Anyone with hypothyroidism?

I was just diagnosed today. I'm 26, no kids, but have a family history of this. I'll be starting on Synthroid tomorrow.

I guess I'm just looking for some things to expect. I can't sit down and talk to my mom or grandma (it'd be nice to talk to them about all of this face-to-face instead of on the phone). Besides, they'll give me watered down versions out of worry.

I know it's easily treatable once you get the right dosage of medication, but I guess I'm looking to find out about what "they" won't tell you.

I’m sorry, I cant really help you with this. As sad as this sounds I did have Graves' disease when I was around 17ish bu dont really remember much of it. I do remember feeling sick. I was very tired all the time, I passed out a lot, and I had a lot of anxiety. Overall though, I don’t think it was so bad since I don’t remember it. All I remember is my parents being upset and me thinking “OMG stop whining! When can I go to the mall with my friends”. Fainting became a part of life for me as well. I fainted a few times a week and everyone I knew got used to it. I also felt weak sometimes even though i was a power house when i was younger and my heart beat quickly sometimes (probably why i fainted so often)

The only really horrible thing I remember (other then my parents being really scared) was in order to get it checked out they had to inject me with this green stuff (It looked nuclear) then I had to lie down under a HUGE machine, about the size of a smart car, that was attached to a really thin wire…. LOL that was scary, I thought it might fall.

I am in remission now although sometimes I feel my thyroid go weird… The doctors always told me I should not be able to feel it. Sometimes though it felt like I was suffocating and something was chocking me.

Sorry I cant help more… I was a youngin who was partying up a storm and didn’t have time to think about my disease … thankfully, so it was easy for me.

Actually after reading all of this it sounds bad lol. It wasnt though, maybe since i was a kid i just adapted and got used to it. I dont ever remember being worried.

I believe there's a site called Stop the thyroid madness? Or something along those lines. Look for some good informational sites about labs, medications (some do poorly on Synthroid and don't switch brands once you start a med), and general support information.

Originally Posted by silvionc

Fainting became a part of life for me as well. I fainted a few times a week and everyone I knew got used to it.

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That's sad. I usually don't faint, but I fall over a lot from near faints... everyone is used to it too. Do you regularly get your thyroid checked? You do know you run the risk of turning hypo, right?


And no, I haven't been diagnosed with any thyroid problems myself but then I haven't been able to get a doctor to thoroughly check... I have mostly done a lot of reading because the health issues I have could also be caused by thyroid problems - and there's a family history of it.

I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get checked… but I should. My Grandmother had Thyroid problems all her life and ended up having to have it removed. I know I do run the risk. One thing I remember when I had my Graves was I was so skinny (as skinny as I could have been with all the sports I was doing). Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve gained so much weight lol. I was around 100 lbs then, once I hit 28 I hit 140 and now after months of dieting I am now 130. I think it would be easier to lose weight if I was hyper… at least I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think it would take 5 months to lose 10 lbs.

I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t faint now. I did when I was younger. I havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t fainted in years. But it was “my thing†when I was younger. It was so common people would not even panic when it happened.

Did you guys feel the strangling too? It used to freak me out. Like something was blocked in my throat and i couldnt breath.. no one understood and said i shouldnt feel it. But i did, i hated that feeling.

^Please get checked soon. It only takes a few minutes to get the blood drawn. Weight gain is one of the effects of hypothyroidism, and if you are hypo and can get that corrected you may even be able to get to the weight you want. (though 130 sounds fine!)

When I have bad near faints I can't breathe either, or at least not till I'm laying on the floor. The autonomic nervous system controls quite a few things - when it's tripped up (when you faint), it's only logical that a person could have problems breathing, too. Unfortunately thyroid problems throw the ANS out of whack (lots of stuff does, in fact), which is why you fainted and had some heart rate problems.

My grandmother had her's removed too - and my mother has two small nodules on hers.

According to the doctor last time I went, they wanted me tested for hypothyroidism. My mom has it and they haven't been really able to control it. No matter what they do, she still gains weight, even when she diets & exercises. They told me they believed I had it, although I'm 100 lbs and have been for the last 5 years with little to no exercise and eat junk all the time.

Now that I recall this, the doctors did a full thyroid panel on me in February right before our honeymoon (literally, the day before. Happy Valentines day to me! Spending it in a Dr office ) They never gave me my results though. Hmm. I wonder if that meant it was nothing...

^ Call. They're your test results, you should have a copy of them.


http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ also discusses why some meds don't work for people.

I have hypothyroidism. I have had to take synthroid since I was 28 years old(20 years). When I was first diagnosed with it I wasn't putting on weight I was just really tired all the time. I would go to work and come home and sleep till I had to go to work again. I didn't know what was wrong with me I thought I had chronic fatigue syndrome. They ran blood tests and it was my thyroid. The medicine helps so much. You have to get blood tests every year to check your thyroid levels so they can adjust your medicine accordingly. I hate it when they change precriptions on me. That has happened several times over the years. It has leveled out and the prescription hasn't changed for about 4 years now.

I will ask my Dad what Med he takes. Thyroid problems run in my family and I have to get tested again soon. I can not even lose weight because of thyroid. Mine was borderline bad last time I went. I hope something helps you.

One of my closest friends has hypothyroidism, and has been on medication since she was a teenager. She gets blood tests to make sure everything is fine, and they adjust her medication if needed.

When she got pregnant, it completely wiped her out (constantly exhausted) because of the hypothyroidism, but I think they didn't retest until about 6 months after having the baby, realised how low her levels were (or whatever they do...), and gave her a much higher dose of her medications, and she has felt so much better since. She's been having tests every 3 months or so since since her hormone levels are changing due to stopping breastfeeding and getting her periods back again, and those sorts of things seem to affect her hypothyroidism.

She is incredibly fit and healthy, and her only symptom is feeling tired and sluggish when her medication levels are too low.

Thanks everyone, for all the information. I'll be absorbing all of this tonight.

I'm feeling better about it all, and especially regarding the weight I've gained, and haven't been able to shed, lately.

Thanks again!

I've considered getting tested for this...


But hey, what's life without a little hypochondriasis?