Do you have an under active thyroid? Can it just develop? What were your symptoms please?

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I’m aware how vain I sound but am a little concerned and not sure wether to bother then gp or not. I always weighed the same once I hit 30. Avoided pasta and bread for the majority of the time but never dieted. Last year I had a very stressful time and lost 1.5 stone. I put it back on by end of November. So I stopped weighing myself once I got back to my ‘normal’. In the new year I noticed I was over half a stone more than my normal and have been trying to lose it and I can’t. At the same time (new year) I saw the gp as I had horrific pain, indicated appendix but they wanted to rule out cysts etc so had a scan and all fine, had bloods which had a high infection score, so had them redone and because it was lower the next time gp said it’s fine. Was told prob grumbling appendix and I got on with it. Something isn’t right and I don’t know what.

The last 2 weeks Iv had no sugar, nothing processed and Iv lost nothing. Iv had 1000-1200 calories a day and lost nothing. I don’t drink, mainly drink water, eat well and cook from scratch etc. I can’t get to the gym due to Home reasons but make sure I do lots of walking and always do minimum 12000 steps a day and I do some excercise at home although this could be improved on.

Is weight gain and not losing it enough to warrant gp time? Iv looked up other symptoms of under active thyroid but Iv always been always tired due to life. I ache quite a bit particularly my legs often ache but I have a bad back and see a chiropractor so maybe it’s juat that?

If anyone could share their experience/knowledge I’d be greatful

In a nutshell, I'm always cold, put on two stone, had continual kidney/chest infections and was bone tired. I eventually got my thyroid tested after crying after work because I was so tired I didn't know how I was going to manage walking the dog. I thought it was something really serious. Most symptoms are managed now although maintaining my weight is a nightmare. I'm two stone overweight.

Thank you tripping yours sounds awful, maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree. How quick did your symptoms appear?do people with an under active thyroid suddenly develop it or does something cause it?

I was so tired, foggy brain, dry scaly skin, hair loss at temples plus weight gain, also I was bf DS2 at the time and was having problems with milk supply - I had a scan at the hospital which indicated my thyroid was so scarred and pitted I had had this for 20 years plus (I was maybe 38 when diagnosed around 8 or 9 years ago). I had been tested and been 'borderline' for underactive thyroid several times over that 20 years but it was the birth of my second that tipped me over the edge.

Thyroxine made a massive difference - I wished I had been diagnosed so much earlier. I'm not sure weight gain alone is enough of a symptom but they can test for thyroid levels with a simple blood test so asking your GP is not a massive deal. Good luck!

I lost a lot of hair last year and saw a different gp about it and they weren’t concerned. I put it down to the weight loss. It’s better now as I use something to help it grow back but it’s still thin at the temples and won’t grow back. I’m always tired but I get interrupted sleep thanks to dc2 so have always put it down to that/

I have an underactive thyroid but find it impossible to put on weight. My symptoms are debilitating tiredness, dry skin and hair loss. I'm always cold and 'heavy headed'

Unfortunately, for me, thyroxine hasn't alleviated all of the symptoms- my dosage is adjusted every 3 months, however my family has a history of 'thyroid irregularities' which is still under investigation

Cold to the touch but sweating hot. Hair falling out, scaly lizard skin, night sweats, eyes felt like they were bulging, skin tags all over my neck, tired to the point of crying every day. Levothyroxine helps but not much and controlling my weight is a battle.

Has anyone had any joint type aches and pains? I get a lot. Apparantly one of the pains in my finger is arthritis, pain in my hand is tendonitis and the pain in my lower back and pelvis are something completely different but I see a great chiro every 6 weeks and puts me back but I can’t stop going as I would end up in agony!

Tiredness (I HAVE to nap pretty much every day, or I get to the point at which I can't brain) and similar weight gain to you, OP - about half a stone that I am finding really hard to shift despite eating healthily and doing plenty of exercise. I do get joint pains and aches, so I wonder if a side-effect of the condition is that it gets harder to recover from said exercise. Levothyroxine doesn't seem to help much with any of it. My sister has carpal tunnel as a side-effect, it's actually what made the GP suspect she had it in the first place. Just go and see your GP - it's easy enough to test for!

I gained ten pounds, lost a lost of hair, had terrible brain fog and fatigue. I never gain weight, so that was a gigantic red flag.

I take Naturethroid (so good, but I don’t think you can get it in the UK) and a bunch of supplements: zinc, selenium, GTF Chromium, a probiotic, D Chiro Inositol.

I see an integrative health doctor who quarterly does a full thyroid panel, tests my blood sugar (if that’s in check my thyroid behaves) as well as all my sex hormones and ferritin levels. I am largely symptom free. In fact, I just did my Spartan race last weekend. But to get on top of thyroid stuff (I have Hashimoto’s) you need access to a bloody good doctor, and I’m not sure the multi-faceted approach to treating thyroid issues is so widely available yet in the UK, though I could be wrong.

A good place to start is the website Stop the Thyroid Madness, and insist on having a full thyroid panel performed (including TPO antibodies) when you see your doctor.

Mine is underactive. I take 200mg of thyroxine a day. It got diagnosed at random about 10 years ago - I'd gone to have a blood test to see why my periods hadn't come back after coming off the pill.

I have never had any symptoms - I am cold, but I am also skinny so that's probably why. Never felt tired or sluggish.

Thanks that it obviously can present itself so differently in people.

I first had my thyroid tested about 5 or 6 years ago when I first saw the GP about horrendous periods. At that point it was borderline. I'm now on 125 micrograms of thyroxine a day and do feel better for it.

For me, it was the tiredness. I was just SO tired all of the time and regularly fell asleep on the sofa in the afternoon. Could never drag myself out of bed in the morning, never felt like I'd had a good sleep. I feel permanently cold. Definitely piled weight on. Eyebrows thinned a lot. The final straw which sent me back to the Gp demanding they do something was the carpal tunnel symptoms all up my left wrist and forearm, bad enough to wake me at night and very uncomfortable during the day.

It's very easy to test, just a simple blood test at the practice nurse.

I d have some f the symptoms but not all.. I will ask for a blood test.

The weight is the worse part for me, vain I know but I burn 2000 ish calories a day (fitbit) and have been eating 1000-1200 calories and no loss. Before that never got above 1500 calories today as I’m short and low tdee.