Hi,

Does hypothroidism cause water retention in females?

Have any of you guys have any experience with it and how water does one get retained over time?

Also, after starting medicine, by how much time did you saw improvement?

I'm sorry if it's too much question So thanks to all you guys.

Recently hit my annual, 32 y/o Male, 160lbs, regularly active.

My TSH levels were slightly elevated at 5.4, and my t4 free levels were well within normal, explained to pcp I had recently been on an antibiotic for an infection from a spider bite, and ofc every day stress possibly raising levels somewhat (working on military commission) he wants to prescribe Levothyroxine off the bat, I asked secondary opinion of another doctor in my social circle who feels that’s a little quick on the draw, as well as my father who is a pharmacist of 33 years who believes it’s a little out of the norm.

I just wanted to see if anyone else here had an opinion/input. I’ve asked to see if I can’t just do a follow up in a few weeks to see if anything has changed as I don’t want to immediately hop onto medication per se.

Hi!

I was wondering if anyone could recommend an endocrinologist in London who actually listens and believes symptoms?

My thyroid is stable but they did have to reduce my meds many years ago because I was getting palpitations. About 4 months later, my cold intolerance got really bad. If I am exposed to air con or the draft from the vent, i will started getting chills (even with loads of layers on that) that will last days.

Can anyone relate to these symptoms?

Thanks

I have health anxiety, and for years suffered with an overactive thyroid which caused my heart to beat faster amongst other symptoms. Back in April just gone, I had radioiodine treatment to shrink the gland, all went well and I'm now on hormone replacements. I got a new smart watch (probably a wrong move for someone who suffers with anxiety) and noticed last week when I felt relaxed watching TV my resting heart rate would go down as low as 55.. naturally I googled this and says the norm is between 60-100.. has anyone else got a heart rate like this or should I phone the Dr for advice. I don't know if this is the new norm for me, because when I was over active my resting heart rate was usually over 70 and sometimes 80! It has felt alot nicer to have a calmer heart rate however I'm just a little worried it's too low..

Lucas, Male 26yrs old, around 208lbs at 5ft. 11. Diagnosed with Hashimotos years ago via bloodwork and Celiac via only bloodwork couple years ago. my life on Synthroid is a constant struggle and I'd like to see people recounting their real experiences on this drug. Notable things on Synthroid 125 for years: feels like I have little to no stomach acid, feel nothing when taking the medication and waiting to eat (not sure if normal or not), sleep is always an issue - most people sleep too much hypersomnia - I either get no sleep at all or bad quality sleep - good sleep requires me to very active all day long possibly with sunlight, mood and energy are a constant issue - depressed / low energy managed with some cycled caffeine - fish oil and some exercise, being bloated / looking hagard puffy and bloated is almost constant without doing any caffeine or exercise, waking up is the hardest and brushing and showering takes a long time as I don't get energy from Synthroid kicking in, everyday is a struggle.

What helps: caffeine, exercise, walking, stretching, and fish oil.

Thinking of working with someone who can give me T4+T3, my controversial opinion about hypothyroidism is I believe everyone should be on T4+T3, it should the standard instead of T4 only since the thyroid itself is supposed to put out T3 which is likely completely destroyed for much of us due to Hashimotos and T4 only is unnatural for the body by relying on deiodinase enzymes to do everything.

Will post current labs, am still struggling on Synthroid, will possibly get someone new for thyroid, even if I correct vitamin d, and b12 / iron I still don't think that's the answer, maybe it can help. My labs are hyperthyroid here but I don't think it's an accurate screenshot of how I feel since I feel hypothyroid everyday, told my Endo and should've repeated labs and gone back but didn't.

Latest Labs:

TSH - 0.01 (0.4 - 4.50)

T4 Free - 1.5 (0.8 - 1.8)

T3 Free - 3.1 (2.3 - 4.2)

Vitamin D - 30 (30-100)

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin - 25 (10-50)

Testosterone Total - 395 (250 - 1100)

Testosterone Free - 54.1 (35 - 155)

I was recommended the Synthroid Delivers program by my PCP to save money on the brand name and so far it has been an absolutely horrible experience for me. I could not create an account/sign up and when I called the number, it took me through an endless AI agent system that ultimately hung up on me. I had to keep calling and insisting on speaking to a representative, after which I finally was able to get the link to create an account.

Then after I ordered the prescription, I got a notification a few days later saying there was an unexpected delay and they had no info about when it would get delivered. After another week, I did get my meds (I honestly didn't expect them to show up).

Now I'm trying to log in to get a refill and it won't let me use my credentials, and there is no option to reset my password or recover my account. When I select "forgot password", it prompts me to enter my email, sends me a verification code, then asks me to CHANGE MY EMAIL ADDRESS. Why would I want to do that??? I tried selecting that anyway and it sends me ANOTHER verification code, and then asks me to change my email address. This is the most painful online delivery service I have ever used. Anyone else getting ulcers from managing their meds through this system??

