Comment from: Jenny in Arizona, 35-44 Female (Patient)Published: July 15
I am 38 and a mother of three. Just recently, I was scared by odd chest sensations that turned out to be heart palpitations brought on by thyroid problems. My other symptoms were: hot feelings on my face, sweating, dizziness after the palpitations, inability to concentrate on a task and tenderness in my muscles and tingling limbs. My first blood test showed an underactive thyroid. After taking .025 mcg for 30 days, my blood tests still came back that I needed a dosage increase. So now I just started taking .05 mcg. My symptoms have decreased some. The heart palpitations are down to about three a day and only happen when I am busy doing activities. I still get dizzy, mostly in the mornings. (And mom if you are reading this: No, I am not pregnant, haha.) I am feeling so much better than I did one month ago, and I am looking forward to feeling even better as they regulate my thyroid levels. I hope this will help someone. If I am to have any health issues, this is the one I would choose because I already feel so much better, and I am still not where they want me to be.
Comment from: 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: August 17
I don't know what is wrong-my doctor says that all of my blood work is in the "high normal" ranges. I am a 50 year old female. Up until 6 months ago I would have described myself as normal, healthy very active professional. Since December I have lost 50 lbs, have very frequent periods (two or three times an hour) where I sweat profusely, cannot sleep, yet am constantly exhausted, easily agitated, short temper, difficulty concentrating, cannot remember anything (walk out of the room and forget what I went to get and I get lost on my way to the store) cannot complete a task, I am in constant pain, my muscles ache, and my joints are throbbing. My menstrual periods suddenly stopped in January. Yet my doctor says he can find no reason for any of my symptoms, and thinks it is all due to emotional things, although there have been no drastic changes in my life to cause any upheaval.
Comment from: karo21, 35-44 Female (Patient)Published: May 20
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism because my Free T4 level was .72 on a scale of .89 - 1.76 ng/dL and my TSH level was 21.56 on a scale of .35 - 5.50 uIU/mL. Have not received the test results back from my ultrasound and have a couple of weeks before my endocrinology appointment. I had a baby 9 months ago and believe the pregnancy onset slowed the acting thyroid. Some of my symptoms are no energy, not able to lose weight and sadness. My doctor prescribed Synthroid but I have not started taking it yet. I am more interested in addressing this temporary thyroid issue through holistic healing instead of taking a synthetic hormone for the rest of my life. To start I've been taking Iodine and am changing my diet with the help of my holistic doctor. If this does not work, then I will take the Synthroid.
Woodland Hills, CA
Comment from: Katy, 19-24 Female (Patient)Published: May 18
When I was 14, my ninth grade English teacher told my mom I needed medicine for ADHD because I was to hyper. It was then I started Ritalin and was on it for 6 years, yet it never actually helped. I was still hyper and did horrible in school (short-term memory loss) but continued to persevere as I was in my second year of college and finally I went to the doctor for a rash (one of many that I constantly battled, along with no menstrual cycle, vomiting daily and short-term memory loss and emotional distress) and the pediatric doctor said he wanted to test me for thyroid disease. I was like Huh? What is that? Sure enough the vomiting was because my thyroid was overproducing so much of the thyroid hormone that the vomiting was my body's way of trying to get rid of it. I had radioactive iodine and have been well for about 3 years now. I have had a thyroid storm experience here lately, but there are always bumps in the road. My case was extremely out of the ordinary and one of the worst ones the doctors have seen. Oh and I was 90 pounds from the age of 13 until my diagnosis at age 21.
Comment from: 45-54 Female (Caregiver)Published: March 17
Thyroid "blood" tests were not helpful, because the highly "sensitive TSH" and T4 did not show the health care professional that I had Hashimoto's. Nor did serum tests show that the high conversion from an eventual increased dose of L-thyroxine [200mcg] actually occurred, because I still had hypo symptoms. I knew this because no one had checked the FREE T3 and FREE T4. My TSH was in the low-normal reference range [0.44]; according to that specific lab. However, when the FT3 and FT4 were administered it showed that they were less than what was the lab's "normal-reference" range. Indicating that there was still a problem with my ability to convert all that T4 [storage hormone] to the active T3, indicating a poor conversion rate and perhaps adrenal dysfunction. Hypothyroidism is NOT the simple disease that most patients are lead to believe and the one-size-fits-all approach by doctors because of misinformation by the AMA - is harming more patients than are helped!
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Suggested Reading on Thyroid Blood Tests by Our Doctors
Hypothyroidism is any state in which thyroid hormone production is below normal. Normally, the
rate of thyroid hormone production is controlled by the brain at the pituitary.
Hypothyroidism is a very common condition and the symptoms of hypothyroidism are
often subtle.
Dizziness is a symptom that is often applies to a variety of sensations including lightheadedness and vertigo. Causes of dizziness include low blood pressure, heart problems, anemia, dehydration, and more. Treatment of dizziness depends on the cause.
