Which hypothyroid symptom affects/affected your... - Thyroid UK
Depression/weight gain/fatigue have affected my life as with all three I have not wanted to socialise at all.
Like Suze - weight gain/fatigue/feeling flat and you do just want to shut yourself away as everything is too much effort.
I Feel I experienc all the symptoms listed except weight gain.I actually lose weight when not on thyroxin but then then I've had a full gastrectomy and wonder if that could be the reason for it.
My main symptom is severe depression. I am on 150 micro's of L-Thyroxine and it seems to be normal TSH now but I have recently developed depression/fatigue/aches & Pains and have now been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My GP said there was no such thing as poor cell uptake/conversion of T4 to T3 so no investigation along that line then.
<b>Updated on Jun 11 2010 6:54PM:</b> Dear Suze,
Nothing much makes sense at the moment. All I can do is read as much as I can and get advise from this forum. My GP has redone my thyroid blood tests. This came back as "normal". He did some other tests (pituitary etc) and all were normal. He has concluded therefore that I have CFS. He will not augment with T3 as he says this is not the problem. I saw a junior Endocrinologist, who said that I am suferring from depression and that he would never had treated my thryroid condition as it was "minimal". His recommendation was 2 months therapeutic Folic Acid supplements!!!! No difference whatsoever.
Can you tell me who Dr Toft is and where I can find out what he wrote - also which issue of the Pulse you refer to?
Also, my GP has not made any recommendations about management of my symptoms (except to suggest referring me back to a Psychiatrist!). He als says he has backed up my application for DLA but the DLA have refused any support. I cannot do any housework or cook meals and am fatigued and in pain most of the time. Also, my depression could be, quite literally, a killer. I am so frustrated, angry and feeling very sorry for myself right now. I just got the diagnosis of CFS on Monday so am trying to figure out how to work, live etc as I have had no medical advice re this whatsoever.
Anyway, someone was just at my door and I have lost me train of thought so I will sign off until I get inspired once more!!! lol
Crow
Why is depression not listed in the choices for this Big Q? Severe depression, to the point of being suicidal, was by far my most debilitating symptom. This is the symptom that finally forced me (very reluctantly) to see my GP for the first time in over nine years. I actually suffered with more of the physical symptoms AFTER the hypothyroid diagnosis and commencement of levothyroxine. Thankfully depression is a thing of the past now. Which does prove that for me it was undoubtedly caused by lack of thyroid hormone (I always refused the repeated offerings of anti-depressants because I knew they were not the answer for me)
fatigue/muscle pain/brain fog also GPs that won't listen to you
All of the above to some extent for some of the time - but weight gain and brain fog for the most part and just feeling flat with no enthusiasm for doing things as I remember having before.
I wake up tired and go downhill from there. I can't remember what it feels like to not have to battle with fatigue. The doctor was more interested in putting my past medical history on the computer than listening to how I feel.
Mental fog, weight gain, depression, fatigue and all of the above... It takes me forever to kick start the morning and come 3pm I could quite easily fall asleep.
I've gone to my doc and he wants a food and exercise diary and wont even consider T3. I used to be a bodybuilder and still train 3 to 4 times a week (this takes an lot of will power).
My old doc even said to me that I will need to come to terms with being "Fat but fit"!!!
my worse symptoms are weakness muscle cramps breathless, anxiety, brainfog ,muscle pains , depression(when i talk about muscle cramps and weakness my problems started in september 1979 at 22 years of age and because my tsh levels have been ."normal" i had to endure (and i mean endure) getting worse as the years went by in march 2007 i had become so bad that i couldn't walk on a flat service for 60 feet without having to stop because of the cramp in my legs and being breattless i couldn't change a light bulb because i couldn't lift my arm up there and also i couldn't look up there because i got cramp in my neck if i bathed my self i couldn't dry myself in a bath towel because it was to heavy for me to hold ihad to use a hand towel but sometimes i had to sit on a bath mat to drip dry
My worst problem before being diagnosed (finally) was the fatigue. I could nod off at any time at all even if I'd only been up for a couple of hours. My main prob now is that I cannot lose weight. I've put on over a stone and I HATE it! Perhaps the big question could be re-phrased into what sympton affected your life (before diagnosis) and what sympton affects you now? I also hate always feeling the cold and reaching for a blanket in the evenings even with the heating on. Perhaps there should be some form of heating allowance 'extra' for us sufferers! I also suffer from the prob of achy joints and along with a lot of other bloggers have trouble keeping my arms up for any length of time e.g hair washing. My get up and go seems to have definitely got up and gone and I'd just love for it to make a re-appearance in my life.