My Integrative NP had me do thyroid labs

Results:

3.240. TSH

1.03 T4 free direct

2.5 T3 free

Thyroglobulin 1.5

TPOab 12

She said TSH more ideally would be around 1-1.5.
Wants me to start NP Thyroid 15 mg in morning before breakfast. I typically am leery of starting new drugs. I have some of the symptoms, but not all

Fatigue - No
Weight gain- I’m using diet and exercise to loose 10-12lbs
Cold intolerance - No
Dry skin - Mild
Constipation -use Magnesium to stay regular
Muscle weakness - No
Puffy face - No
Hoarse voice - No
Thinning hair- Yes
Slowed heart rate - No
Depression - Mild
Memory problems- Mild to moderate, forgetting words mostly. Feels like brain fog

Question:

1. Am I opening a Pandora’s Box by starting this treatment?
2. Do my numbers reflect a need for NP Thyroid

So basically I have had thyroid issues my entire life. I have always been skinny, weighing like 100-120lbs. I got pregnant young ( miscarried ) and then started to gain a bunch of weight after that.. then 8 years later I had my daughter in 2023, I lost all my weight and for a year was around 120lbs, then it all started to slowly come back. My thyroid doctor has said that my levels are fine, but I just feel like there’s something missing. How do I spend my whole life being skinny, getting pregnant and then it messes everything up?

I am a very active person, I walk 10-20k steps a day, drink water, gatorlyte, have horses, etc.

Please help with recommendations. I’m at a total loss and I just feel like there’s something going on that’s being missed.

I'm writing a longer sub stack article but the gist of it is in the ai summary below:

The Opening Puzzle

- Diagnosed with Hashimoto's; on T4-only medication (levothyroxine), high dose (250mcg)

- Felt progressively "dumber" over time — but with intermittent windows of sharp creativity, fluent vocabulary, easy word-finding, like my younger self

- Standard labs "normal" (TSH ~2), antibodies improved (down from >1000 to 130) — so on paper, treated and fine

- Key anomaly: temporarily coming *off* medication sometimes made me feel *better* cognitively, not worse

The Initial Hypothesis

- Suspected the brain wasn't getting enough active thyroid hormone despite normal blood levels

- Core insight: TSH reflects what the *pituitary* sees, not what brain tissue experiences

- The brain runs almost entirely on T3 (active hormone), converted locally from T4 by the D2 enzyme

- If that conversion is impaired, the brain can be hypothyroid while bloodwork looks normal

Why the Dose Was a Red Flag

- 250mcg is a very high T4 requirement (standard is ~1.6mcg/kg)

- Ruled out absorption causes: negative H. pylori, no celiac (already gluten-free), tried empty-stomach dosing, good vitamin D/B12/ferritin, negative parietal cell antibodies + normal gastrin

- High dose + normal TSH + persistent symptoms suggested the problem wasn't substrate (T4) but conversion to active hormone

The Mechanisms Investigated

- Reverse T3 (rT3): high T4 gets shunted into inactive rT3, which occupies T3 receptors without activating them — a competitive antagonist

- DIO2 polymorphism: genetic variant impairing brain-specific T4→T3 conversion; silent in healthy people (they have backup T3 sources), but exposed in T4-only patients with a damaged gland who've lost those backups

- Tissue-specific hypothyroidism: liver/kidney (D1 enzyme) convert fine; brain (D2 enzyme) doesn't — different organs, different thyroid states from the same blood

The Genetic Evidence

- Pulled 2015 raw genetic data (from 23andme)

- **DIO2 rs225014: CT (heterozygous)** — confirmed one copy of the conversion-impairing variant

- **MTHFR A1298C +/+ (homozygous):** parallel issue — impairs BH4 production, the rate-limiting cofactor for dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine synthesis

- **Slow MAO-A:** catecholamines clear slowly — relevant to both symptoms and later anxiety

- Two independent mechanisms converging on the same neurotransmitter systems that govern word-finding, creativity, emotional range

Mapping Symptoms to Brain Regions

- Hippocampus (highest D2 density): word-finding, memory retrieval

- Default Mode Network: divergent/creative associative thinking — the "younger self" mode

- Prefrontal cortex: working memory, task-switching (compounded by low dopamine)

- Cerebellum: verbal fluency, sentence construction

- Striatum: motivation, reward, libido, anhedonia

- All functionally under-resourced, not structurally damaged — reversible

Why Alcohol, LSD, Nicotine, Caffeine Were Diagnostic Clues

- Alcohol/LSD briefly restored "feeling normal" — because they bypass the synthesis bottleneck via direct receptor activation and DMN disruption

- Couldn't feel nicotine/caffeine before the fix — dopaminergic system too depleted to respond

