Hypo or Hyper????
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| Tue, 11-02-2004 - 4:31pm |
This is my first post on this board. I'm hoping that someone could shed some light on this whole thyroid issue for me.
Here's my situation: Both my mother and grandmother were both Hypothyroid with goiters, which they both had to have removed. Now at 31, I seem to have all the symptoms of being Hypothyroid; abnormal weight gain, constipation, low body temperature, fatigue, mood changes, hair loss, etc. My past blood test have come back that I am close to being Hyperthyroid, with none of the symptoms of being Hyperthyroid. I have tried several endocrinologists (Kaiser of course), whom all claim that I am not hypo, but don't have an explanation for any of my symptoms. I just saw a new doctor today, whom had me to take all new labs (7 vials of blood) and said that he thinks I am one of these three things: Hypothyroid, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or Insulin Resistant. Now of course I will have to wait until the labs come back for them to tell me once again that there is nothing that they can do for me, because they can't figure out what is wrong. But I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this same sort of "flop flopping" (I feel like I am talking about an election campaign, rather than my health) or is their any other way for them to figure out what the heck is wrong with me?
Any help, or words of wisdom are greatly appreciated!

The thought that you are close to hyper could be possible, though. TSH levels really fluctuate and yours might be going up and down that way. There really isn't that large a range either. In the newest lab ranges, a hypo diagnosis is anything above 3.0 and a hyper diagnosis is anything below .3. So you see, it's possible! Plus many symptoms are similiar. Since you have a family history of hypothyroidism, though, it wouldn't be surprising if your TSH comes to balance out at the hypo level, rather than hyper.
It is great that your doctor is testing you for so many things. That means that he has a clue as to what he's doing!! That's great. Insulin resistance is extremely rare - as a disease in itself. I would be surprised if it comes back as that. When you get your test results, be sure to ask for the actual numbers and the lab ranges. Ask for a hard copy of the results to be sent to you so you have all your info there. If there's anything confusing, come back here and we'll see if we can help. Let us know how you do in any case. I'm curious now!!! Hope this helps. Cathy :)
Thank you for responding to my post!
It seems that my past TSH test were .3, so I guess they lean towards me being Hypo. I just wish doctors would treat my symptoms and not the blood work numbers. Hopefully my tests will have changed and my doctor will have some good answers for me, although I am very skeptical about Kaiser’s diagnosis on anything (they had me on Dilantin for seven years and I was never epileptic, I was having panic attacks). After adding my post to this website yesterday, I found a doctor in Los Angeles, who has testimonials on his website of people who claim to have had the same problem as I do. Although I am not happy about having to pay this doctor $375. per visit to find out what is wrong with me (especially since Kaiser is getting paid to do that), I am going to go to this doctor to get a second opinion, either way. Supposedly, this doctor specializes in patients with hormone problems.
I will continue to update you on my adventure with my pool of doctors, as I'm sure this is the beginning of a wild ride. I am just so positive that I am Hypo, especially since my Mother said she experienced the exact same symptoms and doctors problems, and they would not listen to her until they had to cut the goiter out of her neck.
Thanks again Cathy, your words were extremely helpful to my morale, which is fading quickly.
.3 is on the hyper end.
Thanks for the response.
I just spoke to a new doctor who said I need to have Thyroid Panel done. However, I'm not sure what all is involved with this test. So far I've found the following are parts of the panel are:
T-3 Uptake
T4
T7
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
Can you(or anyone else)tell me which ones are actually in the Panel? Or if I am missing something.
Tonie