As someone who has just had a hugely bad summer, fall and Christmas because of my thyroid going completely out of whack and off the chart, I'm here to advise you to get your thyroid checked regularly.
If you are feeling tired, exhausted really, your hair is falling out and sometimes you don't know which is up and which is down... it could be your thyroid.
I never took my thyroid problem seriously. After all, being hypo-thyroid only meant I took a little blue pill an hour before breakfast and then everything would be alright... not so.
Perhaps it's because I've gotten older. My thyroid doesn't seem to know what to do when the sun is too hot! I think it goes to sleep or something and leaves my body to fend on it's own.
This does not work. The thyroid may be tiny but it is a very important part of your body. It has something to do with every one of your organs, including heart, lungs, skin (the biggest organ), brain, and bowels.
So nothing was working for me this summer and I lost 40 pounds a.s.a.p... not a good thing even tho I was planning on losing a bit of weight, this is definitely not the way to do about it. The diagnosis came in about 2 months later so I mostly slept and groaned the summer way... left only to knitting to fill my days.
Now normal for the thyroid test, called a tsh test, is 4 or 5. The first test showed my ths to be 16... a bit of a worry that... but that was chicken feed compared to the test done 2 weeks later that showed my tsh to be a whapping 67.83!
The dr said he wondered that I was able to walk thru the door of his office. Amazing!
So, it's the new year now. My tsh has finally gone down to 5 but I'm still sick. Why? Because, my dr says, it will take my body another 3 months to feel the effects of my thyroid being back to normal.
And I'm beginning to wonder... what is normal anyway?
Also, I have now lost a total of 50 pounds... even my tight pants are loose on me... then, of course, I have no muscle to speak of and my hair has been falling out by the handful.
Hubby says he still loves me... unfortunately he can't actually touch me... I bruise like a son-of-a-gun from the lightest touch.
Even knitting takes a toll...
So, here's what I'm saying.... whenever you get your physical, make sure your dr tests your thyroid as well. It isn't anything hard, just a simple blood test.
These days my dr isn't taking any chances. I'm getting my thyroid done every 3 months from now on.
Good luck!
TEMACrossed Fingers

I know a lot of women have a problem with their thyroids, thankfully I don't. My doctor does the usual screen once a year, along with another "just in case."

Seems I'm one of those "just in case" types to him.

Good advice, though Teema, women seem to ignore the symptoms.

Glad you are doing so much better. Make sure you are taking plenty of Vit C,and getting out in the sun for at least 20 minutes a day.

No sun for me..I don't want skin cancer. I take vitamin D.

As for my thyroid.. many years ago I had some minor issues..being cold, tired, etc so the doctor did a test. It came back within the normal range. I went to an endocrinologist and he did more testing and found out I was getting enough thyroid hormone (which the other tests showed), but my body wasn't utilizing it properly. I've been on a low dose for many years now and I get it checked yearly.

Hope you feel better soon!

I've been on eltroxin for over 20 years. Just last fall, everything seemed to go haywire, as if I had forgotten to take my meds every day (I didn't forget).

Then I read somewhere online that the company which makes my thyroid meds (GlaxoSmithKline) had switched its production factory overseas (to Germany I think) and may have changed the formulation in the process....suddenly hundreds, if not thousands of people were complaining of strange disorders (of skin, mood, tiredness etc.) but mostly in New Zealand.

I tried to talk with my doc about this but to him it was a non-issue, and he proceeded to order other tests for me, unrelated to thyroid (I'm 63). I'm not sure I trust this new doc I got a year ago. He doesn't listen to me, shuts me up with a sort-of "I know more than you do" attitude. There is a shortage of doctors here though, so don't think I can get another.

It's tough to be dependent upon a medication whose origin or manufacturing process you have no control over. We are at the mercy of pharmaceutical companies.

I'm always colder than other people but I've been like that practically since birth and testing hasn't showed anyone why. My hands are even colder than the rest of me (and my feet)... enough that about two inches above my wrist on my arm, there's actually a line... above the line, it's warmer and normal colored, while below it (when it gets really cold but not every day) it's purple. The best answer I've ever gotten from a doctor is that I have poor control over my capillaries. However, my blood pressure is usually low. Today, I was under stress and it was higher... well, it was 122/78. Normally, it's 80-ish/60-ish and has even gotten down to around 50-ish/30-ish. When it was down that low, I had spells where I'd pass out. I even wrecked my first car because of it (as a teenager and not even out of high school) but the doctors wouldn't do anything about it. I'm not sure they can... maybe that's why they won't do anything... Oh well, at least nowadays, it's at least NEAR 100 on one number... Also, you're not the only ones who are under the control of drug companies. For my RA, Enbrel seems to be the only one that works for me and it costs over $2000 a month without insurance. The government believes I'm not supposed to have insurance while I'm trying to get disability, too... Ugh, I hate the government!

[QUOTE=Mokumegane;1310773]My hands are even colder than the rest of me (and my feet)... enough that about two inches above my wrist on my arm, there's actually a line... above the line, it's warmer and normal colored, while below it (when it gets really cold but not every day) it's purple. The best answer I've ever gotten from a doctor is that I have poor control over my capillaries. QUOTE]

Not a doctor, but that sounds like a textbook case of Raynaud's syndrome. I have it. It's often seen in people who have another autoimmune, like lupus or RA. When I started using cinnamon for something else on a doctor's recommendation, mine improved dramatically and really isn't a problem any more. It sure was annoying for years, though!

It's possible, since I have RA. I do use cinnamon in stuff like oatmeal, pumpkin-stuff, some desserts, etc. I'm not sure how much I have a day, though. I use some on pancakes, too, because I prefer that and powdered sugar over syrup... syrup is way too sweet. I should talk with my current doctor... he's pretty current on things and ways to eat or drink something to help the symptoms, rather than just taking the pills. Lol, he was telling everyone to drink more water... except me, of course.

In 1998 I had no thyroid issues of any kin. But in 1999 I had an intense burning itch on the right side of my neck and a swelling that I thought was a goiter. When the swelling blocked my breathing if I leaned over to tie my shoes, I had a needle biopsy done. It showed nothing so the Dr decided to do a surigical biopsy. The slides came back positive for foeliccar carcinoma, or thyroid cancer. The tumor was sending out feelers preparing to spread but had not yet penetrated the inner lining of the thyroid gland on its way out
of the gland. We wasted no time in setting a date to have surgery to remove my thyroid gland. I had the surgery and radioactive iodine treatment, spent time in isolation in hospital to eliminate the radioactactivity from my body by drinking lots of fluids and going to restroom. It has been over 10 years now. I take my little blue pill every morning. I go see the dr at the VA endrocine clincs every 3-6 months . But recently I was off my meds for 3 weeks due to having to have a whole body scan done and just had it done after Christmas so getting back into the ritual of taking my meds is a bit a drag. Now I find out I have to see an Ear,Nose and Throat dr at the VA for something they found on the scan.

I'm glad you're on the mend. I am actually going to have mine checked tomorrow. My son is 6months old and I have yet to return to "myself." I have hot flashes, night sweats, in general I feel exhausted and cranky. I've lost a fair amount of weight and didn't worry about that b/c I am breastfeeding. In the last week my milk supply has really dropped off - sad to say but this is what really woke me up and made me call the MD. I am able to feed my son fine, but do not have enough to be able to pump and have bottles so that I can go to knitting and leave the boy with the hubby.