Doctor wanted to give me anti-depressants but I have many symptoms of hypothyroidism - help!

Hormones
1

Hi all, this is my first post here. I'm sure you get loads of these, so please bear with me. I've been feel 'out of sorts' for a while now - over a year. After a series of blood tests that showed nothing, I returned to the doctor where she said I might be anxious and would do one more set of tests, but then consider putting me on anti-depressants. I'm very aware of mental health issues and I honestly don't think I'm depressed. Luckily, the tests showed low iron, so I'm on supplements now - but they're making no difference to my symptoms. From research and talking to friends with the condition, I am convinced I have hypothyroidism. The question is, how do I convince my doctor and, if I can convince him, what tests do I ask for, since the ordinary blood test shows nothing? I should add, I'm going to see a different doctor to the one who wanted to put me on anti-depressants, I didn't feel she listened at all. 

Here are my symptoms - can I have your informed opinions please? I think it sounds like hypo...as do my two friends who have it...

-fatigue, especially after eating (so extreme I can't stay awake and it interferes with my work)

- headaches, sometimes like tension headaches but often a sense of pressure in my head that is weird more than painful

- breathlessness - a feeling like my lungs aren't absorbing oxygen properly

- occasional palpitations

- rapid weight gain, can only lose it if I eat nothing

- mystery aches and pains - especially lower back and neck/shoulders

- intolerance of cold in my fingers

- cramps in my feet

- flaky, weak nails

- skin with dry patches and some rosacea-like spots/red patches

-feeling of anxiety/panic unrelated to what's actually happening in my life

- digestion issues, including IBS (diagnosed)

- feeling of my head being really hot and flushed even when I'm cold

- pale skin and dark circles under my eyes

- sore throat and hoarse voice

- brain fog

- heavy periods

- irritability even when everything's ok

- iron deficiency

If it is hypo, how do I get my doctor to listen? And what do they need to test for? 

I start a new job in 3 weeks and get married in 5 weeks. I'm not expecting miracles before then but I'd relax more if I was on the way to finding answers. I'm tired of living like this. 

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

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There are so many conditions that mimic hypothyroidism, so it's hard to tell for sure.  You need to ask your doctor for a TSH test.  This test will show where your at and if you indeed have hypothyroidism.  You should ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level also.  Vitamin D deficiency has the most of the same symptoms as hypothyroidism and is actually very common these days.  Most doctors do not check this unless you ask.  I myself have Vitamin D deficiency and I feel I had this for years.  My doctor just checked it now because I was getting aches and muscle spasms.. also a mild depression. 

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Thank you. I was told about vitamin D deficiency before, so I've been on supplements for over a month with no effect. But it's definitely one to ask about, since i've never actually been checked. Is TSH different to what the standard 'thyroid' blood test does? 

Thanks for the advice. 

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TSH is the same its thyroid i had raised TSH and was told i probably have underactive thyroid i truly did think i had it as all adds up but a repeat test 3 months later they said was ok so i am back to square one i have been told though that TSH levels can be ok one minute and not the next so not sure what to think x

 

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Supplementing on Vitamin D for a month is not enough to make a difference.  It can take at least many months before feeling better if it is indeed from Vitamin D deficiency.  I myself, am on 50,000UI of vitamin d2 once a week for 12 weeks.  So that over the counter low dose vitamin d3 would not make much of a difference, so yes.. it's worth asking for the blood test.  Also.. yes, the TSH test is the standard test for thyroid testing.  T3 is only checked if parathyroid issues are suspected and T4 is useless, as it will not raise or lower unless TSH does first.  So, the TSH test is all that is needed.

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Hi Rebecca, sounds like you need to follow up with your sense of hypothyroidism. You can eliminate causes of similar symptoms by supplementing multimineral and multivitamins with coblimated Bs. This will help eliminate various mineral deficiencies (magnesium in particular), as well as others such as B, D, copper, selenium... look up magnesium deficiency symptoms and they paralleled hypothyroid closely. Diabetes is another one to rule out.

For tests, you can do antibody tests to look for Hashimoto's related antibodies. If these show positive, you know you have Hashimoto's. If they show negative, the test does not rule it out, as antibody tests have a 50% false negative, due to their dependence on your own body's reactions, which may or may not be ascalated at any one time. For tisnreason, im not a fan, but they are helpful for some people.

You'll also need to look at your T3 and T4 levels, as well as your rT3 (reverse T3). You'll likely need to find a good endocrinologist to read these tests, and to do a proper clinical (physical) exam with history of symptoms, as thyroid disease diagnosis often requires more than blood tests for diagnosis. If all this fails, you can get an ultrasound of your thyroid to see if you have any telltale cysts that indicate Hashimoto's disease.

Lastly, while traditional treatment believes medication, radiation and surgery are the only treatments for thyroid disease, there are now many more options, holistic, dietary, supplements, natural medications, etc, that can treat and calm the immune system towards calming or acheiving remission of thyroid disease. I would encourage you to read the many posts here or just post a question, as many of us with thyroid disease have tried everything imaginable and then some.