I to am hypothyroid, it is a very common abnormality and one which is easily regulated. I must say over the years I have heard some amazing things attributed to hypothyroidism and really am beginning to believe that it is an easy answer the media uses to get all of our attention. I work in the medical field and can attest that peoples temperatures really are all over the map, of course that is not to say they do not fall within a particular range just not as specific to 98.6 as everyone seems to believe and of course I include my self in that category. (Slight panic if its 97 or 99) It has been my understanding that over the long run you really do not want your thyroid hormones to be below or above a normal range. It is this long term effect (many years) that really causes damage, hormones of course effecting many systems you would not ordinarily consider. If you are not producing enough hormones your levels will be elevated, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, your body is kicking TSH out in a greater increasing supply to get your body to produce more hormones. I guess what I really want to say is you may or may not have symptoms of hypothyroidism, as other people have said, everyone fits the symptoms of hypothyroidism at one time or another. Most people do not feel profoundly different when they do get their hormones regulated. (Of course there are always exceptions to the rule.) I must say it was disappointing for me, I was hoping for maximum energy and rapid weight loss. What I got was my hormones regulated so that in the long term I would not be sustaining damage to my system. As for the energy and weight loss I want to thank you guys for helping me with that.

Awe, my mom has a thyroid problem, too. I fear that I'll have it in the future.

SO - UPDATE - I finally got tested (wow, that sounds so dirty! ) and I don't have hypothyroid - just stubborn weight - my body temperature is still on the lower end, but there's no real explanation for it, and the lethargy was just depression, which can manifest itself in so many different ways. I often felt like crap at my HW because I overate and piled up on the wrong foods, then felt bad about myself because I got so socially anxious that I couldn't even go make friends anymore due to hating my body so much (and I was known to be very sociable before I gained 50 pounds!) I felt like a morbidly obese person even though I was only 20 pounds overweight in reality, and it actually took a toll on my physical health for a little while, though I'm currently 27 pounds lighter and I feel GREAT in every way! <----wait, maybe that elation is the energy drink talking... j/k. Losing weight really HAS changed my attitude as a person AND improved my health... I don't even feel like the same person anymore... I feel more and more like my thin former self every day, and it's fabulous.

hey nightengale - if you don't mind the questions, do you happen to know which thyroid tests they ran on you? and what your results were?

I only ask bec I was told the same thing for over 20 years and it was bec just the "regular" thyroid tests were run, rather than the more accurate ones. Back then I did not know to ask for copies of my blood work - I just took them at their word "everything is fine" nor did I know that there were other thyroid tests that they could be running. Just trying to keep the same thing from happening to others

I actually remembered your previous post, cathyxxx, except I forgot to mention the last two tests. I got the TSH, free T3 and free T4 done and it's all apparently within normal range = no hypothyroid. I guess I'm not too concerned for now... plus I hate doctors and I hate tests.

Heh, I should have probably asked for copies... but I didn't think to. I did what you did... the whole... "ok, everything's fine? COOL!! " bit.

I would get a copy of the labs...sometimes it can be in the high upper range or normal and you will have all the symptoms. but the dr. will just say its all good. get a copy and double check for youself

google subclincal hypothyroidism

Hi everyone. I'm so glad I found this thread.

I think I have a really good doctor. I went in for a pre-surgery checkup today (bunionectomy next week) and in the course of the appointment and after reviewing my medical history, he told me I should come in to get my thyroid tested, among other things. I didn't think much of it but agreed to it.

I've had two babies in the past two years, so I was attributing a lot of my symptoms to that...weight gain, lack of sleep, etc. But I did a Google search, which may be a bad idea and found some really interesting things.

I am always cold. I've been depressed for a long time (I've been medicated since 2001), but lately I've had more of a general blah feeling than I can ever remember, like a major sense of apathy. I'm just sort of existing, I have no real drive (oh yeah, especially when it comes to sex). I have had some constipation issues. And my periods have been extra annoying lately, like I can barely function on the first day. My periods are very regular and are not too long, but the flow seems heavy and I have extreme fatigue and headaches during my period, and I almost feel nauseous.

The carpal tunnel I experienced with pregnancy never really went away like I was expecting, easy bruising, and the most troubling of all, joint pain. I've never really had joint pain, but it's been pretty bad. For example, a couple weeks ago I really thought I tore something in my knee, even though I didn't remember doing anything. The pain was sharp when I walked for a couple of days, then suddenly it was fine.

So now, I'm kicking myself for not scheduling my appointment for labwork sooner (I'm going Oct. 10). But I'm glad to hear the tests come back quickly. As sad as it seems, I'm hoping there is something wrong. I never gave thyroid issues much thought but it would certainly explain a lot of strange things. And since the treatment seems simple, I wouldn't mind feeling, well, alive again.

I was just diagnosed hypothyroid today. I was almost completely asymptomatic-- only by chance did the doctor find it.

Since my pregnancy, I have had difficulty taking weight off (I have been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for 5 months), but I just assumed I was "getting older" and it was getting harder to lose the weight. Turns out the ol' metabolism isn't where it should be...

I have my little bottle of Levothyroxine now. We'll see if it helps me get past these stubborn 5 pounds and back on track!

Erin, that sounds like me, losing and gaining the same 5 pounds since having my second baby 7 months ago. I gave a blood sample yesterday and I'm just waiting to hear. I'm sort of hoping for bad news! That could help explain my lethargy.

Amy, I hope they can find the reason for your symptoms. It's always easier when you know what you are up against!

I am a real borderline case-- I really didn't have any symptoms to speak of-- just the stubborn back-and-forth weight. Turns out my maternal grandmother had a low-functioning thyroid too. Who knew?

Anyways, I have to have an ultrasound on my thyroid tomorrow to make sure there are no tumors there. Hopefully that will all check out OK and I'll just have to take supplemental thyroid hormones.

Good luck with a diagnosis!

I'm very impatient and just called the doctor for the results. They only ran a TSH for my thyroid and a bunch of other tests for a general health check. My TSH was 2.7, so that's within the normal range. My cholesterol was good, everything else was good. So it looks like it's not my thyroid, and I'm just a lazy, moody person right now for no reason at all!

Just kidding. Well, now that I'm on Weight Watchers, I hope I can see consistent weight loss, and in turn my energy will go up and my joints won't hurt so much. If I continue to have problems I'll pursue it, but I don't think it is my thyroid. That's good to know.