OptomisticGirl Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 I had blood work drawn yesterday as part of my yearly physical with my job. I went up to the nurse today to have her check my TB test (negative, of course!) and as soon as I walked into the room and she saw it was me she told me I needed to go to the doctor. Apparently my TSH levels (which I guess govern or show your tyroid - not sure that's spelled right, the computer is screaming at me that it's not) were through the roof. The range is suppose to be 0.3 - 4.8 and mine was 7.4. So I called the doctor and have a appointment with him tomorrow at 11, my mom is going to go with me. Once she told me how high it was and what it essentially is and means, I just kind of burst into tears sat in her office. No idea why. Combination of stressing over money and then to just be hit with that out of left field... ya know I expected to one day get the talk of 'you have high blood pressure' because it runs in the family or 'you have heart disease' because it too runs in the family. thyroid problem? Completely out of left field. But it could be nothing. The test could have been wanky. Last year the test said I was low in protein but everyone's came back with that (something was off with whatever they used in the lab) but only mine thus far has come back with a high TSH level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissancewoman101 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 OG, sorry to hear this. Hope that when you go to the doctor it turns out to be ok. BTW, reading about you getting your blood stick inspired me to go and get my blood test that I had been putting off for months. I got my blood drawn yesterday for a blood panel that my doc ordered in May. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntress0527 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Sorry to hear that, OG. Hope everything works out and it was just a faulty test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firiel Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Sorry to hear about the thyroid issues, OG. But don't lose hope! Thyroid medication is usually pretty cheap; even without insurance, it can be less than $30 a month. Also, getting on thyroid medication should speed up your weight loss and help you feel better and more energetic. I was also on medication for hypothyroidism for about a year... and then, I went off it, got tested again, and I was fine. I guess it's not always a permanent thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 Yeah, the Director of my department said she pays $4 a month for the generic for her hyperthyroid issues. But her and a few other people who have said they have thyroid problems all said when they went on the medication they dropped like 10-15 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissancewoman101 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 that's a good side effect, losing weight Good luck with everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrose85 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 **hugs** You just have too much on your plate right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Is there some way to control the issue without meds? Just wondering. Typically, hyperthyroidism is associated with weight loss and hypothyroidism is associated with weight gain. You might want to watch what you are eating even more closely as you get on the meds to decrease your thyroid levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 That I'm not sure of Annie. Everyone at work who said they had it said they had to go medication for it, and some have been on it for years for it. It's something I'll ask the doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 For hypo or hyper thyroidism? Generally, people who have hypothyroidism who go on meds lose weight. Of course, every person is different, but hyperthyroidism is associated with increased metabolism, and increased weight loss. But that might be countered by increased appetite. So weight gain can come from that. Of course, these are issues to discuss with your doctor and maybe nutritionist, hopefully that is covered by your insurance. If you're going on meds that are going to alter your metabolism, you might want to start a food journal to be extra vigilant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 I'm not sure for which. A friend had a super low TSH number - .5 away from them admitting her - and they put her on medication that caused her to lose weight. I don't have medical insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Yeah, with hypothyroidism, the medication typically causes weight loss because the extra thyroid boosts the metabolism. It can be the opposite with treatment for hyperthyroidism because it's going to decrease your metabolism. My mom lost weight after getting on meds for hypothyroidism. Did they test you for graves disease? And make sure to ask about the side effects of getting pregnant while on the meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firiel Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 If you have a high TSH, you have hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid. It seems like it should be the opposite, but the reason for this is that your body knows it's not getting enough thyroid action so it produces more TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) in order to try to boost production (to no avail). Even though I was already thin when I went on hypothyroidism meds, I still lost about seven pounds while on the medication without even trying. Like annie said, most people have to take medication for the rest of their lives, but mine cleared itself up after a year or so, oddly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Well nothing to report really, lol. I went to the doctor and they drew some more blood (ouchie, again). They will rerun the TSH test plus the more in depth thyroid panels so I won't get the results back until tomorrow or Monday at the latest. I hate waiting. She did a external exam and said my thyroid felt enlarged but she didn't feel any nodules of any kind. No, no testing for graves' disease. The blood work at my job was simply an over view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Ah I see!!!! Ok that's whacky bit that makes sense. Ok so was OG diagnosed with hypo or hyper-thyroidism?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Neither. The doctor wouldn't even talk medication until the new blood tests come back to confirm the blood work from my job. It could have just been an odd reading. But it they do confirm it (barring nothing else shows up) it should be hypothyroidism since my number was high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Good luck. But yeah, if it is hypothyroidism, then it will make sense to lose weight on the meds. I hope you are ok though! Do be sure to ask about pregnancy. To the best of my knowledge, once you start them, you can never stop. I guess it depends on what treatment you get. Keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Oh I def will since that's a huge thing for us. I did ask my employee nurse how the thyroid affected fertility (she was one of the ones who told me she had problems with her's and actually had to have her's removed at my age) but with all things it's varies greatly. For her it took a little longer to get pregnant (two years). There will be more in depth questions with the doctor if/when he has to put me on medication. I really don't have many of the symptons of hypothyroidism but the doctor said again, not all cases have the exact symptons. Some people have one or two, half, or all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Gosh I learn something new everyday. High TSH = hypothyroidism. Wacky. Yeah, let us know how it turns out. Does the hospital have a decent insurance plan for its workers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Gosh I learn something new everyday. High TSH = hypothyroidism. Wacky. Yeah, let us know how it turns out. Does the hospital have a decent insurance plan for its workers? Yeah, it seemed weird to L and me too but I did some reading up on it (tried not to do the OMG-I-have-this type of reading from the net!) but apparently when you have hypothyroidism it really relates to the TSH levels in a way. The thyroid itself isn't producing enough thyroid hormones (there for not working enough) so the pituitary gland works over time to pump MORE TSH levels to trigger the thyroid to make more itself. So high levels of TSH means the thyroid gland isn't working enough and low means it's working too much. It does and doesn't in a way. It's not so bad itself but you can only enroll in the insurance during opening enrollment (once a year) or you have a life changing event (such as birth of a child, get married). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 I get my car back today, yay!!! I was going to wait until after L and I talked to go get it but he wanted me to pick it up right after work. Fine by me. only thing left to do is pay for his train ticket to the airport the day before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrose85 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Finally!! Woohoo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraphim Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 I am glad you got your car back! I hope the test was just a fluke OG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptomisticGirl Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Car is in my possession! It felt so weird getting behind the wheel of it because I had become use to driving mom's. It literally felt like I was getting in it for the very first time again. It runs amazing though! The check engine light is on but the mechanic told me to bring it back by next week and they'd run a test to see why it's on (even though everything is running properly, including my temperature gauge!) After picking up the car I went with my mom and sister to get Tyler's hair cut. He was not happy about it: image removed image removed But he looks so handsome! image removed I need to pluck my eyebrows, bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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