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Can someone with some knowledge/experience give me an idea of whether I’m barking up the wrong tree with hypothyroidism? My case is a little complicated. It answers a lot of my symptoms but I’ve hit a brick wall over diagnosis. I don’t want to push my GP for further tests or pay for private tests if they’re likely to waste time, effort and money.
In brief.
Suspecting that my symptoms were the result of hypothyroidism (see below) I tested my temperature and got low readings (oral basal temperature of 96.7F/35.9C and afternoon peak of 97.8F/36.6C). I also discovered that a brother was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism 25 years ago, had part of his thyroid removed and now takes Thyroxine for the resultant hypothyroidism. However, a blood test has just given me a ‘normal’ Serum TSH level of 2.53 (the Dr’s assistant said “the GP had said that the tests were normal, that’s all that the test gave” and I couldn’t get any more info then with no dr present) and I’ve got myself confused over all the info on the internet that the test is unreliable. I could try again this weekend to get more details but I struggle with brain fog.
Symptoms.
My main symptoms, some of which may be due to something else, are as follows: tiredness, sleepiness, high cholesterol, feet and hands get very cold quickly, weight gain around my waist despite exercise and healthy eating, muscle cramps and aches, and brain fog. I also have restless legs syndrome that some people say might be linked to hypothyroidism.
History.
I’m a man in my late 50s, 5’7” and 11 stone, who has often felt unusually sleepy/tired for week or 2 at a time since I was 20. I’ve always kept myself physically fit and eat well. Then 3 years ago when I was under a great deal of stress (divorce, work pressure, unexplained pain) I began to feel very tired and sleepy, particularly in the afternoons; I had great difficulty thinking at work, which was unfortunate as my work is mostly analysis/thinking, and I had ‘I just can’t cope/struggle any more’ breakdown. I was diagnosed with depression; pills (Effexor then Imipramine) and rest started to sort the depression but the tiredness/sleepiness remained, albeit reduced by lashings of Provigil, until I ran into a brick wall: I had excruciating pain in my face from the site of an old injury/operation that was eventually diagnosed as atypical facial pain (ie we doctors don’t know what it is, but it’s real and probably caused by the brain misfiring). Imipramine and the pain killer Neurontin/Gabapentin keeps the pain tolerable but I’m still left with debilitating sleepiness, tiredness and brain fog that stops me from working. The constant battle against tiredness and sleepiness also makes me vulnerable to depressive thoughts and the ‘normal’ result has knocked me back a bit. I ruled out the medicines causing the tiredness/sleepiness after varying their levels and notng that the sleepiness/tiredness probably preceded them.
