Hypothyrodism what are your symptoms?

[loveyoutothemoon]

Can anyone please share their symptoms?

Foggy head, terribly constipated, had to have daily naps, lack of appetite, very weak and became very skinny actually. Went to GP aged 20 crying saying I couldn't stop sleeping (he thought depression)

I think you do get a lot of anxiety - you are aware you're just struggling it shit at things; I had to spend ages thinking very hard about things like writing reports. This leads to low mood etc have to say no to more and more things. I find I can't drink alcohol; I get drunk very quickly and feel ill for days.

Working memory and executive function goes to pot, ( I'm starting to wonder if I'm a bit rubbish in that area at times anyway!) - it definitely affects memory. Hand bag in the fridge, can't multitask.

Having to lie down after doing the hoovering was my mums first symptom.

Muscle weakness - it does actually weaken your proximal muscles. This is why I get very skinny as I don't naturally carry a lot of fat. When I've needed a dose increase I've noticed I simply can't do my regular yoga class; shaking legs, no strength.

Feel the cold a lot. Dry skin. Thinning hair, I've only noticed that as I've got older.

Puffy face and ankles.

Why do you ask? Do you think might?

Huge weight gain that I have never been able to lose, tiredness, feeling the cold easily, I lost my eyebrows and some hair for a short time. Feeling weak and low in energy and as with a PP I rarely drink because it takes so long to recover and the hangover is horrendous.

I have had an underactive thyroid for nearly 20 years (I was 20 when diagnosed) and my medication has lovely been increased over that time from 25mg levothyroxine to 225mg.

Do you know what your results are?

Medication is weight related so the heavier you are the more you need.

Please do get the book by the BMA called understanding thyroid disorders by Dr a toft. It's very clear about tsh needing to be suppressed.

I just found a sheet I picked up at a British thyroid talk too ages ago, given out by an endocrinologist, prof s Pearce that says clearly: the ref range for thyroid is 0.3-4.5; patients do not feel well unless tsh is between 0.3-2.

In addition; you must have good ferritin levels, (over 70) vitamin d (as good as can be really - around 100 is probably best) b12 and folate.

I think they test the b12 to check for pernicious anaemia which is another autoimmune disease, and indeed coeliacs can be an issue too. Might be worth asking for a health over haul to check for all these.

I will add, when my tsh is good (around 0.5-1, and the other things are good too) it can take 3-6 months to feel better, and I do have to slowly pace myself up to a good level of exercise too to get everything going.

The biggest impact for me was getting ferritin over 70 (130) and getting vit d right up. I think the vit c I also took with the iron helped too.

If GP unhelpful about tsh, show the BMA book. Though it sounds like they keep upping you?

Finally, ask for a referral to an endo; some people (a very few) cannot convert the t4 to t3 well. Though my GP did actually test my t3 - it was all the fault of the ferritin and vit d.

I was also in sertraline which I finally found affects the dosage, also listed in the BMA book amongst other medications that can cause issues, eg omeprazole.

Sorry head's been up my arse.
Very long story short, been ill on and off for years, all bloods ok.

Symtoms:
Awful fatigue
Raynaud's
Rashes/red lines on skin
Sun makes me feel ill
Migraines
Coldsores
Low blood pressure
Puffy eyes
Hair coming out
Joint pains
Toe nails falling off
Being sick in the night
Heartburn
Chest pain (mostly on breathing)
Eye pain
Tinnitus
Regular headaches
Carpel tunnel

How 'OK' are your bloods? Do you know the figures? What have you had tested?

Hi, just says my bloods are absolutely normal (repeatedly). No don't know the figures. A load of auto immune, thyroid, blood count etc.

My doc has referred me to a rhumatologist for a second time in 4 years. I'm just so worried I'll get fobbed off again. (Even though I've got more going on now).

