Can someone please help me to piece together my symptoms.

[Twopeapods]

Sorry, it's a bit complicated so please bear with me as I'm getting desperate. I haven't been feeling 'well' for about 6 months and it's getting worse. I have bad fatigue which I initially went to GP with but said I have two small children etc etc, had pneumonia 18 months ago caused by strep B, have also had two strep B infections over 18 months in my pelvis requiring antibiotics.
So I went to GP in November saying I was still feeling exhausted, and over 18 months have gained about two stone although no change in diet, and despite following a plan which I have done very successfully twice (weight watchers) the scales did not budge AT ALL in the whole of December. They did blood work which came back normal so I haven't been back.
However since November I've got even worse. I feel like I'm constantly bloated, my periods are lasting 7-8 days and are so heavy I'm wearing a tampon and a pad and will soak through it all within a couple hours. I've also been getting bad nausea for about a month, and don't have a great appetite. I do get hungry but can only manage smallish meals as I am feeling full quickly, and cannot stomach sweet things at all like chocolate as it's far too sickly (something I never thought possible before) I even gave away all my xmas chocolates.
I just think that despite not having a great appetite and being very careful when I do eat, I am sure the weight gain is not food related. I've gained 3lbs since December! And I am sick of being tired, feeling nauseous and bloated all the time.
Please does anyone have any ideas or thoughts? I'm getting to breaking point. My DH now does all night waking from the children as I CANNOT do it and I feel so bad.

Ask your GP to check your thyroid function, vitamin B12 and folate, vitamin D, and serum ferritin and ask to have a copy of the results with the reference ranges. People here can interpret them for you if doctor just says 'normal' again.

My money would be on your thyroid, but I'm a historian, not a doctor!

Is your tummy sore and are you peeing more frequently?

Aah and I forgot to say that lately I have been getting a pain in my lower back and pelvis and need to pee loads so I thought it was a urine infection so been trying to flush it out drinking water and cranberry juice but it's still the same after a few weeks. I feel like a bloody mess.

They tested my TSH level and was told it was normal. My mum was sure my thyroid was to blame as she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in her 30s and it can run in families.

Have you considered fibroids?

No such thing as 'normal'. Often when a doctor says 'normal' they actually mean withing the reference range, which can be a long way from optimal, which is where you really want to be.

It would be worth asking what the actual figure was for TSH. if it's over 2.5 then you're definitely in the zone for having problems.

I'll need to see what the symptoms are, I haven't thought of that. After the pelvic infections they sent me for an ultrasound about 16months ago and all they found then was a small cyst on my ovary about the size of a grape and have since said it should not be causing any symptoms.

You need TSH and T4 tested to check for hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism presents as a high TSH and a low T4, so even if TSH is high end of normal and T4 is low end of normal, I'd ask more questions about that.

The other thing that springs to mind (not surprisingly, since I've got it) is Addison's Disease. See if your GP will agree to do a 9am cortisol test? It's just another blood test, but not one that's ever routinely done.

Addison's and hypothyroidism can often go hand-in-hand, by the way (President Kennedy had both).

Elphaba ive read through the NHS website and I'm definitely going to mention this. And I will also ask for the T4 to be tested as well. I just hope the GP will listen.
I used to have loads of energy and I just feel like I'm not being a good mum as it's hard just keeping up with the kids and I'm very irritable come after tea time and I know I'm sharp with them but just can't help it. I've even considered buying thyroxine off the internet just to see if it helps in my exhausted times, but I know that is dangerous and wouldn't really do it I think. Really at the end of my tether.

Diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in the UK is so poor that you'd be surprised how many people do buy their own meds and self treat!