regarding swollen ankles and thyroid ( a bit off topic)

[Guest guest]

Hi Louise,

My TSH was normal for two years despite the fact that I had a very high antibody titer (Hashimoto's disease) to my gland, thyroid cancer, and a hyper-functioning nodule. I felt like utter crap- but one particularily stupid doc kept insisting

I was "normal and healthy". Of course he felt like a big, dumb dope when I marched into his office with my fresh scar from the surgery (total thyroidectomy with lymph and parathyroid dissections) and a pathology report that listed all of the above ailments!

So don't discount the thyroid issue- ask for antibody testing and free T3/ free T4 levels- most docs think the TSH test is the end-all but it really isn't. Having your Free T's checked will tell them HOW you are using your iodine/thyroid hormone. You can have a perfectly normal TSH, within lab range, but have trouble converting T3 to T4 or vice versa. And that can make you feel hypo or hyper or just plain awful. BTW, cold intolerance is another common symptom of thyroid deficiency. Last time I went hypo for a scan I was still living in the tropics and I was still cold, even outside in F85+ degree heat with 80% humidity !!!

If you were on thyroxine as a child it might have been for a transient case of viral thyroiditis? that can mutate into problems as an adult. Or perhaps you have an auto-immune disease like Hashimoto's or Grave's... both can cause edema and swelling- especially if you are going hypo- even sub-clinically so. That is why it is so important to have the antibody testing.

www.thyroid.about.com is a good place to study up on endocrine diseases and thyroid problems in general. I think there is even a listing for docs in Australia on the site's Good Doc/Bad Doc list. Check it out.

Hmmm. Your mum is a halvsie? Funny that. I am Half-Jewish, too. And B+ blood type...wonder if that puts me in the

"high risk for MS" category? Had some of my neuro testing to rule it out today. Electro stim tests. Wasn't too bad...a bit like having mild electro-shock therapy or something. Hope I don't have to go so far as a spinal tap.

As for the weather here- I can't compare it to Adelaide- have never tramped that far in OZ - but have been up and down the east coast from Sydney to Daintree. Spend a lot of time in Cairns when I can. The weather in Seattle is very much like Sydney. And both cities have a similar vibe- being on the water. Sydney has the AMP tower. We have the Space Needle.

Funny, eh? Which end of the world is up-over and which is down-under? It could go either way.

Stay warm, drink ginger tea!

Lara