Do any Bicester GPs prescribe Armour Thyroxine?

[SingingSilver]

My symptoms of underactive thyroid are getting worse and worse and thyroxine doesn't seem to be doing much besides keeeping me from slipping into a coma! Are there any GPs in Bicester that prescribe Armour?

How much thyroxine are you on and what are your test results looking like?

I only get tested for TSH. My last test it was just over 4, and that was after about 8/9 months of me finally researching low thyroid online and taking steps to help myself.

It has been lower, but I've ever thought to ask before! I've been taking 100mg for 12 years.

*never thought

So you're taking 100mcg thyroxine and your TSH is still over 4. Do you still have symptoms?

You may not need Armour of course, you may not be converting the T4 you are taking into T3, you may be simply not taking enough thyroxine or you may have something like low iron, or vitamin D, or vitamin B12, or folate, that is preventing the T4 from working.

I believe you would be very lucky to get any form of natural dessicated thyroid via an NHS GP, even on a named patient basis, but the information on how to buy it yourself is widely available on the web if you choose to go that route.

However, you should be aware that you might get yourself into more difficulties if you go that route without having all the tests outlined above. Have you had any of them already?

No, I've only ever had the TSH test. My doctor didn't even tell me to take my meds alone on an empty stomach. I swallowed them in the middle of breakfast for years!

I basically have every symptom of underactive thyroid - overweight, puffy face, foggy brain, blurry eyesight sometimes, joint pains, lethargy, hair loss, dry skin.

I've started to incorporate vitamins and minerals into my diet - vitamin C with my thyroxine tablet, magnesium with calcium and vitamin D before I go to bed (that has helped with the joint pain) but I don't mention it to my GP because he doesnt care to hear about it frankly!

I have one last appointment with him in a couple of weeks, and if nothing productive occurs I will start to make the rounds of other local GPs.

I suggest you do some reading between now and your next appointment and then ask him for the tests outlined above. They are all available on the NHS.

If he is unwilling, or says he is unable to test any of them, particularly FT4 and FT3, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist, who will be able to do those tests.

Your GP is keeping you unwell. Don't let him get away with it!

You should see a naturopath. Mainstream medicine has nothing to offer apart from thyroxine. A naturopath will help you increase your thyroid hormone uptake, conversion of t4 to T3, balance of hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis etc.

That sounds like a great idea if you can find one that knows their stuff.

In my quest for health I have met a host of charlatans of various sorts and been offered some very 'woo' solutions to what is, after all, a basic physical problem.

Thank you RockinD, I'll take your advice now, and then perhaps look for a naturopath if the NHS can't (or won't) help me.

I heard there is a great doctor in Birmingham but you need a referral to see him, and it costs a bomb for appointments and medication. Maybe that's something I can look into when I am back in work.

before trying armour etc, try getting your tsh down to below 1 and see how you feel. if your gp wont let you, you can either
take more meds anyway and see how you feel, then tell gp
or
try a different gp or practice

its common to feel unwell with a tsh above 2, so you are not alone in needing an increase in meds

also get ferritin, b12 and vit d tested, as others have recommended

then supplement as required eg get ferritin up to say 90

the thyroid websites have lists of helpful gps for thyroid problems eg thyroid uk

Thank you

I made a mistake in my OP, I said my TSH has been lower than 4, when I meant higher. 4 is the lowest it's been I think, my doctor commented that it was 'really good', clearly not!

The annoying thing is he told me to lose weight 'for my health'. I go to the gym twice a week, I do voluntary work on a farm one day a week, my diet is fairly low-carb, and I drink nothing but water, plus I have been taking measures to reduce my TSH myself - yet I'm bordering on a dress size 20. It doesn't make any sense and I'm sure he thinks I'm a liar.

So I'm doing lots of research online and I'm going in with a folder of information - the bare bones of what's wrong and what I need, and lots of back-up information if I need it.

do you have that book
understanding thyroid disorders
by toft?

that says about aiming for tsh at the bottom of the range and t4 at the top

the book is part of a bma series, and he is a uk endocrinologist, so a good book to show the gp

you can buy it in boots or sainsburys as well as online

No, I just ordered 'Your thyroid and how to keep it healthy' by Dr Barry Peatfield, but I'll order that one too!

I just noticed there is a long thread on thyroid issues already, I'll ask the mods to add my thread to the end of that.