Re: Need Help Now/Desperate Newby

[Guest guest]

Hi Meleese,

I just joined the thyroid support group today. I have been studying thyroid for the past year and have just become familiar with some of the terms, i.e. T4, T3, but don't really know what they mean.

Since last summer, I have been experiencing crazy symptoms and have been told by many specialist that I am crazy. It's all in my head. I no longer have hair on my arms, legs, underarms, and have half the hair I used to have on my head. My joints are swollen and aching. I have been to a rheumatologist, a dr. of internal medicine, etc. I have been offered sleeping pills, antidepressants, told to lose weight, told to stop wasting their times, it's all in my head, etc.

I finally got an appt. with an endocrinologist. She said my results were fine. I now realize that I can't take their word for it. I lied and said she had told me she was sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid; she said, Oh? and filled out the requisition. I am now waiting on the lab results but know something is wrong as the technician told me that my endo. would have lots and lots to discuss with me. She would tell me no more.

Can you tell me if thyroid can affect you in such a way that you lose your body hair, you feet feel as if they are swollen on the inside and they hurt, your fingers and toes go into spasms sometimes? Not to mention the internal tremors?

Appreciate any feedback!

n.

[Guest guest]

Meleese,

I cannot thank you enought for all of that information.

I hope I am not wasting my money but I have started going to a private clinic where the naturopath said he could guarantee my hair would come back. The endo said it would never come back. I'll let you know how it goes and I really appreciate your input.

n : )

[Guest guest]

,

Thank-you from the bottom of my heart. I am at the end of my rope right now and I could never convey how much it means to me to hear someone else agree that it is not in my head and it has happened to other people as well.

n : )

[Guest guest]

Levoxyl is T4,,,,,,,what your thyroid would be producing if it was working.It is converted into T3 which is what the body uses. the aches and pains and weight gain are all symptoms of untreated hypothyroidism not levoxyl, it may take several months to feel better + adjusted dosing .What are your labs for FT3 and FT 4 (and the lab ranges).......your TSH needs to be under 1, close to ZERO

go here

http://thyroid.about.com/ http://www.thyrophoenix.com/

Lots of info. Congrats on beating breast cancer..................Meleese in Oz xxx.

----- Original Message -----

From: Marta Magdalena

Hello all,Hope someone can give me some advice.I went to the family doctor yesterday and he said my thyroid has just stop working and that it was worn out.My tsh was 5.82 last year and yesterday it was 7.52 he gave me levoxyl .05mg.He said take 1/2 tablet for 2 wks then take a whole one.Never heard of this med???My cholestrol was 237 so he also put me on a diet for it.I have been on arimidex for 3 yeasrs as a breast cancer survivor....I think the arimidex has totally screwed my system up but cant prove it.I have gained 72 lbs in 3 years.I am exhausted all the time and my legs hurt something terrible.Anybody ever heard of this drug or side effects??<Levoxyl>

[Guest guest]

I'd like to clarify something, the TSH should be close to 1, but not close to zero unless you have Hashi's (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, the one where your body is attacking your thyroid gland). I know, because when trying to get my dose right, we overshot a little, and I ended up going hyper for a couple of weeks, and my TSH was 0.08, way too low, and I felt awful. I was shakey, nervous, couldn't sit still, was sweaty, couldn't sleep, had diarrhea, basically all the opposite effects of hypo. You should be wherever you feel best, of course, but just a little warning there, you don't want to go too far, unless you have Hashi's.

I agree with everything else though, all of your symptoms are signs of hypothyroidism, not of the Levoxyl. Levoxyl is a generic form of T4, the Thyroid hormone your body would normally produce if it was well. He's starting you out on a low dose (half of a 0.05mg) because your TSH is too high, but not extremely high (mine was 26 or something by the time I started taking meds for it, and they started me out on 75mcg (0.75mg), and others have been a lot higher than that when they were finally diagnosed).

