Thyroid issues? Doctor thinks its all in my head

[Piffyonarockbun]

Just had an horrendous doctors appointment. For years i have been complaining of constant tiredness. I get a blood test, they say its normal and send me away. I stay quiet for a bit until it gets worse and go back. Rinse and repeat. I now have constant exhaustion, thinning hair and eyebrows, dry skin, im constantly cold and 4 weeks ago my voice changed. It is constantly hoarse. Most of the time i can hardly speak.
Went to doctors today. My tsh is 2.62. He told me 5.33 is when something is wrong and why am i not happy cos all the blood tests show im perfectly healthy.

I had ptsd a few years ago. It was treated privately and now im fine but he seems to think its down to that. I got upset about being fobbed off again. I told him something was wrong. He said its not my thyroid. All vitamin levels are sound as well according to him. He cant explain the other symptoms. He gave me an acid reflux medicine for my throat making a big show that he was giving me something (clearly because all my addled little mind wants is a prescription). He did say if i come back in 4 weeks he will refer me to a specialist but didnt say what kind!!

Im at home in tears. Can anyone advise me. It maybe isnt my thyroid but i need to know what it is. The doctor repeatedly said its not a physical issue and said it was self induced. how do i induce my eyebrows to fall out or my voice to go hoarse??

There are no kind compassionate doctors at my surgery. I think its all been beaten out of them by government cuts but i cant go on like this. Should i go private? Who to? How?

I had similar problems with tiredness, huge weight gain and hoarseness that sometimes left me unable to speak. I kept having thyroid tests, amongst others, but everything came back normal. I was prescribed anti anxiety meds and was sent to see a psychologist as the GP thought it was in my head.

Recently though it turns out it is in my head, but not in the way the GP thought. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I wish I'd been referred for testing for this 20 years ago when the symptoms first started.

Have you had your sleep assessed?

Do you take biotin supplements piffy (they can artificially lower your TSH which could affect your results)? I have Hashimotos (only diagnosed as a family member is a doctor and insisted I went back to my GP and ask for further tests because of how I looked - puffy face, eyebrow loss, oedma, carpal tunnel in both arms etc!).

Good luck - and off topic I love your name; that's one of my mum's favourite sayings!

Are you taking any other medicines?

I was as exhausted as you recently, and it lasted months. It turned out to be a side effect of a medication I've been on for a couple of years.

I felt very tired and run down and knew something wasn't right,I used to work at a gp surgery and saw one of the drs there.After blood tests he put me on thyroxine as bloods had come back as "slightly under" I was and still am so grateful to him for being on the ball.Ive been taking it for over 10 years now (you take it for life) and all is good.Refuse to be fobbed off,your thyroid cant fix itself,if it is that you will need medication.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I cant answer individually as im on my phone. My periods were slightly heavier before i had my dd 5 years ago but theyve never been long or heavy. I just got lucky that way i think. I dont take any supplements currently but i am on blood pressure meds for hypertension. I have lost the edges of my eyebrows and i get awful pains down my forearms some evenings. Im appreciative of any suggestions of anything else it could be. The doctor didnt physically examine me at all. I could only speak at a whisper. Ive only been able to speak peroodically in the last 4 weeks. Its badly affecting my job as its vital i can speak and be heard, for my safety and others. I will look into the private blood tests mentioned if only to give myself more information before my next move.
I do really appreciate all the advice and support. Yesterday i was genuinely so upset about the way i was treated and knowing im not on my own made me feel so much better.
To the pp who has a mum who uses piffy, im so glad someone else has heard of it! When i come out with it people say i must be making it up. Im from lancashire but live in the north east so it may be a western thing

Other options for private blood tests are: Medichecks and Blue Horizon (I think someone else mentioned them too).

You can do it all via the post - usually just involves stabbing yourself in the finger and returning a very small vial of blood. They give you a finger stabber implement (tiny) - just in case you have visions of yourself poised with a kitchen knife!

