Thyroid Test Coming Up

[gfreecollegegirl]

Hi everyone,

I know a lot of you are dealing with thyroid issues so I am calling on your advice:

I'm going to have my blood tested very soon to check my thyroid. Quick history: Self diagnosed gluten intolerant or Celiac a yr ago. After going gluten free, I felt much better, even normal again. Now, I feel like something is "off" again, like I did before the diet change. My biggest problem is that I am EXHAUSTED all the time. I feel like I live in a state of exhaustion and I'm only in my 20's! Sometimes it is so bad that I would stay at home 24/7 if I could! I seem to have symptoms consistent with anemia or hypothyroidism. I don't feel like I could be anemic though because I eat a well rounded diet (also take supplements and probiotic). Anyway, I want my energy and my life back!! (I hate feeling like I'm the "party pooper" everywhere I go!)

Friends have agreed with me that it sounds like my thyroid and my mom made an appt for me at my general pract. dr. They can take my blood right there at my dr's office. What I want to know is what tests should I ask for/make sure they do? Please explain to me what these tests are and what they mean in simple terms I can understand! Haha! I have things like TSH and T4 bouncing around in my head and none of it makes any sense! Everything I'm finding on the internet is just confusing me.

And could someone please explain to me how it is possible to have both hashimoto's and graves disease at the same time when they are opposite (am I right?) of each other (causing hypo and hyper- thyroid problems)?? The reason why I ask this is that I seem to have some symptoms consistent with hypo and some with hyper as well.

I almost want them to find something in the test results because I want an answer for why this is happening to me! It could end up being one big false alarm, but I figure I'm better safe than sorry!

Thanks!

[eatmeat4good]

I don't know as much as some of the other thyroid poster's here but I will try to explain what I understand. I have Hashimoto's. But my TSH level is "normal" so they don't want to medicate right now. With Hashimoto's it is common for the thyroid to swing between hyper and hypo causing the thyroid to overfunction and underfunction in intervals. The thyroid hormones can go up and down until the thyroid burns out. At least that is how the Dr. explained it to me. It is possible to have both Graves and Hashimoto's even though they seem like opposite conditions. The antibodies tell what it going on...so it is important to get tested for both and to get tested at regular intervals. There are a couple of people on here with both conditions. If you do a search on thyroid you will be able to pull up a lot of past thyroid discussions on this site. That is what I did when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto and enlarged thyroid. Good luck to you and I hope they find the cause of your exhaustion. I just told the Doc I wanted to be tested for Hashimoto's, Graves, and a full thyroid panel not just TSH.

[cahill]

I would also suggest you have your doc check your vitamin D in addition a full thyroid panel.Even if your thyroid panel comes back "with in normal limits " I would insist on a referral to an endocrinologist.

[eatmeat4good]

I was just thinking about you again. Like a 1956chill said, you should have your vitamins checked. That's what I loffed back in to say, and she had brought it up- very good. Are you taking vitamins? Many of the deficiencies can cause exhaustion, particularly C, D, B's and B 12, folic acid, iron, magnesium,calcium and zinc are commonly deficient in Celiacs. Also wanted to mention that Soy is very bad for the thyroid. Have you tried eliminating it? Some people say they get fatigued from that too.

[Juliebove]

My daughter was just diagnosed with Hashimoto's and she is tired all the time.

I developed a thyroid problem when I was pregnant. No cause was looked for. I has *knock wood* since gone away when I eliminated soy from my diet. But... I went from hypo to hyper and back again. Yes, it can happen.

[beachbirdie]

Hi everyone,

I know a lot of you are dealing with thyroid issues so I am calling on your advice:

And could someone please explain to me how it is possible to have both hashimoto's and graves disease at the same time when they are opposite (am I right?) of each other (causing hypo and hyper- thyroid problems)?? The reason why I ask this is that I seem to have some symptoms consistent with hypo and some with hyper as well.

Thanks!

Vitamin Levels - B12, Vit. D

Thyroid Tests - TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 (others can be asked for if these are out of line), also thyroid antibodies (usually anti-TPO and TgAb for starters - can add antibodies for Graves if TSH is way low)

Iron level - Serum Ferritin (a regular anemia check isn't good enough here)

I'd also let them run a general metabolic panel that would give you a picture of liver function, kidney function, and some general blood counts, also glucose and lipid levels would be good. If they are feeling generous you could get electrolytes done.

