yippeeee!!!!! I am NOT to blame for adding inches to my waistline...its because I have this little known thyroid disorder that took ages and ages to diagnose. I have suffered because of this for the last year, and am now writing this for the benefit of all those (especially women) who have symptoms like unexpected weight gain/loss, continuous fever, fatigue, depression etc. etc. and yet your thyroid levels appear normal on blood tests, this does not necessarily mean that you do not have a thyroid disorder. This diagnosis can get a little complicated, since thyroid levels can fluctuate quite a bit, so while they may be normal on the day you get the test done, they might be high or low on other days, causing all the problems. For example, my T3, T4, TSH levels vary between totally normal to 600% of the normal value.

Some of the ways in which you can get around the problem is by getting the thyroid test repeated a few times, getting your Antithyroid Antibodies tested, and getting a thyroid scan done. All these are very non-invasive, simple tests, and trust me, once you start the thyroid medication life just starts rockin' again within a week :)

But also, always, always remember to take thyroid medication under the supervision of a very good doctor, who can tell you the dosage you need. Take too high a dosage, or take the medicine unnecessarily, and you are seriously asking for trouble. In Bombay, the best docs I have found for this are Dr. Jehangir Sorabjee (Bombay Hospital) and Dr. Parekh (Doctor House, opp. Jaslok Hospital).

Hope this helps!!