Im 16 and was just diagnosed from a blood test with an under active thyroid. I was diagnosed a few months ago and now take levothyroxyn everyday whic seemed to only improve how tired i was. I also take celexa (3 week taking it) everyday also for depression and anxiety an i have chronic migraine/tension headaches (since I was in 3rd grade). Everyday I feel horrible, fatigued, nauseas, weak, anxious, sad, my skin looks horrible and I bruise so easily, irritable, achy, short term memory loss, I just don't want to do anything anymore. What all can a low thyroid do to your body and what is a normal thyroid supposed to do.
How sick can a low thyroid level make you?
Question posted by Luna moth on 6 Aug 2012
Last updated on 11 April 2015
6 Answers
Jas-sondh
5 March 2015
Hello , I was diagnosed with thyroid about 3 years ago and after that I felt nearly all the same affects as you. It took a whole year to finaly diagnose me with Fibromyalgia. Please look into this and if your doctors don't help go private just to get some answers. Hope this helps
Lisa01
7 Aug 2012
Dear Lunamoth,
Bless your heart, no wonder you feel like crap. You've received some good answers here, so I don't have much to add except this. When I was diagnosed with low thyroid, it took well over a year to get my thyroid level adjusted to where it should be. I would think that at your age, when your body is still growing and changing so much, it will probably take a while to adjust yours also. Like I said, for a while I was having my meds adjusted every 30-60 days. It's a pain to have to keep going back for blood tests, but a necessary effort. Don't give up, it will get better, it just takes time. I hope this helps you a little.
Lisa
meyati
7 Aug 2012
Lisa is correct. Usually a person has a test about every 6 weeks until the hormone level is complete. Sometimes it's frustrating because you still feel bad, and the doctor says that it's OK. No after you get your hormones settled, you should have lab work-TSH-once a year. My state requires this, after a patient is diagnosed with thyroid trouble. Some states don't do this-and some doctors in these states don't do it. Usually there is very change in thyroid when you start taking the pills, but sometimes it messes around. It's usually a slow thing. For me it changes about every 10 years or more. This is a good reason to get tested every year. Also you might have to try different types of thyroid pills. Some people do good with synthetic thyroid-I don't. Then I don't do well with pig thyroid, some people don't do good on beef thyroid, so it might take awhile. If you feel worse after taking a thyroid, tell your doctor and take the next type.
Most people do good with the first type of pill-and the doctor needs to find out exactly how much is healthy for you. But it's better than your metabilism getting real slow and dying or left with a heart condition-I forgot that one- another low thyroid problem is constipation because of the low thyroid. So good luck-
meyati
7 Aug 2012
U can tell that I need to trot in and take my meds-And the hounds are bawling
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
Thank you, I'll just keep trying. I have a lot going on with a lot of meds and wish my dr would have examined one thing at one time instead of all at once. I hope to find relief soon.
meyati
7 Aug 2012
He's trying to help you as fast as he can-considering somethings can be life threatening or damage organs. Also, he's trying to reduce your costs, and not put you in debt. It sounds like you have a very good doctor in many ways. Also a low thyroid can cause ear abscesses. I got those too- lucky me--
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
Yes I know I'm just so sensitive. Do you know if that could cause tonsil stones? because I have them pretty badly.
meyati
7 Aug 2012
I don't think so. Why don't you ask that question-then a person that knows can help you. Many don't know about the ears. I was going in for my ears, and a doctor asked me if I had abscesses before my hypothyroid was diagnosed- definitely. He ran a TSH- and my thyroid had dropped a lot. German doctors had been saying that specifically ear abscesses were a sign of low thyroid, I think that the Dr. did comment about tonsils. My dosage was upped, and I quit having them again. At this point, I'm going to ask you if you have the money to have your tonsils removed. They don't like to do that anymore, but if it continues to be a problem 6 months from now- you should talk to the doctor. Maybe the reason I didn't have tonsil problems was that I'm from a generation where they always removed a kid's tonsils. My 21st century doctors say that we're healthier than people with tonsils. Waiting for the thyroid supplement to work is a good plan-then if you still have problems-talk 2 UR doc. Good luck
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
I've had tonsil issues since I was a small child and i'm tired of their pain and the gunk that comes from them. I'll ask my mother if we could see an ENT doc to clear that issue up.
endlessPred
7 Aug 2012
Luna. My daughter had her tonsils out at 21. The older you get the tougher the surgery. Mine were out at eight. Those little stones are congealed food and bacteria. Some people use a water pick to flush them out. Lots of sore throats. Lots of strep. Doctors normally remove them when you have three or more strep infections per year. At least that is what her ENT said. Or if they are too large and mess with breathing and swallowing. The ENT is the right thing to do. Lots of methods to do this are around these days. It is worth the inconvenience. Plan on a couple weeks off if this is decided your best plan.
