Hair suddenly thinning on my head, stopped growing on legs, body aches and exhaustion.

[Dreaming]

I'm going in to get blood work drawn early next week, but I'm a little bit freaked out by how quickly things are changing. I've had body aches (burning pain in my joints and just general aching all over) for several years now. Not one practitioner has suggested checking levels. Instead, I was told to "avoid stress". The burning gets worse with certain foods and certainly with stress. 

The last couple of months, I noticed the hair in the front of my head is thinning at my widow's peak. Just today I realized over half the hair on my legs is gone and the hair on my arms is noticeably thinner as well. Mood swings are a major issue, too (but how could I be in a good mood when my body hurts). I've been putting on 10-15 lbs without even noticing (repeatedly- then i work to lose it and it comes back). 

My best guess at this point is hypothyroid, but I wanted to hear from anyone who had similar symptoms and what the outcome was when you sought treatment. I'm 34 if that matters and quit nursing over 2 years ago. My cycle is very regular. 

Thanks for your time. :)

[mbravebird]

It sounds like hypothyroid to me too, although you could also take a look at vitamin D. Before you get your thyroid tests, make sure you're using the right tests and the alternative interpretation standards -- found at Dr. Rind's site:

Test	Lab Low	Optimal Range	Lab High
TSH	0.5	1.3-1.8	5.0
Free T4	0.8	1.2-1.3	1.8
Free T3	230	320-330	420
Free T3*	2.3	3.2-3.3	4.2
*Some labs divide FT3 results by 100 thus 230 is the same as 2.3, etc.

So, you want to compare yourself to his "optimal range", and not to the range defined by the lab low and lab high.

If you're out of his optimal range, then take a look at this chart to help you understand your mix of test results and symptoms:

http://www.drrind.com/therapies/thyroid-scale-matrix

Good luck! And take a look at coconut oil and maca as they relate to thyroid issues.

[Dreaming]

Thanks for the info! I'll read up some more on that doctor you mentioned. I've been taking Vit D and a B complex. I know nothing about maca yet. Coconut oil has come up a few times hunting about here on MDC. I took a scoop last night and WOW is that stuff vile. I'd forgotten, but I'll eat it if it helps (I usually mix it into other things like raw chocolate balls or something).  

I'm super tired and achy and feeling a ton of apathy because of the amount of effort it takes just to get through the day at this point. I CANNOT WAIT to feel better. 

[mbravebird]

The coconut oil needs to be at a level of about three Tablespoons a day to see a difference. I used to just swallow chunks of it like pills to get it down in that amount.

Here's some more info, anecdotal, about dosing for maca and hypothyroid:

http://www.wholeworldbotanicals.com/blog/uncategorized/dosing-royal-maca%C2%AE-for-hypothyroid-patients-2/

The very important thing is that the maca needs to be pre-cooked (which is the only way Peruvians traditionally eat it) to be effective. Most maca out there is raw and/or flash-dried. Whole World Botanicals makes a maca that is traditionally prepared, both sun-dried slowly and pre-cooked. They've done studies that actually show deleterious effects of taking raw maca. Raw maca is cheaper, but don't go for it.

Amazon and iHerb both have Whole World Botanicals maca, and there are some reviews on both those sites. I think one of them is a hypothyroid person who left a positive review.