Expert: Karen Brawner - 2/7/2006

Question
Dear Ms. Brawner,
How are you? I'm Carly, a 22 year old graduate student whose doctor recently told me I had a slightly low thyroid count from my blood test results. I should of asked what that meant but I guess I was too confused from what she said to say it over the phone. I am wondering if this is something I should be really concerned about? And most importantly, what will having a low thyroid count do to my body? I am not overweight (5'5 and 125 lbs) and have always had a fast metabolism. I would really appreciate your insight. Thank you very much.  

Answer
Dear Carly,   First of all hyPOthyroidism can cause the bodies metabolism to slow down....  Next, it can cause WEIGHT gain even through diet and exercise....  It can cause your hair to fall out more rapidly than the normal daily hair loss every one has....  It can cause dry skin... It can cause problems with your menstral cycle and can cause problems with fertility....  There are also many more symptoms that you could experience...

My suggestion is to make another appointment with your doctor, get the blood test results (you are allowed by law to get a copy of any tests etc that your doctor takes) and talk to her about your need for medication or if she just wants to recheck your blood work in 6 months...  If you do have hypothyroidism, you will have to have your thyroid blood work checked every 6 months at least, so you can tell if the medication is working properly... Also, make sure the doctor does MORE than just the TSH thyroid blood test and request that a TOTAL COMPLETE thyroid blood panel be done...

thank you,   karen