Underactive thyroid

[catcuddler2]

Hi all.I know there have been other posts on here about an underactive thyroid but I still have a few questions.I'll try not to make this post an essay.

I have suffered from feelings of exhaustion for years but I thought it was down to the stresses of being a carer which I did for 3 years.I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few years ago but was never sure of the diagnosis..

I am no longer a carer

I have noticed lately that my skin is very very dry and scaly and my eybrows are thin and dry and I seem to feel exhausted even after a long sleep.My other symptoms are,a tight blocked feeling in my throat,feeling cold when others arent,brittle nails,fatigue and the need to sleep all the time.I suffer from depression but have done so since my teens(I'm almost 29) but the symptoms I mentioned above have increased and worsened in the last few years.What I'm really after is a medical expert(I'm thinking sqad)or someone who suffers from an underactive thyroid to give me some more details on symptoms and effects of an underactive thyroid.I almost forgot I have heavy irregular periods and have gained weight too
I hope this makes sense
TIA

[Sqad]

You have described accurately the signs and symptoms of an underactive thyroid and the only other symptom that you have not mentioned is voice change (gravely voice).

These also COULD be signs and symptoms of a depressive state.

consult your GP and ask him if he would consider sending you for thyroid blood tests.

[catcuddler2]

Now you mention it I do get a croaky/gravelly voice if I havent slept very well especially first thing and last thing.As I said I have suffered from depression since my teens but the last 3-5 years the other symptoms have got worse and I have had more symptoms.Thanks for your advice I will see my doctor

[shaneystar2]

I have an underactive thyroid but I'm donkeys years older than you :)
Exactly the same symptoms .
I started feeling like this about six ,seven years ago . I just thought it was old age creeping up until I started getting dizzy spells as well so went to doctors.
They did blood tests and that was it .
I have to take levothyroxine daily and you have to take it for the rest of your life .
If this does turn out to be the case they monitor your levels to get you on the right dosage and then you just need to have it tested about once year .
People on thyroid medication get their prescriptions free too.
If it is this once the medication kicks in you will feel a whole lot better.
See your doctor and ask him to test your levels .

[DTCwordfan]

Ditto my mother, catcuddler, though the blood work is a little more frequent.

I don't want to sound alarmist but watch your diet/weight and blood pressure - thyroid problems often go hand in hand with high blood pressure, and then hence, small strokes and vascular dementia later in life....but the right levothyroxine dosage over life (which will vary a little) combined with a good diet and you will be ok.........

[shaneystar2]

Good grief DT she's 29 not ninety nine .You're a real Jobs comforter .
My mother had an underactive thyroid for years and years .Lived until she was 92 ,had all her marbles and died basically of old age .

[giveup]

Thanks shaneystar2 for cheering me up, i was beginning to get worried reading this. I've been on Levothyroxine for 20 years and feel fine.

[DTCwordfan]

Shaney -what were my first six words, second para?.....and thyroid issues tend to be genetic.

Her age is the age to just be careful on the diet etc so that she lives to 92+ even a 102! Good genes in your family...with ours, my mother is 87 and my grandfather and his sister went to 85 (and several decades ago so the mater is probably on for 90 - god help her, as her mother left a legacy of Alzheimers as well....and she has the vascular combined).

We "manage" at this stage and the Arcete is now generically and making a difference in slowing things down - that is nowt to do with the thyroid, cc.

[DTCwordfan]

sorry, my mother is a decade earlier...77

[bizzylizzy]

I take medication for an underactive thyroid. Your condition does sound similar to some of the symptoms I exhibited before being diagnosed, but not all. The tight blocked feeling in your throat sounds more like tension to me. The need to sleep sounds like one of the symptoms of your depression. It's a simple blood test, so I'd just pop to the docs and get them to check for you. Good luck.