The first thing to do is to get your thyroid function checked by a physician who knows the proper tests to use. There are other disorders that can produce the signs and symptoms you mention, and you don't want to medicate with anything until you know what the problem is. I would steer clear of animal thyroid for two reasons - variability of dose due to not having standardized preparations, and also risk of infection. Some companies sell bovine thyroid from god knows where (domestic sources? India? China?), and I'd be queasy about mad cow disease and other potential problems.

Hi All!! I go to a rheumatologist next week.....I have been hurting real bad all over but mostly in my hands. I can not close my right hand without screaming....it hurts so bad...When I wake up, it's like I can't hardly walk and I can't hold my toothbrush. Last night I got feed up with it and took half a pain pill. (Vicodin).... My regular doctor go all mad when I kept complaining about pain. I also have Hepatitis C. Just found that out last year....I had back surgery a year ago in January, almost 2 years now....and I was complaining about my belly being bloated then....well, now it looks like I am PG...A older lady friend at work came up to me one day and said *you looked PG*.....I said, *I know*.... :-(....I went from weighing like 120-125 to 140-145.....It's really not the weight, it's how my belly is.....I also have had an under active thyroid for years.....now, it is all messed up, too...I have had to change my meds 4 times.....this last time, instead of coming back in 2 months, they say 6 weeks.....Sooooo, have I bored you all yet?? LOL....I could live with all of this if only MY HANDS worked....LOL....Now I almost can't wait to see the rheumatologist. Oh, I forgot the best part...LOL...How I found out about the fibro, was I had went to my normal GP doctor and him and I got into a little disagreement. I was complaining about hurting and he was say crap like *look at your file, look how big it is, and there is nothing wrong with me...Yada Yada, Yada....* Well about 2 weeks later I came across my bill and he wrote on it Fibromylagia. I didn't even know what the heck that was.....LOL... How can I get up in the morning without my 3-4 cups of coffee?? I need that....LOL Thanks for listening.....:-) Good Luck to you Lawmar!! LucyGoose:-)

Taking thyroid meds won't make you lose weight, they just make your thyroid work like a normal person's thyroid. You have to lose the weight yourself. Generally, before being diagnosed, you become sluggish and achy and somewhat depressed, These conditions are what cause you to gain weight. Now you have to force yourself to move and cut calories. It's a pain but the only way. Lydia I feel very bad for you. Any disease can be a challenge. All the effects you mentioned are part of the disease if not treated. If you're still having them then you need to tell your dr. Are you seeing a endocrinologist? Do you take a good daily vitamin? When I felt like you described my dr. ran some bloods to find out that I was dangerously deficient in vitamin D. She ran them because my symptoms (and yours) describe that deficiency to a T. She prescribed 50,000 units of D once a week for six weeks and then once a month for four months. I became a new person. All of my energy is back, the cloud lifted and I'm joyful again. I pray you can find the answers you need. Good luck.

I had Graves' disease in the late 80's. (That's overactive thyroid - I lost weight while eating like a pig, which was nice, but my resting heart rate was 112 and I thought I was going nuts, which wasn't so nice.:) The doctors eventually used radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid, so now I'm in a similar situation to you, with an underactive thyroid. Your symptoms sound like your thyroid is definitely underactive, and you'll need a synthetic thyroid hormone, like Synthroid. Sounds like you needed to keep taking it for the Hashimoto's, with the symptoms you're having. It does take awhile to get the meds and dosage right, and it's never perfect, but it's pretty good. One thing to know about synthetic thyroid hormones is that they're not interchangeable. This is one case where you don't want to go with the generic, unless you started with the generic. (At least that was true 4-5 years ago when I last checked - not sure about now.) I do understand your concern with thyroid cancer, given that it's in your family and that Hashimoto's is associated with a higher risk for the cancer. I guess all you can do is to keep up with your treatment and keep in mind that if the worst happens and you do get thyroid cancer, it's one of the most treatable cancers. Very, very few people die of it, even after 30 years. Not that you want to get it, of course. Good luck. I know how awful it is to feel so tired all the time. Even with treatment, you'll have some of that, but you get used to it.