Underactive Thyroid - tired/bad days? Is this normal

[BabySocksNeverStayOn]

I have been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid a year ago. I'm on 75mg of Levothyroxine and I'm largely feeling much better. I feel great most of the time, but every 3 weeks or so (no set pattern, just general observation) I get a few bad/tired days. The kind where I'm exhausted when I wake and it's lasts all day (brain fog/muscle aches) I'd just like to know if this is normal and is something I just have to get used to having an underactive thyroid?! Like I say, Most of the time I feel great and I've just taken up the c25k challenge which has made me feel amazing. I just hate those bad days

Hi ishotintexas I doubt I will unless I change GP's (which I don't want to do as they have been my families GP's for years) or I go it alone and fund privately which is something I can't really afford to do, in the S you are way ahead than us, or maybe the NHS just don't want to fund is more like it!

To be clear, the reason NDT is not licensed here is that it did not need to be licensed. It can be prescribed on the NHS, on a named patient basis, and if your GP will take responsibility for it. The difficulty comes that there are not many, if any, GPs still in practice, who were around before synthetic thyroxine, so they don?t understand it, they don?t trust it and therefore they don?t want to get involved with it.

Mind you, NDT is not the answer for everyone. I tried it after T3 only made me very unwell and it made no difference whatsoever. I am however showing some improvement on thyroxine.

I would like to try it though, I understand some GP's give T3 alongside T4 maybe this is an alternative, rockinD did you have T4 and T3 together? and can I ask why your GP tried NDT first as this is an unusual option these days as you'll know.

My doctor's not budging on the dose. This is why now I'm writing down my 'tired' days so I go in and show her when I feel bad rather than just saying "oh, well I still get tired days" without having any evidence.

It's been about 6/7 months now so I've got a good history to show her. It might be a case of suggesting to her that every 3 days I up my dose to 100mg and then give it 3 months. If I don't improve then up the dose slightly more or that may be just the 'extra' I need.

Why do they have to be so bloody awkward, why can't they listen to us about how we actually FEEL! I mean levo costs about £1 per month, I read something that it's like the second most common drug dispensed hence why they don't want us on NDT.

Babysocks, I must confess that that's a battle I haven't felt brave enough to take on since my AD encounter with my GP (even though my basal temperature alone should have convinced him I was hypo! 35.6C for about 5 years and constant goosebumps and feeling cold even in the high summer of 2003!!).

Instead I go into pharmacy in France every time I'm there with my packet, tell them I've come away without my levox and buy another packet. They will sell it to you otc if you have the packet to show them that it's genuinely been prescribed to you. Like that I have enough spare to be able to double up my 50mcg doses when I feel crapper.

My GPs seem persuaded that if the dose goes up it's really easy to become thyrotoxic. I know the symptoms of thyrotoxicity and even taking 100mcg a day for a fortnight (which I have had to do on occasion especially in the winter) I have never had so much as a vague palpitation. I do however have normal energy levels, better sleep, softer skin and no feelings of anxiety when I double my dose.

i've assumed cynically that the NHS's reluctance to prescribe thyroxine is because you then get all your prescriptions free, so although the levo is cheap as chips, you could start racking up a lot of costs....?

I bought some NDT skyblue. The experiment was not a success.

Then I was taken off my meds (doc thought I was taking T3) for six months, now I am on levo and doing quite well.

Looking at the last post, it does seem strange that the NHS hasn't figured out that if it treats thyroidians properly there will be a lot fewer prescriptions for ADs, pain relief etc.

please contact/ join the British thyroid foundation for support and advice. synthyroid isn't as accurate as levo.

i also needed to improve my iron levels via spatone before i felt back to normal, and was also fobbed off with the ususl crap about this being as good as it would get, not getting younger etc. i think it is misogynist crap the way we, usually, middle aged women are fobbed off

So agree with this mercibucket Gp tried to tell me I had ME because they basically had "done all the tests" and couldnt find out what was wrong it was definately a kind of well, your getting older, not as fit as you think you are , settle for a wee gentle swim in the pool instead of the lengths you used to do have a gentle stroll instead of a good walk, sod that ! went to private Dr found out I have auto immune thyroid disease and thyroid is underactive, so now on thyroxine turns out suprise suprise they hadnt done all the blood tests they could have or it would have shown up, why do they do this to us?

That's interesting awaynboilyurheid as I was 'diagnosed' with ME in my 20's and I'm wondering now that actually I've been suffering with an underactive thyroid all those years too. I was on so much medication and in the end I just had enough and tried to come off it and even that caused awful side effects. If I'd been properly diagnosed in the first place then perhaps I wouldn't have such a crap medical history.

yup, put on prozac and then seroxat in my 20s and only diagnosed a year later when I moved gps. I have never really recovered from the experience and seroxat tbh (I was at uni). it was the pill that did my thyroid. when I came off it for a while I went back to normal and then thyroid went again when I went back on it. I think I've always been onnthe low side. you tend to have to raise your dose apparently if on the pill but I blame the pill. it went loopy in pregnancy last year (as did I) and has just had another wobble post partum (lo 7 mo)

I spent years not being adequately treated till the last few years. I'm v sensitive to small changes, sometimes a dose of 125/150 alternate days works.

by the way, in 2011/12 some 100 mg tablets were found to be faulty and not strong enough. an mrha report has shown that brands can vary a little in strength. so it's worth keeping an eye out.

I'm v lucky, I can ask for tests when I feel wobbly as it can be so variable in me. I'm always right.