HYPOTHYROIDISM ANYONE??

[rnewman]

Silverfox is right.

ANA titers could be indicative of thyroid disease, but can also be indicative of MANY other types of diseases.

Have you had inflammation markers (sed rate, Creactive protein) done? I also believe that you can run ANA specific tests.....like if your ANA is high, they should be able to specify WHICH type of ANA it is, be it rheumatoid, thyroid, etc.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you find.
Big hugs,
Rachel

[ICyuck]

I've been on thyroid meds (hypothyroid) for about 3-4 weeks now and am really starting to feel a difference.

Before, (if my bladder would let me) I was literally sleeping 14 hours a day, and didn't want to get out of bed. I didn't even have the energy to sit in a chair for long, I wanted to lie down all the time. Doing housework felt like Mt. Everest. Today, I woke up after only 7 hours of sleep, feeling more rested, more awake and alert and energetic than I have in many many years.

Today I've been able to do housework without wanting to cry from feeling so exhausted and tired and without longing to lie down and sleep again. I do not have to have the temp up to 90 - I am comfortable at 70. I have NO desire for a nap!

I feel happy and not just tired and worn out and a billion years old. I feel young, alert, my brain is working right (no more brain fog!)

For those of you who don't know what the hypo fog is like, it's like...you know when you are in that state of between a dream and awake? Where you feel confused and you can't quite think straight? That's what it felt like for me. Like not being fully awake.

I'm even typing faster now! Before, I felt like...like my batteries were just worn out. Now I feel "me" again.

Oh and no more stool softeners/enemas for me, thank you, my body is working fine again in that department after many years of miserable constipation!

Too much info, I know, LOL!

Oh I am soooo happy! I love this medicine! I just hope that I won't ever have to go off it and go back to being half-dead again.

Don't know yet if it helps my bladder because I'm still on Elmiron.

Love, ICY

[NB]

ICY,
Hi-that is so great that you feel so good now!!!
Wow! I've been on the medicine for 5 days now, i can't wait 'till it kicks in. I'm so tired now!!! I don't know how LONG i've been hypo, but i never felt like doing anything since i got my wisdom teeth out in December, and before that i was always busy with school. So my whole entire break i've been so damned tired. I don't exercise anymore and i was doing so for six months straight and i can't wait to start again. I used to clean too! But i know what you mean, i do the dishes and i'm warped. I used to do the whole house, and laundry and it seems impossible now. I'm 22 going on 90!!!

ICY, what medicine are you on? They put me on Synthroid 50 mcg. I'm so glad you have your energy back, enjoy!!!

[ICyuck]

I'm on whole dessicated thyroid - the natural stuff - not sure how much but I am taking one capsule per day....

Love, ICY

[Silverfox]

Congratulations Icy,

I am so happy thyroid hormone is helping you! Wow! It seems that there are many with IC who are also HYPOTHYROID.

I am guessing that you are taking Armour dessicated natural pig hormone. It is made from the thyroid glands of pigs when they cut pork chops and bacon at the slaughter house. All the pig thyroids are saved frozen and sent to the pharmaceutical co. to be dried, measured, and made into thyroid tablets of different sizes. blah

p.s. JANUARY IS THYROID AWARENESS MONTH!
PLEASE TELL OTHERS ABOUT THYROID, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! scream

[ICyuck]

Yes, that's what it's called! My psychiatrist agreed to let me try the natural stuff instead of synthroid because I'd heard so many stories of people who were helped more by the natural stuff (and I kind of lean toward "natural" anyway, I've always had butter instead of margarine, etc.) and I think she has an open mind maybe because she is originally from another country (India) and maybe not as close-minded as American docs can sometimes be. She even suggested doing yoga to me! I would try that except my knees are killing me and honestly I'm afraid to.

Whew!

Anyway, this is the weirdest thing - my depression has disappeared. It didn't happen right away, took a few weeks, but - it's gone! Even with two different antidepressants, I still had depression (I kept trying different ones, they just didn't really work right on me)I mean, really bad I-don't-wanna-be-here type depression, you know?

And for some reason this stuff made it go away entirely.

I've heard that being hypo can cause some depression, I wonder if that means, if you cure the hypo, you cure the depression? All I know is that for the first time in about a decade or more I'm not depressed.

(My TSH had been borderline for over a decade, same with my free thyroxine - just barely inside of the "sick" line....so my thyroid has been sputtering out for a long time and I've had symptoms for a long time.)

Has anyone else had depression lift as a result of thyroid meds or am I just imagining it?

Love, ICY

[Silverfox]

Yes, Thyroid hormone can cure or help with depression. Its wonderful when someone can be helped by just adding a little low cost thyroid hormone daily. I think you found yourself a good Dr.( Do you mind if I ask her name) I know someone who needs a good thyroid Dr., she lives in that part of the country.

