Thyroid problems?? can't seem to get help!!

[buktus]

I've suffered from bad headaches/ migraines for several years and have always been told they are hormonal. Recently I had a persistent headache for 5 weeks so went to GP to get it checked out. I completely broke down to her after feeling low for such a long time, I had put this down to a painful head. I have also been taken quite a lot of cocodamol so I assumed the foggy thinking, feeling cold, tiredness and constipation were all due to the pain killers. She recommended a thyroid test, the results were 5.8 TSH and I think she called it TS free?? That was 15. She says I am not over the limit enough to have anything for it but having googled what hypo means I am sure I need something. She wants me retested in 3 months, I feel like I'm losing my mind and incompetent in everything I do and I'm so not like this usually, I have always been a glass half full person. What should I do, am I really not high enough for meds??

[itshotinperth]

You are hypo enough for treatment. Problem is you need a doc willing to treat you. Start reading about hypothyroid arm yourself with information. Lots of gps know very little about thyroid problems and getting treatment is difficult as they look at blood results in a range and if you fall into that range you are dismissed. But you can have a tsh of 2 and still feel crap. And tsh is a crap way of measuring what is actually going on with thyroid. They need to treat the symptoms not the results. Did you have an antibody test to see if you have hashimotos - autoimmune thyroid disease?

My preferred reading material is a book called stop the thyroid madness - not everyone's but it is good for understanding what's going on. There are lots of other thyroid websites out there. I hope you can get some treatment good luck

[hashtagwhatever]

Agree with its hot.

Cocodamol is no good for headaches as it causes rebound headaches. I ended up swallowing them like they were smarties so stopped them altogether and have presto my headaches were so much less painful

P.s I also have a un medicated thyroid problem.

[RockinD]

I agree as well.

With a TSH of 5.8 and an FT4 of 15, you are almost certainly hypothyroid. It's always better to quote results with the reference ranges, which differ from place to place. Where I live for example, the reference range for TSH is 0.35 - 6, so you are only a whisker below. Your GP also needs to test your TPO and TgAb antibodies. If you have these, then they should treat, whatever the TSH.

Another book you can read is this (link at the end of the para). This book is published by the BMA, so it must be right, mustn't it? Dr Toft says that TSH should be at the bottom of the range and FT4 at the top if you are on medication, so your question to your GP is why this does not apply when you're not on medication.

www.amazon.co.uk/Thyroid-Disorders-Understanding-Family-Doctor/dp/1903474191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395862139&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding%20thyroid%20disorders&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[winterst4r]

Theres a great book on amazon by Barry Durrant Peatfield. He practices privately too. t
Try the Thyroid UK charity website