Underactive thyroid at 25

[finners1991]

Hi I'm new to all this and being young I'm a bit scared what happens next. How long does it take to feel normal? What should I be eating? Can I still get pregnant?

[108Optimist]

Hiya Finners. Great you know whats going on for you now. I bet the symptoms were horrid for you, and not knowing why! So at least you have a dx (that means diagnosis).

The first thing to do is attempt to get clear on why yo have hypothyroid. Eg, is it hashimotos, iodine-deficiency, chronic stress etc.

1 - ask your doctor the root cause of your hypothyroid. If they dont know then dont be too surprised!

2 - get a good book like stopthethyroidmadess. theres alse a website of the same name. HEAPS of info, you dont need to take it all in at once

3 - Get copies of all your blood test results and any other procedures like ultrasounds etc. Your GP surgery should print them out for you. these will be useful for your reference as you understand what they mean, during your journey. Also useful to share results here and get a second/third opinion.

4 - youll see a lot about doctors not understanding thyroid and how to treat it well. Plus a lot about people not liking some of the drugs that doctors prescribe. Dont be too alarmed, You could have a great doctor. And if not, this group, plus the book i mentioned and other resources will help you to fill in the gaps over time.

5 - As far as food goes, if you have hashimotos (google that!) then cutting gluten is a must if you havent already. No worries though, if that seems a bit much (as everything seems a bit much when you are hypot!) then you can do it gradually. Obviously eat lots of greens and some fruits and raw nuts and seeds. Many people find giving up dairy and supermarket meat help a lot too.

If you are iodine deficient then sea vegetables (seaweed etc) and kelp powder on your food can help.

6 - Support - do you live with your family? Does anyone else you know have this? Do they understand it? I wont list them all here now, but there are some great online articles that explain to family members how much it sucks having hpyot and how it feels for you, how they can support you. Hypothyroidmum is one such site.

7 -Speaking of hypothyroid mum, have a look at her site. She just released a book about pregnancy and thyroid. Yes you can get pregnant (assuming theres nothing else stopping it from happening).

8 - there are so many online and book resources you could make a full time job of this! Beware that you could feel overwhelmed by it all....on the other hand you might do what I wish I would have done, and that is to only read about it 1-2 hours a day or it takes over! Your call

9 - Normal Life - try to keep up as many normal things as you can. For instance, although I can no longer run with my fitness buddies, I can drive myself to their house and sit on the couch having a cuppa (im still healing too)

10 - SELF CARE if you work a lot, of force yourself to exercise to extremes, or diet to extreme etc you may be stressing your system more. make a huge long list of all the things that give you an inner smile and see if you can get one a day (a hug from your mum counts right?). From hugging to trotting on a horse, whatever it is for you.

11 - how long to feeel normal is a sticky question im afraid. Some people get on meds and feel better quickly and stay well. Others regress again. Other people take years to find a way forward or find a helpful doctor. The good news is you are young and at a time when we have access to a lot of information and networks of patients like this. If you were diagnosed at 50 years old, then you may have other complications by then that make it harder to feel better (but not always). Thats actually an impossible Q to answer, and that why you must try your best at number 9, and keep steady at the activities you can do most of the time, that light up your heart and make you feel peaceful and content.

11 - Always come back to this group for to share your successes, questions, frustrations and joys!

Thats a lot! Sorry thyroid Sister, hope its not too much!

XXX

[Hidden in reply to 108Optimist]

Sorry to but in. Great advice.

I'm new to being hypothyroid. Diagnosed earlier this year after the worst stressful 3 years. I'd been attacked by my brother, I had crippling anxiety and agoraphobia, my son became ill.... then I suddenly had chronic fatigue issues and almost bed ridden over the winter. I was so ill. Could stress have been the cause as I don't have hashimotos? I've always wondered if stress caused it. My tsh shot up from 6 to 9 in a few months. It wasn't coming down so I went on thyroxine.

Julie

[108Optimist in reply to Hidden]

Hi JingyD

Stress certainly can affect your thyroid and it sounds like you had a big hit of stress. My friend who is paramedic had very high stress, she said she recognised it as high stress as she knew she was BING BING on adrenaline a lot of the time for work. Her TSH went up (it was a big number but I cannot remember what). She treated only the stress/adrenal side of things and her thyroid naturally resolved.

