# could it really have gone undiagnosed for all these years?



## mattyb973 (Mar 11, 2010)

hey my names matt and i'm 25. when i was like 13 there was talks that i may have had hypothyroid but it never went any further. I'm one of those guys that stays away from meds. i was prescribed ridaline when i was a kid and it improved my grades tremedously but i hated the way it made me feel so i stopped taking them. i always saw it as this is the way i really am, yea theres meds out there that can make me better at school but thats not who i am suppose to be.

anyway lets talk about now. I have a horrible memory. someone can tell me something that needs to be done at work at 5 minutes later i have no idea what i'm suppose to do. i try to fix this but i just can't, i'm always forgetting things. i'm overweight, i go to the gym and eat pretty healthy but it doesn't help any. I'm always tired. I'm 25 years old and if i've been up for 10 or so hours i'm beat. i guess you can say i have a low sex drive, i have plenty of friends but i've been told about a bunch of girls that have shown interest but i dont even notice or care. but what really made me wonder about this hypothyroid syndrome is someone told me it effects hearing. I have horrible hearing as well, i find myself trying to piece together conversations because i cant hear what they're saying.

sorry for the book but i find it hard to believe that 25 years went by of regular check ups and bloodwork and no one noticed i may have this disease. is that really possible? i haven't gone to a doctor specifically about this since i was a kid so i never asked about it. i always just attributed this to lazyness and not trying hard enough. but reading up online about this disease all of the symptoms i seem to have and i am not one of those people who hears about a disease and talks themselves into having it. I HATE MEDS and doctors and all that. any opinions or your stories are welcome. if i do have this what can i expect down the road? thanks alot


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## Live2Love (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi Matt,
Welcome to the board. It doesn't sound like you are feeling well at all. I'm 24, and I didn't even know something was wrong w/my thyroid until I had to get a physical for massage school. I thought all my symptoms were stress related, and didn't think twice about having a possible disease! It has now been 4 months since my Hashimoto's diagnosis, and boy what a ride it has been. Looking at your post above, I have several of the same symptoms. I have fatigue, brain fog, low sex drive, and problems hearing. Welcome to the thyroid club. I think it is possible that your doctor's may have skipped over bloodwork for your thyroid for several years, but I do not know how thorough your exams were all that time. It doesn't seem to me like they would check the thyroid levels unless they felt they had a reason. I can say I never had mine checked until my doctor felt my enlarged thyroid during my physical.

Anyways, I think it would be a good idea to make an appointment with your doctor to get a thyroid panel of tests done. This will give you an idea of where your thyroid stands, and what action to take. Andros should be able to give you some insight as well.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

mattyb973 said:


> hey my names matt and i'm 25. when i was like 13 there was talks that i may have had hypothyroid but it never went any further. I'm one of those guys that stays away from meds. i was prescribed ridaline when i was a kid and it improved my grades tremedously but i hated the way it made me feel so i stopped taking them. i always saw it as this is the way i really am, yea theres meds out there that can make me better at school but thats not who i am suppose to be.
> 
> anyway lets talk about now. I have a horrible memory. someone can tell me something that needs to be done at work at 5 minutes later i have no idea what i'm suppose to do. i try to fix this but i just can't, i'm always forgetting things. i'm overweight, i go to the gym and eat pretty healthy but it doesn't help any. I'm always tired. I'm 25 years old and if i've been up for 10 or so hours i'm beat. i guess you can say i have a low sex drive, i have plenty of friends but i've been told about a bunch of girls that have shown interest but i dont even notice or care. but what really made me wonder about this hypothyroid syndrome is someone told me it effects hearing. I have horrible hearing as well, i find myself trying to piece together conversations because i cant hear what they're saying.
> 
> sorry for the book but i find it hard to believe that 25 years went by of regular check ups and bloodwork and no one noticed i may have this disease. is that really possible? i haven't gone to a doctor specifically about this since i was a kid so i never asked about it. i always just attributed this to lazyness and not trying hard enough. but reading up online about this disease all of the symptoms i seem to have and i am not one of those people who hears about a disease and talks themselves into having it. I HATE MEDS and doctors and all that. any opinions or your stories are welcome. if i do have this what can i expect down the road? thanks alot


Welcome, Mattyb973! This is a sin and I too, went undiagnosed for 20 years. Tell me;what is your diagnosis?

