After finding nodules on my thyroid during the ultrasound, my doc's nurse told me the blood thyroid results were in & normal. But my GYN said the TSH was borderline at .37. I don't know what all was tested, but I don't think it was a complete panel. Yet my doc's nurse said I needed to schedule a follow up with my doc to discuss the also normal radioactive scan & uptake results. They NEVER discuss normal results in person, just over the phone & that is that. So I went in & was told the results showed the nodules are cold. Now my doc's worried it's cancer but hubby thinks it's just hypothyroidism. But I need a biopsy. My doc may have me get an MRI or CT scan to check the parathyroid too. I had serum calcium & am awaiting those results. Perhaps all the stuff I've been complaining about over the years is due to hypothyroidism? I have so many of the symptoms that anyone can find on the internet. Every provider has only checked T3 & T4, & said they were normal, & treated me for different things. So they've only been looking at pieces of the puzzle versus putting them together for the big picture. GRRR Maybe now I need to start looking into hypothyroid medications for the best one(s) & not take what they give me just because it's cheap or readily available. Case in point, they want me to see an ENT versus an endocrinologist for the biopsy! I'm so sick & tired of military medicine!

Hi Susan! These are the tests that the 'real thyroid help' forum recommends: * free T3--most people seem to feel best with this at the top of the range * free T4--most people seem to feel best with this in the top 1/3 of the range * TSH * TPO (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) * antithyroglobulin antibodies * TSI antibodies * ferritin--most people seem to do best with ferritin 70-80 * B-12--based on our research, this should be at least 800, and 1000 is better. If you've been supplementing B-12, then testing it directly may not be valid--the MMA will be a more accurate test. * Vitamin D (make sure it's the test for 25(OH)D)(This was the other thing you couldn't remember :-) For adrenal insufficiency it is best to do a saliva test at 4 different times of the day (ordered by you through a lab). Your doctor will just run a one time test which won't be accurate. Instead of the saliva tests, I took (and flunked) the Pupil Test which some say is indictive of adrenal fatigue (others say it's low aldosterone only) and that was enough of a test for my doctor to allow me to start hydrocortisone (in low doses). (copied from STTM website) This is called the Pupil test. You need to be in a darkened room with a mirror. From the side (not the front), shine a bright light like a flashlight or penlight towards your pupils and hold it for about a minute. Carefully observe the pupil. With healthy adrenals, your pupils will constrict, and will stay small the entire time you shine the light from the side. In adrenal fatigue, the pupil will get small, but within 30 seconds, it will soon enlarge again or obviously flutter in its attempt to stay constricted. Why does this occur? Because adrenal insufficiency can also result in low aldosterone, which causes a lack of proper amounts of sodium and an abundance of potassium. This imbalance causes the sphincter muscles of your eye to be weak and to dilate in response to light. If you start HC, you must always remember to wean down slowly if you want to try to get off of it. I started weaning a few weeks ago, but had to go back to my orignal dose since I was having shakiness and nausea. Some people can quit taking it after 3 to 6 months (allowing the adrenals to rest), others have to stay on it for life. I was so glad when I was diagnosed after years of symptoms.. but I can tell you I don't feel much better than I did the day I was told I had Hashimoto's. I have some good days and then bad ones.. mostly dealing with fatigue, lack of motivation, inability to exercise, foot pain and the lack of weight loss (even when following low calorie diets). I imagine I have other problems yet to be discovered (maybe insulin resistance, PCOS or a pituitary problem). You do know that adenoids can grow back? My DD had to have hers taken out twice! Poor kid! The only abnormal thyroid tests that I had were the antibody tests. Some people can even have all normal testing and still be hypothyroid. If you don't feel right - keep bugging the doctors till one of them figures it out! Good luck and let us know how things turn out!

I had Graves' disease in the late 80's. (That's overactive thyroid - I lost weight while eating like a pig, which was nice, but my resting heart rate was 112 and I thought I was going nuts, which wasn't so nice.:) The doctors eventually used radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid, so now I'm in a similar situation to you, with an underactive thyroid. Your symptoms sound like your thyroid is definitely underactive, and you'll need a synthetic thyroid hormone, like Synthroid. Sounds like you needed to keep taking it for the Hashimoto's, with the symptoms you're having. It does take awhile to get the meds and dosage right, and it's never perfect, but it's pretty good. One thing to know about synthetic thyroid hormones is that they're not interchangeable. This is one case where you don't want to go with the generic, unless you started with the generic. (At least that was true 4-5 years ago when I last checked - not sure about now.) I do understand your concern with thyroid cancer, given that it's in your family and that Hashimoto's is associated with a higher risk for the cancer. I guess all you can do is to keep up with your treatment and keep in mind that if the worst happens and you do get thyroid cancer, it's one of the most treatable cancers. Very, very few people die of it, even after 30 years. Not that you want to get it, of course. Good luck. I know how awful it is to feel so tired all the time. Even with treatment, you'll have some of that, but you get used to it.

Scotch whisky - I like some of the single malts - but I don't care for the really peaty ones like Laphroiag, I don't like gin, or tonic water. Fake sugars leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth, and diet sodas leave me thirstier than before - longing for something to wash away the aftertaste. Stevia, while it's healthy, doesn't even taste sweet to me. Tastes rather moldy or something. Other than those carrots (and I'll still eat those if served them, if cooked or well-shredded), I don't have any vegetables I actively dislike. Forgot to mention another food I dislike - cottage cheese. It's the curds, I probably had some milk gone bad as a kid and associate those curdy things with that experience. I can certainly eat it if hidden away in something like a lasagna. Ministrone soup is something that stirs up a similar reaction in me - I remember getting violently ill after eating some for lunch during a summer job in NYC. I am certain that the minestrone was not at fault and it was something I caught - but it left me with an instinctual revulsion that I just can't overcome quite yet. The memory is trapped into the horrible trip I took leaving work to go home early - getting into the train at Grand Central well before it was ready to leave... they had a few bathrooms then, but the doors were locked as the train wasn't underway, and... Let's just say, no more minestrone soup for me. I don't like the texture or concentrated sweetness of most dried fruits. Dates are particularly awful. Figs? Give me fresh ones every time! I can't think of a single dish that is improved with the addition of raisins, but at least they are small. On the other paw, I do dehydrate strawberries and grape tomatoes and love those. Otherwise, I like okra and offal/organ meats, and love lamb. Not fond of chicken breast - inferior to the tasty and moister dark meat. I love kale, but I prefer the less bitter variants - or to eat the more bitter ones when they are still "baby leafed".