When I started blogging about a year ago, I was very surprised to see how many bloggers mentioned having hypothyroidism.
Do we have a lot of people here that have it? If so, how/why was it diagnosed? Did your dr do routine testing? Or were you symptomatic?
I had never been tested and wasn’t until my hair started falling out in big chunks. I started on replacement hormone right away.
I would think that pwd’s should be routinely tested, beause proper thyroid function is essential to good health.
The nurse at my endocrinologist’s office found mine at a routine visit. I had symptoms, most notably weak legs, but I didn’t recognize them until after I was diagnosed. I just thought that I was lazy and out of shape. It wasn’t much of a surprise because my mother, my aunt, and my grandmother all have hypothyroidism.
I was 4 when diagnosed w IDDM in '76. The meds knew to check me for low thryoid function since an early age. I was 12, I think, when I plumped up, slowed down and was probably a bit backed up too (constipated) - hypothyroid it was. I’ve been on .1mg of some form of synthroid ever since and get tested regularly (1-2x/yr) and my level has stayed stable. Occasionally I have insurance gaps, run out of pills etc and begin to notice changes in my metabolism after a few days.
I was dx’s in '74, never had my thyroid levels tested until 2000, when I had symptoms. I guess this is yet another situation where we need to be proactive.
I had Type 1 10 years before my hypothyroid (technically hashimoto’s for me) was diagnosed. I’m in pharma sales and had doctors grabbing my neck all the time telling me I had a goiter. After getting agitated at everyone groping my neck, I went in to have it tested (I could never see what they were talking about). Initially they told me my thyroid was fine, then my endo did more specialized testing and I’ve been on synthroid ever since…about 6 years now. My dad and grandmother both have it.
I was diagnosed w/ Type 1 just a few days before my 10th birthday. It wasn’t long after that (maybe a year or two) when my endo felt something in my neck (he poked around my neck at every visit) and had blood drawn to test my thyroid. I’ve been on generic synthroid ever since. My dose has been increased once since I started on it.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism several years before diagnosed with diabetes. I really can’t remember exactly how it was discovered, except maybe from routine physical exams. I do remember having some problems with chunks of hair falling out a couple years before the diagnosis and had tests done then, but at that time they didn’t believe it was problems with the thyroid. When they did finally diagnosis it, I felt they had missed it earlier!
I actually had hyperthyroidism back in high school. When I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 11 my mother made them add thyroid levels on to the list of things that they check for once a year, as she and at least four of her five sisters have hypothyroidism.
When I was sixteen they noticed my levels were a little high. I had lost a few pounds, which I hadn’t worried about since it was summer and I had just switched to a vegetarian diet. I also had stopped having my period. Looking back, it was one of the better conditions I have been diagnosed with. Anyhoo, they gave me a pill to suppress my thyroid function, then tested me in a few months and decided that was too much, reduced it and tested again… until slowly just didn’t need it anymore and I have been stable for several years. shrugs
Since the meds for hyperthyroidism aren’t safe during pregnancy, there was some talk about killing my thyroid off with radioactive iodine and putting me on synthroid for the rest of my life, which is baby-safe. (I was, what, 17 at the time? I am not sure why it was an important issue to be thinking about prospective fetuses at that point.) When I was able to go off the meds my endo said “Just as well. One dysfunctional organ is probably enough.”
I believe that both hyper and hypothyroidism are autoimmune diseases, which tend to clump together, so it isn’t surprising for people with type 1 to have either.
I have never had hypo but every so often I so up as having mild hyperthyroidism. I hate it because it makes me feel really bad.
I started to grow this weird bump shaped like a thumb (not a goiter, which is overall enlargement) in my neck when I was about 13 years old. The doc ignored it. Eventually, by the time I was 17, it was so big and weird looking (this bump thing sticking out of the front left side of my neck), we insisted on seeing another doc. The lump was a tumor, a cold nodule, that they believed could be cancer due to my age. I had surgery that removed half of my thyroid and was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s (autoimmune hypothyroid). Suddenly it made sense why I kept gaining weight, slept 12 hours a day, was short of breath, freezing cold, hair falling out, etc. Thing is… no one in my family had ever been diagnosed with any autoimmune diseases. That is, until about 6 years later when my mom got rheumatoid arthritis. Then, years later, just after my 30th birthday (!) I passed out and was rushed to the ER. I had type 1 diabetes.
