I am getting up my courage to go back to my doctor and have my thyroid tested again.

I had it tested almost two years ago when I was feeling very unwell. Dr. said it was normal. Then I "found" locarbing by accident and started feeling much better and kickstarted my weight loss.

I have done so well over this past 20 months but I have felt stalled in my weight loss for some time and I have started feeling extremely lethargic again--and this despite maintaining a locarb diet (with a few indulgences here and there), getting as much night time sleep as possible (6.5 - 8 hrs a night) and following the BFL program. I am back to wanting to nap about an hour or so after I wake up in the morning! I have to fight the urge to sleep.

By chance I was re-reading Dr. Atkins latest version of his book and the section on thyroid caught my eye. I have been taking my temp for the past three days and it is consistently below 37 degrees celsius. My lowest reading is 35 degrees and the highest is 36.7 degrees. I have been taking my temperature orally and with both a digital and a mercury thermometer. I am also cold all the time but that has always been the case for me. DH always jokes that I am cold blooded.

My question is--I know that it is normal to have fluctuations in body temp. But how far below normal on a consistent basis do you have to be to be considered hypothyroid?

I should mention that my maternal grandmother died due to an enlarged goiter in her neck, all 4 of my aunts and my mum are on thyroid meds and one of my uncles is also on thyroid meds. So there is precedent for me to be tested. So far, myself and my two sisters have been fine. I have tested in the low normal range.

I am just trying to arm myself with as much info. as possible so that when I go to the Dr. I know what I am talking about.

I knew something was wrong with me at my last test but all my results for thyroid, iron, etc. were normal. However, I knew I had to do something and that's how I figured I needed to cut out my carbs. It wasn't until much later when I was already feeling better and losing weight that I found out what I was doing was a low carbohydrate diet.

I guess what I am getting at here is that no one knows our bodies better than we do. The Drs. don't know it all but it sure helps to know what one is talking about when we go to see them or you can leave the office feeling like a foolish hypochondriac!

Sorry to ramble on but I would appreciate any comments re basal body temp. from anyone out there with hypothryoid.

but I think low is 97F.

Your symptoms to me sound hypothyroid.

I'm hypothyroid and went years without being diagnosed as such because I think I was borderline. I had way too many related health problems to go into all of them here.

You might have the thyroid test done and see if you are in the low range of normal. That might be the problem. You're in sort of a "no man's land" of testing range when you're low normal.

You feel bad and have the symptoms and you can't get a doctor to give you anything for it. Unfortunately by the time you get a doctor to recognize that you don't feel well and there really is something wrong with you, you have a lot wrong with you, including weight gain.

Good luck on getting a good diagnosis and getting some medication.

Virginia

Thanks for your reply.

Had my bloodwork done yesterday. Dr. will only test for TSH and won't test for T4, T3 or Free T4 and T3 unless the TSH is out of the normal range. I mentioned my body temp. readings which, BTW were taken while ovulating, and he just ignored the info.

Weird thing is that for four days my temp has been consistently below normal. Yesterday it was below normal first thing in the AM but normal for the rest of the day until bedtime. This AM, the same thing: temp was 97 degress at rest and taken with a basal body thermometer but later this morning it was normal.

Is that weird or what? During ovulation your temp should actually be higher than usual.

Will see what the results say.

homegirl....

my rt arm is broken...typing with my left...sorry about all lower case letters

i see canadians deal with the same thing that those in the uk do....tsh only testing!

more and more studies are showing the high normal range is too high, on the tsh. in fact, the American Assn of Clinical Endocronologists issued new treatment guidelines, last year. anyone with a tsh of 3.0> (still too high ) AND HYPOTHYROID SYMPTOMS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR TREATMENT. without checking your total and free levels they can't know, for sure, how much hormone your body is getting.

i spent years with mine "right in the middle of normal range"... never got above a TSH of 2.5...but my total t4 was in the 6's & i had serious hypo symptoms. my new dr put me on .100 synthroid.... 1st tests showed tsh down to 1.5 but total t4 up into the 10's!....guess what...those are both within the "normal" ranges too.

both the us and the uk have independent labs that you can pay, privately, for the total and free level testing....have you checked with other canadians on the forum at www.thyroid.about.com to locate one in canada?

you have all the symptoms plus the hereditary factor so my guess you are right...

Hi texastwin,

Haven't been able to get on here the past few days as the server has been too busy.

I have thought about trying to go to a naturopath and see if they do testing but I can't really afford the astronomical costs of the visits, let alone pay for whatever they might suggest I need.

I am doing a BodyRx style workout right now and following the nutrition which calls for higher fiber and I have noticed my BBT has gone up as high as 98.5 degrees first thing in the AM. Also noticed increased energy. Thing is, I started TOM yesterday and guess what, it dropped right down to 97.3. And I feel so lethargic. It's not all in my head as I am fighting sleep even as I type this at 2:30 in the PM. Is that weird or what? I have read that your thyroid can work properly at certain times of the month and go wonky for others. I sure wish I could know for sure but I am just going to do everything I can in the meantime to boost my thyroid function--weightlifting to increase muscle mass and metabolism, kelp tablets, coconut butter, eating often, etc.

homegirl,

i posted new US guidelines issued by AACE (american assn of clinical endocronologists) this morning ...they were issued this month. assn states that they estimate that the number of people with undiagnosed thyroid problems is actually DOUBLE the original estimate and is around 27 million (instead of 13) their new guidelines are .3 to 3.04 for a "normal TSH". i think the link is posted under "newbie question on thyroid" or it is "tsh rising".

normally, the morning basal (armpit) temp is taken with a mercury thermometer that you leave under the arm for 10 min. if it is <97 hypothyroid is suspect....most drs discount this, however...just as yours did. your body temp does usually rise once you get up

go to www.thyroid.about.com and register for the forum. this is an international forum...many canadians visit it....they may know where you can get blood labs done without a doctor requesting them, if you can't find a top doc in your area. since i was laid off after 9/11, i use one here...costs me around $80 usd for tsh, Free T3 and Free T4, which is less than my dr chgs....and she accepts the labs...in fact, she had her office call me last wk...needed the online lab info for another of her patients that needed thyroid ck but no longer has ins!

also, on the main home site (where you register for the forum) there is a "top doc directory"....these are not just US doctors...there may be a canadian doctor, in your area, that has been recommended by his patients....it's worth checking

let me know if i can help in any way.
faye

Hi tex,
I stumped on this by accident but great info. I was just at the dr. on tuesday and they said I had hypo thyroid. What I shock didn't even know it, but in my case it all made sence I guess. Just started on med for it. When does the tiredness stop? And the weight loss start again? I am lost on this one. I was doing great untill last dec. 2001 I had surgery then and have not lost a pound since then. I have other problems as well but this is front runner today lol. Stacey

stacy,

i have a broken rt arm...please excuse my typing! i typed a looooong reply (w/my left hand!) and then my system froze up before i could send it to you.!

treating hypothyroid is not always easy and certainly isn't as easy as many drs assume (as in "take one pill a day and you'll be cured" or "you're fine...your TSH is within range")

as for the weight loss....you may lose it easily or you may be one of many hypos who ends up being undermedicate or developes or has insulin resistance and it may be a struggle. low carb diet & exercise may become very necessary.

you may have a good dr but most, including many endocronologists, don't have a clue! they know about diabetes but little about the thyroid...in spite of the fact their own org announced new "normal" TSH guidelines (.3-3.04) , this month, and raised (doubled!) their estimates of the # of people who have thyroid conditions, from 13 to 27 million...27 million, they stated, is more than diabetes & cancer, combined.

my best recommendation is to visit www.thyroid.about.com this site has all the information you could ever need to educate yourself and to be able to determine whether your dr knows much about the thyroid. now that you are on meds, you need to be familiar with both HYPER/HYPOthyroid symptoms as a med dosage can throw your body into a hyper state, just as the throid can. you will find excellant lists on this site as well as a "top doc directory" recommended by patients from the forum on the site. this forum is international and there are very knowledgeable people who offer what has worked for them, etc. you will find people there from homemakers to a Phd Biochemist!

you need to know that synthroid is not the only med available and many don't do well on it...it was only the #1 selling thyroid med...because mfg did a great marketing job on drs!....the FDA not only refused to allow synthroid to be "grandfathered" into approval, but wrote the mfg a NINE page rejection letter citing all the problems they had with potency,etc ...by FDA standards, the letter was just short of a reprimand.

i took .100 synthroid and i did improve....however the lingering symptoms did not go away until about 2 weeks after i switched to .100 unithroid. my twin sister, her daughter & my 20 yr old daughter have all switched and also have felt better. some do better on Armour (the 1st thyroid med) which is dessicated pig thyroid...many drs think it is "old fashioned" or the potency is "unstable"...not so....it meets federal mfg guidelines and has less problems w/ recalls than the synthetic meds do.

as you can see....you need to learn alot if your are able to optimize your thyroid treatment!

if i can help, let me know
faye

Homegirl,
Your temperature changes with your cycle. My doctor told me the standard is to take your temp days 2-5 of your cycle. My temp average was 97. My TSH is normal, but my T3 is slightly low.

I was very tired, yet didn't sleep well. Had the heater on 78 all the time. My nails broke off and my skin was so dry my hands would bleed. It was only after following Atkins for 5 months eating a 1000 cal, 15 carbs per day and working out pretty hard, and not getting into ketosis that I realized something was really wrong. Also my reflexes were slow and I couldn't remember peoples names if I had to think of them quickly.

I went to a Holistic doctor, the test is around $100 for tsh, t3 and t4. I take a very small dose of armour thyroid and it has changed my life, like a miracle to me.

A few months ago I had to stop the thyroid temporarily and every symptom came back along with terrible hairloss. Started back and everythings returning to normal. I also noticed I feel more confident and positive about life in general.

I have seen places on the net where you take the sample at home, I guess through a finger stick and it is cheaper than the doctors office.

I hope you follow through on this. The medication is very cheap, I buy it straight through my doctor, $12 for 5 months.

This is all new for me with the thyroid...but I thought it was something about me. Since I had surgery dec. 2001 I couldn't get back into ketosis. I was forgetting things, I whole body was covered with dry skin. I was exusted but couldn't sleep. I took benadryl ever night to sleep or something over the counter. No matter what I eat I couldn't lose weight. those where the top symtoms I had. I had others too but I finally switched offices from my dr. and the nurse practicioner trated me for a uniranry tract infection and listen to my other symtoms and didn't say anything to me but sent me for a blood work-up as well as culture. and low and behold the thyroid was low. Never even mentioned that my temp was low too. lol
Stacey

I didn't even realize there were so many other posts and comments here as my e-mail wasn't notified. Just checked in for a few minutes to see if there was any other info. and lo and behold all these posts.

Thanks for so much info.

I just may end up going to a holistic Dr. to get properly tested once and for all.

Thanks again,
Homegirl