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Other Hypothyroid connection?

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Blue Survivor

Confident
It has come to my attention that I *may* have an under-active thyroid. I have an appointment next week but I am really anxious about it. I'm curious if anyone with a thyroid condition could confirm that my symptoms are likely due to hypothyroidism, or if there is a possibility that anxiety from PTSD could be causing all of this:

Three years ago
Lost a *lot* of my hair; assumed it was stress, took Vitamin B & Biotin and the hair grew back

Two years ago
Began taking birth control to attempt to control brutal cramps during my period
Gained at least 10 pounds over the course of a few (4?) months.
Doctor said it was the birth control and the weight would drop (it didn't)
Stopped taking BC.

One Year ago
Repeat of hair loss/biotin/hair growth - again assumed to be from stress (new job)
Didn't lose the 10 pounds that my doctor had attributed to the birth control despite real effort

Past Few Months
Depression-like symptoms (achy muscles for no reason, feel tired a lot, just feel 'blah')
A straight-up intolerance to the cold weather
Foot cramps start out of nowhere and are debilitating and long
Round 3 of the hair loss/biotin/hair growth
Day #1 of period now includes vomiting - this has never happened before
Despite a healthy diet and daily exercise I still cannot lose that 10 pounds "from birth control"

Last Week
It pained my feet to walk for only a half hour, I got extreme foot cramps
Went to urgent care, got blood work. Result: low calcium, urgent care sends me to ER
ER tells me to take 2.000 calcium & vitamin D for a week and then get blood checked
(I declined an EKG at the ER due to not having health insurance)

Now
Foot cramping has improved past few days
Tingling limbs off & on
I feel like I'm not breathing enough, if that makes sense
Gradual headaches

Anyone?
 
@Blue Survivor have you had bloods for your other hormones as well as Thyroid done too? Some of the symptoms seem to indicate a Thyroid problem but may also indicate other major hormonal imbalances too. Big hormonal fluctuations can mimic both hypo & hyper Thyroid functions.

Really bad anxiety/stress has the reverse effect on me in terms of weight.

Are you on any big psych meds? This can cause physical symptoms too.

I'm very fragile to the extreme's of heat and cold.

PTSD/anxiety and stress can cause all these symptoms. But it's quite possible it could be hypothyroidism too.

I'm not being helpful here. Ultimately this is a process of elimination. The pathology tests will either determine what your Thyroid is or is not doing. So good call by your doctor to do some blood tests.

I know it is quite shocking to have these symptoms and over an extended time too. It's useless to say 'don't worry' bc you will. The only good thing to come of this is you may find out and be able to receive appropriate treatment and get off this roller coaster of illness.
:hug:
 
Long time hypothyroid person here.

A blood test will confirm this disorder. An endocronologist or internist would be the doc of choice to manage thyroid disease, but a general practitioner can get you started and oversee your care, too.

I would check off the birth control as being an indicator of thyroid disease because it does cause similar symptoms. But the rest of your list is spot on. IF you have hypothyroidism, weight gain is as easy as drinking water. Add that into being tired all the time and decreased physical activity, and you have a perfect storm for war against expanding girth. Depression is a constant symptom for me. And thinning hair and managing my body temp is the pits, sometimes. You may also have dry skin and peeling or brittle nails. Sublingual Biotin and Vitamin B12 are a must. Also vitamin D. If the leg cramps do not go away, you might try drinking Gatorade.

IF you have thyroid disease, getting managed with a thyroid pills will make a surprising difference in your energy level. It will also lighten some of the depression and tiredness. How much it changes your metabolism will depend on the severity or type of thyroid disease you might have.

The supplements I have been told to take for the painful feet and legs are a combo or calcium, magnesium, and zinc tabs. Nature Made products have these and I think they are the best. These are essential for promoting healthy nerves. Vitamin D should also be in your, forever, take-daily list.

Let me know what you find out. I would like to know.
 
Some of what you're describing is potentially indicative of a thyroid issue, but it's impossible to say without testing. If you suspect this is what's going on, ask them to run a T3 test along with the TSH and T4. Stress impacts deiodinase function, in other words your thyroid could be producing a normal amount of T4, which is a precursor molecule, but have trouble converting it to the active form of the hormone. Also, the body produces more than one form of deiodinase enzyme, and the ones used by the pituitary are more efficient, which means that if you're only running a TSH and T4 they can sometimes come out normal even if you have an imbalance. Also, TSH tests are pretty standard so you may have old test results on file from a time before this started. If you're normal compared to the lab's reference range that just means that you're normal compared to humanity in general. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're normal for you. So ask them to compare your results with previous tests if you can. When my thyroid function was low, my tests came out in normal range and I had to look at older tests to know what was going on.

Also, check your salt and look at what you've been eating. If you are low on other nutrients then you could be low on iodine too, which can cause hypothyroid issues. If the problem is your thyroid hormone levels then fixing it could be as simple as taking some kelp supplements and destressing. Mine problem was mostly due to diet, behavior, and stress. When I no longer had someone controlling what I ate, my ability to exercise, and I got out of that horribly stressful situation my thyroid function returned to normal with no problem.

