Comments on: Hypothyroidism Nail Ridges, What You Can Do About It

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:00:43 +0000

Elizabeth,

Can you get out to another doctor and when was your blood work last checked. You should have that done at least 2 times a year.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:03:52 +0000

Asked several Drs over period of 30+ yrs about nails. Always disregarded. Approx 3 yrs ago GP looking for something else found TSH 6X below normal. On 100mcg Levothyroxin symptoms improved but some persist including cold when others aren’t, hair loss & thin, peeling nails. Ridges new development within last yr or so. Endocrinologists out of town & I’m not free to travel.
Mom clearly has hypothyroidism symptoms but her Dr refuses to test TSH.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:39:20 +0000

Jane,

If you had surgery 3 years ago and they are still having to increase your thyroid dosage every three months then there is something more wrong with your thyroid gland. Unfortunately there isn’t any magic herb or vitamin that you can take that will replace the t4 that your thyroid isn’t making. That T4 needs to be there to be converted to t3 by your liver and other organs and tissues inside of your body. By any chance are you also receiving any kind of radiation therapy?

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 04:51:26 +0000

I have been treated for hypothyroidism for years more than 4 years and no one has ever checked my nails. I was commenting to my doctor last month about the ridges in my nails and she said that was a common symptom of this disease. More than 3 years ago I had to have the lower right lobe of my thyroid removed and they still haven’t gotten my medication regulated correctly. So my hair, nails and skin continue to worsen….I drink about 3 quarts of water daily but it doesn’t seem to help. I want off of this unnatural way of controlling this. Isn’t there an herb or some kind of vitamin I can take instead of prescriptions drugs. Obviously they are not helping anyway. Every 3 months when they do a re-check, they have to increase my dose again. Does anyone have a suggestion ? Thank you……

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 15:50:02 +0000

Thank you Dawn,

I’ve never had any nail infections but certainly do have plenty of pesky ridges in my nails. I also don’t get any yellowing unless I’ve worn darker shades of nail polish for long periods of time.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:54:24 +0000

I was just diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, but I had no idea until today that the weird yellow lines in my thumb nails and big toes may be related to this! Also, I’ve had infections in those exact areas over the past year that I had to treat mediocally…has anyone else haev infections in the nail due to hypothyroidism? Thanks!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:24:34 +0000

Michelle,

You are so very welcome! Thank you for sharing your story and experience with all of us. Yes you are right about this being an invisible disability and support can be our greatest ally! Don’t worry about that 20 lbs you’ll eventually take control of that as well. Again Thank you for sharing with us.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 09:15:35 +0000

Thank you for this article! I have congenital hypothyroidism, so I’ve experienced so much of this all my life. My TSH was slightly too low last fall, then after dropping my med level my TSH spiked last winter and it has been (another) rollercoaster of med changes and blood work. I’m back on 125 mcg and feel so much better at this dose. Still trying to cope with the extra 20 lbs I’m carrying around now, but that’s a different story!
Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for the info about my nails! I’m still learning new info about this disease every day, and noticed my nails have been extremely ridged. Googling it brought up this website, and I’m excited I’ve found it. It feels great to know that I’m not alone. I can sometimes feel along because this is an invisible disability that we have. Strangers can’t tell just by looking at us that we can be feeling very horrible.
Thanks for what you do, and keep up the great work!!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:56:25 +0000

Anna,

Congratulations. I’m sitting here thinking YAY! SUCCESS WOO HOO! : )

I’m so glad that you shared your story with us because it shows just how some doctors don’t properly find the right diagnosis of hypothyroidism and that it does so very often require second opinions to obtain a proper diagnosis of an underactive thyroid. This is very important information. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 23:46:22 +0000

I found out I had Hypothyroidism about 6 months ago. I was feeling exhausted. I work out really hard all the time, and all of a sudden I felt I did not have the same energy I use too.

I also noticed my hair was thinning and my nails had ridges and brittle. I started talking lots of calcium, fish oils, immune support products, biotin, multivitamins, antioxidants,creams for nails, hair products for hair growth, etc… Nothing was working and getting very frustrated. I went to my regular Dr. and asked him to give me a blood test for everything. He said every thing came back normal. I continued to spend more money on products that were not helping at all. I have always been a healthy eater, I figured I was not getting enough nutrients, I started over dossing on everything that was raw, organic and good for you. Nothing changed.

I pulled a muscle on my leg after doing a yoga class to stretch from the soreness of running a half marathon. I was not healing ..I got all kinds of therapy and every Dr. would give me a different answer. My Pilates instructor after working with me on my leg suggested I go see a Dr. at The Center For New Medicine who would do this heat therapy and acupuncture. While I was there I was sent to the wrong Dr(good thing). she started asking me a million an one question about my health from what I was eating to family history. She immediately said I believe you might have a hormone problem and when she noticed my nails she said you have a thyroid problem. She suggested we do a blood test. She checked for all the T3, T4 and TSH. The thyroid was low.
I was put on medication, and after about 6 months of monitoring(doing blood test every 6 weeks and increasing the medication) my thyroid results finally came back normal. I will now be on the medication for a year and will check again at that time.

My nails are finally starting to look normal, my hair is thick again, and my energy levels are a lot better and yes! my leg finally healed.