Thyroid Problems

[downen]

[QUOTE=Tiki;5562064]
Actually, I’ve had some excellent care in the military. There are good and bad, just like everywhere else. [/QUOTE]

You’re right, there’s good and bad in every profession! I’ve just run into some really bad medical professionals, so I’m a little jaded…

[kichiri_kachiri]

I know I’m kinda late to this party, but I couldn’t help myself once I saw this thread…

[QUOTE=Tiki;5560012]
Yeah, Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease. I tried to get ‘looked at’ for years and get a consult to endocrinology. Docs and PA’s said no. They said they’d be laughed out of the hospital because my TSH, T3 and T4 were within normal limits, although borderline. I had, and still have, symptoms up the ying yang. I finally got a consult and wound up with a 2nd year (out of 3) resident in endo. She came out into the waiting room, sat down in front of me - in the waiting room - and told me I needed a psych consult. HUH??? She asked me if I got joy out of anything in my life. Say what?? You don’t know a thing about me. You’ve only been talking AT me for 2 or 3 minutes. She asked, realistically now, how many times I’d considered suicide. Well, I thought, not suicide, but right now I’m thinking homicide.

Finally, she said she was going in to the clinic to get the consult for for psych. As she walked around behind me I said, “Excuse me. I know I have some memory problems, and sometimes a bit of attention problems, but . . . .”. “Well, what is it”, she asked. I said, “Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t remember you examining me”!. “Oh, all right”, she said, came up behind me and put her hands on my neck. “OH MY GOD, you have a goiter. I’m going to the Chief”.

OK, off to the lab to get anti-thyroid and anti-nuclear antibody tests - off the chart, in fact waaaayyyyyyyy off the chart. Took many dilutions to get a titer. OK, next off to thyroid ultrasound. Yup, findings consistent with Hashimoto’s. Back to the Chief this time. Yeah, he admitted, I had Hashimoto’s. He told me to come back when my thyroid failed. Hmmmmmmm!!!

Got a referral to another doc. Am being treated, but I still have lots of symptoms. always tired, memory problems, high cholesterol and high BP (probably caused by the Hashimoto’s). So, I’m on Synthroid, Cytomel, a Statin, 2 different BP meds, and I still have symptoms.

“But” the newer doc says “your labs are good”. Well geez, doc, they were when we started. When do I start getting better??? I asked about Armour thyroid. Naaahhhhhh doesn’t make any difference in his opinion. I’m out of ideas.

I have had my TSH spike up to 15 while on the meds, but it’s only my imagination that I still have symptoms.

I’m at a loss - as it seems most people with thyroid disease are - especially Hashimoto’s.

If you look at most Endo’s credentials, it’s all about diabetes.[/QUOTE]

My story’s fairly similar. I started showing symptoms around age 6, and by age 8 symptoms were worse and my mom wanted me tested since my dad and other relatives have it. My pediatrician said kids didn’t get it. :mad: Um, yeah right… Fast forward to when I was ~11, same doc called up and said that she just saw a kid with it, put in for me to be tested. Lo and behold, I had it!

Since then I’ve been diagnosed with a slew of other things, so it’s hard to determine what’s causing what.

My TSH is still elevated, but since my T3 and T4 are within range my endo doesn’t want to change anything?! I want to try Armour thyroid as well, but my endo is saying the same thing as yours. Considering switching, as she mainly does pediatrics anyways (currently 19).

@downen;5560113

He’s the one who wrote me the prescription for anti-depressants, when my BP was 80/50 and it dropped to unreadable when I stood up! It was a miracle I could even walk, but they declared me normal.

I also had this problem, and a specialist at Johns Hopkins diagnosed me with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and am doing better now that I’m being treated for it, though we’re still working out some stuff. Not saying that you have it, but it is something to consider. PM me (anyone!) if you’d like some more info on it.