! within 3 months after the birth of my daughter, I lost weight rapidly, had severe mood swings, etc... my doctor took blood, sent me to an Endo as my Thyroid levels were severly Hyper! So, the Endo calls me at work to tell me I have Graves. put me on Tapazol (sp?). Within 3 weeks my levels were taken - they went down so much that the doctor said I didn't have Graves, and it was just a post pregnancy Thyroiditis... Well, 3 years later, I have suffered from extreme fatigue (for the last year), always feel hot - can't ever cool down! sluggish, heavy in the mid-section etc... Dr.s wrote it off as a busy mom thing.... Well, until I got Optic neuritis in both eyes, in and out of the hospital for MRI's, spinal tap - to rule out MS...steroid treatments, you name it! I'm 32 years old and feel like I'm 90! All looked "-" for MS, but my Thyroid antibodies have tripled! Now I'm being told lupus or Hashimoto's - anyone have optic neuritis and Hashimoto's?? I know it is common with Graves.... I thank anyone who can help with a reply! Best,
Devrha
A TSH of 3 or over is not normal, even if labs say so, the criteria has been changed and labs and dr's are still not current on this.....tell the dr about the new criteria and ask for a 'trial' dose and see what he says, if he says no, look for a new dr.
------------------
Hashimoto's~Hypo
Multi-nodular
No meds, waiting for scan
i was still having all sorts of symptoms, mainly exhaustion; my TSH test came back down to 1.1 (from 3.8), which is not normal for ME, but the doc-on-call said "nope, it's normal, call your endo" ... yikes! and don't think that being female rules out number-oriented endos, because this one was a she!
daldre: i've had two yeast infections in the past 6 months -- thanks for explaining this to me ... i'd vaguely thought that the two were connected but nothing more -- now i know for sure, and will take more care ...
TSH really isn't an accurate indicator of your thyroid health for numerous reasons. It seems all of us thyroid patients have pretty much found that out through our own practices, yet doctors don't figure it out at all.
If you want more of a confirmation, get Free T3 and Free T4 tests. These more accurately show the functioning of your thyroid. You want both of these values to be as close to the top of the ranges as you can get them without hyperthyroid symptoms occuring.
undiagnosed HELP!!! 
jb