You should take your Levoxyl at the same time every day, preferably in the morning an hour before you eat anything, because it needs the stomach acid to break it down, so if you eat with it, you won't get the full strength of the dose. Also, you should take it at least 4 hours apart from vitamins, iron, calcium, and antacids (Tums, Mylanta, etc because some of those contain Calcium and definitely because they reduce stomach acid).

Other symptoms of low thyroid include: constipation, memory problems, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, moodiness, depression/sadness, general aches and pains, joint pain, weight gain in spite of dieting and exercising, fatigue, feeling bone-tired, and a whole host of other symptoms I'm probably not remembering!! It can also cause your cholesterol to be high, and your blood pressure! It can cause heart palpitations or feeling like it's skipping a beat (mine did that for several years and now it's suddently gone as long as I'm on the right dose of Synthroid--just a brand name drug to the generic drug Levoxyl, in case you wondered).

You might also just be aware of the fact that most people start noticing "hair loss" a few weeks into beginning treatment for thyroid. If you look closely, you'll probably notice that the hairs you are losing don't have the little piece of skin on the ends, as they would if you pulled them out at the root. This has been explained to me as something that happens when the stronger, healthier hair grows in, and there is a breaking point, or weak point on the hair shaft where it was unhealthy and brittle before your body started getting the thyroid hormones it needed, so it often tends to break off there. For me, right now, I have a lot of frizzy hairs that are sticking out everywhere, all the same length, where they were breaking off so much several months ago when I began treatment (September). Don't be alarmed, just realize it's normal, and that your body is just producing healthier stronger hair and that eventually it will all grow out again.

Also, realize that it should take about six weeks from the day you start your dose or change your dose before you notice significant differences. You may notice a little bit the first few days since your body has been low in it for so long, but then you very possibly may feel worse before you feel better. Hang in there, it DOES get better! You'll have your energy back, you'll notice less pain after you get on the right dose.

You'll probably need several adjustments to your dose to get where you feel better, and it takes 6 weeks between each adjustment, so it feels like it takes forever before you feel better, but be patient, give it time, and you'll be "you" again one day.

(stewlis)

ville, NC, USA

Re: Need Help Now/Desperate Newby

Levoxyl is T4,,,,,,,what your thyroid would be producing if it was working.It is converted into T3 which is what the body uses. the aches and pains and weight gain are all symptoms of untreated hypothyroidism not levoxyl, it may take several months to feel better + adjusted dosing .What are your labs for FT3 and FT 4 (and the lab ranges).......your TSH needs to be under 1, close to ZERO

go here

http://thyroid.about.com/ http://www.thyrophoenix.com/

Lots of info. Congrats on beating breast cancer..................Meleese in Oz xxx.

----- Original Message -----

From: Marta Magdalena

Hello all,Hope someone can give me some advice.I went to the family doctor yesterday and he said my thyroid has just stop working and that it was worn out.My tsh was 5.82 last year and yesterday it was 7.52 he gave me levoxyl .05mg.He said take 1/2 tablet for 2 wks then take a whole one.Never heard of this med???My cholestrol was 237 so he also put me on a diet for it.I have been on arimidex for 3 yeasrs as a breast cancer survivor....I think the arimidex has totally screwed my system up but cant prove it.I have gained 72 lbs in 3 years.I am exhausted all the time and my legs hurt something terrible.Anybody ever heard of this drug or side effects??<Levoxyl>

[Guest guest]

Yes, the thyroid can definitely cause your feet to swell, your joints to hurt, hair loss, and guess what....LOL...it has been known world-wide to cause doctors to tell you you're crazy and that the symptoms are all in your head. I'm not making light of the problems, just trying to be silly there. We all know it's NOT in your head, that you DO have a REAL problem somewhere that needs addressed, and hopefully, your endo has found it. I don't know much about the muscle spasms and tremors but I do know that being low thyroid (hypothyroid) can cause muscle and tendon problems, so it would make perfect sense. It causes my arms and legs to tingle, as if they're falling asleep but milder, when I'm hypo. Constipation, memory loss, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. Tons of problems.

