Hello Priscilla and a question for the group.

[Guest guest]

Hi Priscilla,

I'm also new to this group and this is my first post. I'm also 42, was

diagnosed with hypothyroidism 6 years ago and am on 75 mcg of levothyroxine,

was feeling good for sometime on this, but recently my weight has begun

creeping up and I've been getting that pre-diagnosis tired, foggy " out of

it " feeling and also have been feeling slightly depressed, but as with you,

I've been like that for a long time as well and don't know if it's my

natural state or a product of being hypo.

I haven't seen an endo for about 2 years, since mine dumped all his patients

with insurance opting for only those willing to pay cash - nice guy, right?

I did finally find an Endo at Brigham & Womens in Boston that I'll be seeing

for the first time next month. I also always wondered what caused my

hypothyroidism. My previous Endo told me he didn't know - I didn't realize

there was an antibody test. I'll definitely discuss this next month with the

new Doc.

Armour isn't an option for me as I'm vegan and am not comfortable taking in

animal products. Hopefully adjustments to the synthetic meds will help.

One thing I did want to ask the group is about muscle weakness. For the last

10 days to 2 weeks my calf muscles have been feeling unusually tight when I

walk for seemingly no reason. I've not increased my walking (1-2 miles a day

max) and don't do any other type of exercise. Then this morning I really

pushed myself walking as fast as I could with out running to catch a train,

then ran up and down a set of stairs and when I got to the bottom of the

stairs I did run about 10 paces and I felt a pop in my left calf and bam,

major pain and almost no ability to walk on that leg.

I was lucky enough to get an appointment with an orthopedic and was

diagnosed with a calf tear. I believe I've read in the past that

hypothyroidism can cause muscle weakness and the Ortho even mentioned this

when he read my chart. I wondered if anyone in the group knows about this or

has had direct experience with it and suggestions as to how to improve the

weakness. Would a med increase help? (I hope!)

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Cheryl

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>Hi,

>I am a 42 yo woman and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 5

years ago.

>

>I´m on 75 mcg levothyroxine and my yearly exam results have all

been within the given reference range since I started taking the

medicine.

>

>I´ve got a new doctor now, who for the first time tested me for

antibodies when I expressed my desire to know what caused my

hypothyroidism.

>

>She said the exams confirmed her suspicion that I have Hashimoto´s.

>

>Here are the results:

>

>THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES: 56 H (Reference range: <20 IU/mL)

>

>THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES: 932 H (Reference range: <35 IU/mL)

>

>T-4, FREE: 1.2 (Reference range: 0.8 - 1.8 ng/dL)

>

>T-4 (THYROXINE), TOTAL: 9.2 (reference range: 4.5-12.5 mcg/dL)

>

>THS, 3rd generation: 3.41 (Reference range: 0.40 - 4.50 mIU/L)

>

>I still have mild depression and low energy but I´m not sure if

this is thyroid related or just how I am (I´ve experienced mild

depression/low energy since I was in my late teens).

>Also, last year my blood results showed slight anemia.

>

>Thanks for any comments.

>

>Priscilla

>