Find out if I have a thyroid disorder

Besides irregular periods through my own research, thyroid issues would also likely be the reason of having a low to non-existent sex drive and my sleep problems.

I get tired easily but have a hard time falling asleep and going back to sleep if wakened, I never feel fully rested, I feel exhausted when I wake up, I seem to have a lot less energy than others, I burn out fast if I am active and I need what I’m told is “a ridiculous amount of time for such little activity” to recover. If I make an attempt to exercise I feel as if I’m not getting enough air (I’ve been told by a worried gym teacher once and others that my red face shows this) I don’t sweat that much, I’m easily dehydrated and when drinking water before, during and after I still never feel like I’m not getting enough. I’m aware that bad physical form could be a culprit, but it seems that muscle aches
take a long time to heal.

I feel mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I’m forgetful, I write down everything, I can’t seem to keep track of what I was doing and therefore I don’t actually get anything done, I’m easily distracted, and I can’t seem to concentrate or read for long periods of time. Things stay in my head if I read them enough and even then I barely passed any class that I took, I lack motivation. I would say that I’m just kinda irritable, but those that live with me might call me more crabby and intolerant which is really more a product of a high level of anxiety and worry that occasionally cycles into a mild depression.

I’ve experienced tightness in the throat and sore throat sometimes to the point of having trouble swallowing, swollen lymph glands, allergies “which can also be a result of low cortisol–common with hypothyroid patients”-STTM
The outer parts of my eyebrows began to thin at around age 20, which is an odd symptom, but apparently common, my hair comes out easily when brushing or in the shower, it grows but breaks easily and I have frays along the mane. I still have some leftover teenage acne on my face and neck along with some skin oiliness and some hair growth in places where there shouldn’t be. I also have weak fingernails that break easily. I would say that I have problems regulating body temp. but unlike the usual hypo symptom with a problem with cold, I can usually stay warm, but I have had two or three days in the winter where it seemed like I couldn’t keep warm. I have more problems with heat and I get terribly overheated in the summer if I’m not careful. When sick I’ve never run a fever, but my temp. has always been below normal. I have leg cramps/muscle spasms (aggravated by exercise, other movements and holding positions) and sometimes limbs seem to fall asleep easy, some unprovoked joint, muscle aches, headaches, and painless throbbing veins though not often.

I experience these too even though I don’t get why these are symptoms:
Dizziness from fluid on the inner ear
Internal itching of ears
Ringing in ears
Handwriting nearly illegible

And I don’t experience these hypo symptoms at all:

-Often feeling cold
-Cold hands and feet
-Low body temperature
-Raised temperature
-High or rising cholesterol (it was kinda high last time, but I dunno)
-Hard stools and constipation (these are just too varied, depending on the day)
-Dry Hair (not a whole lot anyway)
-Dry cracking skin (ditto)
-Nodding off easily
-Requires naps in the afternoon
-Sleep Apnea (which can also be associated with low cortisol)
-Inability to lose weight-Always gaining weight(also too varied)
-PMS
-Inability to get pregnant; miscarriages
-Excruciating pain during period
-Nausea
-Inability to eat in the mornings
-No Appetite
-Swelling/edema/puffiness
-Osteoporosis
-Carpal tunnel symptoms
-Fluid retention to the point of Congestive Heart Failure
-Swollen legs that prevented walking
-Blood Pressure problems
-Varicose Veins
-Sore feet (plantar fascitis); painful soles of feet

To figure out what I need and what exactly I’m still expecting from health professionals. It’s been that belief on who’s really in charge of your health and whether I still expect them to be 100 hundred percent responsible and to just give me quick fixes or a pill. I’ve really been trying to see health professionals as supplemental. I’ve been reading more and educating myself on the issues that came up: hypothyroidism, other thyroid issues, PCOS, gluten intolerance, candida and low blood sugar.

