Thyroid experiences and cholestrol

[IseeIsee]

Hi, I was diagnosed with Hashmitoes six years ago. My TSH was around 1 around two years ago and I felt fine as was my Cholesterol.

My current GP reduced my medication and my TSH went to 2.5. I have been feeling very constipated despite a high fruit /veg and wholegrains diet combined with exercise.

I went for blood tests last week and the nurse rang to say bloods are fine. TSH is fine but cholesterol is up so I need to eat better and exercise more. I eat lots of fruit/salads and exercise every day. I asked what TSH was and she said 3.5. I have a phone consultation with GP tomorrow because I said TSH was not great

I feel like just changing my GP because I feel terrible and I'm getting worse.

Has anyone any experience of changing GP.

Can you please share your story.

GP's are very bad at managing thyroid problems IME, with the endo team at my local hospital not being a hell of a lot better.
Cholesterol problems (from my research) go hand in hand with hypothyroidism.

Ask for a referral and ignore TSH - look at T4 and T3 levels and where they sit in the normal range (they want to be in the top 1/4 of the normal range for you to be optimal.)

My GP tried to reduce my meds a couple of weeks ago because my TSH was near 0. I asked what the others were and they were both within normal range, but he said they might go higher at some point so he was basically about to make me feel like crap for the next 8 weeks because one test (the most pointless one!) was out of range but the others were fine. I told him I’ve been dealing with this for 20 years and I understand the test results.

Make sure you ask lots of questions, get all the blood tests done each time, not just TSH, and do some reading so you can be your own advocate.

I ended up telling my GP that I know my own body and that I’m not having any hyper symptoms, so no, I won’t be reducing my medication and that I want to be referred to an endocrinologist so that they can look into why those levels appear to show different results and I can potentially enquire about other methods of treatment as I still feel hypo with apparently hyper levels. I don’t expect great things from the endo either to be fair, but I’m not letting a GP mess with my medication based on a test which has repeatedly been shown to be bollocks.

My GP refuses to refer me to an Endo saying they won't see me with my numbers.

Am I right in thinking even without other readings eg T4 , TSH of 3.5 is not great.

Endos aren't often any better than GPs. They are often diabetes experts.

Your TSH should really be under 1 for someone on thyroid hormone replacement to feel well.

Can you see another GP?

It states this in the NICE guidelines:

Aim to maintain TSH levels within the reference range when treating primary hypothyroidism with levothyroxine. If symptoms persist, consider adjusting the dose of levothyroxine further to achieve optimal wellbeing, but avoid using doses that cause TSH suppression or thyrotoxicosis.

As you have symptoms your dose should be increased as per the guidelines. A TSH of 1 is not suppressed or indicative or thyrotoxicisis.