Thyroid Problems?

[ngueld]

Hi everyone, just wondering how many of you have thyroid problems? I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism today after 2 years of wondering what the **** was wrong with me (other than diabetes of course).

My endo put me on sinthyroid today and I was just wondering how long it might take for my body to get back to "normal".

I also wanted to give people a heads up because my family doctor was only doing 1 kind of thyroid test for me (T4 I think) and she never caught it...my endo did the TSH test and stuff and found that I most definetly had a thyroxine definciency.

[dar917]

what symptoms did you have?

[ngueld]

Well i had "girl problems" for one thing...I havent gotten my period in a long time... then i started getting weird food cravings and ive had problems losing weight. I'm not overweight by any means, but I'm a really active person and I eat pretty well and I seemed to be slowly gaining weight.

I noticed my food was digesting really slowly too which kind of effected my blood sugar. I notice when I eat large amounts, 2 hrs later my blood sugar will be fine but 4 or 5 hours after not eating, my sugars will be high...I figured because my metabolism is super slow and taking that long to digest the food.

[Jules49]

I asked my endo why I had black circles under my eyes one day. He did say it was a sign of thyroid problems. Have been on synthroid ever since he got the test results backs. I have always been a low dose of it. That was seven or eight years ago.

[ngueld]

I asked my endo why I had black circles under my eyes one day. He did say it was a sign of thyroid problems. Have been on synthroid ever since he got the test results backs. I have always been a low dose of it. That was seven or eight years ago.

did the circles go away? I have a little bit of those circles too.

[catgalla]

I have hypothyroidism as well due to diabetes. In most cases it comes hand in hand according to my endo. Not everyone will have it but most do. It usually takes about 2 to 3 weeks to start to feel back to normal and not be so tired all the time.:o

[ctskierguy]

I was just recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
My Endo said that once my pump is up and running and everything is stable we'll start looking at how we are going to treat it.
Apparently Hashimoto's is quite common among diabetics.

Mike

[peej07]

I have a growth on mine but my blood readings are fine. My mother had her thyroid removed many years ago so it runs in my family.

[octoberlily]

I was diagnosed in 2000 for underactive thyroid, but had no idea that it can cause dark circles around eyes, mine are awful so if this is the cause is there anything you can do about it?

Julie

[Penny]

Does anyone hear get a "froggy" sound to their voice because of Thyroid or the Synthroid ? Hubby takes medicine, but has sounded this way for a few months.

[duck]

After many years of trying I finally got off Synthroid and onto Armour Thyroid, let's see how that works out for me.

In any case, ngueld, it takes about a month to get consistent results from the Synthroid. Remember to be religious about taking it at the same time on an empty stomach--there really isn't ANYTHING that does NOT affect the uptake of the hormone. Heck, I started taking it with distilled water first thing in the AM before my shower, and those were the best results I EVER had on that stuff.

[MinimedPumper07]

I got a question for all of you. I am randomly tired at times of the day and feel anxious a lot. Does this sound like a thyroid problem or depression or stress?

[dublin]

Hi,
I changed to Armour thyroid 4 years ago (Synthroid for the 24 years before that). Most physicians don't want to prescribe it, or don't know about it. It's porcine natural hormone extract instead of synthetic. The advantage is the presence of a the T's, not just T4. It keeps me pretty steady.

[duck]

I got a question for all of you. I am randomly tired at times of the day and feel anxious a lot. Does this sound like a thyroid problem or depression or stress?

Hi,
I changed to Armour thyroid 4 years ago (Synthroid for the 24 years before that). Most physicians don't want to prescribe it, or don't know about it. It's porcine natural hormone extract instead of synthetic. The advantage is the presence of a the T's, not just T4. It keeps me pretty steady.

MinimedPumper07, I have been suffering from "driving anxiety" for about four years now, and it has been the ****edest thing for me to deal with--I haven't told any of my friends that I get "weirded out" on the highway driving sometimes, because they would all tell me to take a flying leap off a cliff, since I used to be the most daring/drive in any weather/any speed type of person they knew, and I was a very safe and educated driver.

NOW, having said all that, since I made the switch to Armour, I've been doing MUCH better with the stupid anxiety **** on the road. Occasionally, it rears its ugly head but not like it used to, and it is at least manageable. Whereas before, it literally took over.

But like dublin said, you won't find too many doctors willing to prescribe Armour.

[Luvpugs]

Hi everyone, just wondering how many of you have thyroid problems? I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism today after 2 years of wondering what the **** was wrong with me (other than diabetes of course).

My endo put me on sinthyroid today and I was just wondering how long it might take for my body to get back to "normal".