Have them check your Free T3, Free T4 and TSH and feel free to post the results of those blood tests along with the ranges here and we'll help you figure it out. Of course the thyroid ultrasound might have pinpointed a lot too, so we'll see what that showed.

T4 is the main thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid. The body breaks it down into T3, T2, and T1, and some other things, but T4 and T3 are the only ones the labs can measure. TSH is the pituitary hormone, it is a measure of how loudly the pituitary is screaming for the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone, so if your TSH is high, it's screaming really loudly, so you're hypo (low) thyroid. If the TSH is low, it's not asking for much, so you could be hyper (high thyroid production) thyroid. It should be around 1, unless you have anitbodies (your body is attacking it's own thyroid gland) and those can be measured too...and if that's the case, you have Hashi's and your TSH should be near zero.

Re: Need Help Now/Desperate Newby

Hi Meleese,

I just joined the thyroid support group today. I have been studying thyroid for the past year and have just become familiar with some of the terms, i.e. T4, T3, but don't really know what they mean.

Since last summer, I have been experiencing crazy symptoms and have been told by many specialist that I am crazy. It's all in my head. I no longer have hair on my arms, legs, underarms, and have half the hair I used to have on my head. My joints are swollen and aching. I have been to a rheumatologist, a dr. of internal medicine, etc. I have been offered sleeping pills, antidepressants, told to lose weight, told to stop wasting their times, it's all in my head, etc.

I finally got an appt. with an endocrinologist. She said my results were fine. I now realize that I can't take their word for it. I lied and said she had told me she was sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid; she said, Oh? and filled out the requisition. I am now waiting on the lab results but know something is wrong as the technician told me that my endo. would have lots and lots to discuss with me. She would tell me no more.

Can you tell me if thyroid can affect you in such a way that you lose your body hair, you feet feel as if they are swollen on the inside and they hurt, your fingers and toes go into spasms sometimes? Not to mention the internal tremors?

Appreciate any feedback!

n.

[Guest guest]

Generic?? My doctor wrote me a prescription and told me he did not

want me to take the generic drug but the brand name formula. I am

confused.Maybe they gave me the wrong drug at the drug store. Yes,I

remember he said that specifically.I dont know what to do I was

suppose to start taking them

tomorrow. ???

>

> I'd like to clarify something, the TSH should be close to 1, but

not close to zero unless you have Hashi's (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis,

the one where your body is attacking your thyroid gland). I know,

because when trying to get my dose right, we overshot a little, and

I ended up going hyper for a couple of weeks, and my TSH was 0.08,

way too low, and I felt awful. I was shakey, nervous, couldn't sit

still, was sweaty, couldn't sleep, had diarrhea, basically all the

opposite effects of hypo. You should be wherever you feel best, of

course, but just a little warning there, you don't want to go too

far, unless you have Hashi's.

>

> I agree with everything else though, all of your symptoms are

signs of hypothyroidism, not of the Levoxyl. Levoxyl is a generic

form of T4, the Thyroid hormone your body would normally produce if

it was well. He's starting you out on a low dose (half of a 0.05mg)

because your TSH is too high, but not extremely high (mine was 26 or

something by the time I started taking meds for it, and they started

me out on 75mcg (0.75mg), and others have been a lot higher than

that when they were finally diagnosed).

>

> You should take your Levoxyl at the same time every day,

preferably in the morning an hour before you eat anything, because

it needs the stomach acid to break it down, so if you eat with it,

you won't get the full strength of the dose. Also, you should take

it at least 4 hours apart from vitamins, iron, calcium, and antacids

(Tums, Mylanta, etc because some of those contain Calcium and

definitely because they reduce stomach acid).

