Thyroid Dysfunction

[coquina]

Seems I always tell my life's stories here, but if someone can shed some light, I'd really appreciate it.

 

My problem with obesity started before I was a year old. My mother used to state with pride, that I doubled my weight within 6 weeks after I was born.

 

I went to doctor after doctor. I asked them to check my thyroid - they checked T4 and it was always borderline "low-normal". For years I was told that my weight problem arose from me not being able to push myself away from the table.

 

In early 2002 my husband was dx'd with diabetes, and was referred to an endocrinologist. Since we were both overweight, I decided to move to his endocrinologist, in the hope that their dietary nutritionist could suggest a diet that would work for both of us.

 

I had a full physical and lab work done. My new doctor called and said my thyroid seemed to be out of whack. He had the test run twice more to be sure. My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) should have been in a range of .5 to 5, and it was 35. I was put on synthroid and as a result (drum roll please) I lost 110#. I am a size "medium" for the first time in my life.

 

When I think about the years that my doctor scoffed and told me that my only problem was that "I needed to push myself away from the table", I would like to throttle him.

 

Of course, in conjunction with the synthroid, I modified my diet and commenced exercising. I had tried that before, and it never worked. My endocrinologist told me that as a result of the thyroid problems, I was carrying at least 40 pounds of extra water.

 

I tried to exercise, I literally sloshed when I walked. When I got up in the morning and put my feet on the floor, I had serious pain from the soles of my feet to my neck. I weighed 270#, and walking from the car to the store made me get out of breath. I did eat too much - but I had gone on diets with no success. Nothing worked so I gave up. (Besides, my husband's theme song was "I don't believe in cholesterol", and he wanted steak, bread and potatoes with real butter every night.)

 

Anyway, for the first 3 months after being started on synthroid, I daren't be more than 10 feet from a bathroom. I pee'd away 40 pounds or more. I would get on the scale and see that I had lost 2 pounds in a day. In the middle of all this, my husband died, so yeah, part of it was "the grief diet" and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I changed my eating choices - I always preferred fish to meat, and veggies to potatoes. At any rate, I now eat right, and I walk 3 or 4 miles a day, and the weight stays off.

 

I know I am terrible about telling my life stories here, but I wonder if anyone else has had (or has) a serious weight problem and has been denigrated by your family GP. Everytime I think of the way they treated me over the course of the 30 years they saw me, without ever finding out what was wrong, I'd like to throttle the SOB's.

[Sorcerer]

My dads always going on about thyroid, his sister had it and he thinks he does too......

What other symptoms are there, my dads not obese

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

This isn't a weight problem, but it is a physician not diagnosing correctly.

 

I have asthma, and for several years as a kid I had a nasty cough. The doctor said "Here, take these cough drops" basically and nothing worked. Nothing. I really had a problem. I was even coughing in my sleep!

Finally he admitted it: I have asthma! Why didn't he say it? Apparently, with the insurance I had, it would cost him to admit I had a serious illness. So he didn't want to lose the money.

 

Some of these people really are only in it for the money.

 

Oh yes, good luck to you!

[coquina]

My dads always going on about thyroid' date=' his sister had it and he thinks he does too......

What other symptoms are there, my dads not obese[/quote']

 

He may have an overactive thyroid - called "Hyperthyroidism"

http://www.endocrineweb.com/hyper1.html

 

I have "Hypothyroidism" my gland is underactive.

http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html

 

Cap'n: That's too bad about your asthma, have you found out what triggers the attack? I have had "reactive asthsma" a couple of times when a cold leads to bronchitis. The coughing has caused my airways to get inflamed and then I can't get my breath. I hope you have some proper medications now - asthma is nothing to trifle with.

[ecoli]

My grandfather is seriusly obese, diabetes related. I'm not sure, but I think he's close to 400lbs. He can't walk 2 feet without loosing his breath and he can barely stand up, he's about 70 years old. He's also constantly in and out of the hospital due to infections and feet problems.

 

I think the worse part is, is that he doesn't do anything about his problem. He eats far too much and very unhealthily for a man in his condition. I'm worried about him, but he doesn't listen to us about it. Obesity is a terrible thing to see, because people don't realize it's a disease.

[coquina]

Ecoli - I am sorry for him.

 

Before I was dx'd with thyroid problems, I had just given up on trying to lose weight, nothing worked. The fatter I got, the more sedentary I became, and it was a downward spiral. I am only about 5'4, and I weighed 270#.

 

He is at an age now, where very little can be done, unless perhaps his health was good enough for him to have the option of gastic bypass surgery.

 

Undoubtedly, aside from his heart and lung problems, his joints are about slam worn out.

[ecoli]

Yeah I'm sure that's true.

 

One time, my grandmother was over my aunts house for the night, adn m grandfather was home alone. During the night, he slipped off his bed and fell to the floor. He couldn't move himself, and had to stay where he was until my grandma got home the next morning. My grandma had to call my uncle in order to lift him off the floor.

[Drug addict]

Coquina, those links look good, I think the key thing to point out is that the thyroid hormones (T3 & T4) play a key role in control of the body's metabolic rate. Luckily both are easy to treat. Hypothyroidism is treated with thyroxine to compensate for the reduced amount synthesised by the body.

 

Hyperthyroidism has a number of treatment options: surgery to remove part of the thyroid (which may result in too much being removed and thyroxine needing to be taken), use of 131-I to reduce the size of the thyroid, or carbimazole or propylthiouracil, which interfere with the synthesis of T3 & T4, though there is a risk of agranulocytosis.

 

Cap'n Refsmmat: night time coughing is a classic sign of asthma, and for your doctor not to pick it up is quite appaling. Asthma can be controlled very well most of the time, providing the correct medication is prescribed and it is taken correctly. Ian Botham was asthmatic.