Actually think it may have been the Medichecks one I did, I know I was comparing their tests with Blue Horizon, and I did whichever one covered everything I needed at the best price, I think there was a special offer at the time with Medicheck so I probably went with them.

My local cottage hospital does bloods and they took my blood into the bottles provided, I think this varies by area.

Your GP sounds appalling. Can you report him for the comment about the appendix? Nobody should be yelling at you. Good luck xxx

You need a full thyroid check, you could have secondary hypothyroidism with a normal tsh but low t4.

Voice problems should be investigated as they could be neurological.
This was an early sign of motor neurone disease for my friend. Not wishing to alarm you as your problems absolutely sound thyroid related.

Ive got lots to think about. He pretty much ignored my voice problems. I think he was so affronted that i dared to suggest something it might be that he just didnt want to hear anything else. When the gave me the indigestion drug he made a big deal of how he was giving me something and it had no side effects. I said i didnt want a placebo but he misheard and started shouting at me again saying it wasnt paracetemol.
Im bloody annoyed actually now. I work in a stressful job and i have compassion for those i deal with. Even when im stressed. Im educated and intelligent yet every time i come into contact with a healthcare professional they treat my like some sort of idiot. I was so tired at the appointment that i cried which didnt help but i was so frustrated. And im always tearful when im tired!
Ive just realised that i dont do anything anymore. I do my job and the housework but i used to sit on an evening and crochet. I made loads of stuff. Was never without something in my hands to do. Lately i sit down and just stare out of the window. Havent crocheted for months. I suppose its like the frog in boiling water. Its been gradual so i havent noticed. Im def going to keep trying to get help and request the right blood tests. Thank you all for giving me a bit of my strength back. I felt so worthless the other day i almost gave up

I've had GP appointments like that and it's beyond awful
I've now changed surgeries as I had no confidence in the GPs at my old practice and did not feel that they were on my side or cared about my health issues.

Maybe take DH with you next time for support

The flat inertia you describe is very typical of thyroid problems. I used to make things too, and had plenty of energy, and I went from this thin, bouncy person to someone pale and chubby, sitting blankly in a sofa.
Even now, on medication, I am nothing like the person I was. ☹️

Sadly ive always been pale and chubby but the blankly sitting rings a bell and it isnt how i used to be. I did take dh with me. He was shocked too i think but although im a gobby advocate for him when he needs it, he just clammed up. Think im going ti take a friend next time

Have you been tested for vitamin d deficiency?

Definitely get a copy of the bloods. Mine were "fine" "normal" "unremarkable"
Except they weren't until I finally got a GP who did more bloods, went back through the previous 50 blood tests and then rang me to send me to haematology as an emergency. I have bloods from 2008 that were abnormal and marked "fine" and they suspect I've had my condition for 8 years before diagnosis

Autoimmune neutropenia for me, i think it's something like 1 in a million adults that has it but no wonder I was complaining about constantly being ill and infections, I had no bloody white blood cells!!!

I had bloods marked fine for a decade too. When pregnant my TSH was over 8 but they still didn’t medicate me, even though it increases the risk of stillbirth and can affect the iq of the baby.

I was anaemic for over a decade and was told my iron levels were "fine" even though they were either at the very bottom of the range or below range. My Vitamin D was also low and getting lower with every test done. None of which I knew until I asked for printouts of my blood test results.

My TSH was 4.9 and my GP wouldn't sanction even a 3 month trial of Levothyroxine, despite my list of over 20 hypothyroid symptoms. I don't think I had ever felt more disheartened and depressed following a medical consultation in my life. I felt like I was being consigned to a half-life of poor health for the rest of my life and I sobbed in the car afterwards.

You are right to be angry Piffy, the treatment of patients (mostly female) with thyroid issues in the UK is far from ideal.

Please visit those websites I mentioned further up when you have time and energy and arm yourself with information.