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Re: Thyroid & PCOS
From: anonymous@obgyn.net
Tue, 3 Sep 2002 11:58:12 -0500 (CDT)
Thank you for the good info! It's been 3.5 years since my TSH levels
were checked, but someone told me recently that postpartum thyroid
problems are common. I'm currently 7mos. postpartum, so that would
fit. I have always had a below-normal body temp (when I was doing BBT,
I would rarely get above 97.5°F), and another symptom is a lack of
sweating during physical exercise. It takes me a good 30 minutes in to
an aerobic workout to break a sweat, and it has for years. I get hot
(red in the face and such), but no sweat until after than 30 min. mark.
I got an appt with my RE, as we have to repeat a hepatic panel this
month, and since they'll be drawing blood, I figured if we were going to
do it, let's just do one needle stick. : ) I'm printing out your info
for reference. Thanks again!! : )
At Mon, 2 Sep 2002, anonymous@obgyn.net wrote:
>
>Hi sue,
>
>I have PCOS and hypothryoid and hyperparathyroid.
>
>Thyroid symptoms can contribute to feeling exhausted. However that is
>not the only possible cause - low iron, electrolyte balance, etc. can
>also contribute. Are you taking a good multivitamin (this helps for
>some women). In my case I have low blood calcium without treatment.
>When my blood calcium is too low (if I accidently or on purpose skip
>meds for one or two days - I did this initially to prove to myself that
>I really needed the meds) I also suffer severe fatigue (even though the
>thyroid is now under control).
>
>Yes, it is important to check TSH, T3 and T4 - at least initially
>because the ratios between all of these is also important. I also read
>a while ago that sometimes it can take a while for the TSH to get high
>in the case of borderline or early problems. One way to test if you
>have problems is to measure your body temperature every morning before
>you get up and walk around. If it is low (I will have to check the
>exact figure for you later - but I think below 37 degree C (normal is
>37.6???)) this is indicative of thyroid poblems. Also, do you have
>enlarged thryoid? Has this been checked. Sometimes T4 can be ok, but T3
>(the active component) may be too low - this has a different replacement
>hormone called cytomel (I think).
>
>If all other causes of fatigue are ruled out (and they should do a full
>screening) and your doctor is open minded, perhaps he would consider
>letting you trial low dose thryoid replacement - along with monitoring
>of your TSH - to see what happens - you can always stop the drug if the
>TSH goes too low (below 0.5 - 1) - and how you feel. by the way,
>thryoid meds can take 4 - 6 weeks to start feeling benefits..... that
>is how long it takes to get a stable dose - and that is why initially
>they do blood tests every 4 - 6 weeks.
>
>A good site for Thyroid is the site set up by Mary Shomon. I don't know
>the link, but you could easily find it with a search engine.<
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