Posts by velvethound62

Here are my thyroid results:
T4 - 62.4
TSH - 1.06
T3 - 1.31
So, apparently, my T4 is just a hair under the normal range... I already laid out all my symptoms in my first post, so please, give me some advice or even just a take on these numbers. Where do I go from here? My primary care doctor just keeps churning out referrals but won't actually tell me what's wrong—either he doesn't know or he just refuses to suggest what might actually be causing these symptoms.

I already laid all my cards on the table in my first post. I went through the whole gauntlet—gastroscopy and colonoscopy included—and finally cleared the HBpylori. Everything looks fine, more or less, except for this note about having a lot of bile in my stomach. My doctor says not to sweat it, though. Also, an ultrasound picked up a tiny polyp on my gallbladder, but again, he’s telling me it’s nothing to worry about and that it couldn't possibly be the root cause of all my issues...

I see some of you have started linking my thyroid issues to celiac disease... honestly, I’d rule out celiac myself since I don't deal with nausea or vomiting. What *is* weird is that every 4 or 5 days, my temperature jumps to 98.8°F when it’s usually sitting at a steady 98.2°F. I’ve noticed other changes too, like my eyes looking sunken. For instance, lunch today was a meat roll, salad, mushrooms, and peas—and now, sitting here on the toilet, I can literally see every single bit of it undigested in my stool. On top of all those symptoms I mentioned when I started this thread, there’s this constant ringing in my left ear. And here's another strange thing: I put in two hours of heavy physical labor this past Saturday after having three beers, and I didn't even feel particularly tired. P.S. Please don't come at me—I am not an alcoholic! I’ve had people suggest this might just be anxiety, but knowing myself, I just can't bring myself to agree with that. If anyone actually has some insight, I'm listening...

Jessica Fowler4 said:I mean, before you go seeing a psychiatrist, maybe check your thyroid first.

It feels like you’ve got almost every symptom of hyperthyroidism:

- aching in your quads whenever you walk up stairs
- just general muscle aches everywhere
- food moving through your system way too fast
- a slightly elevated temperature
- feeling weak
- dark circles under the eyes
- sweating at night while you're in bed
- lightheadedness
- a burning sensation on your tongue and facial tingling
- losing weight
- sharp, stabbing pains

The only thing that seems a bit off is that pressure above your eyes. Because, I guess, a really specific sign of hyperthyroidism is pressure behind the eyes. So, I don't know, maybe, it's close enough 🙂
Another symptom that might be missing is hair loss and having a racing pulse while you're just sitting there resting.

Man, seriously, just go $100 get checked out. Or if you're really not sure, just check your pulse, especially at night when you're sweating in bed and stuff... and check your blood pressure and temperature too... well, see, having a racing pulse while you're lying down trying to sleep, especially combined with a fever, feeling hot, and sweating... that alone is probably hyperthyroidism.

People who have a fever because of an infection actually feel cold—like, they feel chilly even though their body temperature is high. It's only when the temperature starts to drop that they feel hot.

But people with hyperthyroidism? They're sweating and feeling hot, not cold. And they feel especially hot when it's warm out, or even more so if they're doing any kind of physical activity in the heat.

So, yeah, just see which one sounds like you.

Thanks, I'm interested in hearing what anyone else thinks or has to suggest. Dr. George, what’s your take on this?

vividsailor7 said:Look, let's get one thing straight: you’ve already ruled out all the physical, organic causes for these symptoms. There isn't a biological glitch in the machine. What you need now is a professional consultation with a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Period.

It all comes down to one critical question: has that blood actually been confirmed? Because honestly, what we're even talking about matters immensely here. Are we dealing with bright red blood in the stool, or is it melena—that dark, tarry stuff? There is a massive difference, and we need to be clear on what we're looking at.

Fine. So, do you have any actual advice for self-help here? I’m telling you, I really don't want to start popping pills if there's some other way to pull myself out of this hole. I value what you're saying, I really do, but if you actually take the time to re-read my post, you'll see that some symptoms—like that tongue stinging thing—might be negligible. However, this business with my digestion, my bowel movements, and this crushing fatigue? It's absolutely killing me...

Nancy Morris5 commented on my post regarding that clumsy phrase "blood in the stool," so I went ahead and set the record straight by clarifying that I actually meant blood on the toilet paper after the fact... no offense intended, truly! Just keeping things accurate.

Do I really need to go through my primary care doctor to get a referral for thyroid testing, or can I just head to a private clinic to get it done? And if I go private, what’s the damage going to be? My doctor has already burned through about thirty different referrals and prescriptions for me this year alone... he’s starting to give me some seriously dirty looks.

Should I bother asking my doctor for a thyroid referral, or can I just go private? If I go the private route, where should I get tested and what kind of damage am I looking at for my wallet? My doctor has already burned through about thirty different referrals and prescriptions for me this year alone... he’s starting to give me those looks.

I’m having this exact same reaction to pretty much any kind of food. On top of that, because of my cholesterol levels, I’m supposedly not supposed to touch eggs or heavy fats. But honestly? The worst part isn't even the diet—it's this crushing lack of physical strength, the constant aches all over my body, and seeing chunks of undigested food in my stool. It's gross and frustrating. I’m trying to get someone to figure out if this is all connected, because every single one of these symptoms hit me at once back in December. Up until then, I was on Lipitor for my cholesterol, but my doctor actually pulled me off it, thinking some of these issues might be side effects from the pills. Well, newsflash: I feel even worse now... both physically and mentally. I'm refusing to just pop painkillers or sedatives for now because I don't think masking the symptoms solves the actual problem long-term (unless I'm totally wrong here). But the absolute kicker? According to every single lab test I've had, I am a perfectly healthy man!!!!!!