- Effortless nicotine start/stop before treatment — low dopamine meant no reinforcement, so no addiction grip

- These weren't random; they were a functional readout of a depleted monoamine system

The Intervention (Phase 1)

- Added 5mcg T3 (liothyronine) directly — bypasses the broken conversion step

- Reduced T4 from 250 → 200mcg — cuts substrate feeding rT3

- Chose synthetic combo over NDT for precise, independent titration (and to avoid the T3-heavy NDT ratio, risky given slow MAO-A)

- 6-week lab cadence; tracked resting HR, HRV, sleep, symptoms

What Changed (Weeks 1-3)

- Week 2: dramatically better word-finding, sentence structure, analogies; more emotion-centered

- Libido normalized

- Started *feeling* nicotine and caffeine (dopamine system coming online)

- Deeper sleep, vivid dreams returning (REM recovery)

- Faster toenail growth (peripheral metabolic marker — hard to fake)

- Girlfriend independently noticed: more attentive, more "silly," more myself (external validation, no placebo bias)

- HRV rose from high-30s to low-50s and held

- Transient anxiety (slow MAO-A adaptation as catecholamines came up) — resolved on its own

- Improvements settled from peak to a sustainable plateau — not a reversal, and distinct from prior T4-reduction crashes because the mechanism was actually addressed this time

The Confirming Labs (Week 6)

- TSH 3.80 (up from 2.0 — proof the T4 cut outweighed the T3 add; not over-replaced)

- Free T4 1.7 (top of range — abundant substrate)

- Free T3 3.0 (only mid-range — poor output despite abundant substrate)

- Reverse T3 24 (top of range — substrate being shunted to inactive hormone)

- FT3:rT3 ratio 1.25 (target >2.0 — quantified conversion failure)

- SHBG 65 (high despite TRT lowering it — liver is thyroid-replete while brain isn't: the regional dissociation made visible)

- hsCRP <0.2, cortisol 12.0 — ruled out inflammation and HPA dysfunction as confounders

- Every number told one consistent story: impaired conversion + reverse T3 dominance + tissue-specific hypothyroidism

The Takeaways

- "Normal TSH" does not mean optimized — it reflects pituitary status, not brain tissue

- A poor FT3:rT3 ratio can hide behind normal standard labs

- Genetics (DIO2, MTHFR) explain why identical treatment fails some people and works for others

- Direct T3 isn't a workaround for the root cause — for impaired conversion, it *is* the mechanistically correct fix

- The cognitive/emotional "self" that seemed lost was never gone — it was an under-fueled system, and the fuel was the missing active hormone

- n=1, self-directed, but every layer (symptoms, genetics, substances, labs, external observation, objective markers) independently pointed the same direction

Phase 2 (in progress)

- T4 → 150mcg, T3 → 10mcg split BID

- Targets: FT3 upper-third, rT3 mid-teens, ratio >2, SHBG trending, TSH with headroom

- Plus methylation support (5-MTHF, methyl/adenosyl B12, R5P) for the parallel BH4 pathway

I hope this helps people

My Free T4 is 11 pmol/L on a lab range of 9-19. Yet, many other labs have a 12-24 range, so if I just went to another lab I’d be considered “abnormal”? How does this make sense in practice/for diagnostic purposes?

Btw, I am partly asking because I am confused as to why my Free T4 is this low if my TSH is normal (even if “highish normal”… 2.31), and even on synthroid.

Does anyone take armor thyroid and synthroid/levothyroxine? I see armor plus t3 but wondering if anyone on armor needs to add t4?

I’ve just never seen anyone mention that so far.

I started LDN for RA, Hashi’s and Sjögrens 10 weeks ago at 0.5mg. My RA flared for 4 wks, so I dropped down to 2.5mg, which improved the pain, but my TSH rose from 2.2 to 4.69. I upped my Levo dose and thought it would eventually settle, but I had so much hair loss and - weirdly - a lot of grey hair. I can’t work out if the LDN is making me go hypothyroid and these are the results, or if the LDN is directly causing this.

I’ve also felt like my brain has been cloudy. I recently had a brain MRI, which found incidental white spots, however there’s no way of knowing how long they’ve been there.

I can’t keep going, so I’ve stopped, but I feel so disappointed because I had high hopes for it. Is it worth trying again with zero filler in the formula?

Does anyone take 100mg of iodine , if so what were your symptoms if you had any ? Tell me your experience whether it was good or bad.

Hi everyone!

I am 31F, 140 lbs and for years, have always had a TSH around 4 or 5. I felt bad for years but thought it was other causes. This year, I tested and my TSH was 7, low/normal FT3 and FT4, so i started 50 mg levothyroxine 2 months ago.

My most recent lab results now have a TSH of 0.22 and a FT3 and FT4 well into the normal range but not at the highest end. My TPO was 22 and the range is that <34 is normal.

