Thyroid Troubles

[player]

I had to get a blood test for a minor surgery and my doctor called me and said my thyroid gland is not working properly.

Is this from apnea?

[justMongo]

No. It's from your thyroid not working properly.
now, the question is: Did they only run TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone?)
They need to run T3 and T4. If you are hypothyroid they give you a synthetic thyroid hormone.
Hypo usually means you are tired, perhaps a bit overweight, low energy.
On the opposite side, hyper, you may have Grave's Disease. (In which case, they remove half your brain, and make you a US Congressman. /Joke) Actually, you can look up Grave's Disease in Wikipedia.

[Mark Douglas]

I and others here have thyroid problems.
There can be an argument made tho I do not know of a conclusive link.
The general chaos of sleep apnea wreaks a lot of damage.

[DocWils]

To date there is no causal relationship between SA and thyroid problems, besides weight gain related apnoea. Certainly there is no evidence that apnoea causes thyroid imbalances, and the relationship the other way seems only to be due to concomitant weight gain, which in itself is a tangential result.

However, if there is evidence that you have a thyroid imbalance of any form, it is best to go into it in detail, and not leave it at a "oh, okay" state. Many forms are either treatable or manageable if addressed in time, and it is important to be sure that you have a full picture of what is possibly wrong and what options there are to treatment.

[player]

Thanks. My GP said I should get another test, no hurry, but I am going in early next week. I am always tired, have gained a ton of weight.

[kdmorris410]

I don't think it's from sleep apnea. My hypothyroidism is caused by an autoimmune disease that seems to be genetically linked in my family (2 cousins, my mother, my aunt, my grandmother, great aunt, both sisters have Hashimotos).

That being said, it does make it hard to figure out what symptoms are from sleep apnea and which are from my thyroid. The goal was to get the sleep apnea under control and then tweak thyroid meds if I still have symptoms.

And, as justMongo said, you need T3 and T4, too. TSH is just your pituitary's idea of what your thyroid is doing.

[Lazer1234]

Check your adrenal gland first.

[player]

Check your adrenal gland first.

How do I check my adrenal gland?

[player]

I discovered these types of vegetables are bad for the thyroid gland:

http://thyroid.about.com/od/symptomsrisk...hyroid.htm

Goitrogens:

Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese Broccoli
Collards
Kale
Kohlrabi
Mustard greens
Rutabaga
Turnip
Daikon
Red radish
Watercress

[DariaVader]

It is more likely to be the other way around and thyroid malfunction can cause or worsen apnea! certainly my apnea was worse before the removal of my supersized sicko thyroid gland. an enlarged thyroid gland can decrease the airway space, can even displace the trachea (mine did) also, I think hypothyroid can negatively impact muscle tone.