So stress hormones can actually block the thyroid hormone receptors (apparently anyway....ive never watched it happening with my own eyes).

Additionally, the making of stress hormones (which are our evolutionary survival hormones) using nutrients and other building blocks which we then dont have enough of to make thyroid hormones.

Because there is not enough thyroid hormone, the pituitary gland in brain signals with more TSH (hence the rise in TSH). TSH wont go down until there is sufficient thyroid hormones (im talking about T3 and T4, as I dont know anything about T1 and T2).

9 is a high TSH.

It can also happen if instead of making T3, you actually make reverse T3. This would happen if you were deficient in selenium.

I doubt that is an exhaustive list of the reasons why we can be hypothyroid without hashimotos. Any of the nutrient deficiencies in the link ive put ehre would do it....and as I said stress uses all your nutrients.

Sounds like your adrenals could be a good place to do some work with.

I dont have a reason for hypothyroid either. And my TSH was low rather than high. But still no answers.

Epstein barr virus is a reason people get chronic fatigue and it can get reactivated under intense stress. It is known to contribute to incidence of hashimotos, but im not sure about hypothyroid.

Anyway, im confusing matters now! Simple answer is yes, stress can do it.

Im sorry to hear about what happened to you. Thats horrible. I hope you are making progress now xx

Link to thyroid nutrients: hypothyroidmom.com/10-nutri...

[salsapixie]

Don't worry, you'll be fine. It is a chronic condition but many other people live with chronic illness and live full lives. It took about a year to feel fully OK. I ran a lot before diagnosis then got very tired and stopped. When I started again, I felt like I'd been hit by a train at first. I persisted and gradually increased my exercise. Now I've ran loads of half-marathons and a full marathon plus a 5km open water swim. Exercise definitely helps and it manages stress which can affect your condition. Read up on the NHS conventional approach and the alternatives and make up your own mind about what approach to take. There is conflicting information. Conventional medicine says iodine makes everything worse where others find it helps. Some say cut out gluten and others say it doesn't work for them. Do your research but make sure you get information from reputable sources. One piece of advice from all sides is to find ways to manage stress.

Weight loss is tricky but not impossible. My hair thinning also stopped once I was on levothyroxine.

[salsapixie in reply to salsapixie]

Oh and be assertive with your doctor when you feel unwell/ tired etc.

[108Optimist in reply to salsapixie]

Oh thats always a ray of light to hear about people getting back to fitness! My normal minimum is an hour of yoga and an hour cycle/walk a day. Now if I do that, im feeling like lead in my cells, and am depleted for day or more afterwards. I tried sitting down for a good 8 weeks and resting as much as possible but thats no good at all! Good to hear of your success

[Heloise]

Hi finners, good for you asking the right question. It shows you are willing to DO something to help yourself. This man explains what may be going wrong with your body very well and give you an insight as to why your body is reacting the way it is. There is always a reason.

youtube.com/watch?v=T_Re4ja...(Not working as expected?)

[Eddie83]

Hypothyroidmom.com would NOT recommend that you get pregnant until you have treated/normalized your thyroid function. The risks of miscarriage or disabilities in your child are not worth taking. You might want to take a look at ThyroidPregnancyBook.com.

[finners1991]

Thank you so much for all your comments, I really need to do my research as I don't understand half of the lingo you all use... T3 and what no but I'm sure I'll get there... only found out about 2weeks ago and didn't ask too many questions to the doctor as I was in shock. I do know my blood test came back at 25.3

[Juliecmuphy]

Hi. I suggested you find a functional nutritionist. Re getting pregnant. The change from first to second triemester is complicated for people with under active thyroid. But as you are newly diagnosed. A functional nutritionist may be able to offer supplements to protect the thyroid from damage. Best of luck

[Minigirl]

Hi, finners1991, Hypo thyroid patients have had good results on `Tirosint in monodose `liquid sachets and drops, also available in gel capsules. It`s the fillers in the tablets of òther forms of thyroid medication that cause problems. Tirosint is avaible in USA, & Italy, IBSA Pparmaceuticals (Swiss) make it. Look at Tirosint website. Eat Gluten free bread etc, look on the website `Stopthethyroidmadness` they have information on diet and pregnancy. Wish Tirosint was available world wide to thyroid suffers.

@+Minigirl