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What Are The Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism ?

Posted on Mon, 7 May 2012

Question: My wife had an endoscopy in February 2011, result all normal. A pregnancy test this week - negative.
She currently has the following symptoms: Sore throat, bad taste in mouth in the mornings, swollen glands, upset stomach, exhaustion, black stools (twice), over sensitive breasts, periodic tempretaur rises. Please provide likely diagnoses.

Answered by Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (31 minutes later)

Hi,

Thanks for the query

The symptoms you have described could be due to gastric reflux or thyroid problems or related to the oral contraceptive pills (OCP). Without a proper examination and laboratory test it is indeed difficult to diagnose the exact cause.

1. Sore throat, bad taste in the mouth, stomach upset and swollen glands could be due Chronic Pharyngitis secondary to the reflux of the gastric contents from the stomach into the throat causing sore and dry throat. The repeated assault by the gastric contents to the mucosa of the throat can lead to enlarged glands or the lymph nodes.

2. The over exhaustion, over sensitive breasts and periodic raise of the temperature occurs in both thyroid related conditions as well as the OCPs.

I would suggest you consult an ENT specialist and get a complete examination done including the thyroid profile. Also, consult your gynecologist to discuss regarding the change of OCPs, the one most suitable for you. Encourage your wife to drink plenty of warm water, avoid excess coffee/tea/alcohol/smoking if any.

Hope I have answered your query; I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (43 minutes later)

Thank you for your excellent response. My wife has been looking up these symptoms online and thinks that the thyroid explanation is the most likely as she has recently also had ongoing constipation, depression, insomnia, temperature fluctuations, hoarse voice, difficulty concentrating and lethargy. We reside on a small island in the Bahamas and I feel it may be necessary to travel to obtain tests and conduct a medical examination, as per your recommendation. Can a regular GP perform the correct tests and which tests do you recommend are carried out or should I book her to see an ENT specialist. I ask as a GP can be accessed within a short drive and a specialist will entail travel to the US.

Thank you

Chris

Answered by Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (14 hours later)

Hi

Welcome back

I do understand your situation; yes, your GP can help you in getting the Thyroid Function Test (TFT) done; depending upon the test results we can decide about consulting an ENT specialist. Most probably, your wife could be suffering from hypothyroidism which will be confirmed with TFT.

If the TFT turns out to be positive for hypothyroidism, then she would require thyroid hormone replacement. Also, encourage your wife to drink plenty of warm water and do steam inhalation 2-3 times/day which will help in reducing the hoarseness. Apart from all these, discuss with your GP about changing over of the oral contraceptive pills.

Wish her good health.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar