Update on my Thyroid.

[thefemalegreenday]

Just though Id update where I am at the moment.
Abit stressful with doctors and stuff, I didn't realise how hard it'd be to get help.
We've been to the doctors again, after my blood test and the test even showed that I had a slight case of it. (around half of the people with thyroid problems end up having it shown negative) Away, me and my Mum were talking to the doctor about it and he started getting all concerned because of my anorexia last year, thinking that this was just an excuse to lose a heap of weight. (which its not , I don't mind where I am weight wise anymore, though losing abit might be nice. I really just want to be able to eat veges and allow more food without instantly gaining a couple kgs. Though I don't blame him for thinking that.) He didn't really want to give me medication, since he had absolutely NO idea what a low thyroid was.. Typical.. So he gave a letter to my mum to give to a specialist he had recommended. The letter went on about how I was a healthy weight, his main concern was the lack of periods and then he added in the end "And she is concerned she has a low thyroid."
This greatly pissed me off, considering he took everything the wrong way..
Well my mum called up the specialists and I get to have a one hour appointment on the 10th of August.
Im scared that they'll read the letter and think what he did though..
I really hope they don't.
Please pray ill get the help I need.
Thanks for everything guys, I think they'd be an extra 20 kg of me without everyones supportive words.

[Whatsername]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Sorry you are worrying about this. I have found that drs will look at referrals, letters, etc but prefer to look at your case with an open mind and form their own opinion. Another thing I do is write out my thoughts, questions, etc and bring that with me to the dr. Then I don't get nervous and forget to ask things that I want to. Just a thought.

Take care!

Jane

[jsj0305]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

I completely agree. And if you have an issue with your thyroid, you have an issue with your thyroid. I'm assuming you got reffered to an endocrinologist and they specialize in this sort of thing...They aren't going to just put you on medication without doing blood work first, so I wouldn't worry too much about the first dr you saw.

I hope everything gets worked out and I wanted to commend you for your hard work and now taking a very healthy approach to losing weight and eating healthy. That must have been incredibly difficult for you, and you should be proud of your accomplishments

[thefemalegreenday]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Thanks =].
Yeah Haha that note idea sounds really good. I got so nervous when he started saying "period" so many times.. Its so awkward when males say it..
I'll try practice what ill say to him as well infront of my mirror, I do alot of theatre and acting work so it won't be to hard im hoping.

So funny though.. He asked me if my neck had any signs of swelling, I was like.. uh.. "no? I don't think so.." That was when I found out where my thyroid was.

[ErinB]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Thank you for coming back to update us. I have wondered about you, wasn't even sure you saw all the replies to your other topic.

So funny though.. He asked me if my neck had any signs of swelling, I was like.. uh.. "no? I don't think so.." That was when I found out where my thyroid was.

I really think it would help to read some good, solid, info about hypothyroidism, about the thyroid in general. It could actually ease your mind, as well as help you understand why doctors don't simply prescribe a medication based on symptoms and a slightly off, but in range, lab result.

In the other topic I pointed to this info, which doesn't get one all stirred up the way some of the really radical web sites do.

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/main-atkins-diet-forum/78437-i-have-thyroid-problem-d.html#post1099044

Hypothyroidism - Symptoms, Causes and Treatments of Hypothyroidism and Hypothyroid Disease

I hope you will read that, as well as some of the other information about the thyroid, how it works, etc.

Thyroid Problems - Symptoms, Causes, and Diagnosis

Thyroid Nodules-Topic Overview

Hyperthyroidism-Topic Overview


As frustrating as this is for you when you think you know what your problem is and just want a fix for it, it isn't always that simple, and your doctor is right to be cautious. A slightly underfunctioning thyroid is not going to kill us and slightly hypothyroid is less dangerous than the opposite problem, hyperthyroid. Overtreating could cause heart issues and your doc is right not to want that. Your previous health issue definitely would be a factor in this, would increase the risks for you.

Please try to be patient while your medical team works to find the right resolution for you.

I am hypothyroid. I was likely untreated hypothyroid for over 40 years of my life (long story). I did struggle to keep my weight in a normal range most of my adult life. Around age 50 I began to lose my battle and gradually felt so bad I wasn't even fighting anymore. There was plenty of time, though, to have been treated, but after one lab in my early twenties where I was told I was borderline underactive, I thought that was an answer for life and never told a doctor about all my growing symptoms. My bad. Had I brought these issues up along the way, I would have been monitored and treated long before age 62.

My point is, even going that long without treatment, I led a full life, had a career I enjoyed in the IT field, raised two children of my own and two stepchildren (all teens at the same time for a couple of years!) and, although I was very symptomatic, I did not die from this illness. Once treated and given some time to heal, I feel great!

