Underactive thyroid

[Pigwig]

Hi all, it's been an awfully long time since I was last on so most of you probably don't know me. Just wanted some advice/reassurance about the fact that I have recently been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid gland (Hashimotos). To cut a long story short, the last year of my life has been a living hell but I am now on 100mcg of thyroxine and feeling a bit more human. My TSH levels are now really good (0.9) but I still don't feel right. Has anyone else experienced this, where your biochemistry looks good but physically you still don't feel well? I'm begining to despair - am I doomed to a life of feeling fatigued and woolly headed?

hi pigwig
welcome to the club : there's quite a few of us underactive thyroids on MN. I was diagnosed with hashimoto's in may 2004 after my 1st pregnancy, and started on 50mcg of thyroxin. since i had ds2 in december 2005, i have been suffering a lot. it seems that i am v.sensitive to minor dose changes, and i have been going hyper (on 100) and hypo (on 75), and am now alternating 100/75, which still doesn't seem to be doing the trick. anyway, my gp has given me the advice to at least wait and see for 3 months after adjusting the dose, before saying it doesn't work, so i don't know how long you've been on 100mcg...? i know how you feel though, the brainfog is the worst, i have it too atm and i just hate the forgetfulness, walking around like a zombie etc. i usually notice i am going hypo again by my reading skills: i used to be a keen reader, but when i am hypo i can't pick up a book, read a page, and still know what i've just read when i turn it over....
probably will sound familiar to you.
so sorry i can't be of more help, but i just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. i'm sure in not too long some of "the others" will be around with words of support for you too. iirc suzy knows a lot about feeling crappy with clinically good tsh values. take care!

Start a thread asking for suzywong, I believe she is the expert on underactive thyroids.

I am no help as I am terribly forgetful at taking my thyroxine, so I am up and down like a yo yo.

I can't offer advice but am in a similar (less advanced diagnostically speaking!) boat to you - all my symptoms add up to underactive thryoid - overwhelming fatigue, severe anemia, weight gain, forgetfulness, cold hands and feet but my bloods come back as normal so the GP won't prescribe thyroxine. Went to see a kinesiologist who said she definitely felt something wrong with my thyroid but as it's not conventional medicine doesn't get me thyroxine! To make matters harder we really want to ttc baby no.3 but feel as if I'm locked in a vicious cycle of weight gain and tiredness with no prospect of a remedy! So I really feel for you because I know how hard it is to convince doctors you are still feeling crap when the bloodwork looks ok.

Cheers guys, thanks for all your understanding and kind words of support. I am starting to feel a bit better this week and have even gone back to work, so I feel like I've achieved alot in the past few days. Honeybunny, I'v been on 100mcg for 2 months now, so perhaps it's just taking time to have an effect. Thirtysomething, I know where you are coming from, I've actually had part of my thryoid gland removed (due to a nodule) and when I started experiencing hypo symptoms, my GP refused treatment.It was only when I changed GPs 2 months later that I finally got treatment. Even then I had to beg my GP to keep increasing my dose because I came down into the normal range and he said I was "normal" again and my symptoms were due to depression!!!! I'm afraid the guidelines for treating thryoid conditions leave a lot to be desired. Keep persisting though with your GP and ask for a referral to an endrocrinologist. Good luck.