For the last couple of years I have suffered from tremendous sensitivity to the cold. My hands often turn lovely purple/blue colours, and I’m often wearing multiple layers of clothing when others are nice and comfortable. Now you’d say my BF % is too low, right? Wrong - it has been hovering between 10% and 18% throughout the last couple of years. Also, I am constantly irritable. Everything seems to piss me off, and I guess you could say that I’m often not nice to be around (and I can’t help this, as much as I try). Sometimes this type of behaviour has led me to think I’m depressed, or that I let the bodybuilding lifestyle prevail too much and rule my life. However, I try to keep as much balance as possible, and tend to think the problem is more physiological (yes, depression is a physiological illness too, but…). Additionally, I’m often fatigued and feel really run down. Over the past couple of years I’ve always been trying to shed fat - often with problems (sometimes I thought it was seemingly impossible). Many of the things I’ve just listed are symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Consequently, I think I may have that condition. Does anybody here have any experience with hypothyroidism or even suffer from it? I am going to make an appointment to see my doctor this week and ask his opinion, and hopefully get a blood test.
It sounds like you might have symptoms of a condition known as Raynauds phenomenon…this is lack of blood flow in the hands and feet and often accompanied by purplish/blue color. It’s usually caused by another illness usually an autoimmune related illness such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus but can probably be cause by thyroid disease as well.
Other then that it definitely does sound like you have symptoms of thyroid disease. Have you ever taken your early morning body temperature upon waking? If it’s below the 97 range thats a definite symptom but could also be something else such as hypoadrenalism. I would get to a Dr. and have them do blood work to rule everything out…Get your TSH test and also make sure you get a test for thyroid antibodies…the antibody test will be helpful in detecting any autoimmune thyroid related conditions.
i had teh same problem this past winter while i was dieting for my up coming lax season, my hands where always blue even when it wasn’t that cold out, i would get alot of people telling my that my hand where exteremly cold when i touched them, and i lot of times in the winter i didn’t want to hangout with my friends cause i was too fatigued, i also have a rather high BF % 10-15, but it went away when i started a mass phase…good luck with doctor, and keep us posted
Yeah make sure you keep us posted. One other thing I forgot to mention is a lot of Drs. tend to be assholes as far as monitoring thyroid levels go. They’ll usually just want to do a TSH assay even when everything looks good here you can still have problems…Make sure you also ask for a T3 test and tell your Dr. all of your symptoms. If nothing else you could always take some T2 for a while…if you feel better and your symptoms go away then you know you definitely have a thyroid problem.
Thanks guys. I have made an appointment to see my doctor who I think is a fairly good one - willing to listen to what I think about it all (having chopped and changed for a while until I found him). I’m going to see what he has to say, and whether or not he thinks I should have a blood test (hopefully he’ll advise it). Depending on what happens there, I’ve been considering giving T2 and shot and seeing how I feel on that. It might just so happen that I could take T2 constantly and my problems will be solved. I wonder if it would be cheaper than the medication given, anyway?
I’m having my blood test tomorrow morning Aussie time (read: late tonight, US time). When I saw my doc he wasn’t too sure that it was hypothyroidism. He did a basic examination including blood pressure, pulse rate, breathing and the like that apparently can give a decent indication as to whether you may be suffering from thyroid problems. My pulse rate was 60. When I’m seeing a doctor, or in similiar situations, I get quite nervous and edgy - this pulse rate was rather high for me. I also tend to breath at a weird rate. Something about doctors and the whole medical examination thing that doesn’t sit well with me. He seemed to think a rate in the 40s would’ve been more applicable. My blood pressure was low, and always has been. He thought the chances of hypothyroidism were unlikely, and said my cold and discoloured extremities could be genetic. I was advised that fasting for the blood test would be unnecessary and it can be done at any time of the day. Is this true? I’ve always had to fast before. Anyways, I should have my results on the other side of the weekend. I’ll try and post them ASAP.
I take it you are a male. If you are a male, hypothyroidism is not that common. It is more common in females (especially after pregnancy). Definitely post your numbers of your blood tests when you get them back. TSH numbers are not always a reliable test for hypothyroidism. You need to find out your T4, Free T4 (they might not have tested this since it is more of an expensive test), and T3. I will give you some numbers for normal range:
TSH (.4 - 6) (I would say if it is above 1.5 you still might have hypothyroidism), Total T4 (4.5 - 12.5), Free T4 (.7 - 2), and T3 (80 - 220). If you are hypothyroid, do not get on Synthroid (which is only T4). Get on Armour Thyroid (natural thyroid) which has both T3 and T4.
this is probably not your problem but I had the same “symptoms” a while ago and I found out what it was FOR ME. at the time I was drinking 1-2 bottles of vodka a DAY. I complained to my doc about how I was always cold and he could not figure it out. turns out I was always dehidrated, now I am not saying you party alot or anything cause there are many thins that can cause dehidration. but it COULD be that simple. peace
I do drink about a litre of caffinated drinks a day (Diet Coke). However, I’d drink about 5 litres of water. I don’t think it is dehydration. I certainly don’t think it is alcohol abuse, either
Big B., I feel for you. I’ve been suffering all of the same conditions you have for years. I’ve been to many specialists(endocrinologists, etc.) and all tests show nothing was wrong. A rheumatologist told me it looks like I might be suffering Reynauds phenomenon, a condition that constricts blood flow to the extremities( in my case, even THAT extremity). My body temperature is always 0.5-1 degree celcius below normal, even on the warmest summer day, yet I constantly sweat even in the winter(I live in Canada), especially my hands and feet. I’ve recently started taking Biotest’s T2 about a week ago or so, and I don’t seem to be suffering from the symptoms any longer. Could be a coincidence, maybe not? I’ll keep this post posted with updates.
My results all came back within the normal limits, and not relatively high or low within those limits (TSH, T3, T4). My doctor said a lot of the symptoms may have been the result of tension/stress. I’m a bit puzzled though, because I suffer the majority of syptoms of an underactive thyroid. I would have thought the more psychological symptoms I’m suffering from are a result of the thyroid due to the fact the physical symptoms are prominent. Given all of this, I’m going to order some T2 and see how that goes.