Some Drs. think that one third to one half depressed folk are suffering from unrecognised hypothyroidism. Some are in psychiatric wards, and taking expensive and powerful psychotropic
(mood altering) medication, with side effects.

An underactive thyroid can cause any of the following mental symptoms:

Depression
Mental sluggishness
increased sleepiness
Forgetfulness
Emotional instability
Loss of ambition
Decreased ability to pay attention and focus
Decreased interest
Slowing of thought and speech
Irritability
Fear of open or public spaces (agoraphobia)
Audiovisual hallucinations and paranoid delusions(rare, only in very severe hypothyroidism)
Dementia (usually in long-standing severe hypothyroidism)
Manic behavior
and don't forget those "panic attacks"

Psychiatrists know that it is very important to get this diagnosis right because tranquillizers and antidepressants will not ever help with these if the patient is Hypothyroid. Even mild hypothyroidism can cause so much trouble.

Scary, but everyone is a little different so you can see how Hypothyroidism can effect your entire life, and with the right treatment it can be life-changing and maybe even save your life.

Icy, I am so happy you are feeling better emotionally and physically. Keep working with your Dr. and with blood tests and more important how you feel. I just love my Armour thyroid and not long ago my Dr. increased my dose from 2 to 3 1/2 grains. I feel fine and I am not hyper on this amount. My Dr. said that years ago he gave 3 grains to everyone and they always did well. He said that about 3 grains is what the usual amount of thyroid the gland produces daily. It's really safe and you can't get mad cow disease!

Hypothyroidism never is cured and you will always need to take thyroid hormone every day. And once your Dr. finds the correct dose, your needs can change from time to time. Like when you are pregnant you might need an increase. I think they are now testing all pregnant women for Hypothyroidism. They found that low-thyroid in the Mom can lower the child's IQ.

You can find some good books on thyroid. and it really helps be informed so you can help your Dr.
You are the one who knows how you feel and your bladder might feel better in time. My Dr. says I have hypothyroid neuropathies and it is throughout my whole nervous system. It was what caused me bladder urethral pains, many other symptoms, like carpal tunnel, IBS and fibromyalgia pains. I had this for such along time before I learned that I was Hypothyroid, now he doesn't know if my nerves will ever heal. But when someone like you is treated early, the results are very good.

Have hope, some Drs. think that hope is very important to getting well. I wish you the best in your recovery. Please let us know from time to time how you are doing. And what the amount of hormone you are taking. Maybe it can help others find good health.

Love and God Bless You, Silverfox kissing

hey, JANUARY IS THYROID AWARENESS MONTH!
(please tell others)

[ICyuck]

Thank you so much, Silverfox! For the first time in my life, I feel life is good! I think I might have been hypo practically from birth - maybe I inherited it or maybe it was from the soy formula I was given...but I looked it up and the signs of hypo in children - late teething, late talking/walking, frequent infections, intolerance to cold, etc. - all of those I had!

The doctor I am going to is at Ft. Belvoir and the only way your friend could go to her is by being a military dependent...

If she's willing to marry a soldier or else become a soldier, LOL, she can go to my doctor then!

Love, ICY

[Silverfox]

Yes, Hypothyroidism is often genetically passed on from one generation to the next. I had all those symptoms as a baby and as I grew up they became more severe, yet no Dr. ever recognized all the classic symptoms of Hypothyroidism. I remember having bladder problems very early. Even as a little child I thought that I was going to be told that I had MS. Sometimes I felt that I would die early because I was feeling so bad.

Now, I learned that my Grandmother and her two daughters were also Hypothyroid. Now my two sisters and my 3 children are Hypothyroid.

I think the Teachers in schools should be taught to look for those Hypothyroid symptoms in the children that they are teaching. If they notice these symptoms, they could tell the parents. Early treatment with thyroid hormone can mean better success in school and less suffering for the child. baby

Icy, I really believe that your bladder will get better. I have done some reading about Hypothyroid neuropathies. Some of the best information can be found in veterinary medicine. bunny

I found this and I will quote it, "The pathophysiology surrounding hypothyroid neuropathy remains unexplained. In people with hypothyroidism a mild peripheral neuropathy is relatively common and may include facial mononeuropathy, sensorineural hearing loss, distal sensory neuropathy and sensorimotor polyneuropathy. One study reported changes in nerve loss, consistant with a dying back process and possible underlying slow axonal transport. There may be preferentual loss of larger caliber myelinated fibers. Carpal tunnel syndrome (median nerve mononeuropathy at the wrist) the most common mononeropathy encountered"

This is by a veterinarian who has done many nerve and muscle biopsy's on dogs. He also says that the few cases reported in the literature do not refect the prevalence of this metabolic neuropathy. (by a veterinarian at Scott-Richey neuromuscular laboratory at Auburn University and at his own peripheral nerve laboratory) I lost his name, I will try to find this man and ask him for more information. He sounds like a real expert in Hypothyroid Neuropathy. My oldest daughter is a veterinarian and she once told me she knew of him. Well now I have brain fog and can't remember his name.