any idea what you will do after high school? You have a curious mind. Much out there to explore. Karen
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
I want to go into the airforce then to the NASA program after I retire, but with my health issues and meds I really don't know if that'll be an option, I might just stay with the Naval Research Lab that I'm at now and work for the gov there when I'm older if the airforce isn't an option for me, sadly. But I'll try to make the best of anything.
meyati
7 Aug 2012
My daughter wishes for anything that the Navy would have removed her tonsils. When her son was having trouble with strep and sore throats-we argued strenuously for getting them removed. He was 4 years old- and we had a hard time keeping him still, as his body was improving faster than the surgery site. Later the doctor said that he was glad that my daughter and I were very pushy about it. His body just wasn't being filled with bad bacteria and poisons from his tonsils anymore.
It's harder for adults on these things. My son got the mumps on one side of his face when he was 6, he got the mumps on the other side when he was 10. There was a great difference in the amount of suffering that he had when he was older. Then he had the good luck to get the measles when he was 14- OMG-. He wasn't a softy-he was already on the junior rodeo circuit and rode bareback broncs. He was pretty tough, but chicken pox wiped him out.
I'd talk to the doctor about it, give him warning and get him thinking about it. Then if your throat isn't better in 6 months-go for it. Your body should be healthier by then anyway, so a tonsillectomy wouldn't be such a shock to your body. You know that there is always a 10% chance of dying from anesthesia-it's just that way- when your doctor tells you that there are risks-let him know. It's a day surgery-You'll be home in a few hours-and you'll be eating sherbet and jello for a few days. It's about the same as a severely impacted wisdom tooth.
meyati
8 Aug 2012
Were you thinking of enlisting or an officer program. I think that AF training for enlisted women is more physically demanding than the other branches. It was in the past. You have an option of going to a university and joining one their ROTC programs. The military will help pay for your education. Another one is to get your health up, while going to college and applying for officer candidate training school, OTCS, my daughter did that with the USMC. Right now, you need to get well. You'll always be taking thyroid supplements and needing to take the TSH, but life and requirements in life are always changing for all of us.
Look at the Olympics-they said Michael Phelps was washed up-and he didn't win his first race. He had another where he didn't even place. Then Gabby Douglas almost didn't get on the gymnastic team. Just work on getting well, and life will get better. You mentioned too much thyroid- that's what makes thyroid the devil. The symptoms are almost identical to low thyroid-fatigue, dry skin, thin hair, nervous, moody, depressed, etc. The main difference is that your blood pressure goes up and damages your heart from beating too fast and does a job on your kidneys. Where hypothyroid ruins your heart by beating too slowly. One brand of thyroid extract put me out of range for too much. My doctors soon learn that I'd really like to have a monthly thyroid screen-so they assure me and remind me that unless I have symptoms. Like I said- mine
meyati
7 Aug 2012
Hi, not everybody has the same symptoms with low-thyroid, which makes it hard to diagnose. 3 women in my area died in their sleep, and the coroner said it was from low thyroid. It was a small rural community, so doctors began thyroid scans on females. That's how I got diagnosed.
symptoms: depression-which I didn't have, anger-which I didn't have, weight gain-which I didn't have, loss of math skills-which I had-went from top student to worst student in math, dry skin-yes, irregular menses-yes, no menses at all-no, thin hair-no, cold-yes, lack of energy-no, sleep problems-no, thin eyebrows-yes, irritability-yes-off and on, infertility-no, moody-yes. Now here's a personal one- craving seafood and salt to get the iodine. A pilot at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico was deployed and his wife went into a depression.
She didn't get out of bed, cried, and the neighbors took care of her children, Then the neighbors took her to the base hospital-and it made arrangements for her to be put in a mental hospital-and contacted the husband that he needed to come home. A new doctor saw her dry skin, her crying, weight, and asked if they ran a thyroid test-NO- by the time her husband came home, she was home-pretty healthy and happy. That and dying are the extreme, but follow what your doctors say- get lab work once a year-and you probably won't be depressed or so moody. Oh Yeah- even with my thyroid under control-I still have trouble reading those little charts for doing math stats and probabilities-and I find myself putting things off. I get head-aches and I swear that my eyes hurt-doctors back this up along with dry skin-then I didn't feel so bad.
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
Oh my... Thanks for the info.
Inactive
7 Aug 2012
Your thyroid gland controls a lot of major bodily functions such as metabolism, mood, making certain white cells to protect you from infection or immunology and a bunch of other necessary functions. As states above, you need the med to live. Don't take this situation lightly and tale your med as prescribed.