Every muscle and joint in my body hurt, profound fatigue, constipation, outer third of eyebrows fell out, lost most of my body hair, brain fog and confusion, lethargy, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, acid reflux, head hair loss, gained 30% of my body weight, low body temperature, palpitations, acid reflux, fasciculations, psoriasis, shall I go on?

You’re entitled to a print out of your results, with the reference ranges. It would be worth getting print outs of all your test results over, say, the last two or three years, and collating them so you can see whether they’re going up or down and where in range your various results are. If your doctor is saying ‘OK’ or ‘normal’, he or she may simply mean that your results are coming back within the reference range, which is not at all the same thing as being optimal. All too often however, it could mean that your GP has missed something that has been flagged by the lab.

If you think you have (or may have) a thyroid problem, the ThyroidUK forum at www.healthunlocked.com is very knowledgeable. They like nothing better than picking over a set of test results.

Thanks for all the comments. I've never seen the docs ranges but when I had a nurse appointment for something else, I was telling her how I was suffering and she looked on the screen at my thyroid results (where they were all boxed together from different years) and said they were all within range. Now I'm not positive but there were about 4 different ones (all thyroid) from different dates and I think they were something like 11, 12, 13 not sure of the other, and not in that order. Or it could've just been 12 and 13. I know for def that they weren't all the same.

11-13 would be way too high for TSH and too low for a healthy FT4.

It sounds as if you really do need to get a print out.

Really? So why would the doc not look back at all my readings and think the same? Sorry I'm a bit lost!

Just to add to everyone else's symptoms - incredible dizziness. Just before being diagnosed I would walk to work looking at all possible places/things to grab onto should I fall over.

Don't think I've ever seen it on a list of symptoms for hypothyroidism though

I've asked my GP's reception this morning for printouts of reference ranges, she said she'd copy my results to pick up this morning and anything that's not on there I need to ask for in writing.

If anyone is around to help me it would be massively appreciated because I really don't know what I'm doing and would like some help please, thanks.

I think I interpreted it wrong?

Is the T3 important still if the T4 has been tested??

Thanks for posting your results.

Your TSH looks OK, but in a normal healthy person, that FT4 would be much higher. On that range, you would expect it to be over 16 and probably more like 19 or 20.

If FT4 is low, then FT3 will also be low. That is inevitable, because T4 converts to T3. T3 is the active hormone that your body needs and if that is low, you will have symptoms, regardless of your 'normal' TSH.

It is therefore entirely possible that you have a thyroid problem, but you will never find a doctor on the NHS who will treat on the basis of FT4/3.

Welcome to my world. This is where I was for years, with results like yours. Thyroid hormone replacement has changed my life. I am self-treating.

Get yourself over to www.healthunlocked.com. You need those guys.

Thanks pleasemrstweedle
Thank you for all the info. And why will no doctor treat on the basis of T4/T3? How did you realise yours was abnormal and how do you self-treat?

Do you reckon the rheumatologist will help me when I go?

If you have symptoms which have prompted a referral to a rheumatologist, I would say there is a more than 50% chance that you will be diagnosed with fibromyalgia. However, like a lot of people with that diagnosis, it looks to me as if you do not have enough thyroid hormones and, if that is the case, you are probably vitamin and mineral deficient as well.

If you have not already had them done, you really need the following blood tests:

TPO and TgAB (these will tell you if you have auto immune thyroid disease)
Vitamin B12 and folate
Vitamin D
Ferritin
Iron panel
Serum cortisol

I have a very long and tedious back story, but it took me nine years to get some treatment off the NHS and if I had known then what I know now, I would have self-treated from the beginning and saved myself years of increasing disability.

Doctors are now blinded by the TSH result, even when classic symptoms are present. It’s as simple as that.

Thanks. What a lengthy process for you. Good that you control it. Where do you get your meds from?

Totally agree with pleasemrstweedie. Thyroid UK and the health unlocked forum are the place to go. I was very ill and they helped me get my health back

Hi marmitelover55, thanks yeah I'm on health unlocked. Good to know you're fighting fit! Were you in a similar situation to me?