Apparently the first three are difficult to diagnose and have long frustrating patient stories of a final diagnosis. They also have no clue why all three happen. The thyroid issues and gluten issues both have an auto-immune component and it’s been speculated that PCOS does too. I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ve dealt with environmental allergies since age 9 and other auto-immune issues has been mentioned as a family history. Even though I asked my mother if we had a family history of thyroid problems and she said no, after a while when I wasn’t seeing any health professionals she decided to mention that my grandmother has been on hypothyroid medication and that she herself has had the TSH test twice.

I took 20mg of DHEA everyday for a couple of weeks as an experiment, because I had some notion that I needed it. I’m certain these contributed to the many months of spotting and massive period. I didn’t balance it with any estrogen though and it could also fit with how my body is-that a low dosage of even the real thing could of been too much. I mentioned this to them and they guessed that along with that fact and since I passed the progesterone challenge that I’m probably low on progesterone along with estrogen and it’s a key balance in women. In the meantime my periods are back to non-existent/irregular, I’ve cut out large amounts of sugar, large amounts of bread and I’ve been trying to watch how many things I eat with gluten. I think I need a bit more time to get over any emotional eating issues and being a little more mature enough to make some final diet changes.

The inflammation in my neck goes down significantly when I take a turmeric capsule (that a nurse actually suggested I take) Strange how I never noticed that. I figured it was allergies or something which I still want to rule out. Whenever I forget to take a turmeric capsule the next day my neck feels tighter and when it got hot out and I forgot to take a capsule the next day it felt like there was a frog in my throat and I could feel it move every time I swallowed.

I’ve been having irregular periods (every 10-12 months) since they began at 14 along with skin eruptions/greasy skin and what I’d call more hair for a chick. In the years in between I’ve been given two pregnancy tests that came back negative. Two blood tests that checked for testosterone and estrogen and then testosterone, estrogen and progesterone and those came back fine. Two unbearable gynecologist check-ups that revealed normalcy and normal pap smears. At one point was given a prescription for four/five pills of high dose synthetic progesterone for The Progesterone Challenge Test (because they didn’t believe me when I’d said I had a period before?) and passed but was in crazy hormonal hell for a week. At one point I was put on low dosage birth control pills to regulate my cycle. My body happened to react quickly to those too and I remembered how quickly my body adapts to pills and starts to develop stronger symptoms. So I made the decision to not take the second course of pills.

Someone finally checked my neck and mentioned that my thyroid felt a little big, saw that my numbers for TSH were off from the results of a cheap random check-up I did months prior and then they drew blood for the same usual TSH only test to check the feedback loop. It came back abnormal again. I was given a referral to some expensive specialist in Denver who ended up having a ridiculously long wait list and decided to check elsewhere.

I got blood drawn again for the TSH, but also free T4 and free T3. TSH came back abnormal again, but the frees were fine. It was guessed that I probably have Sub-clinical hypothyroidism. A few other things were also guessed: Low adrenal function, Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (which has actually been guessed two other times as well) low-blood sugar that borders on hypoglycemia because of some hunger pains and intense shakiness that I experience in the mornings and there is a hormonal component to hypoglycemia. Along with probably some type of gluten intolerance, (but not Celiac Disease) a possible issue with dairy and probably candida issues. All these guesses are the product of cheap healthcare and only paying for what I could afford, but it’s definitely been some steps in the right direction.

My levels always come back normal. But my sister takes thyroid meds, and my Mom had Graces diease. When I have a physical the doctor always makes a comment about my thyroid being enlarged, but the tests comeback negative. After talking to my sister about it, she said that sometimes you need alittle medicine, and it will normalize.(She explained it much better). So for my last Dr appt I requested they try me out on a low dose. The dr said know and tested my thyroid again, once again it came back normal, but this time we went a step further. I had an ultrasound done and they found goids and somrthing else so the dr referred me to a specialist…I still havent made the appointment.

My doctor called me the other day to tell me the results are definetly Graves disease (overactive thyroid). Not what I has hoping for, but at least now I know.

at the behest of my family and loved ones, i got my TSH checked. (TSH is a blood test that checks thyroid levels). and, i had it bad.

definately get it checked. it’s a simple test.