Can we have a roll call - thyroid problems - sign in here

[ivykaty44]

Can we please have a roll call on thyroid problems of either type?

pretty please casue I know there will be a few of us on here

I coulnd't take beta blocker because of asthma and on ptu only it took a few weeks to get my HR down from it's manic 125bpm! It is now down to a relatively normal 75bpm.

Well doc has put my thyroxine up to 100mcg (TSH 4.5 up from 3.2 last sept). Am feeling really ropey.....question is will it be enough????
What do you reacon peops???

TSH 0.4 ? 4.5 mU/L

FT4 9.0 ? 25 pmol/L
TT4 60 ? 160 nmol/L

FT3 3.5 ? 7.8 nmol/L
TT3 1.2 ? 2.6 nmol/L

These are our local lab ranges - I have gone from nearly 90 ft4 to 13.2 in the last 5 months and 26 to 4.6 ft3 and myTSH has finally started to move up. That was my January tests I have just had the doc reduce my PTU to 30 from 40 to try and slow things down as I was starting to feel hypo. I go back on the 10th march for my next set of bloods and then we will talk more about further reductions.

well my t4 has come back at 17 so much improvment there and not hypo. Am feeling much more alert though so perhaps just a blip as my system recovered, who knows...?

Diagnosed a few years back with underactive throid. Dosage keeps going up and down - doc says it's because my blood pressure has gone through the roof.
So off to the surgery AGAIN today to have more bloods done. Been feeling really ropey lately too so hoping it is only just the need to up the throxine meds.

really katy? I'm not a very good doctor then But thats great you haven't went hypo Im glad to hear that. I suppose 'blips' are to be expected when you consider the huge changes taking place in our bodies. Did they keep you on th same carb dose

I have to go back to gp in a week - so will ask then whether I can start reducing my dose..?

Great to see other thyroid folk on here!

Hypo diagnosed age 21, now 36 and 8 weeks pregnant. I tend to self medicate these days as my docs always think anything below a TSH of 5 is normal. Generally I am quite stable but every few years I have a low bit and need to go up a step. I went up to 3.8 a while back and felt like I was walking through knee deep mud! Aim now is to keep the TSH under 1 throughout the pregnancy. Taking 125mcg most days. Hoping to get blood tests every 4 weeks as I know being hypo or hyper can cause problems.

Bumping

Anyone here with any experience of being pg with an underactive thyroid? I just posted a question you might be able to answer on the pregnancy board...

Sorry bessie can't help, but bumping for you, as I'm sure someone will have experience of this

eddiemccready Conversation is continuing on Bessie's other thread - the hyperlink in her last post.

Please can anyone tell me why I've got to have a fasting blood test for my thyroid results on Tuesday?

Went last week and asked dr for the test for thyroid, have put on weight, very lethargic, clothes tight around neck, muscle pains and last straw was hairdresser noticing my hair coming out when she washed it (I already knew it was thinning at the sides, but her noticing hit home).

So why am I needing to do a fasting blood test? I'm 100% sure diabetes isn't an issue. Anyone?

And can I not fast and not worry about results if I haven't any diabetes symptoms?

Oh, another biggie is periods - very irregular, course of Norethisterone and my period is now over a week late

FudgeGirl I never had to do any fasting bloods, through a long and protracted thyroid cancer (I've written all about further up thread).

BUT I would still act on the side of caution and fast for the test.

FudgeGirl

Maybe they were also testing your glucose levels? With thyroid you don't usually have to fast. Make sure you get the exact levels (ie get the numbers) rather than them just telling you you are 'normal'. Good luck with it and post your levels here afterwards please, as there are different levels of 'normal' thyroid results and believe it or not your doc might not be using the right ones.

Hello - I have been watching this thread and wonder if anyone can help with some questions?

My thyroid grew rather alarmingly when I was pg and after tests (normal) I was told it was just one of these things. 4 years on and it feels like I am being choked.
I have no energy, have put on two stone despite a very strict diet (for two years), hair is thinning, voice very hoarse, periods are stupidly heavy, etc. Some days when ds is at nursery, I just sleep all day then am awake half the night.

The test results are always normal.

If I had a private test done eg through Thyroid UK, would my doctor have to take the blood sample and are the tests more accurate?

I cannot go on like this but know something is not right.

Mary what are your actual results? Do they test your TSH, T4 & T3?

fudge perhaps they are just making 100% sure diabetes isn't an issue so they can rule it out? I had a GTT a couple of weeks ago as baby is measuring big & although they thought it was unlikely I had diabetes they wanted to check to make sure.
Do ask if it's ok to take your thyroid meds during the fast. I forgot to ask so skipped them that day as I didn't want to mess up the results of the GTT.

bessie - it sounds so naive but I am unsure of the actual results.
The doctor answered that the blood tests were normal despite my asking what they actually were.

I really want an independent test but don't know how to go about doing it especially if there is a need to take a (large) blood sample - as opposed to a drop.

It is also becoming increasingly difficult to get an appointment at our Health Centre which is a PITA.

Although the recoeptionist can't give me my actual results (all she knows is if I'm "normal" or not) any of the GPs or nurses at my surgery can tell me, the figures come up on the screen when they call up my notes. If I were you, I would make an appointment & demand to know what the figures are. Don't leave until they tell you! Also, find a more sympathetic GP at your practice (or change surgery?). You could have "borderline" results which a different GP would take more seriously.

There's an NHS doc which states the current "normal" ranges (sorry, am on my phone & don't have link - can someone else provide?) the first thing would be to check if you are within that, and even if you are, they still need to take your symptoms seriously. Could you suggest a 3 month trial to see what difference it makes?

Hi Mary that sounds awful. Far be it my place to diagnose you as thyroid symptoms can be attributed to many other things BUT it really does sound to me like you may be underactive. Bessie is right. You need to demand your exact figures and don't let them pass you off with a 'It's normal'. It is your right to have these figures and they should easily be able to read them off a screen.

Thyroid UK is a great place for info and advice. Ask them if they can send you the link to an article (I forget its title or who it is by) that should help you guide your doctor into acknowledging the narrowing range of thyroid normal levels. Ideally your TSH should be around 2 or under. And your T4 is a key figure too. There should be no reason your doctor will refuse you a new blood test. But first of all - get on the phone now and insist you have the exact TSH and T4 levels they last tested for. Then get back to us with them!

Here is some good advice from Thyroid UK about getting your results from the docs:

www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/pages/diagnosis/gp_visit.html

I phoned today for an appointment and the first one available is next Friday!

Will have a good look at the Thyroid UK pages. Thanks.

Mary - can you ask the surgery to print off you results for you? I asked for my results recently and was told new policy prevents them giving numbers over the phone so I just went in and asked for a printout of the lab report. They cannot refuse as it is your test result!

blueberry - I am going to ask for a new test as the last one was quite a while ago and I know things have changed.

Should I ask anything really specific? I got a bit lost re the various levels, T3, T4 etc but will keep reading until I understand it.

I phoned the surgery and asked for the TSH reading - the last one was taken in March last year and was 1.78. They did not test T3 or T4 but will retest next week.

Both parents and all four grandparents had underactive thyroids and it would appear to be familial.

You need a test for TSH and FT4 I would go to the GP, explain your symptoms/family history and request bloods.

I am Hyper so need a totally different set of results but the reference ranges are in my post up ^^^ there somewhere.