Swollen/Distended Stomach/Abdomen - What is Causing This???!

[ErinAF88]

I am a 26 year old female and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism a year ago. I have experienced a distended stomach/abdomen (below and above my navel), on and off to varying degrees since my diagnosis. My TSH has fluctuated since then (but apparently I am "fine" and within "normal" range now - and have been for a number of months). I have had my synthroid dose upped a few times now. And I now also take T3 (but I had to ask my Endo to do that for me).

However, since March 6th of 2014, I have had this swelling/bloating/distension, it hardly leaves me and it is getting very frustrating! Most days I can't wear certain clothes because they don't fit me!

My GP is stumped, although he wonders if it's a hormonal imbalance. He sent me to an Endocrinologist but she didn't have any immediate answers either. She just looked at me like I was crazy. She is running some tests for a possible hormonal imbalance, but she says that she "doesn't know" what's going on. I had to ask her to put me on T3 as well. She wasn't even going to try me on it to see if that would help relieve my hypo symptoms.

I should also mention that my hair has really been falling out for the last few months, and it is not at all how it was before (I usually have a lot of hair). It takes far less time to dry it, and it doesn't feel the same when I run my hands through it.

My weight fluctuates and I have a hard time losing weight, even if I try. I used to be 140-145 before all of this happened, and prior to my diagnosis I just randomly shot up to 150, and just before and after diagnosis I was 155+! The Endocrinologist recommended that I "just get more exercise" recently. Despite just finishing major renovations to a new house I bought, and I have done a lot of the heavy work myself since February. I also spent a lot of time doing heavy gardening work since then as well - no shift in weight. I wish that these doctors could walk in my shoes for a few days. I don't think they would be as dismissive.

I just want HELP!

[ahmee]

Sounds like hypothyroidism to me: weight gain, swelling/distention, poor hair texture, hair loss are all classing symptoms. Do you have some recent bloodwork results you could share with us? Besides TSH, which is a fairly unreliable tool for measuring thyroid levels, we also look for tests such as Free T3 and Free T4. If you are experiencing symptoms, you are probably not at a "normal" level of thyroid hormones, even if your numbers are "in range". It can be frustrating when doctors are entirely by-the-numbers, without taking patient symptoms into consideration! Anyways, we are happy to give our (non-professional) opinions if you would like to post test results.

[Red_Star]

The swelling is a possible symptom of hypothyroidism. The swelling was over my entire abdomen and belly were VERY distended.  I couldn't even bare a light sheet as the pressure hurt!  It's taken over two years to get to where I am now but any worsening of hypothyroid symptoms sees this return though.