>

> Other symptoms of low thyroid include: constipation, memory

problems, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, moodiness,

depression/sadness, general aches and pains, joint pain, weight gain

in spite of dieting and exercising, fatigue, feeling bone-tired, and

a whole host of other symptoms I'm probably not remembering!! It

can also cause your cholesterol to be high, and your blood

pressure! It can cause heart palpitations or feeling like it's

skipping a beat (mine did that for several years and now it's

suddently gone as long as I'm on the right dose of Synthroid--just a

brand name drug to the generic drug Levoxyl, in case you wondered).

>

> You might also just be aware of the fact that most people start

noticing " hair loss " a few weeks into beginning treatment for

thyroid. If you look closely, you'll probably notice that the hairs

you are losing don't have the little piece of skin on the ends, as

they would if you pulled them out at the root. This has been

explained to me as something that happens when the stronger,

healthier hair grows in, and there is a breaking point, or weak

point on the hair shaft where it was unhealthy and brittle before

your body started getting the thyroid hormones it needed, so it

often tends to break off there. For me, right now, I have a lot of

frizzy hairs that are sticking out everywhere, all the same length,

where they were breaking off so much several months ago when I began

treatment (September). Don't be alarmed, just realize it's normal,

and that your body is just producing healthier stronger hair and

that eventually it will all grow out again.

>

> Also, realize that it should take about six weeks from the day you

start your dose or change your dose before you notice significant

differences. You may notice a little bit the first few days since

your body has been low in it for so long, but then you very possibly

may feel worse before you feel better. Hang in there, it DOES get

better! You'll have your energy back, you'll notice less pain after

you get on the right dose.

>

> You'll probably need several adjustments to your dose to get where

you feel better, and it takes 6 weeks between each adjustment, so it

feels like it takes forever before you feel better, but be patient,

give it time, and you'll be " you " again one day.

>

> (stewlis)

> ville, NC, USA

> Re: Need Help Now/Desperate

Newby

>

>

> Levoxyl is T4,,,,,,,what your thyroid would be producing if it

was working.It is converted into T3 which is what the body uses. the

aches and pains and weight gain are all symptoms of untreated

hypothyroidism not levoxyl, it may take several months to feel

better + adjusted dosing .What are your labs for FT3 and FT 4 (and

the lab ranges).......your TSH needs to be under 1, close to ZERO

>

> go here

>

> http://thyroid.about.com/

>

> http://www.thyrophoenix.com/

>

> Lots of info. Congrats on beating breast

cancer..................Meleese in Oz xxx.

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Marta Magdalena

>

>

>

> Hello all,Hope someone can give me some advice.I went to the

family

> doctor yesterday and he said my thyroid has just stop working

and

> that it was worn out.My tsh was 5.82 last year and yesterday

it was

> 7.52 he gave me levoxyl .05mg.He said take 1/2 tablet for 2

wks then

> take a whole one.Never heard of this med???My cholestrol was

237 so he

> also put me on a diet for it.I have been on arimidex for 3

yeasrs as a

> breast cancer survivor....I think the arimidex has totally

screwed my

> system up but cant prove it.I have gained 72 lbs in 3 years.I

am

> exhausted all the time and my legs hurt something

terrible.Anybody

> ever heard of this drug or side effects??<Levoxyl>

>

>

>

>

>

> a..

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello n, yes they are all symptoms of hypothyroidism. The tests you need are TSH , Free T3 and Free T4 + antibodies to see if you have Hashimoto's Disease an auto-immune disease that attacks the thyroid gland trying to destroy it.

TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone. It is not a thyroid hormone but a hormone put out by the piturarity (sp?) gland to stimulate your thyroid into producing thyroid hormone

The other 2 tell you how much hormone you have in your blood to do the work. T4 converts into T3

You could possibly have a goitre which would account for the swollen feeling.The ultrasound will confirm this

Do you have the results for the TSH Free T3 and Free T4 along with the lab ranges? These should be in brackets after the results.

For the TSH any result over 2 is suspect, over 3.00 you are almost certainly hypo. You Free T3 and Free T4 should be well up in that lab range (which is why we need the lab ranges) Free T3 near the top and Free T4

You do not necessarily need an endo.A GP knowledgeable in thyroid disease can be just as good

Go here

http://thyroid.about.com/ http://www.thyrophoenix.com/

Lots of good info..............welcome to the group!!..................Meleese in Oz xxx

----- Original Message -----

From: SCRIBBLEWIBBLES@...

Hi Meleese,

I just joined the thyroid support group today. I have been studying thyroid for the past year and have just become familiar with some of the terms, i.e. T4, T3, but don't really know what they mean.

Since last summer, I have been experiencing crazy symptoms and have been told by many specialist that I am crazy. It's all in my head. I no longer have hair on my arms, legs, underarms, and have half the hair I used to have on my head. My joints are swollen and aching. I have been to a rheumatologist, a dr. of internal medicine, etc. I have been offered sleeping pills, antidepressants, told to lose weight, told to stop wasting their times, it's all in my head, etc.

I finally got an appt. with an endocrinologist. She said my results were fine. I now realize that I can't take their word for it. I lied and said she had told me she was sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid; she said, Oh? and filled out the requisition. I am now waiting on the lab results but know something is wrong as the technician told me that my endo. would have lots and lots to discuss with me. She would tell me no more.

Can you tell me if thyroid can affect you in such a way that you lose your body hair, you feet feel as if they are swollen on the inside and they hurt, your fingers and toes go into spasms sometimes? Not to mention the internal tremors?

Appreciate any feedback!

n.

[Guest guest]

Don't freak out, it's ok. Just look at the pill. Does it say "Synthroid" on the pill? If not, it's generic, and you should consult with your pharmacist and doctor. Just give them both a quick call. The doc needs to write "Do Not Substitue" or something similar on the Rx EVERY TIME and you need to check every time that it is what it says it is. Synthroid pills say "Synthroid" and the generics don't. If in doubt, go to http://www.synthroid.com/patientinfo/menu0.jsp and compare your pill to their picture.

The reason he doesn't want you to take the generic is because thyroid meds are very precise, and once you get regulated on one brand or one specific generic brand, switching brands can throw things off. You want to stick with one thing, some people do better on generic, some do better on Synthroid name brand, and some people seem to be able to take either. My mom just switched from having taken Synthroid for years, to generic because it's cheaper; she didn't even know there was a generic until I told her there was. She decided to try it, but I warned her that she needed to stay on top of how she felt and any symptoms and test more often at first after swithching, because one dose level in generic might not make you feel the same as same dose in Synthroid. You could need to tweak the dose (change it slightly) if you change brands.

So, no big problem there, just know what you're taking.

Re: Need Help Now/Desperate Newby> > > Levoxyl is T4,,,,,,,what your thyroid would be producing if it was working.It is converted into T3 which is what the body uses. the aches and pains and weight gain are all symptoms of untreated hypothyroidism not levoxyl, it may take several months to feel better + adjusted dosing .What are your labs for FT3 and FT 4 (and the lab ranges).......your TSH needs to be under 1, close to ZERO> > go here > > http://thyroid.about.com/> > http://www.thyrophoenix.com/> > Lots of info. Congrats on beating breast cancer..................Meleese in Oz xxx. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Marta Magdalena > > > > Hello all,Hope someone can give me some advice.I went to the family > doctor yesterday and he said my thyroid has just stop working and > that it was worn out.My tsh was 5.82 last year and yesterday it was > 7.52 he gave me levoxyl .05mg.He said take 1/2 tablet for 2 wks then > take a whole one.Never heard of this med???My cholestrol was 237 so he > also put me on a diet for it.I have been on arimidex for 3 yeasrs as a > breast cancer survivor....I think the arimidex has totally screwed my > system up but cant prove it.I have gained 72 lbs in 3 years.I am > exhausted all the time and my legs hurt something terrible.Anybody > ever heard of this drug or side effects??<Levoxyl>> > > > > > a.. > > >

[Guest guest]

Hi n....

