My major symptom for Hashimoto's thyroiditis was extreme tiredness. I always had tons of energy, but I found myself taking two-hour naps each day of the weekend. I was probably mildly depressed as well because I was always so sleepy and lost my “energizer bunny” personality. My secondary symptoms were dry hair and nails. I was 43 when I was diagnosed. I'm 49 now.

I have just found out I have Hashimoto's. I haven't felt normal for a few years and put it down to Menopause. Then after blood tests in December 2009 and again in February 2010, my Doctor told me I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. My main symptoms were no energy, tired all the time and just recently very confused and not being able to concentrate, and I felt like I wasn't coping with normal everyday life. I have also gained weight. I have had an unexplainable cough for about 2 and half years. I have been taking a thyroid medication for nearly 2 weeks. My cough seems to be getting better, but the other symptoms are still the same. My doctor told me it would take at least 3 weeks for the medication to start working. My doctor has started me on 50 micrograms and said it will be increased to 150 over the next 3 months.

For years I have suffered from joint pain and fatigue. For the last six months my pain and lack of energy increased along with mild depression and strange hiccups in my thinking that left me wondering what I was doing. I also had dry patches on my face. I gained 10+ pounds that would never leave me and my knee is swollen. Then my doctor did a full blood workup and found thyroid problems. The endocrinologist I went to last week told me it was Hashimoto's. My primary doctor had already started me on low levels of thyroid replacement last December and I felt so much better in 6 weeks that I'm very hopeful that things will be even better when everything levels out.

I was extremely tired. I would sleep all night and was tired by 10 am and took one to two long naps a day and was ready to go to bed by 8 pm. So I finally went to the doctor as my dad has B12 vitamin deficiency and my mom has Hashimoto's. I got the results on my 28th birthday!

I was about 7 or 8 when I presented symptoms. I was gaining excessive amounts of weight -- maybe 10 to 20 lbs overweight for my age, but I hardly ate anything. I did not have an appetite. My skin on my hands, and elbows was incredibly and excessively dry, and my hands cracked and bled every day, despite that I went to a dermatologist and received treatment (a nasty lotion that burned my broken hands). I was almost always cold, and I did not have the same energy that I used to (I was a very active kid). It turns out, my mother and sister have hypothryoidism, but they do not have Hashimoto's (I don't think). They both presented much later in life.

I was around the age of 13 when I was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto's. I started puberty at a young age �“ 10 -- and that's when I started getting all the symptoms -- all of them. But at the time, we didn't have the money to take me to the doctor, and by the time we did, I had gotten pretty big. I admit, I was depressed; very much so. Thinking back to that time, and how I saw everything, I was a completely different person. I couldn't interact with kids, or people in general because I was so messed up. I didn't understand what was happening to me. My mom took great notice in what was happening and how I was acting. When we finally got health insurance, my mom took me to the doctor, they said I had hypothyroidism. I got medication for that, but when I was around 13, I started getting a goiter. I was having trouble breathing, and I could barely get water, let alone food down my throat. So I went back to the doctor and got tested some more, and that's when I found out. I'm 17 now, and I'm still trying to get it all under control. I'm just a kid and I got stuck with this. I really wish I knew why it happened. No one else in my family has ever had anything like this. I rarely ever hear of kids getting this, so I wonder why I got it so young. Anyways, that's my story in a nutshell for ya.

It took 2 years and many doctors to finally be diagnosed with this illness, despite having a strong family history of thyroid dysfunction in one form or another. This is an insidious health issue and easy to get misdiagnosed or dismissed when seeking attention. Comments I have received from various health care professionals were something to the effect of, "You're just getting older.” It wasn't until I got really angry with one doctor and very strongly insisted I have a full blood work up including a thyroid function test (TFT). This showed that my T1 & T2 was abnormal and was sent off again a week later to get the T3 and T4 done to. People should not take no for an answer, get bloods taken and tested.