Hiya,
I always felt so very tird, yet when my head hit the pillow, I could not nod off 
I always felt that I was wading through mud - so much extra effort to do anything and not enough strength to do it! All my tendons hurt, wrists, elbows, ankles and knees, especially first thing. I coudln't think straight, ortake on/retain new info. I felt so useless at work as didn't trust my brain. I actually wondered if I had started to dement, that's how bad I felt. Then, my dr did my tsh and it was 8.5. After 2 months of increased dosage, I am returning to 'normal', but still feel dented by how bad I felt when my brain fogged up. Scared of it happening again.
Worst problems - fatigue, cardiac like symptoms i.e being breathless on exertion, palpations, aches and pains all over esp pains in my neck
Fatigue, weight gain, depression, everything an effort and just want to shut myself away & not socialise - then next day experience a day of being 'hypoactive' & have to get things done, come up with stupid bright ideas, then next day feel so tired & lethargic, so up and down all the time! drives me mad!! so suppose these are what are classed as mood swings?!
To those suffering from depression for many years like myself i would urge you to get your throid tests done asap. I had to go to a private hospital abroad to get this done as my GP in the UK kept on brushing all my symptoms off with a load of anti depressants and it turns out that my condition is related to thyroids and not depression. Their symptoms are quite alike and according to my newly found doctor, it is cheaper to treat patients with anti deps than do throughly tests on the NHS. In addition, she has also mentioned that this can go on undetected for lifelong and sometimes the test results may appear to be normal but in reality the individual may not be producing enough of the T3 or T4. So i would ask anyone to get a second opinion. I believe i am a fine living example of this situation. I am going back for more tests and hopefully some medication would help even though i am very scared and skeptical of the results maybe, but at least its moving forward and knowing the unknown.
Is anyone using any T4 medication and how long before they take effect? I have been reading that i will need to do furthermore tests every 6 weeks to see any improvement but has anyone noticed any change with their weights or moods? My main concern has always been my weight as its so hard for me to control my diet, and also having PCOS just seems to add more fuel to the fire in my case...
I hope you to get well soon... x
Isnt hair loss a major symptom, associated with weak and damaged cuticles? I am losing hand fulls of hair each time I brush, wash or put my hands through it. I have had to resort to doing these things so very sparingly for fear of losing it all- its now so very thin!! My nails are still growing at a good rate, but no sooner do I knock them even slightly, they break and are now always insightly. Its hard enough coping with a compromised hormone system and all of its consequences, but this disease also ebbs away at your femininity.
<b>Updated on Jul 21 2010 10:33PM:</b> Rod im still unable to use the comment icon so responding to your below message here:-
OMG - sorry if I offended you. I dont know many men who worry too much about manicures and such. Guess Im old school and view this as a girl thing.
Fatigue (sleeping all night and in day too). The brain wants to go and do things but the body refuses. It is too much effort. Muscle aches and pains and stiffness in back, legs, arms and shoulders. (Hanging washing on line is a big effort and the arms ache so much). Cramps in toes. Palpitations at times. I also believe that the hives and awful itching I have suffered for the last 4 years or so is due to my thyroid, although my doctor said I was allergic to something and gave me an antihistamine! (Could he do any tests to find out what it was - of course not.) I was diagnosed with hypothyroid ,with a TSH of 29.8 and a T4 of 9, last January during a routine annual test at the blood pressure clinic after years of telling my doctors of my exhaustion, aching and itching, and panic attacks (which a nurse suggested was a menopausal thing which started at the age of 47). Fair enough they have stopped now so I am left guessing whether they were in fact due to the menopause or the thyroid problem. Good luck to everyone struggling to get the right medication like myself.
hi all, im a bit confused by all this t4 t3 not sure what its is, i was diagnose with an underactive thyroid 11 years ago after having 1 year of problems from having inflammation of the joints, enlarge heart, inflamed liver and lots of other problems, 3 years ago i was also diagnose with auto-immune disease, i have flares every so often and can be a nightmare the pain is unbelieveable, i just want to be left alone im my own bubble as the one's around me try and help but really hav'nt got a clue, hope everyone gets the answer they want and need,
Hi all
Like virtually everyone, fatigue, massive weight, depression, air loss etc etc. Have been juggling thyroxine and armour and iodine for years, with adrenal support. They have helped loads, but the old under active Thyroid does keep kicking back in all the time . Now approaching pre menopause and am using Dr Lees natural progesterone (not yam)- which no-one seems to have mentioned?? As women get towards to menopause their thyroid receptors get taken over by estrogen - which makes you more under active thyroid. So I have been using this - with quite good results - but - it it not the best result or perfect. Dr Lees book is excellent. Good luck to everyone with this awful struggle.
not sure if your condition is hashimotos? if it is, Dr Boydston, from Boydston Inst, advises categorically, patients should NOT take iodine. Best to read his website - something there might help anyway. He specialises in thyroid problems.