Did the weight just fall off after being treated? Oh my, no it didn't. I do feel well enough now to battle it again, just like other people my age. Is it fast weight loss because I am treated? That depends on to whom you compare me. I suppose there are some who experience a slower loss, but I am no speed demon at 5 lbs. a month roughly, even though I work out rather strenuously for someone my age.

What I am trying to say is that, if you do have a thyroid issue, then keep checking in with the doc and, when warranted, you'll be treated and you'll avoid getting as run down as I did. Don't be upset if it isn't immediately happening, however, because there is plenty of time and you're already doing a great job of keeping your weight down. While it is true some do have to work at it harder than others, it is still obviously possible for you and I, too, commend you for taking a healthy approach to that.

Yes, yes, eat healthy, whole, foods and move that body. You're definitely on the right track.

Also, if you do educate yourself about the thyroid function/malfunctions, you'll learn that there are times when a doctor will hold off meds for good reason even when seeing an out of range lab result. One example, is when thyroid labs are bouncing up and back, which can happen when Hashimoto's thyroiditis is causing it to thrash. Often those are the death throes of the thyroid (don't panic, one can live fine without a thyroid, if properly medicated). During such a time it can be dangerous to prescribe a thyroid med lest the patient be overmedicated at intervals. A doctor may want to monitor, wait until the situation settles.

In my case, by the time I finally had a doc look at me, my thyroid was likely dead, so titrating my meds, although it took over a year to get them right, was a rather steady process. It isn't always that easy to get the meds right.

We've been to the doctors again, after my blood test and the test even showed that I had a slight case of it. (around half of the people with thyroid problems end up having it shown negative)

I am curious about this. What do you mean by a "slight case of it?" What test(s) was/were you given. What was the result, including the lab range? If you don't know, ask for a copy of the lab result.

I really don't believe (sorry) after all the research I have done that "half of the people with thyroid problems end up having it shown negative." I think you can get to believing things like that if you read a lot of posts on all those thyroid boards out there, filled with posts from people with no medical training. Sadly, over time they just make things up and you never know to whom you are speaking. That's why so many of us keep advising to read what you see out there on the internet with a grain of salt, but get your medical advice from your doctor.

There are some cases where a TSH lab will come back in range even though a patient is very symptomatic.

1. That can happen in a case like I mentioned above if the test is done during a period when the T4 hormone just happens to be in the system, while a test at a later time might show that hormone lacking.

2. It also gets weird when hypothyroidism is caused by a pituitary tumor, but this is really not common at all.

If you have questions about why your doctor does something or doesn't do something, please get him/her to explain why to you rather than to just guess he/she doesn't care or doesn't know.

[ldyj]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

I've had my thyroid checked several times, and by darn good docs too, because I have all the symptoms of thyroid problems, but there has never been a problem found. Several years ago I had half my thyroid removed, and they tell me I STILL don't have a thyroid problem (the removal was done due to a cancer concern). That's something I'll never understand, remove half your thyroid and it still works perfectly????!!!

How will you feel if it turns out you don't have a thyroid problem?

[ErinB]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

That's something I'll never understand, remove half your thyroid and it still works perfectly????!!!

Our bodies really are wondrously made, are they not? In so many ways they manage to compensate when something goes wrong.

[thefemalegreenday]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Wow, thanks for the feedback.
The links are really awesome, I can educate myself on it.

I guess I can't trust everything I read on the internet, I was just so sure it'd be true..
I've been through **** with this, ive just had enough, you know?
I want to not have to do this everyday. Its making me so miserable.

I have depression, Im home schooled and I really don't have many friends at all, this is pretty much what I hold on too, my appearance, being a training actor, appearance is pretty important, I can't get a job at this weight, I have to lose weight to get somewhere.
Seeing myself work so hard, eat everything right and not get any results, destroys me.
The drama people im with and my family eat junk around me all the time and I always say "No thanks, I'm a health freak."
They wonder why Im not fit and slim, they think I sneak in junk food.
THERE fit THERE slim, THERE living like normal teenagers should.
Having a thyroid problem and getting it fixed is my last hope.
If they don't give me medication, ill have to find another doctor.. and so on.
honestly.. Thats it for me. I don't want to live like this, its hard for me to just wait 2 weeks till my appointment...I sounds like im just being a dramatic teenager but this is what I put my life into, my acting and my weight loss. I can't get there without both of them.

I took a blood test and it showed I had a slightly under active thyroid. Im just hoping its more than what it appears to be some how.
I want this to work so badly.

[bizzlekitty]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

I'm glad you went to see the doctor. Borderline underactive thyroid can contribute to difficulty losing weight but it might not be the end all answer.