I have no side effects from the medication and I am not bedridden anymore, like I was sometimes before. I can make it through most days without a 2 hour nap.

What has your experience been like? Is it possible my TSH will go back to where it should be, around 1 or so? Why is my pituitary gland reacting like that to normal amounts of FT3 and 4 and a modest dose of levo?

Have any of you who’ve lost eyebrow hair due to hypothyroidism and over plucking in your younger years been able to get any regrowth? I tried micro blading in 2020, which wasn’t very successful (ink didn’t retain much), and now I just draw them on every day with a microblading pen. I hate it because they don’t always look even or if I sweat or touch them I have to worry about smudges. It’s made me very self conscious. I had decent eyebrows before this and I’ve been hypo since 2010. Castor oil didn’t work for me either. Any tips or things you’ve tried that actually worked? I’m trying to hold onto the little bit of eyebrow hair I have left and I don’t pluck at all.

I was is prescribed 60 mg of Armour am and 30 mg Armour pm and taking 50 mg levothyroxine once weekly. For years had low TSH. I started feeling really tired in the evenings and hot and sweaty so asked my doctor for labs. The results: TSH is 0.186, free t4 is .9, free t3 is 2.8, total cholesterol is 251, ferritin is 151, alt is 49, ast is 40, I am is a 59 year old female with small thyroid and osteopenia with the lowest T score being -2.2 at the left femoral neck. 3 weeks ago after these labs i self discontinued the evening 30 mg of Armour. I am feeling less fatigue but have slight hand dryness, a fuller face, and very mild constipation as well mild dry eye. . At 2.5 weeks after changing the Armour dose my tsh is 2.68 and I have mild and hip and shoulder feelings of weakness. How to proceed? My dr wanted me to stay on the original dose but I feel better without the afternoon 30 mg of Armour.

I am 44yo F. I recently developed vitiligo. My dermatologist told me that thyroid issues are more common in people with vitiligo.

I went to my PCP and had labs drawn. I found out that I am iron deficient with a ferritin of 2.

Additionally, I was told I have Hashimoto thyroid disease.

TSH 2.494
T4, free 0.79
TPO 186

Thyroid Ultrasound Next week.

I really don’t know what to think about any of this. My doctor offered to put me on a low dose of Synthroid-if I was having symptoms. Which I find interesting, since my TSH and T4 are normal.

I am trying to process all of this information. Any advice would be appreciated

So hypothetically imagine someone didn’t take their levothyroxine for 14 days and now very much is suffering the symptoms of it but doesn’t wanna tell her parents because her parents are scary…. What’s the best solution to this…

Btw in this very totally one million percent hypothetical situation the person stopped in the first place bcs her throat is always rlly tight and taking pills is extremely physically uncomfortable (with zero solution, so don’t give advice on that) and causes gagging / puking half the time

Some advice for this super hypothetical situation would be nice

Oh btw it’s not the only medicine this person has hypothetically skipped and hypothetically this person does have a job

Edit: which one of yall keeps downvoting my replies STOP IT NOW.

My TSH .23 and my T4 Free 1.6, my doctor subscribed Levothyroxine 100 mg daily and one day a week I take 1x100 Mg & .50M dose, does this sound correct? I keep loosing weight & can't seem to gain it! I appreciate your input/response...Thanks!!

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20 yr old female and I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 5 years ago. I've always had problems with my hormones and I started having symptoms that I thought were POTS related that ended up being hypothyroidism. My thyroid has been pretty controlled the last couple of years minus a few hiccups where it would spike out of no where but consistently, its been around 2-3. The highest I've had was a 13 at one point so I'd say a 2-3 is pretty good. Just for context, I deal with other health issues like fainting and stomach problems and I also never got my period ever until I turned 20 and I've only had it twice. Not sure if that could be related to thyroid issues, but I'm working on getting that checked out.

I came on here because since late May, I have noticed swelling in my neck as well as some pressure and the feeling of having a lump in my throat. I was dealing with some allergies so I thought it was just from being a little sick, but now it's July and its still here. I got it checked out by my dr in early June and it was hard for her to tell since she doesnt see me everyday but from what she could feel she did feel a lump. I have a ultrasound scheduled for next week. My thyroid feels bigger on the right side rather than the left, and to be honest, I'm pretty nervous about the ultrasound. I'm worried about possibly having a nodule on my thyroid. Other new symptoms I have been dealing with since the swelling started was lots of fatigue, pressure on throat, tender to the touch on thyroid, muscle and joint weakness, and overall just feeling heavy. It's been the weirdest feeling and it's pretty unlike me.

I wanted to know if anyone has had a similar experience and what their outcome was like. I understand everyones body is different so what might have happened for you might not be the same with me, but just seeking any kind of advice here! Thanks!