I first went to the GP with nausea which wouldn't go away this seems to have been caused by my metabolic rate being so slow that I couldn't empty my stomach contents. Later all the other hypothyroid symtoms came into play and my TSH was 60 with no T4 when finally diagnosed several very miserable and frightening weeks later.
Vision – I felt I could not focus as well as I should be able to. Although I have pretty much always needed glasses for short sightedness and astigmatism, I needed to get a special pair for using a computer monitor at work. But even with them my vision was not as good as it had been in some ways – my focussing would tend to hunt either side of ‘in focus’.
Something makes me feel that there was a combination of problems with the very fine muscles used for focussing as well as slightly diminished ‘processing’ power in my eye/brain.
The ability to focus did vary – some days I could just about work OK with my ordinary glasses; others I could not. And this variability seemed to be paralleled by other symptoms such as mood and ‘awakeness’.
But what amazes me about writing this is that I am using the past tense. Perhaps optimistically, even with less than a week of treatment my vision has distinctly approved.
Surely I am not the only one to have had deteriorating vision as a symptom? And I suspect it is often overlooked or simply not reported.
Most of the above! I was already avery tall woman with a weight problem, and on extended leave from work when I think the hypo symptoms set in. Massive weight gain, tired too tired to go out except once a week. I know I am now obese but I can't believe how breathless I get after the shortest walk...and then I break into a sweat which seems to burn up all my upper body, leaves my face running with it, I feel sick, head pounding and in a fog like I am about to faint at any moment with incredible weakness...shop staff always approach me and ask me if I need help and am I ok....
Having read all the comments above has just really heartened me esp where the sufferer wants to shut themselves away, not see anyone and unable to do anything. Knowing I am not alone helps as I await the results of a battery of blood and urine tests ordered by the Endo on my first visit
All of the above, even though it will only allow me to tick one box! I was hit by a triple whammy when my thyroid gave up the ghost as I was undergoing the menopause and giving up smoking all at the same time in 2004. Now I feel as though I am carrying an extra stone in weight for each of those events which in turn, I am convinced, has given me asthma on top of everything else. Levothyroxine is doing absolutely nothing apart from giving me 'normal' TSH levels in my tests...
all of the above at some point and together. though must admit the weight gain and tiredness is the immediate thing that affects me at present, though Depression seems to be getting worse, trying to get out of bed in the morning is a big thing and by mid day I am ready to sleep. am on 100 for 3 days and 75 the next, but doc says I am over prescribed, only checks my TSH, have come to the conclusion that this is how life is going to be. taking extra vits/mins/fish oil/etc, feel like I you could shake rattle and roll me.
the weight gain and feeling tired. The weight gain is the biggest bug bear though as i hate how people think that i must be fat due to stuffing my self with lots of food, when in fact when trying to lose weight have been told that I don.t eat enough.
I hate how I look now compared to 4 years ago before this disease hit me. I was a size 10/12 - now 16/18.
OMG I cannot believe it when I read these comments and realise that I am not the lazy, mardy, paranoid, hypocondriac attention seeking person I have thought I was for the last 15 years or so. There are people out there suffering all the same symptoms as me and feeling crap most days and borderline the rest. Why have I not looked into this before now? I have taken years of being told to 'go away and change your lifestyle and lose some weight' by doctors, even to the point of being asked why I was there at the surgery at all, and being told by the doctor that I was 'pi..ing him off. Never done anything about it because always thought it was me and I was imagining these symptoms. Need to take a different stance on things now!!!!! Armed with information that this is not 'all in my head' I am writing down my concerns about my health and lets see what reaction I get this time????? Thanks to this site I think I can now see a way through the fog after 15 years of feeling depressed, miserable and down right unwell.
dam ticked the wrong one - what i meant was weight gain affected me the most - i have put on 5stn and in 5 years only managed to lose 1. its no wounder i can not do anything carrying around that all the time!
ditto ritz! Weight gain which lead to loads of other stuff, depression, pain in back, plantar faciitis,breathlessness, pain in legs etc avoiding people and not going out (social isolation) family problems (as I refused to go to parties and on visits etc) all so damn downhill a real struggle so it is! I am 16 stone and used to be a size 12 and 9stone (but after having kids and retaining the placenta - the thyroid crap started and it was only diagnosed 8 months ago - and of course, all that horrific weight :0(
I Know my thyroid isnt cooperating! As a result I lost my income entirely!
I have gained about 5 stones over the last five years, but the symptoms I have found the most difficult to live with were/are muscle spasms and dizziness which made walking difficult and then panic attacks. At my darkest point I hoped for a diagnosis of MS or something similar because I could then get a wheelchair - to feel safe in when out - and everyone would know that I had a 'real' illness that I wasn't a bonkers middle-aged woman. I think that even my poor husband began to think that maybe I was losing it. I am getting better slowly and a really important part of my recovery so far has been to sort of forgive myself for being unwell - when I was angry with my body for 'letting me down' I kind of didn't have the energy to actually find answers to my problems. Also I spent about 4 years feeling angry and sorry for myself - all very necessary - but since I got past that I have actually started to make progress physically. Magnesium supplements helped enormously with my mood and stopped the muscle spasms and I started to move forward from there. I am in contact with Dr P now and hopefully things will continue to improve. To infinity and beyond!!
fatigue by a long way. If I'm not tired I can exercise . If I can exercise, mybrain unfogs.
weight gain tiredness thyroid eye disease(even after the op)and depression have all made my life a mere existence.
Severe fatigue & horrendous night sweats. Looking back there was depression & brain fog. Even though I was eventually diagnosed as hypo I was always hungry & continually eating but losing weight! Weirdo that I am ....
Don't like the ridged brittle nails either
Tricky one. Fatigue has had the biggest effect by far over the last year - I have 8 large, active dogs and it's been a struggle to exercise them.
But weight gain has had a massive effect also, with 4 stone going on in the last 3 years which has caused horrendous foot trouble (which again affects me walking the dogs, and is an ongoing problem).
And the brain fog has caused a lot of trouble with me trying to get my business off the ground over the last 18 months.
But on a whole life scale, not just the last year or so; cold intolerance. It's not stopped me doing anything as such; but I have been cold, pretty much constantly, for the last 10+ years and it really wears me down. Much better now and it's like a weight's been lifted.
I am just now going through all of the tests. A blood test showed that I have an underactive thyroid. I now have new blood tests done, a C scan on my head, an ultrasound on my thyroid and neck, and on Saturday coming an MRI on head & neck. Hopefully, they will only need to put my head into the "tube". I was treated for extremely low blood iron & white counts earlier in the year, and needed two transfusions of blood and took iron for about 5 months or so. The brain fog that I am reading about describes me to a t. Cannot remember anything!!, and \i want to sleep , right after getting up in the morning. My husband is awfully good, but I think he is beginning to wonder what the heck is going on. Does the medication that is necessary to take, cause weight gain or does the disease itself cause it. I am overweight and don't want to gain anymore?
I have put brain fog but that is on par with fatigue
I could have easily ticked all of them. I ticked muscle pain. as its the one that has me in its grips all the time.
Brain fog is scary and I have several of them, example being.. I couldnt remember how to open a draw. I burst into tears and have never felt so scared in my life.
Its the what is going on with me is the worst. Nothing shows on the outside, except the dark brusing and pale pallor with yellow patching, so people think you are well. When in reality Im screaming in absolute pain and scared witless.
My problem is nausea. I saw only one other person mentioned that. I had my thyroid removed on 3 Jan 13. I was already on .50mcg of levothyroxine. I became quite ill with fatigue and awful nausea and constipation. My endo upped my Levo to 1.00 and I began to feel better but slowly the nausea and constipation is returning so I think I need more Levo.
Anyone else suffer nausea, etc, as I do?
I voted brain fog because it's only recently that I've become aware of it, but looking back, I think it has affected me perhaps for much longer than I've realised, and it's very tied with fatigue and general listlessness and lack of focus for me. Fatigue, however, is every bit as much a problem for me as the unclear thinking. My husband can't understand that it is physically debilitating for me. And it's not how I want to live. I want to be active and to enjoy life again.