Which hormones are we talking about? Bloodwork results🙂I went to Quest Diagnostics—checked my CK and LDH (those are markers for muscles and joints) plus the CEA tumor marker... everything came back perfectly within the normal range, except for my cholesterol, which was sitting at 8.7.

How on earth did you fix those symptoms? WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE??? I need some advice immediately, urgently!!!!!

I don't know, man. I’ve tried switching up my diet entirely, but nothing changes. It’s always the same story. There’s zero difference whether I’m sticking to plain steamed veggies for a few days or just going all out on a massive backyard BBQ with onions and everything else.

You’re all probably going to write me off as some kind of hypochondriac, but let’s get one thing straight: I haven't stepped foot in a doctor's office in years. In my fifteen years on the job, I haven't taken a single day of sick leave!
To top off those symptoms I mentioned, I've also noticed these deep, dark circles under my eyes lately, and honestly, my body is having a hell of a time adjusting to light and dark cycles.

Let me set the record straight here—it isn't blood in my stool, it’s just on the toilet paper after I'm done. And honestly, my digestion is a total mess right now; things aren't coming out "normal" at all. It’s like looking at a map of everything I ate the day before because there are chunks of undigested food everywhere. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, I’m dealing with this intense pain or a sharp itching sensation in my rectum after using the bathroom, and sometimes it hits me even when I haven't gone. Oh, and I totally forgot to mention the constant, heavy gas—though, thankfully, it doesn't smell too terrible. Then there's the exhaustion and the muscle aches, especially that stabbing sensation right under my ribs. Now, look, I already deal with lower back issues—specifically some slipped vertebrae in my lumbar spine—which occasionally sends shooting pains down my legs, but I fail to see how on earth that would have anything to do with my digestion???

I’ve been digging through all this info on celiac disease and Crohn's symptoms, and honestly? It just doesn't track with what I'm actually feeling...

Maybe some of that can be chalked up to anxiety, I guess, but honestly? I just spent the morning mowing the lawn in my backyard and I am absolutely wiped out. My legs, my arms... everything hurts. It’s unreal. Just a few months ago, I was feeling unstoppable, full of energy... now look at me.

Hey everyone, I’m posting here because I feel like there might be some people here who can actually help me make sense of this mess. Here is the situation: About six months ago, I started getting these sharp, stabbing pains in my lower back—around the ribs and just below them—and then it spread across a huge portion of my back. Sometimes it gets so bad I feel like I can't even take a full breath. Since then, I’ve dropped 4 kg. At the same time, my bowel movements have gone totally haywire—watery, loose, and messy, with actual chunks of undigested food showing up. To make matters worse, right after I go, I get this intense itching, pain, and burning in my rectum that makes it impossible to sit down for at least 10 or 15 minutes. There’s blood on the paper, and it feels like I haven't even fully cleared everything out. I usually go in the morning and sometimes at night, but during the day, I’m constantly having to wipe because I can feel a little bit of "yellowish" residue or traces of blood when I press a bit deeper. My stomach is also constantly making all these noises—gurgling, rumbling, whistling. On top of that, I’m dealing with constant mild muscle aches, general weakness, heavy night sweats, ringing in my left ear, a numb sensation in the upper part of my face and head, pressure above my eyes, and a general heavy feeling in my skull. Often, I just can't catch a deep breath. Even just walking up a flight of stairs makes my legs ache. I get these random stabs of pain all over my body lasting a few seconds, mostly in my mid-to-lower back and my head. I’ve got this "brain fog," and sometimes my tongue even tingles. I’ve been through the ringer with tests. Three months ago, I had a CBC; two months ago, I did stool tests for bacteria and occult blood; I also had X-rays of my lungs, heart, chest, and spine; an abdominal ultrasound three months ago; and a CEA marker test two months ago. I also saw a neurologist and had my CK and LDH checked. Aside from a tiny cyst on my liver and a small polyp on my gallbladder, everything came back perfectly fine. A month ago, I had a gastroscopy. Everything looked okay except they found HBpylori, even though my stool test from two months prior was negative. After finishing the antibiotic course, the follow-up stool test for HBpylori was negative again, but I don't feel any better—in fact, I feel worse. No nausea, no heartburn, no vomiting. My blood pressure stays steady at 130/80, and I only run a slight fever of 37°C about once a week. I just had a colonoscopy under anesthesia, and the results were completely normal. Yesterday, I did another CBC and urinalysis, and every single value was within the normal range. I would be incredibly grateful if anyone could suggest what might be going on so I know which specialist to see next. Honestly, I’m at a breaking point mentally; I can barely keep up with my responsibilities or look after my family. Things that used to bring me joy just leave me feeling totally indifferent now. I’m 39, I smoke about 15 cigarettes a day, and I drink maybe 3 or 4 beers a day. I have two kids and a stable home life, so I’m ruling out stress or anything like that. However, someone on another forum suggested this might be anxiety, but I don't see how that connects to these digestive issues and the massive loss of strength that's really killing me. THANKS IN ADVANCE.