When I first started Atkins, I wasn't even on thyroid medication and my numbers were way out of whack (seriously underactive thyroid) and I still lost weight. Atkins has been the only way I've been able to lose weight, and that by being very careful, doing things properly, exercising,and eliminating alot of known stallers (soda, caffeine, dairy). ADBB has been the best support for learning how to do things right.

Other conditions can cause difficulty losing weight, as well as medications. Just don't get too fixating on thyroid being the only possibility. I wasted years making excuses for not being able to lose weight because of my medical problems and I regret it. This way of eating does work if you do it!

Good luck with your search.

[ldyj]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be insensitive or unkind, but from what I've read in your posts you have a much larger problem then "maybe" an underactive thyroid. You've got some real self esteem issues. I worry what will happen if you find out the doctors will NOT give you thyroid meds, which can be extremely dangerous if you don't have a thyroid problem. I don't understand metrics really well, but it looks to me like you're around 110, give or take, US pounds. You're a teenager, you're still growing and developing and you "pray" the doctors will find something, anything, wrong with your thyroid so that you can get meds, which you will have to take for the rest of your life, in order to speed up your metabolism (and your heart rate) to lose a few more pounds!

You might want to consider counseling as soon as possible. Please, give it a thought anyway.

[IrishIrish]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Your physicians will be cautious with your age and your history of anorexia. Thankfully he is being cautious in sending you to a specialist (probably an endocrinologist). Prescribing thyroid medication for a 16 year old who has a history of other medical complications is a serious matter and could cause you a life long problem. Be thankful he isn't jumping the gun.

[ErinB]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

You are welcome for the links. That is one of the few sites members of the medical profession will not likely disapprove of if you use it to enlighten yourself. There are numerous others which will lead you astray and get you stirred up over nothing.

The information and advice you are getting in this thread is golden. There are some wise and caring people on this site. Hopefully, you can take their words to heart.

A doctor's first concern is to "Do no harm." Ethically, no doctor would prescribe for you unless he/she is convinced the prescription is reasonably certain not to do harm.

I have a friend who has been tested for years for thyroid issues. For years her lab results have been decidedly out of range and she has needed to put up with numerous hypothyroid symptoms. For her, the worst ones were being so very cold all the time and severe hair loss, but there were others and, gradually, the effects would have become more serious without treatment. During that time, she managed to take off 100 pounds and keep it off while her primary and many specialists consulted about this. She was not at all displeased with her doctors, perhaps because her husband is a physician and she has also worked closely with the medical field. She understood very well they were holding off with her best interests in mind. She would have liked to be treated, but she was not prepared to die to get those little pills.

They always wanted to treat her underactive thyroid, but she also had many more serious medical conditions and has been on serious meds for those since she was a child. It took years for them to come up with a plan for treatment and she is monitored extremely closely because of a risk of seizures.

She is, finally, treated now, however. She is feeling better, but, as you can see, this problem did not keep her from dealing with her weight. It took this condition over 30 years to drag me down to a point where I just wasn't able to fight the weight issues anymore.

I would not wish to trade places with her, believe me. There are far more horrendous medical conditions than a pesky underactive thyroid. Hers is one of those rare cases which is caused by damage to the pituitary.

The calcs tell me, according to your stats, you weigh about 120 pounds. I don't know how tall you are, but you would have to be very short for that to put you in the overweight range. Slow metabolism or fast, healthy weight loss below that is going to be very, very, slow, assuming there is even fat to lose. The suggestion of counseling, IMO, was not unkind at all, but very good advice.

As for appearance, stepping up the exercise, especially working out with weights, might benefit even more than losing another 5 or 10 pounds. I can actually see the changes the workouts are making in my body even when I don't see pounds or inches coming off. It's pretty amazing, really, and it can be a very effective in pushing out feelings of depression.

Having a thyroid problem and getting it fixed is my last hope.
If they don't give me medication, ill have to find another doctor.. and so on.
honestly.. Thats it for me. I don't want to live like this, its hard for me to just wait 2 weeks till my appointment...I sounds like im just being a dramatic teenager but this is what I put my life into, my acting and my weight loss. I can't get there without both of them.

I took a blood test and it showed I had a slightly under active thyroid. Im just hoping its more than what it appears to be some how.
I want this to work so badly.

Having a thyroid or any medical problem is truly not something for which to wish. Please understand that, even if you do have an underactive thyroid and get treated for it, it is nothing to be happy about. A sick or dead thyroid, even treated, is not ever going to be as good as having a healthy one. If I were you I would be hoping the tests would prove my thyroid is healthy! Mine is probably dead, so those pills help me feel better for certain than I felt before having them, but they are not magic weight loss pills. They just aren't, sorry.

