Hi Candice,
I read your last post about your doctor's visit. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't make you feel any better about things... Which is why I have written the title above. If you want to feel less helpless when faced with these doctors and their tests, you need to get yourself glued to the internet (or arm yourself with a couple of good books) and look into your symptoms yourself.
Believe me, you will feel a lot better if you can talk to the doctor on a more equal footing, rather than feeling like you're surrendering yourself and just end up being given a good telling off about your eating habits.
I read over a few of your recent posts recently, looked up hypothyroid symptoms and one of the things I found was this:
Quote:
At first, you may barely notice the symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as fatigue and sluggishness, or you may simply attribute them to getting older. But as your metabolism continues to slow, you may develop more obvious signs and symptoms. Hypothyroidism signs and symptom may include:
Fatigue
Sluggishness
Increased sensitivity to cold
Constipation
Pale, dry skin
A puffy face
Hoarse voice
An elevated blood cholesterol level
Unexplained weight gain
Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
Muscle weakness
Heavier than normal menstrual periods
Brittle fingernails and hair
Depression
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I found another one which mentioned a low heart rate, too:
Quote:
Hypothyroidism causes a general slowing down of your body's functions. Some of the symptoms include:
feeling tired and sleeping
a lot feeling the cold easily
dry and/or pale skin
coarse, thinning hair and brittle nails
sore muscles, slow movements and weakness
a hoarse or croaky voice
a change in facial expression
depression
problems with memory and concentration
weight gain
constipation
fertility problems and increased risk of miscarriage
heavy, irregular or prolonged menstrual periods
a slow heart rate
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This was where I found them:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...aql=&oq=hypothy
Hypothyroidism is treatable, but from what I have read here, or on other forums, is that it is very very helpful if the patient is very well-informed about her condition. Have you asked the doctor to check your blood work for anaemia, too? I know all these questions must be overwhelming you, but it would make you feel better if you knew more about what the doctors were doing and looking for.
Being able to "talk back" to the doctor when he claims this, that or the other, is sooooo empowering!!! Once the doctor was all set to prescribe me iron tablets because I was telling him how I was low in energy and I was able to say, "Well, that doesn't really make sense because if I had low iron then I would have small red blood cells, rather than large ones, which is what I have, so, sorry, no, I don't want any iron tablets!" I then went off and got some B12 supplements, and hey presto, a lot of my symptoms started to go away!!!
The internet is an amazing tool for laypeople to arm themselves with knowledge and thus not be at the mercy of the "Gods in white coats" who tell us that "your blood work is fne", when in fact it isn't. Get your blood work from the doctor and analyze it yourself - or ask for help here or on a thyroid forum - and you'll start to feel better just because you are being pro-active and doing something yourself!!!
Will your doc also be doing the standard thyroid tests? Because that is what your symptoms look like, plus probably fatigued adrenals, too. Apparently, your adrenals "pick up the slack" somewhat with hypothyroidism, and then you can end up with both adrenal problems and thyroid issues. BUT, fear not, all of these things are treatable!!! And there are lots and lots of things you can do without your doctor's help to improve your health, such as lifestyle changes and taking supplements or eating particular foods, which will help, too.
All the best,
amanda