I also wanted to give people a heads up because my family doctor was only doing 1 kind of thyroid test for me (T4 I think) and she never caught it...my endo did the TSH test and stuff and found that I most definetly had a thyroxine definciency.
My family doctor had actually tested me for thyroid problems because I was having extreme problems with fatigue, constipation, etc. He also didn't test the correct levels and said that wasn't what it was. I then started going to a new endo and told him my problems. Turned out it was Hashimoto's Disease. I also had a goiter and will be having another thyroid ultrasound this month. He put me on Levoxyl and everything started clearing up for me in a couple of months. Except for the fatigue, which is an entirely different story since I have Narcolepsy also. I notice that it has been a couple of months since you posted that.....are you feeling any better with the meds now?

[Ailsa]

[QUOTE= I also had a goiter and will be having another thyroid ultrasound this month. [/QUOTE]

Have you tried iodine for that?
Iodine defficiency is a major cause of goiter & some thyroid problems.
Iodine was used to treat goiter & thyroid problems before the modern drugs marketing machine came along.

It is not digested well, but is absorbed through the skin.
You can test for iodine defficiency by getting some iodine solution (the yellow sort they used to put on injuries when I was a kid) & painting an 8cm square on your stomach after your shower. See how long it lasts. If the yellow colour lasts less than 24hrs you are low in iodine.
If you are low, keep painting on the 8cm square until it lasts 24hrs

I've tried it myself .

[markr]

I was just treated for subacute thyroiditis. Originally I was being treated for hypothyroidism and the meds were making me were worse off. At the same time (but my doctor did not put the two together), and after doing a colonoscopy, I found out I have celiac. Looking back, :D I now know that the two are related for those of us with Type 1. :eek:

[JasonJayhawk]

It is not digested well, but is absorbed through the skin.
You can test for iodine defficiency by getting some iodine solution (the yellow sort they used to put on injuries when I was a kid) & painting an 8cm square on your stomach after your shower. See how long it lasts. If the yellow colour lasts less than 24hrs you are low in iodine.
If you are low, keep painting on the 8cm square until it lasts 24hrs

I've tried it myself .

That's dangerous advice. :( It is a urban legend that is spread by some people claiming medical knowledge without any scientific understanding of the skin barrier ("neuropaths" come to mind).

The iodine molecules (I2) simply are unable to pass through the skin barrier. It is not a diagnostic tool for clinical use. It's about as good as using a random number generator for picking lottery numbers.

Iodine sublimes (goes directly from a solid to a gas) no matter where you put it. The rate at which it sublimes depends on the exposure to air (e.g., if you have a fan blowing on it, it will leave the skin faster). Humidity is a factor (such as body sweat) and body oil.

Iodine is a solid which is "dissolved" into a tincture solution of ethanol. The alcohol evaporates, leaving the solid iodine behind on the skin. The only thing a "patch of iodine" will do on the skin is make it sterile for surgery.

But it will not mysteriously tell you if you're deficient on iodine.

I'd just hate to see someone hurt thinking they're deficient on iodine, when they're really not, and end up consuming dangerous amounts of it.

[Ailsa]

Not sure why you believe this is an "Urban legend Jason".
I have heard this from several sources in the medical field.

It is true that this is not a quantitative test, but anyone using this test can follow up with a lab test if they are concerned.

I understand the rate of absorbtion is 6-12%..

There are plenty of articals on both iodine deficiency & iodine absorption on the internet if anyone wants to form their own opinion.

The reason I have brought up this simple treatment is that I believe the medical profession are too quick to prescribe drugs for every possible thing these days when in some cases simple remedies may be helpful .

I wuld like to add that this treatment is only suggested for iodine deficiency related thyroid problems & is not suitable for Hashimotos

[JasonJayhawk]

Source:
Abraham, G.E., The safe and effective implementation of orthoiodosupplementation in medical practice. The Original Internist, 11:17-36, 2004.

"From the published data, the skin iodine patch test is not a reliable method to assess whole body sufficiency for iodine. Many factors play a role in the disappearance of the yellow color of iodine from the surface of the skin. For example, if iodine is reduced to iodide by the skin, the yellow color of iodine will disappear because iodide is white. In order to regenerate iodine on the skin, one needs to apply an oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide, complicating the test further. The evaporation of iodine from the skin increases with increased ambient temperatures and decreased atmospheric pressure due to weather conditions and altitude. For example, the yellow color of iodine will disappear much faster in Denver, Colorado at 5,000 feet above sea level then Los Angeles, California at sea level, irrespective of the amount of bioavailable iodine."



No "standard" rule can be made for "home iodine deficiency testing" because altitude also has an effect on the rate of the iodine molecules subliming directly off the skin.

The only place I could find the technique taught is by people going into self-medication practice (homeopath therapists without medical licenses).

[pixelgirl]

I was dx with low thyroid when I was only 19. I currently take 88 mcg of synthroid. My mother who is also a diabetic has thyroid problems as well.