One blood test, especially in one so young as you, even if "showed I had a slightly underactive thyroid" means the result was outside the lab range, really would not convince a conscientious and ethical physician to prescribe thyroid medication. And, as IrishIrish said, your medical history really should raise a flag for him. It sounds to me like you found a very trustworthy doc.

I know two weeks seems like an eternity to one your age. You will know soon enough it really isn't. Enjoy this brief moment in time. Realize you'll never be right here in your life again. Use the time to pursue your interests, to work on your studies, your eating plan and your workouts. Enjoy the friends you have. Look for opportunities to make more friends. Two weeks will go by quicker than you think when you spend them doing what you can do to improve your life.

Everyone here is pulling for your success.

[jsj0305]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

You are welcome for the links. That is one of the few sites members of the medical profession will not likely disapprove of if you use it to enlighten yourself. There are numerous others which will lead you astray and get you stirred up over nothing.

The information and advice you are getting in this thread is golden. There are some wise and caring people on this site. Hopefully, you can take their words to heart.

A doctor's first concern is to "Do no harm." Ethically, no doctor would prescribe for you unless he/she is convinced the prescription is reasonably certain not to do harm.

I have a friend who has been tested for years for thyroid issues. For years her lab results have been decidedly out of range and she has needed to put up with numerous hypothyroid symptoms. For her, the worst ones were being so very cold all the time and severe hair loss, but there were others and, gradually, the effects would have become more serious without treatment. During that time, she managed to take off 100 pounds and keep it off while her primary and many specialists consulted about this. She was not at all displeased with her doctors, perhaps because her husband is a physician and she has also worked closely with the medical field. She understood very well they were holding off with her best interests in mind. She would have liked to be treated, but she was not prepared to die to get those little pills.

They always wanted to treat her underactive thyroid, but she also had many more serious medical conditions and has been on serious meds for those since she was a child. It took years for them to come up with a plan for treatment and she is monitored extremely closely because of a risk of seizures.

She is, finally, treated now, however. She is feeling better, but, as you can see, this problem did not keep her from dealing with her weight. It took this condition over 30 years to drag me down to a point where I just wasn't able to fight the weight issues anymore.

I would not wish to trade places with her, believe me. There are far more horrendous medical conditions than a pesky underactive thyroid. Hers is one of those rare cases which is caused by damage to the pituitary.

The calcs tell me, according to your stats, you weigh about 120 pounds. I don't know how tall you are, but you would have to be very short for that to put you in the overweight range. Slow metabolism or fast, healthy weight loss below that is going to be very, very, slow, assuming there is even fat to lose. The suggestion of counseling, IMO, was not unkind at all, but very good advice.

As for appearance, stepping up the exercise, especially working out with weights, might benefit even more than losing another 5 or 10 pounds. I can actually see the changes the workouts are making in my body even when I don't see pounds or inches coming off. It's pretty amazing, really, and it can be a very effective in pushing out feelings of depression.





Having a thyroid or any medical problem is truly not something for which to wish. Please understand that, even if you do have an underactive thyroid and get treated for it, it is nothing to be happy about. A sick or dead thyroid, even treated, is not ever going to be as good as having a healthy one. If I were you I would be hoping the tests would prove my thyroid is healthy! Mine is probably dead, so those pills help me feel better for certain than I felt before having them, but they are not magic weight loss pills. They just aren't, sorry.

One blood test, especially in one so young as you, even if "showed I had a slightly underactive thyroid" means the result was outside the lab range, really would not convince a conscientious and ethical physician to prescribe thyroid medication. And, as IrishIrish said, your medical history really should raise a flag for him. It sounds to me like you found a very trustworthy doc.

I know two weeks seems like an eternity to one your age. You will know soon enough it really isn't. Enjoy this brief moment in time. Realize you'll never be right here in your life again. Use the time to pursue your interests, to work on your studies, your eating plan and your workouts. Enjoy the friends you have. Look for opportunities to make more friends. Two weeks will go by quicker than you think when you spend them doing what you can do to improve your life.

Everyone here is pulling for your success.

You are *truly* an asset to ADBB Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

[mitzimarie]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

You are *truly* an asset to ADBB Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!

Stephanie, I couldn't agree more. Erin is amazing! We are truly blessed to have her here.

[ErinB]

Re: Update on my Thyroid.

Oh gawrsh, now I'm blushing. You're so kind, both of you. It is really those of you who have built, maintained and nurtured this site for years who are the amazing assets. I really didn't mean to hang around so much when I first joined, but you all make it so comfortable and educational. How can one resist?