UNDERACTIVE THYROID......... I think I might lose the plot!!!

[MarthaSlatternStewart]

Right I have read some of the threads here on hypothyroidism and feel I have really neglected to educate myself, considering I was diagnosed 9 years ago.

Anyway
lately I have put on weight(at least a stone)
feeling tired
very irritable etc
just the usual symptoms
but from November last year my period has started to get abit erratic again
going from every 32 days to this month 47 days
this is not right, so went to doctors on Tuesday to get bloods taken, I have just got off the phone everything is NORMAL!!!!!

I really feel like crying, sounds strange to say but this is not what I wanted to hear, so I asked to speak to doctor, I have to ring back at 12.30

What do I need to say/ask?

Nobody about,
I'm going to make a list of symptoms I'm getting at minute, for starters

Ask if you can go on synthetic T3 in addition to your T4 or have a look at your adrenals. You might have adrenal fatigue (the symptoms are v similar) Unfortunately your Dr's wont recognise this until it gets v severe. I recommend you read STOP The Thyroid Madness Jane A Bowthorpe and Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy. Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfield. Good luck

O thank you moneytree

I'm already on 125/150 alternate days so do think they are looking at something wrong!

going to ring now

Im not a Dr so cant really comment on that. I've just been diagnosed myself so been reading everything about it. So many people rave about Armour but the BMC really dont recommend it hence it might be worth seeing if they will do a synthetic T3 for you instead. Be interesting to see how you get on. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Well just off the phone

doctor is msytified Everything (even T3) was checked came back normal

He did say in June it was at lower end so it could be the effect of that BUT I have been on the same meds for longer than that

He said to get bloods done in a months time

God I'm fed up, its worse when you know you don't feel normal and they say everything is normal

Did you actually get figures?

From experience you can be in normal range but not feeling normal.

If your figures are at the high end of normal it's worth discussing whether they'd agree to a small dose increase.

I did this and had repeat blood tests a few months later, my figures were still normal but lower in the ranges but I felt a million times better.

Did they check iron levels and ferritin at the same time too?

From memory, if your ferritin levels are really low, you don't utilise the thyroid hormones fully. Symptoms are also very similar to underactive thyroid

Oh yeah he did say iron levels were on low side but he didn't want to put me on iron tabletsjust up the green veg

tyler80 I did say to him maybe I need to be a a different level of normal, mine were high and it sounded like he thought high mean't good because he didn't want to increase my dose incase it swung the other way

I find the treatment of hypothyroidism to be more complicated than your GP will make out. Just take Levothyroxine and all will be fine they told me.

I am now on Armour (natural pig thyroxine, rather than synthetic thyroxine) and feel loads better.

I would ask for your thyroid panel levels. My dr thinks that the TSH is of little value except diagnostically at the outser. If you don't produce any thyroxine, why does it matter what your thyroid stimulating hormone level is? Mine is less than 1. Your T3 is the active thyroxine that your body uses. T4 is the inactive thyroid hormone that your body converts to T3. So I feel best when my T3 is towards the upper end of normal. My T4 I don't worry about so much because it is not the active compound. Some people have problems converting T4 to T3 so even with a low TSH and high T4, you could have low T3, which is what you actually need.

Sorry - this is probably quite confusing. The point is that it is rather complex. If your GP doesn't play ball, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist. I take Armour because it contains T1, T2, Y3 and T4, whereas Levothyroxine is T4 only.

I would second the suggestion on Stop The Thyroid Madness.

had under active thyroid for 15 yrs after couple of years had to have dose adjusted as it was too low am now on 300 grms levothyroxine and feeling fine,the weight gain and difficulty shifting it(have'nt lost any and got turfed out of diet club)is the hardest thing for me to cope with.

meant to say had same problem with periods and sometimes had two a month or bleeding would'nt stop but doc got it sorted out with coil.

voleinahole do you get armour on prescription

I have also never heard of Armour - did your gp prescribe it or an endocrinologist?