hypothyroidism?

[desolationangel]

i just got told by my doctor that i probably have hypothyroidism, or maybe even hashimoto's disease (the thyroid shuts down completely) and it seemed like it was a much more common thing for women to get than men.

does anyone know why this is?

anyone here have experience with it?

[Artichoke47]

Maybe because women have more hormonal fluctuations?

[SallyK]

My husband has hypothyroidism. I have no idea why women get it more than men. Sometimes I wonder if it's more equal but men just don't go to the doctor to get it checked out. :confused:

[rabid_child]

my mom had graves disease, which is a type of hypothyroidism. she thinks i ought to be tested (again) since i'm tired all the time, and am unable to lose weight. there are genetic elements to it.
mom said hyperthyroidism was more fun (which is what happened after they treated the graves) cause she had tons of energy all the time and didn't need much sleep and was skinny. :P

[desolationangel]

yeah, i'm beginning to suspect that my "fast metabolism" is actually the disease!

[aarealskei]

I'm hypo and highly recommend the following group for any all info/answers to any questions that you might have. Here is the path to the site:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Texas_Thyroid_Groups/

there is a woman who runs this group named Jan and she is the most knowledgeable person that I know. A friend of mine told me about this group and I firmly believe that I have learned more from these people than from any doc that I have ever seen. To date, I actually go to them before I go to the doc to make sure that a) I'm seeing a good doc, b) that I ask the right questions from the doc c) that the doc is providing me with the best treatment that will suite me. When I have labs run, I take my results to them, too. I don't know where you live, as this group is for Texas, but I'm sure that Jan could direct you to a group in your area.

[glimmermarielea]

My sister had graves disease too but it was hyperthyroidism. She was treated with radioactive iodine and three months later she died in her sleep from acute congestive heart failure. It can be a serious disease. My regret is that my family knew so little about the treatment side effects. Later after researching, we found out that people under 25 shouldn't have that treatment (it's not recommended), she was only 19.

[desolationangel]

wow. that's scary. no radioactive iodine for me. nope.

[LadyFaile]

i was diagnosed at 16 with hypothyroidism. my doc said they don't normally test girls under 18, but i'd felt the symptoms of it all my life. i was pretty angry that all those years there really was something wrong with me and i wasn't simply lazy, and it was something i could have had treated much earlier after a quick blood test.

anyway he told me i'd probably need radiation therapy to remove the gland. i was referred to an endochrinologist, the best one in town. i told him what my family doc said and he said "oh my god! no no no! we don't treat hypothyroidism that way, that's only for severe hypERthyroidism and never someone your age! what is he thinking???"
so yeah i pretty much hated my family doc after that, for scaring the hell out of me with his misinformation.

anyways i started the meds right away and when through a VERY uncomfortable adjustment period. the sudden jumpstart caused some nasty anxiety-type side effects and i had horrible stomach cramps for a couple of weeks because of the change in the rate of digestion.
once my levels got balanced and i was on the right dosage all that pretty much stopped and i get tested every year and still have normal levels, but i still feel the symptoms i felt before the meds, to a slightly lesser degree. i've been wondering a lot lately if it can be treated with diet and supplements instead of meds since the meds really are just supplementing the hormones instead of increasing hormon production. i wonder if maybe the synthetic hormones aren't as good as my own, so that even though i have the right amount of hormones, they aren't working as well as they could be.

i've seen a lot of things mentioning certain foods having an affect, either increasing or decreasing thyroxin production. like spinach decreases so i try to avoid it, but if you were hyperactive you could try eating more of it. i thought about just using more iodized salt but i don't want more sodium than i already get, which is too much.

i'll definately check into that group, though it's not the right country let alone city but the info is the same.

also for hyperactive thyroids there is a natural treatment you can get at health food stores, forget what it's called, but it's something worth reading up on for anyone hyperactive. unfortunately i don't think there's one for hypo yet.

as for more women than men having thyroid disorders, i agree that it's probably more likely that men are just not being tested for it. more women go for regular checkups than men, so more women are diagnosed, so the statistics are higher but really it's deceiving because fewer men are tested, so therefore doctors are maybe less likely to test men because they figure they're less likely to have it???
fun how that works huh?

[LadyFaile]

just found this group also, it's specifically about vegetarians and vegans but doesn't look very active http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Vegetarian-Myxedema/

and also this one which looks very active and isn't for a specific area i don't think http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/hypothyroidism/

thinking i'll join both

[spud]

I'm hypo, and recently learned that I was doing the wrong thing by taking calcium supplements in the morning with my thyroxine. The calcium (and also iron) pills stop the thyroxine working properly. I have to leave a four hour gap.
I was so ill before I was diagnosed as hypothyroidal, and I'm not ill at all now that I'm on the right dose. :)

[LadyFaile]

good to know about the calcium. i generally take calcium in the morning with breakfast and i always take my thyroxin at night before bed. the odd time i take my calcium with supper because i heard we lose the most bone calcium at night, but i'll remember not to do that anymore.