About 8-9 years ago my primary care doctor told me that he was prescribing thyroid medication for me, based on routine lab tests. He put me on 50mcg of synthroid (I got a branded generic, Levoxyl, when I had the prescription filled and have taken that same brand ever since) and I never thought much about it. Just took my pill each morning and that was that. I do remember at the time he told me that in a few months I would probably start feeling better, have more energy, etc but that never happened. A few years later my next PCP upped my dose to 75mcg, then 3 years ago upped it again to 100mcg. Two years ago my CDE told me that mine was autoimmune (Hashimoto’s) and that my dose would likely continue to creep up. Just this past April it was increased to 112mcg.
It took me a number of years before I even bothered to look up thyroid information online and realized I had a lot of the symptoms for a long time. I still don’t really give it much thought and just make sure I take my medication first thing in the morning at least an hour before I eat.
Autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s) is very common in people who have autoimmune diabetes (Type 1). Type 2 is not autoimmune, and this is why Hashimoto’s is not as common in people with Type 2. My endo checked every year for my TSH level. Last year it went up, so they did an antibody check, and it was through the roof. My TSH levels are still within normal range, but now they measure them at every visit, and I know some day I will need the synthetic hormone. Bummer, but like someone else said, it’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroid a couple of years ago and have had to up my dose of synthroid several times. I am currently taking 112 mcg and my TSH level is stable. I had been feeling very tired and that’s how the hypothyroid was found. But then about 6 months ago I was again feeling tired- couldn’t get going in the mornings no matter how much sleep I got. Further tests showed my TSH was normal but my A1c was 7.2. I finally tested positive for thyroid antibodies and islet cell antibodies so I guess my hypothyroid is Hashimoto’s. I was unaware that there were different types of thyroid disease. One thing my endo told me is that it is better not to take a generic form of synthroid because it can vary just a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer and you may not always be getting an exact dose. (This was the same endo who told me my glucose tolerance test was normal because my BG was 112 after 2 hours, even though is was still 175 at 90 minutes. But at least he told me that important bit of information which has helped stabilize my TSH levels.)
Yup. I was diagnosed in highschool when I started loosing a bunch of hair. I have REALLY thick hair, so my parents didn’t believe me until I showed them my brush. Then they set up an endo appt. and I’ve been on Levoxyl ever since.
I just came across this old discussion and wanted to ask a few questions about hypothyroidism.
I just got my blood test results back and my TSH is around 3, but I had a high count of antibodies (aTPO=600 when the normal is 0-63). So it seems that I am on my way to hypothyroidism now (which is not a big surprise since there are tons of women in my family with it, but I am the only one with type 1 diabetes).
Is there any reason to start on Synthroid now, before my TSH levels go out of range?
Does Synthroid affect your blood sugars? And can it be used during pregnancy?
Thanks a million!
I am hypo and when diagnosed with Type 1 - 15 years ago - was told this was linked to autoimmune issues that also contributed to my diabetes. I really don’t have any physical symptoms, whether on or off medicine. Here’s a quick read on a 2003 study: Hypothyroidism And Type 1 Diabetes Linked
I would say it might make sense to start on a small dose since 3 is on the outer edge of normal. I don’t think synthroid affects your BG. Don’t know about pregnancy.
My endo has me keep an eye on my blood glucose whenever we change my synthroid dose. I don’t think the pill affects BG like a spike or dip when I take the pill (like caffeine may raise BG), but the endocrine system is all connected. I wouldn’t worry about BG in deciding whether to take synthroid or not. It’s a small, easily managable effect. Synthroid is safe to take during pregnancy and should continue to be taken during pregnancy if it’s being used to treat hypothyroid because having LOW thyroid can increase the risk for birth defects.
Back in '71 i was put on some thyroid related pill. I remember it was that year because I was sent out of town to work and had problem refilling it 5 hrs away. I eventually just quit taking it, saw no benifit from it, did not see and need or beniffit from taking it, and have not since. I was Dx’d in the hospital in '80 with diabetes. As far as I know I have not been tested since, or never told anything anyway. I do not remember which med, little round white pill is all.
When I was put on it, they did some thing where I took a pil, radio active or such the day before. Hey, its been a long long time ago.
(&( GOMER
Since there is a definite relationship between T1 and hypothroidism, my endo has been checking me annually, and watching my numbers drop slowly each year. Finally last year my numbers dropped below the acceptable threshold, and I’ve been taking meds ever since. I never showed any symptoms due to it being detected so early. If anyone’s doctor is not doing yearly thyroid tests, they should be!