Yes to all of your symptoms... and if it is due to your thyroid levels being off.... they all go away with proper treatment...

My feet and joints and tendons ended up so bad, under the care of doctors, that I needed crutches to walk... they weren't giving me the proper amount of the proper type of thyroid hormone replacement-- for me...

Not all of us do well on the same type of replacement... You have been studying... so.. I'll just plod on a bit....

You can take either synthetic, natural, or a combo of the two.... out of hundred folks with low thyroid levels you have some of the folks in every group...

The first step in determining what is going on is the find out what the doc is testing, if they are using the current lab ranges, and if they understand how to interpret the results. For so many reasons we seem to be finding far too many docs that don't understand proper thyroid diagnosis and care. Many seem to prefer prescribing a myriad of other medications to mask symptoms that are actually due to improper thyroid levels.. most common among them are antidepressants, weight loss products and sleeping pills.

We have a page set up at the website that runs through the hormones, labs, and choices of replacements that you can review, if you like..... www.thyrophoenix.com/thyroid_101.htm

Topper ()

On Tue, 9 May 2006 20:32:21 EDT SCRIBBLEWIBBLES@... writes:

Hi Meleese,

I just joined the thyroid support group today. I have been studying thyroid for the past year and have just become familiar with some of the terms, i.e. T4, T3, but don't really know what they mean.

Since last summer, I have been experiencing crazy symptoms and have been told by many specialist that I am crazy. It's all in my head. I no longer have hair on my arms, legs, underarms, and have half the hair I used to have on my head. My joints are swollen and aching. I have been to a rheumatologist, a dr. of internal medicine, etc. I have been offered sleeping pills, antidepressants, told to lose weight, told to stop wasting their times, it's all in my head, etc.

I finally got an appt. with an endocrinologist. She said my results were fine. I now realize that I can't take their word for it. I lied and said she had told me she was sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid; she said, Oh? and filled out the requisition. I am now waiting on the lab results but know something is wrong as the technician told me that my endo. would have lots and lots to discuss with me. She would tell me no more.

Can you tell me if thyroid can affect you in such a way that you lose your body hair, you feet feel as if they are swollen on the inside and they hurt, your fingers and toes go into spasms sometimes? Not to mention the internal tremors?

Appreciate any feedback!

n.

[Guest guest]

Hair loss due to low thyroid reverses when the hormone levels come back to where they need to be..... I, and many others, have found that out as we learned more and more about proper care and how to understand what we need to do to help our bodies be more healthy.

Things have been so serious... I have to bring up a silly.... when my hair started coming back (it thinned uniformly I didnt' have bare patches) it would grow straight up a inch to an inch and a half before it would lay down with the rest of my hair... it was just growing so fast when it came back that it grew straight up on top of my head... I would look in the mirror and see myself and think of the character Alfalfa on that oldies TV show, it think it was called 'The Little Rascals'.... his hair stood up on top! hehehehehe

I went through four distinct periods of Alfalfas as my hair thickened in again.... Even the receding hair line, as the area above my temples bared, filled back in... that hair grew out kinda sideways as it filled in.. that was my Phyllis Diller stage! hehehehehe

I'm sure that if I'd taken the effort to 'train' the hair it would have been more ruley sooner... but... I'm weird.... I like to watch it grow, come back, show how much I was getting better.

hehehe

Topper ()

On Tue, 9 May 2006 21:03:35 EDT SCRIBBLEWIBBLES@... writes:

Meleese,

I cannot thank you enought for all of that information.

