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Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:22 pm |
Hi guys
Just wondering if hypothyroidism has affected your skin before treatment and if you noticed any differences after you were optimized on thyroid meds.
Thanks! |
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Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:49 am |
Hypothyroidism will usually result in dry skin, if it's not treated. Thyroid hormone is used by every cell in your body, and affects metabolism within the cell. Thus, the effects of hypothyroidism are very pervasive--skin, hair, metabolism, joints, menstrual periods, cognitive function, body temperature, etc. etc. I think the effects on the skin are pretty minor compared to what it does to the rest of the body. I was diagnosed in my mid-thirties with mild hypothyroidism and basically it made me feel tired, cold, mentally foggy, and about 10 years older.
With that said, I don't know of anyone (including myself) who has noticed a huge difference in their skin from having their thyroid treated--it's probably going to be less dry, but that's it. |
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Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:36 am |
Hi librarygirl,
I had thyroid cancer last year with a total thyroidectomy. After thyroid cancer you are kept deliberately slightly hyperthyroid with synthetic thyroid hormone in order to discourage the growth of new thyroid cells. So although I was not clinically hypothyroid before, I was compared to the way I am now. I haven't noticed any change in my skin, but I have noticed a HUGE, HUGE change in my hair! You can see a line in my hair which marks the point in time when I had my thyroid removed. All the hair that grew before that time is frizzy and dry, and all the hair that's grown since that time is shiny and smooth. |
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Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:08 am |
BBD wrote: |
Hypothyroidism will usually result in dry skin, if it's not treated. Thyroid hormone is used by every cell in your body, and affects metabolism within the cell. Thus, the effects of hypothyroidism are very pervasive--skin, hair, metabolism, joints, menstrual periods, cognitive function, body temperature, etc. etc. I think the effects on the skin are pretty minor compared to what it does to the rest of the body. I was diagnosed in my mid-thirties with mild hypothyroidism and basically it made me feel tired, cold, mentally foggy, and about 10 years older.
With that said, I don't know of anyone (including myself) who has noticed a huge difference in their skin from having their thyroid treated--it's probably going to be less dry, but that's it. |
I completely agree. My thyroid quite working when I turned 30. (That was 16 years ago. ) My skin has been dry ever since and my hair is not as thick as it used to be. My skin used to be normal to oily. Yes, I am taking medicine for this but it's just never the same as when the thyroid was healthy. I was always slim and could eat anything and everything. Now I have to exercise 6 days a week just to stay a size 8. |
_________________ Early 50s, blonde hair (natural) with red streaks (mid-life crisis), blue eyes, fair skin, small pores, very dry skin, some pigmentation (thanks to growing up in Miami), starting to see fine lines. Love my NuFace and Quasar SP and the CPs and Retin A are working as well. |
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Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:54 am |
Thanks everyone. Perhaps it's the bloating that I had for years and then when your skin starts to de-bloat then you see more sagging and wrinkles. I don't know maybe it's just temporary until I get optimized. I am on Armour and got too hyper on it (was hyper for 3 months and didn't know it) and then when I lower my meds I get too hypo. Hypo=bloating and hyper=thinning of the skin. |
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Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:10 pm |
This might sound stupid but, is goiter the same as hypothyrodism or not? Because i have a goiter and i always had a dry skin. Although last time i had a blood check for my goiter the doctor said it was fine. |
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Sun Aug 19, 2007 11:45 pm |
The biggest change in my skin was the cystic acne. Before I was diagnosed I had horrible cysts all over my chin. I usually had 6-8 in different stages just on my chin. When my meds are right I have no cysts. When I get one I know my levels are off again. I haven't seen many references to this but there's a few articles I've come across that mention cystic acne and being hypo. I've been through enough cycles with this that it's so easy to tell now. |
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Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:56 am |
Angel, the goiter means that your thyroid is being overstimulated, almost like a muscle that gets big with overuse.
Goiters are usually associated with hypothyroidism, but they can occur with hyperthyroidism as well.
Here's what happens with hypothyroidism (don't know that much about hyper- since I am hypo-). Your body has a feedback mechanism to make sure you have adequate levels of thyroid hormone (TH) to function. If your levels of thyroid hormone are low, the pituitary gland releases another hormone called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH stimulates the thyroid to release more TH. The thyroid gland gets bigger due to the repeated stimulation and goiter results.
If your thyroid gland is functioning pretty well, it can compensate by trying to produce more TH, but the fact is that you may be slightly hypothyroid, and even being slightly hypothyroid can give you symptoms. Anyway, this is why the doctor should always measure TSH as well as TH. If the TSH is high, even if TH is normal, you may be hypothyroid.
Another thing doctors should look at is the subtypes of thyroid hormone (T1,T3,T4) and certain antibodies.
Usually when someone has a goiter and symptoms consistent with hypothyroidism, the doctor will give thyroid hormone replacement medication to see if the goiter shrinks. Not sure why this isn't happening with you, Angel. |
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Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:58 am |
BBD
Thanks for the info, i always have a dry skin all my life maybe that is why. My primary care physician maybe did not order a thorough blood test, cause it came back normal. I will look into this. Thanks for the information. |
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