Hypothyroidism

[Nienna]

I was told today that I have a very underactive Thyroid. (Hypothyroidism) I just wondered if anyone else has any personal experienc in this or knows someone who does. I'm unsure what to expect and I hear everything from literally nothing to it, to how horrible it can be.. so I'm alittle worried about it.

[Fierce Critter]

I have been on continuous medication for it since being diagnosed in appx. 1999. I am currently on 100mcg's of Synthroid per day.

I suffer no ill effects from it now that I'm being treated. And to give you something to consider, here's the full story of my experiences with it.

I don't know when it came on me. I don't know "how" it happened, or exactly when. I have never been one to run too cold or too hot. Though I can say I've always had signs of a slow metabolism - incredibly slow hair growth, weak nails, easy to put on weight with no increase in food intake, yet decreased activity, etc.

The first signs (thought I didn't recognize them as being possible symptoms of hypothyroidism) appeared for me in the last few months of 1998 and the first couple months of 1999, when I was living in Florida with my husband. Florida nights can be cold, but nothing like Michigan. Nevertheless, my husband and I would be out on the piers fishing at night, and I'd still be shivering with a t-shirt, flannel shirt, sweat jacket & jean jacket, as well as 2 layers of pants/tights. He'd be fishing with just a t-shirt on. I couldn't get warm.

Once we were living in Michigan again and both had medical insurance, I went in for a routine check-up. A blood test showed me positive for hypothyroidism. I eventually ended up on about 50 mcg's of Synthroid, and re-tests throughout the past few years have required my doseage to be upped to it's current level.

Since being on the meds, I no longer am cold all the time. My nails are somewhat stronger, but that partially is attributable to my nutrition/vitamin intake. My hair grows fine when I get regular cuts, which is rare so I can't say how much that's improved.

I think I may currently be being overmedicated. My only reason to suspect this is because I now run too hot - particularly at night. If the temp is not set to just below 70, I sweat at night under normal blankets, while my husband bundles up to stay warm (he's always had poor circulation though). I need to find a new doctor to follow-up with, though. Healthplan changes have screwed up who I can and can't see.

There are books available on the subject at Borders, Barnes&Noble, etc. They can help allay your fears.

This is not a rare thing. My sister admitted to me she'd been on Synthroid for years, and also has suffered no ill effects.

If you have any specific questions I didn't answer, please do ask. I'd be happy to try to help allay your fears.

[JaneDead]

i have it too. i am currently on 75 mcg of synthroid. i have been taking it on and off for about 5 years now. i go off of it cuz i am just lazy about it and i knwo i shouldn't be- but i am. so right now i am just getting back into trying to take the meds regularly and see if i am on the right dosages.

before taking it i didn't feel any different than i do now. don't know if that means i am not on the right dosage yet? or that i just can't tell the difference. maybe i just can't tell the difference since i don't have any "symptoms" or that i don't know what the symptons should feel like?

either way- it is nothing to worry about. just get on your medication and have your levels checked after a period of time to make sure it is the right dosage. it is very common. as well as an over active thyroid. i know many people who have both.

[fallennon]

Once they thought I had hyperthyroidism, but then realized that it was the result of my steriods for my asthma. I do actually have to go back and have it rechecked because I eat and eat and keep losing weight...opposite problem really, but kind of not...*shrug*

[Nienna]

That does make me feel alot better everyone. I have almost all the symptoms, so I'm hopeful it'll help me to feel better. At the same time, it's frustrating finding out I have "another" problem I'll be taking pills for forever... Oh well... I guess it's better than feeling crappy all the time.

[Fierce Critter]

I'm not sure if you have to stay on the meds forever.

I need to get with a better doctor than the one I have now, to be re-checked and to ask more questions. For now, I'm staying on the meds until I hear different.

May be that yes, you have to stay on them forever. But from what I know, they're not terribly "invasive" (bad term) drugs. And if you have to pay cash without insurance for them, they run on the low end, too. Particularly if you take the generic form of synthroid, which I do (just dont' remember the name).

[Fierce Critter]

By the way, Dyno's comment about feeling the same as she did before she got on the meds got me thinking...

You may not feel a huge difference in taking them. I did lose the terrible cold problems. But they are NOT metabolism boosters like Ephedra. They won't make you feel like you can clean the world, and paint a neighborhood's worth of houses, then go out dancing for 12 hours afterwards. If your metabolism has been "hibernating", it will take a jump-start to feel more energized just as if your thyroid was normal and you weren't on pills.

What the synthroid (or other meds) will do for you is enable your thyroid to actually MAKE that jump once you put in the normal effort to get it started.

[JaneDead]

i am just lazy- so nothing would ever make me feel that energized. except maybe speed but i don't know about that one.