I hope I am not wasting my money but I have started going to a private clinic where the naturopath said he could guarantee my hair would come back. The endo said it would never come back. I'll let you know how it goes and I really appreciate your input.

n : )

[Guest guest]

Topper, noone has ever told me about the potential problems with tendons and joints. I broke and sprained my left foot in Decemeber. I'm still in a brace and currently going through physical therapy because it won't heal properly. The break has healed, but the tendons and ligaments are damaged pretty badly and won't seem to heal.

Could this be attributed to my problems with my thyroid replacement meds?

Robin

-------------- Original message -------------- From: topper2@...

Hi n....

Yes to all of your symptoms... and if it is due to your thyroid levels being off.... they all go away with proper treatment...

My feet and joints and tendons ended up so bad, under the care of doctors, that I needed crutches to walk... they weren't giving me the proper amount of the proper type of thyroid hormone replacement-- for me...

Not all of us do well on the same type of replacement... You have been studying... so.. I'll just plod on a bit....

You can take either synthetic, natural, or a combo of the two.... out of hundred folks with low thyroid levels you have some of the folks in every group...

The first step in determining what is going on is the find out what the doc is testing, if they are using the current lab ranges, and if they understand how to interpret the results. For so many reasons we seem to be finding far too many docs that don't understand proper thyroid diagnosis and care. Many seem to prefer prescribing a myriad of other medications to mask symptoms that are actually due to improper thyroid levels.. most common among them are antidepressants, weight loss products and sleeping pills.

We have a page set up at the website that runs through the hormones, labs, and choices of replacements that you can review, if you like..... www.thyrophoenix.com/thyroid_101.htm

Topper ()

On Tue, 9 May 2006 20:32:21 EDT SCRIBBLEWIBBLES@... writes:

Hi Meleese,

I just joined the thyroid support group today. I have been studying thyroid for the past year and have just become familiar with some of the terms, i.e. T4, T3, but don't really know what they mean.

Since last summer, I have been experiencing crazy symptoms and have been told by many specialist that I am crazy. It's all in my head. I no longer have hair on my arms, legs, underarms, and have half the hair I used to have on my head. My joints are swollen and aching. I have been to a rheumatologist, a dr. of internal medicine, etc. I have been offered sleeping pills, antidepressants, told to lose weight, told to stop wasting their times, it's all in my head, etc.

I finally got an appt. with an endocrinologist. She said my results were fine. I now realize that I can't take their word for it. I lied and said she had told me she was sending me for an ultrasound of my thyroid; she said, Oh? and filled out the requisition. I am now waiting on the lab results but know something is wrong as the technician told me that my endo. would have lots and lots to discuss with me. She would tell me no more.

Can you tell me if thyroid can affect you in such a way that you lose your body hair, you feet feel as if they are swollen on the inside and they hurt, your fingers and toes go into spasms sometimes? Not to mention the internal tremors?

Appreciate any feedback!

n.

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for this valuable information. My thyroid ultrasound results were lost but I've been calling the lab for 3 weeks and they finally found them. They had entered my birth date wrong!!!

I will see my endocrinologist next week and ask for the exact tests you suggested.

Many, many thanks,

n : )

[Guest guest]

Hi Meleese,

I am so happy for you that your hair did come back and it certainly gives me hope that mine might come back.

n : )

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for this information and encouragement.

I have tracked down mylab results from an ultrasound and now am waiting to get in to the endo's office so that I can get the results.

n : )

[Guest guest]

Great!

If you chose to post your labs, please include the ranges, they are usually right after your level in either brackets or parenthesis... we need to know the ranges for the particular test your lab used.. The range for TSH is standardized but there are still a lot of docs and labs that are using outdated ranges.. that increases the chances that they may misinterpret the results.

Topper ()*I'm not a doc, just me*

On Wed, 10 May 2006 13:41:59 EDT SCRIBBLEWIBBLES@... writes:

,

Thank you so much for this information and encouragement.

I have tracked down mylab results from an ultrasound and now am waiting to get in to the endo's office so that I can get the results.

n : )

[Guest guest]

The tendon issues that I had all revolved around insufficient levels of thyroid meds...

