Thyroid question

[wildflowersummermeadow]

Hi there

I went to the doc recently about constantly feeling fainty and weird and exhausted and ill all the time. I was expecting it to just be "lack of sleep" (sleep-averse 16 month old, sigh), but the doctors receptionist rang me back with the results of a blood test

"your blood test results are back, they say low iron and low thyroid...doctor says you don't need to do anything. come back in 3 months for another blood test"

does anyone happen to know why i might be waiting for 3 months for another test? is this something that can get better by itself then? or can there be different degrees or stages of the problem?

the only info i can find on the web seems to say it's a long term thing that requires medication...

thanks xx - just in case anyone has any experience or can offer any advice - can i help my thryoid myself?

xxx

Ladies, I hope I'm not hijacking but you all seem very knowledgeable and I could do with some advice, and it seems a bit daft to start another thyroid thread. My mum has hypothyroidism (diagnosed a few years ago and explains an awful lot, IYKWIM) and I am getting increasingly convinced that I do too. My resting heart rate is 52-55, which is off the bottom of the scale (I'm not an elite athlete!), I'm always cold, I'm downright miserable, my skin is dry, my brain is fogged and I'm gaining weight rapidly despite eating 1300 calories a day and exercising. I have been tested before - once when mum was first diagnosed at the suggestion of her GP, and once last summer when I first started having weight problems. TSH levels were 3.0 and 2.7 respectively. I saw my GP this morning and she was happy to order another blood test. If it comes back in the ostensibly 'normal' range again is there any point in my asking to see a specialist - can I even do so? I have read in several places that TSH levels should really be under 2 (or even 1) and the symptoms seem highly suggestive to me.

I just don't want to end up like my mum not getting treated until I'm in my 60s. :(

On the arms aching thing, mine kill when I'm doing things like changing the duvet cover, never occurred to me it could be thyroid related..

If you have symptoms and tsh above range (4.5 or so) they should treat you - not wait til it's over 10. That's not to say they wil but they should. You can also see a private gp or endo if necessary (thyroid uk have a list +r google just make sure it's a thyroid specialist)
Also do the blood test first thing in the morning and ask for throid antibodies plus b12, cholesterol, ferritin and vit d

... and don't forget to get more than the TSH tested. It isn't reliable as a test, especially if the problem is higher up the chain (pituitary or hypothalamus). Ask for a free T4 and free T3 test, especially if you are paying privately.

Jbck - have you considered that your adrenals could be a bit knackered?

jaype tell me more about my adrenals? Everything else is knackered so why not them too

this is interesting - everybody seems to have very similar symptoms. ALthough I dont know anything about adrenals

i seem to keep coming back on with extra queries (feel free to look at my long list a few posts up).

Just thinking about neck symptoms. My neck looks thick but isn't sore to touch. I have done the test that i have seen detailed of stretching neck back and drinking water and looking for lumps/swellings but don't really know what I am looking for?

Basically - my neck looks thick and when I lean it back and run my hands down either side I think it goes "out" towards the bottom on both sides - does this sound familiar to anybody? K

Adrenals - getting a good night's sleep but waking and feeling like you've only had five minutes' worth, feeling weak - especially with sustained exercise, extreme paleness or conversely darkening of the skin (depending on what's causing the problem), low blood pressure so you get dizzy when you stand, and when you get ill you get REALLY sick. I'd have a stomach ache, then spend a day being sick, unable to keep down even water, followed by about 2 days of bed rest to get back to vaguely normal.

Setfiretotherain - Boots chemist offer free repeat perscription collection service. It's great, there is no need to collect scripts from your GP each month. Boots order and have it ready for you to collect on monthly basis. I just make reminder in my calendar /organise. My memory is like a sieve but better if i have my thyroxine! I hope a similar service is available near you.

i got my blood test results today. apparently all's normal. i'm not convinced as i don;t feel normal tho.
My TSH is 0.34 and they didn't test for T4 apparently that's not standard practice
the gp said they'd test for anaemia - but i don't know which result to look at for that.

they did a full blood count, TSH, liver function and serum electrolytes.

can anyone interpret?

I don't know anything about 'hyper' but 0.34 seems very low for tsh if you're not on meds - can you see gp, ask about reference range, read up on hyper symptoms and see what you think?

According to my results print out the range is 0.27-4.2. I'll have a look at the hyper symptoms.

My main issue is tiredness, being run down and taking ages to get over any illness.

Ok my hyper symptoms are ...

Difficulty concentrating - I assumed linked to tiredness
Fatigue
Frequent bowel movements - i assumed this was my IBS
Heat intolerance - I'm usually cold but have been getting sweaty at nights sometimes.
Increased appetite
Nervousness - I'm naturally nervous
Restlessness - see above
Weight loss
Diarrhea - IBS?
Hair loss - post pregnancy ?
Nausea and vomiting - have had nausea a lot especially at night when up with dc

So that's 11 out of 26 symptoms that I copied from here

It certainly seems possible. What do you think?

How about starting a new thread to get advice? I don't know much about hyper. I do know that if you have hashimotos you can go from hyper to hypo and back as the thyroid is slowly stopping working - every now and then it gets kick started and so you get tsh results going from high to low. But this is stepping outside what I've read about. I'd definitely go back to gp though. You could also do private tests or ask for antibodies test to see if you have autoimmune disease

Sounds like a Path Lab rule ' no FT4 if TSH within range', which is what we have here, unless you complain. With a low TSH like that, albeit withing range, you might be succesful in getting FT4 and FT3 tested if your GP writes on the form next time '?hypERthyroidism'.

It's impossible to diagnose hypER with any confidence without an FT4/FT3.