Peace and blossoms,
Sweet Hippie
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
I've just realized how serious this can be and how much I need to examine it.
Thanks
bumblebee90
7 Aug 2012
Great advice. Mine were too high once. Needs to be taken seriously. Have a great day ladies. ruthie
arethathomas
12 April 2015
Hi, my name is Rita I have been diagnosed from overactive to underactive thyroid have been having some of the same symptoms as alot of you in just finding how serious this can be my tsh is very low my dr put me on methimazole to raise it and she says it suppose to make me feel better I surely hope so this has really been rough for me from the I went to do a ultrasound last week and after her reading my results on Friday she has to schedule me to do a biopsey so from their I don't know which way I will be going from here can anyone give me some comforting advice...
kaismama
6 Aug 2012
Here's some info for you on the purpose of the thyroid. endocrinediseases.org/thyroid/thyroid_function.shtml
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
Thanks
endlessPred
6 Aug 2012
Hi Luna. Still have questions? As I said before, no meds and you die. Too much meds same thing. You need to stay with a TSH under 3 and over .5. Most people like around 2. Only an endocrinologist will be able to get the right dose for you. You know it is right when you feel better. It takes time to get it right and it may adjust from time to time over the years.
The celexa is pretty fast, after a week you will feel a bit better, as the days go by you will be calmer and more like your self. If not, see the doc and the prescription will be changed. Again, this takes time.
The mood swings are a combination of meds, thyroid and depression. I have been dealing with this myself. All I have found is to know it will improve and do my best to stay in control. It doesn't always work and I am not a teen. Gotta be tough for you.
The skin will stay that way. Use lots of moisturizers. A good one that is ordered from our pharmacy is called Complex 15. It works really well on face and hands. It has no petroleum products and is unscented so it is healthy to use. Around here it is $6.00 per tube. Again, special order. Stay away from hot showers.
The migraine I leave to others. As they answered before, not sure what else they can tell you. At sixteen your health records are confidential per federal laws. Talk with your doctor about all of this. Take a list and spend the time to ask. Sometimes a good friend or trusted adult is a good idea as it is a lot to remember when one is not feeling great. Ok? stay in touch, Karen
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
Thanks, your info and words were so calming. I visited my doctor today and she said my tests came back fine so she wouldn't need to change my thyroid med, and that I should be feeling nothing but better by now.
Still on the journey for a little relief.
endlessPred
7 Aug 2012
Luna, you will get there by asking the needed questions. When one is feeling poorly for a long time, one an become depressed as it feels there is no way out and we no longer have control. Be aware of that and let your doc know if you are feeling that way. It would be normal to feel that way. The important thing to remember is thyroid is slow, very slow to respond. You will be better, bit by bit. When you look back a few Months from now it will be very clear to you about the progress. Until then know it is coming. Just set your cell phone for the pill every morning so you never forget.
Good to hear the doc is already taking care of this! Excellent work. lol. Karen
bumblebee90
7 Aug 2012
Awesome answer Karen. Mine were the opposite one time. They were extremely too high, and it was not good. But with the right medications and being watched carefully, I obviously made it ok. It is definately something to be taken seriously. We don't want anything to happen to ya. Take care, and good luck finding the right solution/medications for this. Ruthie
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
:0 Thanks guys,
What symptoms did you have?
Luna moth
7 Aug 2012
ha I meant :)
Bird77
15 Oct 2014
Luna,
When I first found out I was hypo, I was put on Armour Thyroid-which is a pig thryoid. Then, in 2007, my doctor passed away and my new doctor would not prescribe it because he did not believe in it-plus there was a shortage at the time. So, I was on Levo for 7 years. I have since found a new doctor and am back on Armour Thyroid and I feel the best that I have felt in 7 years!! I don't have the bad mood swings like I used to and my weight is starting to go down! I take a B12 supplement twice a day and it seems to help (I used to get B12 shots from my doctor every month, but they are too expensive and she told me about the liquid B12)! It is liquid. I buy Nature's Bounty Sublingual Liquid-Super Strength-5000mcg (CVS, Walgreens or Kroger). It comes with a dropper and you just hold it under your tongue for 30 seconds to 1 minute. I also found out that I am ADD at 37 years old.
I went to my doctor 2 months ago and was having a lot of memory problems and she put me through testing and found out that I have ADD. She put me on meds and I am able to concentrate and remember things more so than in the past. I don't feel as foggy as I used to and I have a lot more energy!! I hope this helped.
Related topics
thyroid disease, blood disorders, thyroid
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.