Without proper metabolic levels, correct sleep, all the nutritional issues involved with low thyroid levels that body has more difficulty dealing with a lot of healing and regrowth issues.

Tendons are like break cables... they are like cables inside a shield that move back and forth inside as they help the bones and muscles move us around.. when that sheath is damaged and becomes inflamed, or the liquid lubricant inside that helps the tendon slide inside the sheath isn't able to provide sufficient lubrication for the stuff to slide back and forth, is causes friction and pain and more damage....

My guess.... is that with your ankle injured and the surgery and all the swelling involved that they tendons weren't able to heal as they should have.

I don't know if it will improve.. but I do believe, based on my own experience with tendon damage in my foot that was diagnoses as Plantar Faciitis and the other tendon issues the developed in my leg, hips and back from three years of using crutches that once I got the right thyroid hormones into be that ALL the tendon issues went away...

Yours is a physical injury.. that may not be the same as it was in my case.. the tendon injury itself was linked to my extreme hypo condition... though.. now that I really think about it... perhaps the fact that I was so hypo is what caused by body to sustain the original injury and it just escalated from there??

So.. from here.. we have to go back the same basic questions we end up having to ask of most everyone... how do your labs look? How well is your body responding to the hormone you are taking? Are you getting enough to allow your body to heal?

You've got a meeting coming up with your Endo.. that would be the start of digging into this more... take advantage of it... find out what your labs are looking like.. if there are adjustments that need to be made and if your doc can work with you to see how much of this can be fixed....

Topper ()

On Wed, 10 May 2006 13:19:35 +0000 calico_nymph@... writes:

Topper, noone has ever told me about the potential problems with tendons and joints. I broke and sprained my left foot in Decemeber. I'm still in a brace and currently going through physical therapy because it won't heal properly. The break has healed, but the tendons and ligaments are damaged pretty badly and won't seem to heal.

Could this be attributed to my problems with my thyroid replacement meds?

Robin

[Guest guest]

,

I just got these thyroid results from a private clinic but don't see my endocrinologist until next week. Does it make any sense to you?

Hi n,

Here are the results of you thyroid ultrasound:

The right thyroid lobes measures 61 x 28 x 28 mm.

The left thryoid lobe measures 58 x 21 x 22mm.

The thyroid fland is diffusely enlarged and its echo texture is in homogenous. However no focal nodules seen.

Amber

[Guest guest]

,

I just got these results from a private lab and do not see my endocrinologist until next week. Do you know what they mean?

Hi n,

Here are the results of you thyroid ultrasound:

The right thyroid lobes measures 61 x 28 x 28 mm.

The left thryoid lobe measures 58 x 21 x 22mm.

The thyroid fland is diffusely enlarged and its echo texture is in homogenous. However no focal nodules seen.

I have also sent a similar email to . I don't know how to post it just once on the message board.

[Guest guest]

>

> ,

> I just got these results from a private lab and do not see my

> endocrinologist until next week. Do you know what they mean?

>

> Hi n,

> Here are the results of you thyroid ultrasound:

>

> The right thyroid lobes measures 61 x 28 x 28 mm.

>

> The left thryoid lobe measures 58 x 21 x 22mm.

>

> The thyroid fland is diffusely enlarged and its echo texture is

in

> homogenous. However no focal nodules seen.

>

> I have also sent a similar email to . I don't know how to

post it just

> once on the message board.

This means you have no nodules or growths on your thyroid. This is a

good thing. Nodules can do a few things besdies being cancerous.

They can produce no hormone which means part of your thyroid does

not work or they can produce too much hormone completely independant

of your TSH and as a general rule those with Thyroid nodules usually

have a harder time getting and staying regulated.

Diffusely enlarged does mean you have something stimulating your

thyroid and causing the enlargement.

Iodine, and antibodies to the thyroid all stimulate the thyroid..

the key now is to figure out which one it is.

>