...when my doctor suggested I get a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. My hair has been falling out quite a bit more than normal since I stopped birth control pills, so I told her about it and she suggested the test. I got my results back within 6 hours of getting the test done (gotta love Wisconsin healthcare, seriously it's the best!), and they were right in the middle of the reference range, so I breated a sigh of relief.
The relief lasted until I started looking up TSH, and what the normal range is. Turns out, that the lab's reference range is a bit off. It was recently updated from 0.45-4.86 to 0.3-3. Many doctors, want to see your value below 2, especially if you are trying to conceive. Apparently, values higher than 2 can cause menstrual irregularities and miscarriage. My result was 2.66.
One of the ladies on the bump mentioned that she has the exact same value and her reproductive endocrinologist insisted that they get it below 2 while she was trying to conceive. She is now on thyroid medication and her TSH is coming down.
The more I looked into hypothyroidism, the more I couldn't believe how much the symptoms sound like me (everything but the weight gain). Over the last couple years I've been so tired, but always attributed it to stress, even though I really haven't been stressed out. I get 8+ hours of sleep a night but I'm still tired throughout the day, I have dry skin, dry and brittle hair, I'm always cold, and I've had this weird pressure in my throat that has me swallowing constantly. That last one has me really concerned, because my sister had a thyroid growth (which is why she had to have it out in 2001...see below post for how that ended up).
So I contacted my doctor about my concerns and I'm waiting to hear back. I never thought that with my seemingly fast metabolism and lack of issues with weight that I would have a thyroid issue. Who knows, my doctor might disagree and think that everything is fine, but I can't help but be a little worried in the meantime.
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