Loss of hearing is common w/Hashimoto's, that is why I ask. Let me paraphrase that; it is more common.

Are you now on medication for thryoid disease? I hope you are able to convert T4 to T3 as the brain desparately needs T3 to function properly!

Has your doctor run any antibodies' tests?


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## mattyb973 (Mar 11, 2010)

i haven't even gone to the doctor yet. i just heard about it through friends and looked up the symptoms online and i have basically everyone of them. and trust me i'm not one to talk myself into having something. but i just cant see how it wouldn't have been noticed by now


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

mattyb973 said:


> i haven't even gone to the doctor yet. i just heard about it through friends and looked up the symptoms online and i have basically everyone of them. and trust me i'm not one to talk myself into having something. but i just cant see how it wouldn't have been noticed by now


have you made an appointment to see a doctor and get labs? If I may, I suggest the following.........

TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin),TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin*binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies),TSH, Free T3, Free T4.

You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/thyroid.html

And here is a great place to help you understand the thyroid lab tests...........
Understanding thyroid lab tests......http://www.amarillomed.com/howto/#Thyroid

Good to have you on board,Matt. Hope we can be a help to you.


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## nyer_at_hrt (Nov 11, 2009)

really hearing can be associated? that's really interesting because in the past year my best friend is going crazy because i constantly ask for him to repeat what he says. it's not so much not hearing as i miss the first word or 2 or i feel he is mumbling.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

nyer_at_hrt said:


> really hearing can be associated? that's really interesting because in the past year my best friend is going crazy because i constantly ask for him to repeat what he says. it's not so much not hearing as i miss the first word or 2 or i feel he is mumbling.


Absolutely.

http://www.elaine*moore.com/MyArtic.../AutoimmuneHearingLoss/tabid/231/Default.aspx

Thyroid Problems
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is commonly linked with hearing loss. About half of people with low thyroid function have hearing losses. Moreover, about 3% of people with Meniere's syndrome have hypothyroidism; and in some, control of the thyroid disease eliminates the symptoms of Meniere's syndrome.

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/hearingloss/HL_conditions.html


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

mattyb973,

Welcome, no need to be afraid of thyroid replacement as it's a synthetic hormone that replaces s hormone your body isn't making.

Get copies of all your lab results and post them with ranges when you get them and we'll see what's going on with you.


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## arizonamom (Mar 10, 2010)

Welcome MattyB973! I'm a newbie too. I can relate to where you are coming from. You stated that you can't believe that a thyroid condition wasn't noticed in all the years you've been getting checkups. Well, it may be because your doctors never ordered thyroid tests. Mine never did until I was in my early 40s. I found that hard to believe, but it's true! I think thyroid tests should be included in all yearly checkups since the thyroid is such an essential part of our wellbeing.

Be sure you get to your primary care physician soon and tell him you want the thyroid tests run that Andros recommended. Then, be sure to post your results. There are some very informed people on this board and they can help you shed light on your condition, based on their own thyroid experiences and all the research they've done on thyroid issues.

Good luck!


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## hillaryedrn (Dec 14, 2009)

That's right! Doctors don't usually check out the thyroid on young people unless there is some known family history. I strongly suggest you get to your doctor and request a full thyroid workup including the free T3 and free T4. I never knew to request these before I found these boards! The folks here are a great support so feel free to come back any time you have questions or concerns. I do hope you get this checked out soon so you start feeling better!

Hillary


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