I'm more concerned with the menstrual problems you're describing. When was the last time that they gave you a pelvic ultrasound? And what exactly is causing your vomiting? Are you on the floor vomiting from pain? Do you experience pressure in your abdomen or lower back? If you rupture certain types of cysts it can be dangerous, or you could have an internal infection that could be very dangerous. Or it could just be that your hormone balance is out of whack. I don't know much about how thyroid imbalance influences female stuff, but when you throw off one major hormone axis in your body it tends to throw other things off as well. Tests.
 
Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the insight.

I am without health insurance, so I have not had regular check ups for a number of years. I did have blood work 2 years ago and I was found to be 'normal' but I believe that was just a complete blood count and a cholesterol test as a 'new patient work-up' lab. I didn't mention the hair loss to the doctor back then because it was growing back, so there likely was no screening for anything specific.

On Monday I'm going to a 'clinic' that the ER recommended. The past couple of days I'm having mobility issues...my feet feel like they're going to spasm/cramp and then they don't, and when I walk my one foot feels as if it isn't 'padded' enough on the ball and that's when walking hurts me. I'm so worried about this because walking is one of my favorite forms of exercise. Especially with the weight gain, I'm really concerned that I will gain more if I can't move.

@Angrboda I have no idea what's happening with my periods. At my last OB appointment (2 years ago) I did have the typical OB visit/check up with no concerns. For the past few months I'm nauseous on day #1 of my period and then I throw up a few times. After that (and after the cramps stop) I feel fine/as fine as you can feel for day #1 of your period. Ginger tea helps a bit with the nausea. Oddly I just got my period yesterday and this time I did not vomit or feel nauseous at all, and compared to the foot cramps I've been having recently the period cramps felt like heaven!
 
Long time hypothyroid person here.

A blood test will confirm this disorder. An endocronologist or internist would be the doc of choice to manage thyroid disease, but a general practitioner can get you started and oversee your care, too.

I would check off the birth control as being an indicator of thyroid disease because it does cause similar symptoms. But the rest of your list is spot on. IF you have hypothyroidism, weight gain is as easy as drinking water. Add that into being tired all the time and decreased physical activity, and you have a perfect storm for war against expanding girth. Depression is a constant symptom for me. And thinning hair and managing my body temp is the pits, sometimes. You may also have dry skin and peeling or brittle nails. Sublingual Biotin and Vitamin B12 are a must. Also vitamin D. If the leg cramps do not go away, you might try drinking Gatorade.

IF you have thyroid disease, getting managed with a thyroid pills will make a surprising difference in your energy level. It will also lighten some of the depression and tiredness. How much it changes your metabolism will depend on the severity or type of thyroid disease you might have.

I also have hypothyroidism. I was in my 20’s and I had no idea what was going on with me. I was always energetic but my body started slowing down where I couldn’t walk as fast. Extremely tired, hair was falling out and my brain was slowing down. I had to work on a cashier and was making so many mistakes because I couldn’t think at all. I thought maybe I had mono or something. One day at work I was sweeping and the broom was so hard to push. I bent over to pick up a piece of small cardboard off of the floor but I couldn’t lift it and I collapsed. My mom took me to the doctor and he told me nothing was wrong with me. Oh man! A nurse convinced him to give me a thyroid blood test. That doctor got the results back and said I was almost in a coma state. I was prescribed medication but I had to live with my parents for 3 months because I couldn’t walk at all.

Throughout the years I’ve gone from hypothyroid to hyperthyroid and back again and am needing dosage changes quite often. Of course stress causes these changes. It’s amazing how the thyroid effects everything in your body.

I’m so sorry! I accidentally touched something on my phone and it deleted what my response was:(

Shoot! It’s there but I don’t know what I did! I’m sorry!
 
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Update - bloodwork came back and 'everything is normal' which baffles me. I saw the lab results posted in the patient portal before the office called me and half of the tests said 'abnormal' so I'm not sure if they mixed up my results with someone else's or what. In their defense though: if a range was 2.5-5.6 and I scored a 5.7 then the lab listed it as 'abnormal' My ketones in my urine result was 40 which I guess is - which made me think diabetic or kidney issues. Or maybe I'm losing body fat (but it sure doesn't seem like I am).

I'm still tired a lot of the time, not to mention ungodly thirsty. The latest is that my urine sometimes looks oily. My feet are no longer cramping but the one feels like it gets swollen on the ball of my foot towards the end of the day. So...still no clue what's happening with me.
 
@Blue Survivor so if your blood tests are near to normal range did you ask your doctor what else could be going on.

What medications are you on? Some meds can seem ok for a while but start playing up. Dry mouth or being thirsty is a very common side effect for a lot of meds. Could it be one of your meds if you are on any? Or a combination of the meds?

@Fadeaway is probably on to something with the Vitamin deficiency - you could try a complex B or a good all round multi Vitamin however it will take a while to notice if Vitamins are truly needed and of course this depends on the adequacy of your diet.

You mentioned your periods are causing havoc. This would be something you could investigate bc it is a hormonal thing too and can really cause fatigue and other problems. Being hijacked by nausea etc as you described every month must be terrible. I'd strongly suggest a check-up. Who'd be a woman hey? :hug::sorry:
 
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