bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 My gut feeling for years has been that I have thyroid issues. I have several nodules including one fairly large one that is stable (for six years) and has been biopsied (benign). I have trouble sleeping and have restless leg syndrome. Sometimes, I feel like my thyroid is swollen - especially when I have a tough night sleeping. My thyroid levels have always been in the normal range. They are all on the very edge of low normal though. I feel like "that patient" who is continually trying to find answers for sleep. Those of you who are well read on this, please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 define "normal range". normal range includes suboptimal numbers, you want *optimal* range. what is tested? tsh is a pituitary hormone. Free t3 (the one we use), free t4 (storage hormone), and rec'd reverse t3 are the thyroid hormones that should be tested. (NOT "totals" - that doesn't tell you what is available for your body to actually use.) have you been to "stop the thyroid madness" site? they also have a FB page where you can ask questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Have you tried taking your morning temperature immediately upon waking? Is that still used by people to gauge their thyroid? You might be running a slightly higher temp and that could be causing problems. For example, people who are depressed are often two degrees warmer than normal. Being slightly warmer at night can cause sleep distrubances, too. Have you tried taking glycine at night? It works by lowering core body temp which in turn helps people fall asleep and stay asleep. My husband and one son both have trouble staying asleep and waking too early. Glycine has worked incredibly well for them, so we bit the bullet and bought two programmable cooling mattress pads, Oolers, this weekend which control the matress temperature by using circulating water. We'll be giving them a try soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 I second Stop the Thyroid Madness. My endo is from their list. I have hypo. Last school year I started to think my college dd might have thyroid issues. She wasn't sleeping well and was tired all the time, but I though well maybe it's just dorm life. This school year it got worse and we found out she has Hashimoto. I would go with those gut feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 17 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said: define "normal range". normal range includes suboptimal numbers, you want *optimal* range. what is tested? tsh is a pituitary hormone. Free t3 (the one we use), free t4 (storage hormone), and rec'd reverse t3 are the thyroid hormones that should be tested. (NOT "totals" - that doesn't tell you what is available for your body to actually use.) have you been to "stop the thyroid madness" site? they also have a FB page where you can ask questions. My free T4 is 0.9 --- the normal range starts at 0.9. It's always been in the low low range for years. The thing is, my TSH is also low (1.1 on a range of 0.111 to 4.9). My TSH has been even lower than that in past years. I was at a 0.5 just six months ago. I'm wondering if I have a pituitary issue causing Hypothyroidism. I will go to the facebook page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 22 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said: define "normal range". normal range includes suboptimal numbers, you want *optimal* range. what is tested? tsh is a pituitary hormone. Free t3 (the one we use), free t4 (storage hormone), and rec'd reverse t3 are the thyroid hormones that should be tested. (NOT "totals" - that doesn't tell you what is available for your body to actually use.) have you been to "stop the thyroid madness" site? they also have a FB page where you can ask questions. Can you show me the FB page where I can ask questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 7 minutes ago, bethben said: Can you show me the FB page where I can ask questions? here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 13 minutes ago, bethben said: My free T4 is 0.9 --- the normal range starts at 0.9. It's always been in the low low range for years. The thing is, my TSH is also low (1.1 on a range of 0.111 to 4.9). My TSH has been even lower than that in past years. I was at a 0.5 just six months ago. I'm wondering if I have a pituitary issue causing Hypothyroidism. I will go to the facebook page. free T4 should be a minimum of 1.3 do you know your Free T3? have you even done the antibody test for hasimotos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said: free T4 should be a minimum of 1.3 do you know your Free T3? have you even done the antibody test for hasimotos? Green free T4 (barely even on the chart), green free T3 and optimal TSH. I am pretty sure I have undiagnosed hypothyroidism only because my TSH levels are correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobblygook Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 I have very similar numbers to the OP with 0.93 Tsh and 0.92 free t4. My symptoms however point to hypothyroidism - weight gain, feeling cold, lethargic, etc. I’m also wondering if a pituitary issue might be at play. I’ve only seen my PCP and they say the numbers are fine. Anyone with more experience care to weigh in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 4 minutes ago, Gobblygook said: I have very similar numbers to the OP with 0.93 Tsh and 0.92 free t4. My symptoms however point to hypothyroidism - weight gain, feeling cold, lethargic, etc. I’m also wondering if a pituitary issue might be at play. I’ve only seen my PCP and they say the numbers are fine. Anyone with more experience care to weigh in? Annoying isn't it?!?!? I keep slowly gaining weight even though I eat very little carbs, am gluten free and mostly grain free, and my sugar intake is limited to a teaspoon of maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I am told because of my age I naturally gain weight. I'm trying very hard to stay within my weight that I am now. My eating amount keeps decreasing. I don't feel cold though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 I hope you find a good doctor who checks your blood for not only all the thyroid hormones but also parathyroid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobblygook Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 39 minutes ago, bethben said: Annoying isn't it?!?!? I keep slowly gaining weight even though I eat very little carbs, am gluten free and mostly grain free, and my sugar intake is limited to a teaspoon of maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I am told because of my age I naturally gain weight. I'm trying very hard to stay within my weight that I am now. My eating amount keeps decreasing. I don't feel cold though. Yes! I’m also a special needs mom and I wonder how much stress has to do with it. Besides my special needs child who is both developmentally delayed and medically fragile, I also have another major source of stress in my life and it’s all so wearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 My thyroid has been weird for over 30 years now. I had a hyper nodule removed when I was 15. After I had my third child at 34, my sleep tanked and at that time, I believed it was my thyroid gland acting up. Every test I've had has come back within normal ranges. I am just now figuring out that some of my "normal" tests are in the very low normal and another day, they may test too low. I'm tired of it. I have always believed my thyroid is to blame for a lot of things and I'm just looking for someone to believe me. My naturopath is willing to give some things a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) After a lot of searching, I found some interesting things. Basically, having low/optimal levels of TSH and a low free T4 can indicated problems with your pituitary gland. There is a thing called the HPA axis that reacts to stress. Chronic stress can make that whole system out of whack (the pituitary gland is part of that system). I found the below section VERY interesting. It's from this site: https://kresserinstitute.com/why-your-normal-thyroid-lab-results-may-not-be-normal/ 1.) Hypothyroidism Caused by Pituitary Dysfunction This pattern is caused by high cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, is elevated in response to active infection; (1) blood sugar dysregulation, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, or chronic stress; (2) or pregnancy. These stressors fatigue the pituitary gland; as a result, it can’t release enough thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce T4 and T3. In other words, there is nothing wrong with the thyroid gland itself; the problem lies with the pituitary gland. The key to correcting this pattern is to resolve the underlying causes of pituitary dysfunction by treating infection, balancing blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, and helping patients find ways to reduce their stress levels. Patients with this pattern will present with hypothyroid symptoms, TSH below the functional range (1.8–3.0) but within the standard range (0.5–5.0), and T4 that is low in the functional range and possibly the standard range as well. So, those of us who are dealing with chronic stress and feel like our thyroids are underperforming, THEY ARE!!! And this is the very reason that after the birth of my third child and a TON of unresolved stress from my first very disabled child, I had sleep issues. Also, just for kicks and giggles, you can look at this one also: https://chriskresser.com/can-chronic-stress-cause-hypothyroid-symptoms/ ETA: I found out my mom is being treated for hyperthyroid with numbers even lower than mine which from what I can understand is a pituitary problem. Yet, being diagnosed hyperthyroid and taking medication for it, she has trouble losing weight and really watches what she eats so she doesn't gain weight. I starting to wonder if this is genetic now. Edited December 4, 2019 by bethben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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