I'm selfishly bumping this asking for prayers for tomorrow. The doc called and told me that while I was there if they thought they needed to do a needle aspiration they would. See, that is something I did not need to know ahead of time. I can handle a shot or getting blood drawn if I go to my happy place.....needles in the neck, not so much.

Happy place?

Sending prayers and warm fuzzies ( or cold creamies?) your way!

yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

How many carbs does that have???

Just an update. Doc said I had a multinodular goiter (hate that word) and that there were suspicious nodules. She referred me to an endocrinologist. The next step is probably a needle aspiration biopsy (me no likely needles). I'll update when I know more.

Thanks for the update, Tawanda. I hope things go well @ the endocrinologist's. Maybe you can pretend the biopsy is just a really intense form of acupuncture... ?

The doc wanted to do another ultrasound b/c he wasn't so sure about the interpretation of the first one. Turns out there are no nodules, just a lot of enlargement. he is 99% sure I have Hashimoto's but he did am antibody test just to be sure. He was very nice and thorough.

Quick question; was your thyroid ruled out when they diagnosed you as BP?

Honestly, it could have been the result of unstable thyroid levels...

No, they didn't rule out thyroid. I was diagnosed BP in the midst of my A in 2006. Every once in awhile my mom wonders if I am "really" BP because I was at my worst when I went to the pdoc. Sometimes I wonder too....or maybe it is wishful thinking. DH becomes terrified when I wonder. Understandably he is really afraid of the idea of me ever not being on meds. Plus he says I changed after the kids were born....and I did.

I really seemed to do okay until two years ago when I started lithium. That was when huge parts of my personality just disappeared. I am going to see a new pdoc Monday. I would love to explore something besides lithium because I just feel.....dead most of the time. Like I am "acting" like me instead of actually being here. But when DH and I talk about it he panics and reassures me that I am better now than I have ever been. He's a very low key, even keel, non-emotional type person, as is his whole family.

I do wonder sometimes though......if they were wrong, what is all this medicine doing to me? Especially since missing even a couple of days can make very odd things start to happen. But how do you POJA medicine????

I don't want to get you going on it too much, but been going over thyroid stuff lately in school...

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

* Fatigue
* Weakness
* Weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight
* Coarse, dry hair
* Dry, rough pale skin
* Hair loss
* Cold intolerance (you can't tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
* Muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
* Constipation
* Depression
* Irritability
* Memory loss
* Abnormal menstrual cycles
* Decreased libido

Common symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism

* Palpitations
* Heat intolerance
* Nervousness
* Insomnia
* Breathlessness
* Increased bowel movements
* Light or absent menstrual periods
* Fatigue
* Fast heart rate
* Trembling hands
* Weight loss
* Muscle weakness
* Warm moist skin
* Hair loss
* Staring gaze

Hashimoto's thyroiditis very often results in hypothyroidism with bouts of hyperthyroidism.

Physiologically, antibodies against thyroid peroxidase and/or thyroglobulin cause gradual destruction of follicles in the thyroid gland. Accordingly, the disease can be detected clinically by looking for these antibodies in the blood. It is also characterized by invasion of the thyroid tissue by leukocytes, mainly T-lymphocytes. It is associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Symptoms of Hashimoto's thyroiditis include weight gain, depression, mania, sensitivity to heat and cold, paresthesia, fatigue, panic attacks, bradycardia, tachycardia, high cholesterol, reactive hypoglycemia, constipation, migraines, muscle weakness, cramps, memory loss, infertility and hair loss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashimoto%27s_thyroiditis

It's worth talking about with both of your doctors, you know?

Uh, yeah. Most of those medications you DO NOT want to miss a couple days, or they will get you off of your nut. Discontinuation should only be done under the direction of your physician, and likely though tapering.

Right after we moved this past fall, there were problems with the changing insurance and stuff, plus it is a tiny town, and they don't always have things in stock. I missed three days of my Effexor, and then four days a month or so later.....I cannot even begin to describe what that was like. Nightmares, weird sensations, brain zaps like electrical shocks......And my old doc neglected to tell me that I shouldn't take Ambien every night because I might become dependent. I've tried a few times, but after three nights of nightmares and muscle cramps and the effect of losing sleep, I give up.

Sometimes I feel like medicine makes me sicker.

Yeah, I looked at those lists. I have some of the hypo list and then some of the hyper. I try to avoid fitting into any mode because that would be boring

Well, like I always say...if you're going to go disease, always go w/ an eponymous one!

The thyroid is an interesting little bugger. If the antibody test comes back positive, I wonder if there's any way to date the start of the thyroiditis stuff?

HHH, thanks for posting all of that. I have some symptoms from both lists too. Weird.

I was diagnosed hypothyroid about 6 months ago, and have been on a very low dose of levo ever since. It doesn't seem to have much effect. I've been trying to get my endo to switch me to a natural thyroid replacement as some people here have recommended, but my endo didn't even know there was such a thing when I brought it up with her. For a specialist, she doesn't seem to know much. It's very frustrating trying to find a decent doctor where I live.

I know I've been suffering from depression for quite some time now. I fight against feelings of hopelessness almost everyday. I guess I just keep telling myself that I'm an intelligent, well-educated person and I ought to be able to get control of this thing. Mind over matter. I have a lot of anxiety as well. Some of it is situation most likely, since my life is pretty depressing and anxiety-inducing at the moment. But my mother suffers from lifelong clinical depression. It's never been diagnosed, but it's very easily identifiable. I think she may be hypothyroid as well. She is quite obese, diabetic, and just a generally unpleasant person to be around most of the time.

Do you have your TSH, T3, and T4 levels checked regularly with the hormone therapy?

Make that FREE T3 and FREE T4.

T3 and T4 without the FREE does.not.mean.anything.

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com has saved my life and continues to do so.

writer ~ print out these pages and bring them to your endo. Demand a trial of something other than Synthroid or Levoxyl. Or find another doc. Even GPs will work with you on this.

Mine will even though I don't need him to because I have an endo that will.

I am going back in for more lab work, but this will be the first time since the initial lab work I had done 6 months ago. I'm not sure what she ordered this time. I'll have to look at the lab slip. I haven't gone in to get my blood drawn.

I'll have to print out some of those pages and take them to her. Unfortunately, I don't really have a GP out here that I like either. I did manage to find an excellent pediatrician for my daughter, and I'm thinking of calling her and seeing if she has a GP or Endo that she recommends. Health care out here in my area (basically the sticks) isn't great.

Never underestimate the value of a good OB/GYN when you need a doc.

My OB/GYN was the one who first discovered my hypothyroidism. But even though I was experiencing plenty of symptoms, she said my levels weren't off enough to require medication. She just said to come back in a year and she'd recheck it when I had my next pap smear. That's when I went to the Endo on my own.

Thus the emphasis on good. >.<

Sometimes all that means is a referral.

Now my Endo just refilled my levo prescription for 6 months without even seeing me or doing any new blood work. Ugh. Aren't there standards anymore for graduating from medical school?

I'm definitely calling our pediatrician on Monday and asking her for a referral for a good GP in the area.