I believe the nerve damage that many who have IC have is the distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy. that means all of the nerve endings in the bladder area and vaginal area are damaged. eek

Strange as it may sound, I also have pain in my feet and fingers(distal nerve damage also) Mine is much more severe than most. If you look at the picture of the nerves coming from the end of the spinal columm you can see that the sacral nerves that go to the bladder, vaginal area and the soles of the feet. You might find a picture of this on a chiropracters chart. I hope this makes some sense as I am not medically trained but this is what happened to me.

Icy, everytime I take my Armour thyroid, I say a healing prayer to myself and imagine the wonderful healing of the thyroid hormones traveling through my body to every single cell and healing them. angel My Dr. tells me that the nerves heal very slowly, slower than any other cells in the body.

There are now thyroid support group for each of the states. Maybe when you are feeling better you can join one (on the internet) These are patients helping patients with thyroid diseases.
I have heard that there is a Maryland thyroid support. Maryland may have support group meetings, I will look up the email adress. grouphug

Keep your hope up and think positive, and you will get better and return to good health and a great life ahead of you. Go for it! jester

Love Silverfox

hey, JANUARY IS THYROID AWARENESS MONTH!
(you can make a difference by telling others about thyroid)

[Mimi-in-Chicagoland]

Did any of you have tenderness when you touched the front of your neck right under your chin??

[ICyuck]

Hmmm...I do but I don't know if it's from the poking or what...never tried that before...does that mean something?

You know, I was given soy formula as an infant and now they are saying, that increased my risk of hypothyroid problems 3-fold. You take the fact that 1 in 5 women end up with thyroid dysfunction, and then triple that...I guess I had a better than 50/50 chance of becoming hypo anyhow...

I hope my nerves in my bladder will get better with time.

Love, ICY

[Silverfox]

Hi Mimi,

I think you should ask your Dr. to do a physical exam on your neck to make sure you are ok. I did not ever have any tenderness or pain under my chin in the neck.

There are lymph nodes in the neck area also.

There are thyroid diseases that can cause tenderness, or soreness and swelling. One is called thyroiditis, an inflamation. Also, there is thyroid nodules. blah

I am not medically trained but I would check it out because thyroid diseases when early diagnoses can be effectivily treated.

Please ask your Dr. for his opinion about this.

Best wishes Silverfox

Janurary is thyroid awareness month!
Millions do not know they have a thyroid disease!
Do you know anyone who might have a thyroid disease? blink

[ICyuck]

I agree...my tenderness was just cause I was poking too hard. Actually I have been experimenting and if I press down hard enough on any point in my throat, it's tender. I guess my throat just doesn't like to be poked hard. But my throat seems to be normal.

Love, ICY

[Silverfox]

Hi Icy,

Many things can cause one to become Hypothyroid.
I have talked to some that went on an all soy diet thinking that it would be healthy. Then they became Hypothyroid. Soy is something that blocks the thyroid hormone, and yet a little everyday is fine.

Also, some can become Hypothyroid from a lack of Iodine in the diet and that is one of the greatest causes of mental retardation in the world. That is why iodine is put in our salt. But crazy as it is, too much Iodine can make one become Hypothyroid. I guess that means do nothing in extreme.

I inherited my low thyroid from my Mothers side of family, as we can see it has been passed down each generation. Same problems over and over.
In my own case, they think that I cannot convert the T4 in my body into the T3. It seems there is a lack of an enzyime that metabolizes's the hormone, and gradually this has a bad effect on the body, and hypothyroid symptoms develop. This is a simplfication of what they think is causing this in our family.

My husband became hypothyroid because he lived near a facility where they made nuclear bomb material, and the radioactive wastes were left to scatter in the wind for years, causing much physical harm to the population in that area. Real bad story this is but something to take seriously. eek Read about the "Hanford downwinders"

Please come back and let us know how you are doing! Thank God you are doing better! angel

Love Silverfox blink

[ICyuck]

Thank you! I know that my free thyroxine or whatever they call it is always at the extreme low end of the scale.

It's still "normal" (ha) but so much research has been done that shows, most women don't feel at all well until their free thyroxine is in the upper half of the range rather than rock bottom of the range.

I just thank God every day since my meds kicked in, for how good life is and how good I feel now! I honestly feel like this is the first time in my life I have been truly well!

Love, ICY