What are the symptoms that are making you feel like you might have both Graves and Hashimoto's? I have Hashimoto's, it can make you go back and forth between hyper and hypo. Someone I know posed the idea that the "hyper" comes when the thyroid gland is under attack, and the cell-die-off releases excess hormone to the blood stream. Only the antibody tests can tell you if it's one or both.

Some people think that if they have lots of anxiety, they must have Grave's. Hashimoto's can also cause anxiety.

Biggest piece of advice I can give you: Get copies of your lab results from your doctor. They have to give them to you by law if you are in the United States. Start a file with your medical information, and keep it all together. It is common for doctors to say your tests are normal, but your levels might not be normal for YOU.

[gfreecollegegirl]

Thanks guys! My mom thinks the dr will know what to test for but I knew to check here first!

Okay, so I should ask for a full thyroid panel, hashimoto's, grave's, vit D, vit B12, and possibly a general metabolic test and electrolytes.

To answer some of your questions... I've heard that soy is bad for the thyroid. I've only eliminated soy once because I thought it might be causing me gluten like problems but it didn't. I probably only have it in chocolate and occasionally soy ice-cream (I can't handle dairy).

The vitamins I take are usually a multi, fish oil, vit C, vit D and/or vit B12. I can't admit that I take these consistently though (daily).

I didn't want to drag my first post out with all my symptoms, but I will mention them now and why I feel like they could go with hypo or hyper. My recent increased exhaustion has lead me to believe I may be suffering from hypo symptoms because my sister-in-law had the same thing before she was diagnosed with this (she developed this after being pregnant). I also can't lose weight, no matter what I do. This doesn't make sense to me because I've been eating a much healthier, well-rounded diet, than say my friends, and can even be working almost every day of the week. They can eat whatever they want and still lose weight. I gain a few pounds now and then, but it is terribly hard for me to lose any weight. I don't now if this is just in my head but I can't seem to tolerate any cold or hot temperatures. It makes me crazy. Inside, I get cold so easily even though it's unbearably hot outside right now. Then, as soon as I step outside, I feel like I'm going to die from the heat!

So, you know that I am exhausted all the time, but my second biggest symptom (that falls under hyper) is anxiety/panic attacks. I'm not depressed at all. No, I get panic attacks. Have had them come and go for years. I was hoping they would somehow go away with the gluten free diet, but no such luck! My exhaustion causes these attacks to flare up. Honestly, I can hardly function doing normal everyday tasks sometimes. It usually peaks with me feeling like I'm going to either faint or go into a seizure. It actually started getting in the way of my education last semester. I had one during a final and it was all I could do to keep myself from tearing out of the room! I thought I was going to faint when I turned in my test. It was mortifying. The panic had caused me to skip answering a ton of test questions that I didn't even realize that I had missed! My professor was ticked. She treated me like I was a complete idiot. (I'm an A student with a high GPA, btw.) Anyway, I also have the trembling hands, heart racing, etc. all of which I think come from the panic attacks. My immune system is also shot. I've been sick every month (sinus infections, colds) for the last 4-6 months! I didn't used to get sick like this.

Recently, my symptoms have been building on each other. I feel like I live on a see-saw of emotions. I want an answer to why my body is acting this way. I know this is not normal!

[beachbirdie]

Thanks guys! My mom thinks the dr will know what to test for but I knew to check here first!

Okay, so I should ask for a full thyroid panel, hashimoto's, grave's, vit D, vit B12, and possibly a general metabolic test and electrolytes.

So, you know that I am exhausted all the time, but my second biggest symptom (that falls under hyper) is anxiety/panic attacks. I'm not depressed at all. No, I get panic attacks.

Recently, my symptoms have been building on each other. I feel like I live on a see-saw of emotions. I want an answer to why my body is acting this way. I know this is not normal!

Panic attacks can accompany Hashimoto's...the only panic attacks I ever had were during the time I was getting sick with my thyroid issue, but hadn't yet been diagnosed or treated. I also had a hard time exercising, my heart would take off racing even with a lower-level exercise. Once I got treated for hypo, the panic went away and heart rhythms became more normal.

Be careful asking for a "full thyroid panel". In the medical world, it may get you everything EXCEPT the things you want to know about. It doesn't always include the Free thyroid hormone levels. The "totals" (total T4, total T3) don't tell you what you need to know. A lot of that could be bound up and not accessible by your cells.