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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Jul-30-17, 10:03
tragedian tragedian is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 944
 
Plan: atkins '72 -now ketogenic
Stats: 260/181.4/140 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 65%
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Default They found something on my thyroid tests!!!

I haven't been here in a million years, but I HAD to come back and share this with you.

I took lithium for a couple years about 5 years ago. It ended up being a bad medication for me, it wasn't helping me, what it ALSO did was cause me to develop a goiter and require thyroid medication.

My knowledge here is fuzzy, I need to apologize but I know most of you guys are very knowledgeable about what blood tests they run, this is my story of what I had to go through to get them to run a complete thyroid panel on me, I know there is a preliminary thyroid blood test they run, and then IF it comes back abnormal they CAN run further blood tests, a whole panel, on different thyroid hormones, but they NEVER ran any but that preliminary test on me, AND it never came back abnormal, they put me on thyroid meds ONLY while I was on lithium and ONLY based on the presence of the goiter.

Fast forward to now. My fiancé dies a couple years back, and it was hard to go through that without eating my feelings, so I gained some of my weight back...and the gained more...and more...faster...and faster, regardless of how I ate, and there were times I would go back to induction for a month or more at a time and never lose an ounce of fat OR WATER, and instead GAIN.

In February I begin to seek treatment for this, because my psychiatrist expressed frustration to me that he could not treat my mood because he believed it was being affected too greatly by whatever was physically wrong with me, be it hormonal or thyroid or metabolic. I go to a primary care doc that he sets me up with, she runs tests and sends me to an endocrinologist that must have been 23 years old who runs the SAME EXACT TESTS and sets me up for a follow up in 3 MONTHS.

I'm pissed at this point and I call the first doctor and ask her what is up, she tells me they "can't find anything wrong" (they weren't LOOKING) and I ask her to run the REST of the thyroid tests in the panel, because all she did was rerun the preliminary one, the same one that has never in the last 5 years come back abnormal, in spite of a goiter that is large enough now to affect my VOICE. She refuses.

I am completely abandoned medically. Not only can I not get diagnosis and treatment of what is wrong with me physically, but I can't even continue treatment for my bipolar disorder, because my doctor cant tell how it is affecting me because the physical concerns have become worse than the bipolar disorder. I get really angry, I stop seeing all my docs, I stop taking all my meds, I just feel really betrayed and helpless and angry.

A month ago I finally have calmed down enough to see my psych and express to him my anger about all of this in a calmer manner, like I was that upset I couldn't go near a doctor. I explain to him what thyroid tests I wanted done, and that I wasn't SURE it was my thyroid, I just didn't have a diagnostician willing to take me seriously and help me figure out what was wrong. He goes to this other doctor and HE asks them to run the thyroid tests.

LO AND BEHOLD...do I need to tell you the rest? They found something on one of these tests. Not the preliminary one, the most common one they run, they ALSO did that one at the same time and it comes back PERFECTLY NORMAL.

I don't know what they DID find, I won't hear from the doc until Monday. I just had to share what a complete mess the VA healthcare system is and the hell they've put me through with my thyroid for the last 5 years +.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Jul-30-17, 10:26
tragedian tragedian is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 944
 
Plan: atkins '72 -now ketogenic
Stats: 260/181.4/140 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 65%
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Default

Also, I could use you guys help. Obviously I only know enough about thyroid to know that those other tests existed, and obviously I'm not going to consent to be treated by that same doctor that wouldn't order the necessary tests for me, what do I need to ask whatever new doctor they assign me? How can I approach this to get the most out of it? Any help is appreciated. Also, possibly important to note, I AM in the first trimester of a pregnancy and EXTREMELY overweight, I gained 60 pounds at least over a period of 3 months, just 3 months for 60 pounds of weight gain and these doctors "couldn't find anything wrong". But anyway, yes, extremely overweight, all of the concomitant health issues that go with that (except my diabetes numbers are perfect, my doc says I couldn't possibly be farther from being diabetic, I'm sure you all can guess why THAT is) also very high risk pregnancy. I'm like one of the sickest people on the planet right now, my other doc is worried I could have a stroke or be suffering from like low grade pneumonia just because all of the rest of me is so unhealthy. Total exhaustion constantly, resting heart rate is like 112, high blood pressure, I'm out of breath after 5 steps. (But they "cant find anything wrong")(yes I'm very smug and "I told you so" about those thyroid tests)
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Jul-30-17, 12:02
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

Probably the best thing to do now is read up on thyroid so you're ready to ask good questions about the tests and your symptoms. Some of the symptoms of hypothyroid can also be the same as those of depression, adrenal disease, etc.

Your therapist doesn't sound like he or she is much help. Putting that sort of pressure on you to find some disease you may or may not have seems ridiculous.

I'm sorry life has dealt you such a crappy hand. Spit in life's eye and show it you're far stronger than anything.
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Jul-30-17, 12:12
Kristine's Avatar
Kristine Kristine is offline
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Posts: 25,581
 
Plan: Primal/P:E
Stats: 171/146/150 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 119%
Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
Default

Hi, welcome back. I'm sorry you've gone through all of this.

It will help if you can share your lab numbers with us. I assume the first test you're talking about is a TSH - thyroid stimulating hormone. You are correct, it's pretty useless except in certain cases - the conclusion that normal TSH = normal thyroid is nuts. It's a pituitary hormone, it's not even a thyroid hormone.

Have you seen this website? Stop the Thyroid Madness

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can jump in and help you. Hang in there.
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Jul-30-17, 12:25
tragedian tragedian is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 944
 
Plan: atkins '72 -now ketogenic
Stats: 260/181.4/140 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 65%
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Default

Hi guys, yes I will definitely read up as soon as I can. The doctor that couldn't treat my bipolar, I don't blame him, I agree with him, he was just as frustrated as myself, and it was for exactly that reason, he's trying to treat a mood disorder and something is happening to me that is clearly mimicking a mood disorder, just like how thyroid can cause depression. He didn't expect them to not do ANYTHING, because at the time, my symptoms were both systemic and acute, so for them to say they "couldn't find anything" was almost laughable. I really attribute it to the poor care that veterans can expect from VA facilities.

I haven't gotten to see my numbers yet, I'm kind of hearing about this thirdhand, as in, the tests got reported to Doc #1, who told Doc #2, who asked Doc #3 to relay it to me. Doc #1 is the moron, Docs #2 & 3 are trusted docs I've worked with for years, they just aren't endos, so I'll need to start treatment with ANOTHER, NEW general practitioner to hopefully get lucky and get a doc with a functioning brain.
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Jul-31-17, 06:47
tragedian tragedian is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 944
 
Plan: atkins '72 -now ketogenic
Stats: 260/181.4/140 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 65%
Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Default

Ok, I heard from my psychologist, he said that my thyroglobulin antibodies came back elevated. Not being an Endo, he doesn't know more, they're setting me up with an Endo and an OBGYN depending on how long it takes to get either.
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  #7   ^
Old Sun, Aug-27-17, 10:58
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
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Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
Default

So sorry what you're going thru.

I had so much trouble with drs gave up started ordering tests from requestatest. One $100 test showed the problem. 6 weeks later feeling better and started losing weight after 2 years of gaining from the mess the drs made 'helping me'.

I literally went from lying in bed all day completely exhausted and crying from the slightest stress to up and around.

Hope my hair grows back.
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