The difficulty with symptom lists is the cross over between hypO and hypER in terms of symptoms. Can we have a temp and resting pulse please? They don't lie.

D

I've been diagnosed with Hasimoto's disease and have just started taking 50mg of thyroxine first thing in morning. Endo told me to wait 30 mins before takign food or coffee etc after tablet.

Is this long enough? Someone on this thread or another, mentioned coffee/hot drinks interfered with absorption. Or should I take tablet last thing at night (I do miss my morning cup of coffee first moment I stagger out of bed

Also what is all this about cabbage, broccoli, sprouts being counter productive if you have low thyroid. I always eats loads of these veg, and raw as well as cooked (particularily addicted to raw cabbage). Is that makign things worse for me, should I avoid them entirely and WHY?

Thanks.
So far I am feeling cheerful to have been diagnosed, and suffering less obvious anxieties as a result of knowing WHY I am anxious, but still feelign a bit tired/joint pain etc/totally forgetful. But quite calm I suppose.

Hiya and welcome to our club :-)
I also need my morning cuppa - I wake at night or early morning, take tablets, go back to sleep then I can have my cuppa when I get up
I have never paid any attention to that food stuff so can't comment on that
Did you get your b12, vit d, ferritin checked yet? You are probably deficient in at least one

Hi people,

Was going to start a thread, but saw this and wondered if anyone has any advice.

I have a large nodule on one side of my thyroid (think large grape size) and also another smaller one on the other side. These where found last year. I have been biopsied and had scans at 6 months intervals.

My thyroid function was tested (don't know the results) but my GP was dismissive to the point of rudeness in telling me that my weight problem was not due to my thyroid, I was too intimidated to ask anything else.

So I am going again to see specialist this week, and I want to ask the right questions, Doctors do seem to scare me and I just end up agreeing with them, and then walking away frustrated with myself for not speaking up.

I am in utter despair over my weight issue. I don't want to sound whiny, but whatever I do makes very little difference. My hair is so thin, but only on top, its embarrassing. My hairdresser has even commented. My joints ache. I am very down.

I want to speak to the Endeowhatsit (specialist I was referred to), and find out what we are doing here? I just feel dismissed.

Any suggestions for questions?

Thanks

hello - just checking in to say i have made another appointment to see GP on Tuesday. I am going to insist on blood tests as I can't wait until april.

I seem to be feeling worse at the moment - quite nauseous at times and i feel as though i could just sit down all day. I think i have another symptoms (dont know if it is a symptom) - i have mentioned before that i have hairy chin well that is still happening but i have noticed that underarm hair is really slow to grow back after shaving - is this thyroid related? I am preparing a list to take with m e on tuesday.

Checking in. I've an under active thyroid and my symptoms have been very bad recently, will be calling gp on Monday for results. I get the achy arm thing too, I never knew that was a symptom!

OK Duck - so you've got nodules that are being monitored.

You have had your thyroid function checked, but you don't know what the figures were.

You have classic hypothyroid symptoms that your doc says are nothing to do with your thyroid. He's probably saying that because your test came back within range and he doesn't know much about this thyroid stuff.

You need a full thyroid function test - TSH, FT4, FT3 and antibodies. You also need these checking: ferritin, Vit B12, folate, Vit D and a full iron panel if you can get it.

Katie - you may find you actually start losing body hair...

D

How sad is it that there are so many of us feeling terrible, sleep-walking through life because GPs don't care what is causing our problems. They're happy enough to dish out ADs like Smarties but a few simple blood tests is too much to ask.

This is exactly when you need to be assertive and strong and demanding, but when you are least able to do that because you're tired and confused and have no self-esteem.

I know there are people with awful illnesses and that our long lists of niggles probably seem trivial to them, but it is like "death by a thousand paper cuts" - you feel so bad because every area of your body is affected in some way - your skin, your hair, your mind, your moods, your vision, your appetite/weight, the aches the pains, the headaches, the lingering colds.

Then once they 'fix' your thyroid, it starts all over again with vitamin deficiency or adrenals etc. Its so crap.

Thanks for responding, I have been looking at the Stop the Thyroid Madness web page too as was mentioned above

Really helpful.

Its so true, I feel so pathetic, and I look back and think I wasn't always like this.

I have also been having what I thought were anxiety attacks, not convinced now.

Palpitations and shaking hands, and I get tingling hands alot too.

My face looks dragged down?

I am going to go armed with what I have learned - and try not to be brushed off.

Something is wrong, I know it is. I just gave up and thought it was all in my head. I need to be pro-active now.

Thanks, and I will post what happens this week, never know it might help someone.

hey - my face looks dragged down too - i keep having to remind myself to smile as if i don't i look like a really miserable person - and I am not (honestly).

It is as though my face is just being pulled down, particularly round the mouth. The only prob with reminding myself to smile is that I could end up looking really false as I have this frozen smile on my face - I really need to get something sorted.

Do you feel nauseous at times? I have been lately - not all the time - just sometimes comes over me in a wave - whether it means I am not eating enough I don't know.

Good luck with your appointment Duck. Keep updated and i will too. K

Hello, can I join in?

I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid when I told my GP I wasn't getting pregnant 2 years ago. My initial TSH level was 7.5 iirc. Apart from not conceiving I had mild enough symptoms to be able to ascribe them to something else, eg leaving friends and family and my job to move abroad, and having a 2 year old, and eating too much. Luckily I had moved to France where I could see any number of endochronologists of my choosing, but I have stuck with my GP who monitors me every 1-3 months (currently every two weeks because of some other hormones I've been taking), and listens/adjusts my dose when I say I want to be at the bottom end of the range to help with conception. I have copies of all my results. Reading this thread is making me dread moving back to the UK!