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Help me justify putting off a visit to the doctor because I am poor.

Gonestarfishing — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:01:45 -0800

Another thyroid question... So me-fites...help me figure out if I should go to the doctor or not. Typically I would just go anyway, but I just got my very own brand new shiny health insurance and I haven't yet met my $400 bubble where insurance starts paying for stuff. I have been experiencing some symptoms that would indicate hypothyroidism. They include:

- I feel like my hair is falling out at a more rapid rate than it used to. In sunlight I can see through to my scalp, which has never been the case in the past. I am also getting split ends and my hair breaks really easily. I never. Ever. EVER had split ends in the past, even when I was heat styling my hair almost every day and getting my hair cut once a year. Now I always let my hair air dry, and get a trim every 3 months and still, split ends galore.
- My nails (which were also super duper strong and unbreakable once upon a time) now break much more easily, and start peeling as well from time to time.
- I have had eczema since a child, but for the first time in my life I am getting patches of eczema on my face in the summertime.
- Extreme daytime fatigue, even after changing my diet to include more healthy foods, upping (and lowering) my food intake, going to bed earlier, etc. I pretty much can't help but pass out after I get home from work.
- I was sleeping pretty well every night up until a couple of months ago when I started having more and more frequent bouts of insomnia. The fatigue has been present a lot longer than the insomnia, by a couple of years at least, though now I'm sure it's attributable to the insomnia.
- Unending low grade depression
- Unexplained joint pain. I have flat feet, so if I'm on my feet for a significant amount of time, my ankles/knees/hips/lower back will ache, but often I'll have had a low key day and I still end up feeling arthritic (I'm only 23).
- Constipation
- A once laid back person, I am now more prone to snap at my loved ones in anger when they don't deserve it. I would now classify myself as having a hot temper.
- I had blood work done 2 years ago to test TSH, and mine was at 4.3. My doc said it was on the high side of normal but still within normal range. I got tested again a month after that, and all was back to well within normal ranges.
- Perhaps the most frightening symptom of all is the memory loss/brain fog. I have trouble recalling simple words when speaking and my ability to compose sentences has gone down the shitter. I find myself being grammatically incorrect a lot, but can't think of the proper way of how to phrase things. I was once a star english student and used to pride myself on my vocabulary. I feel like I've been dumbed down by 30 IQ points. I have so much trouble trying to focus my brain at work, but can't remember all the tasks I need to complete.

I know there are other symptoms that I am simply not recalling at this moment in time.

Now I know you're saying, get thee to a doctor, stupid! What perplexes me, and the reason why I am asking this question, is that I am not overweight. I gained weight (15 lbs) when I started college 5 years ago that I didn't lose (lack of exercise, horrible diet) until this past year, when other health issues caused me to be unable to eat my typical diet, or much of anything at all. I now have a healthier appetite (and am making much wiser food choices) and have gained a couple of lbs back, but nothing major.

I have a family history of my paternal grandmother and an aunt (her daughter) having hypothyroidism. It should be noted that they have always been pin-thin before and during their hypothyroidism (but perhaps may be due to their penchant for eating disorders). I am not close with them, nor do I wish to be, so talking to them about this is not an option.

So. Given the symptoms above, and seeing as how some of them may be explained away by other things, and also seeing as how my weight is under control, do I need to see a doctor immediately or soon? I will go if it seems like I need to, or eventually, but money is tight and like I said, insurance bubble (whatever the fuck it's called, I can't remember) hasn't been reached yet so any visit I make will be paid for out of pocket. Have any of you ever experienced or heard of hypothyroidism sans weight gain? If I do have hypothyroidism, will delaying a doctor visit by 3-6 months make a difference?

Also, I noticed today while touching my neck that my thyroid may be swollen? I don't really know what my baseline is, so I'm not sure if it is swollen, or how to judge. I tried googling "how to identify swollen thyroid" and found one video that wasn't particularly helpful. If I tilt my head back, I can see it sticking out from my neck. While I was thinking about it, I also started remembering that for the past couple of months or so, things have taken a couple or a few swallows to get completely down. Maybe it's in my head, I don't know...but do you have any tips for feeling up your thyroid? What should I be looking for?

Hypothyroid or hypochondriac?

apostrophe — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:26:50 -0800

Is my thyroid underperforming, or am I just being a hypochondriac? My TSH level is 3.47 and my primary care physician thinks I'm fine. But I don't feel quite right. The endocrinologist is expensive and takes forever to get an appointment with. I just want to know if I'm wasting my time. I am exhibiting symptoms of being hypothyroid. Here they are. About a year ago I went off hormonal birth control and began charting my fertility patterns. I noticed that my body temperature is consistently below 98.6, usually around 97.1 or less. I also have the hardest time losing weight. Last summer, as part of my scientific approach to my body (chart for fertility, fitday.com for weight loss), I went several months tracking my caloric intake and exercise. I work out 4 days a week, 3 days doing 30 minutes cardio + 30 minutes weight training, plus a vigorous yoga class. I ride my bike around town. I walk places and take stairs. As far as eating, I started out around 1800 calories a day, then slowly took it down till I saw results. I didn't see any weight loss till I got to about 1200-1300 a day. I should add that I'm 5'7" and pushing 170 lbs. So, yeah. That was frustrating. The weight loss I did see was minor, like a pound every 2 weeks. Other signs: dry skin / eczema, not a lot of energy (I need 9-10 hours of sleep a night or I find it hard to concentrate & yawn all day), constipation, and I always feel cold. Oh, and my blood pressure is always low. Like, 110/60. Both my grandmother and mother are diagnosed as hypothyroid and are on medication.

So I went to see my gynecologist as my PCP. I had the blood tests, and here are the results:

TSH: 3.47
Thyroxine – free: 1.1
T3 – total: 116

From my online research, a TSH over 3.03 is now considered hypothyroid. I told this to my doctor, and she said I should see an endocrinologist to pursue it further, because these numbers seemed fine to her. I'm in the Bay Area, and have heard great things about Dr. Nathan Becker. But he's expensive, doesn't take insurance, and it takes forever to get an appointment. I just want to know if there's anything that he could even do for me, or if I'm imagining these problems. I am a little neurotic. But, you know, the thermometer doesn't lie!

Hashimoto's disease

soviet sleepover — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:13:42 -0800

I've just been diagnosed as having hypothyroidism (probably Hashimoto's disease, though the secondary bloodwork that would confirm that isn't back yet). I'd like to hear stories/anecdotes about having hypothyroid problems &/or Hashimoto's, especially if you've tried alternative treatments (whether or not they've succeeded). Additionally, I'm looking for resources, online or off, that consider alternative treatments/dietary changes/etc as well as standard Western medical practices. At this point (having been diagnosed just today from a recent blood test), I know very little about this. I'm not opposed to following the normal allopathic route of synthetic thyroid hormone replacement, but because I'm not showing many symptoms and my TSH levels aren't outrageously high (31.5, which so far means little to me, but is by no means at worrisome levels), my doctor says it's totally fine to explore other options. At the same time, while she's completely open to homeopathic/non-traditional options, she doesn't know anything about them, so the onus is pretty much on me to research this stuff. Any ideas on where to start that will provide information useful to my physician yet be readable to a layperson like myself?

No Thyroid, Synthroid and Soy?

Shane — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 13:36:50 -0800

No Thyroid, Synthroid and Soy? My Mom is hypothyroid, actually "NO-thyroid," taking Synthroid due to her lack of any remaining thyroid gland. Hypothyroid patients are often told soy may exacerbate hypothyroidism, but if one already has no thyroid left and is completely dependant on a replacement drug, is there any reason to avoid soy?