Muscle spasms are involuntary muscle contractions that come on suddenly and are usually quite painful. Dehydration, doing strenuous exercise in a hot environment, prolonged muscle use, and certain diseases of the nervous system may cause muscle spasms. Symptoms and signs of a muscle spasm include an acute onset of pain and a possible bulge seen or felt beneath the skin where the muscle is located. Gently stretching the muscle usually resolves a muscle spasm.
Hyperthyroidism is an excess of thyroid hormone resulting from an overactive thyroid gland. Symptoms can include increased heart rate, weight
loss, depression, and cognitive slowing. Treatment is by medication, the use of
radioactive iodine, thyroid surgery, or reducing the dose of thyroid hormone.
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There are four major types of thyroid cancer: papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. Tumors on the thyroid are referred to as thyroid nodules. Symptoms of thyroid cancer include swollen lymph nodes, pain in the throat, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, and a lump near the Adam's apple. Treatment usually involves chemotherapy, surgery, radioactive iodine, hormone treatment or external radiation and depends upon the type of thyroid cancer, the patient's age, the tumor size, and whether the cancer has metastasized.
Fainting, also referred to as blacking out, syncope, or temporary loss of consciousness has many causes. Often a person will have signs or symptoms prior to the fainting episode. Diagnosis and treatment depends upon the cause of the fainting or syncope episode.
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Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the US. This conditions is caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland. Symptoms may include: fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, excessive sleepiness, dry or coarse hair, difficulty swallowing, a lump in the front of the throat, and many more. Treatment is usually hypothyroid medication.
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There are many types of thyroid disease. Some occur due to the function of the thyroid itself such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc. Some causes of thyroid disease occur due to problems with the structure of the thyroid gland such as goiters, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancer. Treatment of thyroid disease depends on the cause of the disease.
Fatigue can be described in various ways. Sometimes fatigue is described as feeling a lack of energy and motivation (both mental and physical). The causes of fatigue are generally related to a variety of conditions or diseases for example, anemia, mono, medications, sleep problems, cancer, anxiety, heart disease, drug abuse, and more. Treatment of fatigue is generally directed toward the condition or disease that is causing the fatigue.
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. Some of the symptoms of Graves' disease include hand tremors, rapid heartbeat, trouble sleeping, enlarged thyroid, thinning of the skin or fine brittle hair. Causes of Graves' disease are thought to be multifactorial such as genes, gender, stress, and infection. Treatment for Graves' disease is generally medication.
Myxedema coma is the loss of brain function due to severe longstanding low levels of thyroid hormone in the blood. Myxedema coma is a life-threatening complication of hypothyroidism. Examples of triggers of myxedema coma include medications, infections stroke, trauma and more. Some of the ymptoms of myxedema coma include: hypothermia, seizures, coma, difficulty breathing and more. Treatment of myxedema coma depend on the severity of the condition.
Thyroiditis is the inflammation of the thyroid gland. The inflamed thyroid gland can release an excess of thyroid hormones into the blood stream, resulting in a temporary hyperthyroid state. Some forms of thyroiditis can be diagnosed based on tenderness and enlargement of the thyroid gland. A thyroid scan sometimes is used in making the diagnosis. Thyroiditis can also be diagnosed with a biopsy of the thyroid gland.
The thyroid is a gland that makes and stores essential
hormones that help
regulate the heart rate, blood pressure, body
temperature, and the rate of chemical reactions (metabolism) in the body. It is
located in the anterior neck
just below the Adams apple.
The thyroid gland is the, is the main part of the
body that takes up iodine. In a thyroid scan, iodine is labeled with a
radioactive tracer, and a special camera is used to measure how much tracer is
absorbed from the bloodstream by the thyroid gland. If a patient is allergic to
iodine, technetium can be used as an alternative.
How is the thyroid scan performed?
A thyroid scan is an outpatient procedure usually done
in the nuclear medicine section of a hospital. This is usually part of the
radiology
department.
If you have a thyroid scan, you will be asked to take a
drink, or swallow a pill containing the...
If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
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I am 38 and a mother of three. Just recently, I was scared by odd chest sensations that turned out to be heart palpitations brought on by thyroid problems. My other symptoms were: hot feelings on my face, sweating, dizziness after the palpitations, inability to concentrate on a task and tenderness in my muscles and tingling limbs. My first blood test showed an underactive thyroid. After taking .025 mcg for 30 days, my blood tests still came back that I needed a dosage increase. So now I just started taking .05 mcg. My symptoms have decreased some. The heart palpitations are down to about three a day and only happen when I am busy doing activities. I still get dizzy, mostly in the mornings. (And mom if you are reading this: No, I am not pregnant, haha.) I am feeling so much better than I did one month ago, and I am looking forward to feeling even better as they regulate my thyroid levels. I hope this will help someone. If I am to have any health issues, this is the one I would choose because I already feel so much better, and I am still not where they want me to be.
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