Possible subclinical hypothyroidism. What to expect

[Beesneeze82]

Looking for people's experiences of subclinical hypothyroidism.

I finally made a GP appointment after having low energy for months and feeling that something must not be right. I am a single parent with 3 and 7 year olds and co-parent with my ex so get time 'off'. But when I do, I feel wiped out. And it is often a real effort to do stuff with the kids when they are with me.

I don't drink alcohol or caffeine and get a good amount of sleep most nights.

I thought I'd might anemic (as had been in pregnancy) and had been taking spatone but when when bloods came back they showed:

T4 11.7 (10.0-20.0)
TSH 7.5 ( 0.2 -4.0)
GP wants to test again in 3-4 weeks before considering treatment.

Any experiences of having a confirmatory blood test?

Thank you!

Forgot to say,

I'm taking medication for anxiety and because I thought I was anemic I'd mentioned to the GP that my periods had become heavier. I see that both of these things could be related to thyroid.

I've also been having daily headaches for months. Could this be linked?

I have an underactive thyroid, and that was found when I went to the GP with extreme exhaustion. The odd thing is, the main cause of the exhaustion wasn't the thyroid at all. It was limping along and ready to die, but wasn't quite dead yet.
What was causing me the most problems (including severe shortness of breath, which I'd presumed was asthma) was a folic acid deficiency, caused by a medication for epilepsy. I WAS anaemic, it just wasn't iron or B12 I was short of.
I'd advise you to ask for a complete blood screening if possible, just to check all your levels. I had absolutely no idea there was more than one cause of anaemia.

Yep thyroid can affect your periods and cause anxiety, I can’t remember about headaches though as it was a couple of decades ago I was diagnosed.

I was told “here’s a prescription (thyroxine) have a blood test in 2 months to check you are in normal range“ ......... that was it! Then it’s just annual thyroid function blood tests and an occasional tweak of your dose.

Many patients feel absolutely fine once they are on thyroxine and are soon back to their usual self, hopefully you will soon be feeling better.

Word of warning. Thyroxine needs to be taken on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before caffeine and, The British Thyroid Foundation advises not to take iron, (or even multivitamins containing any iron) within a couple of hours of taking thyroxine, as it affects the absorption.

Even after being on thyroxine if you ever go back to the dr to say you are feeling tired again you will be repeatedly told “but you’re levels are within ‘normal’ range” and sent on your way.

The BTF say many hypothyroidism patients don’t feel well unless their iron, vitamin B12 & Vitamin D are at the top end of the normal range but Drs view even the lowest end of normal range to be fine, regardless of the fact you are too exhausted to get off the sofa, that’s even if you can persuade them to check Vit D & B12 in the first- if I sound bitter it’s because I am, I’ve spent the best years of my life too knackered to do anything. Thankfully a new dr in my practice referred me a couple of years ago to an endocrinologist and I feel okay-ish for the first time since my early 20’s!

I hope you bounce back to full energy soon.

Thanks both!!

I wasn't aware of other causes of anemia either!
My bloods have a selection of tests actually...

Folate 12.9 (5.4- 24.0) seems ok?
Ferritin 47 (10.0-322) on the low side?
Hb 127 (115-160)
B12 looks to be bang in the middle of the range.

I'm sorry you had such a rotten experience Pinkshrimp but thank you for the tips especially around the ranges.

And thank you for the well wishes!
I too hope to be full of energy soon! It's a relief in some ways that there might be something wrong and that it could have remedy. Fingers crossed.

I'll just have to see what the repeat bloods show.

Post on the thyroid page on Health Unlocked. I found it invaluable.

My TSH was around 4.5 to 5 and I felt horrendous. Now I aim for under 2, ideally 1, in order to feel OK.

Google optimal thyroid levels. Lab ranges aren't great.

ps I'm on 75mg levo.

ah you've had blood screening, I see. Like Pinkshrimp, I too was just given a packet of thyroxine on repeat prescription, told to come back in a few months for a test to check they'd kicked in, then that was it, apart from an annual test to check the levels. It's just another tablet I take now.

Thanks for the HealthUnlocked tip Living

You're welcome. It's a godsend!

I had this and would recommend asking for referral to endo, emphasising the symptoms. I felt so much better when my tsh was down to 2, after I started thyroxine.

Do push op because I was a new woman after thyroxine. I would emphasise that it isn’t really subcljnical when you have symptoms

The British Thyroid Foundation advises not to take iron

Also calcium, magnesium and very high fibre foods. Also soya. (See btf and thyroxine leaflet.)

Technically, with the nice guidance, you could ask for a trial of low dose thyroxine at those levels op.

Get bloods done first thing in the morning too. Tsh can be just a point or two higher.

Btf are really good. They've helped me out loads in the past especially with pregnancy. The magazine is really helpful. It's worth becoming a member.

The lot on HealthUnlocked aren't that keen on btf but actually both are coming more into line with each other and agree way more than they disagree! In fact I think they both agree on pretty much all things now.

Link gives greAt advice. Don't accept "within range." Most feel best at around tsh 1 to be honest, but everyone is different.

Some people really need a very suppressed tsh to feel well and some need t3 aswell. But you'd only ever explore those options after checking vit d, iron etc (ferritin must be over 70/80) and after making sure thyroxine was tweaked to a good dose for a good 3 months.

I always found this book helpful to explain everything, though the btf are really good too.

Thyroid Disorders (Understanding) (Family Doctor Books) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1903474191/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_VBmEFbPQSGJM8