Underactive thyroid symptoms

[Eileen101]

I'm pondering over the symptoms of an underactive thyroid.
I'm always feeling tired... How do you know when it's hypothyroid tired or whether it's 'got two kids under 5 and a job' tired?

I'm also always cold. Apart from during the heatwave... that was okay 👍
Dry skin and hair, yes but always have had.
Weight gain - to what extent? I'm 5kgs heavier than I ever have been really, but at 65kgs, I'm not overweight, just bigger for me, but then I WFH...

I don't want to waste a drs time or sound like an idiot, but would be interested in knowing.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking for a blood test. They can check things like iron, vitamin b and thyroid. Be aware it’s actually quite hard to be prescribed thyroid medication in the uk but no harm trying.

I guess it depends on how underactive a persons thyroid actually becomes. In the early stages someone might not notice too many symptoms.

For me the tiredness was not just tired looking after kids. It was literally falling asleep if I sat on the sofa to watch the news, so tired limbs were heavy like walking through treacle, so tired I struggled putting one foot in front of the other.
Hair falling out in clumps
outer edges of eyebrows disappearing
So exhausted yet difficulty sleeping
memory issues & confusion
depression and constantly crying
Horrendously heavy periods
putting on nearly two dress sizes in 6 months despite dieting

you really do need to speak to the dr though, there could be a number of things that can contribute to feeling that way. The Dr won’t think you are wasting their time, honestly.

My symptoms were hair falling out, tiredness in legs just from walking up a couple of stairs, and my resting heart rate was in the forties. I went to dr really about my heart rate and they did a blood test, my TSH (I think?) level was 18 and they said it should be around 2. Even the receptionist said I bet you feel like crap! That was was 6 months pp so they said it was related to that, however I have all the same symptoms now three years later so I think it's a longer term thing, but can't get a gp appt at the moment.

Oh and I have depression but I had that anyway I think so I tended to focus on the physical stuff to get a blood test.

Mine was absolute exhaustion. Sit on the sofa from work nod straight off shattered.

Ive always been cold - several layers most of the year, can't go out even on holiday without a cardi. Winter is awful.

When I researched further I discovered underactive thyroid and I ticked most of the boxes, but also for menopause. Went to the gp who did full bloods and ta-da, thyroid.

Still not totally settled with meds yet but my eyes aren't bulging, I've lost half a stone and I've not yet put the heating on.

How many woman think they are menopausal when it's in fact thyroid issues, the symptoms are almost exact! I'm the other way and overactive.

See the doc and say you're unnaturally tired and cold all the time and get blood tests. I've had those symptoms with anaemia but if it's your thyroid that will show up too.

I was tired. Cold, lost thee outer edge of my eyebrows
Plus every female in my family has a thyroid issue. I wouldn't have been diagnosed but I ended up in immunology accidentally long story, they were quiet and did bloods and found thyroid antibodies. TSH was about 7.5 and they weren't going to medicate but I argued
I'm on 75mg levo now. Still always tired but warmer!

@keeprunningupthathill, if your GP thinks a TSH of 2 is OK when on treatment, you may well be undertreated.

A rough rule of thumb for working out your eventual dose is 1.6mcg per kilo of body weight.

The idea of treatment is to relieve your symptoms so the good people at ThyroidUK may be able to help.

@DeeofDenmark I wonder if it's hard to be prescribed for hypo in the UK because once you have a formal diagnosis requiring medication, it means all of your prescriptions are free.

I had graves, carbimazole, sub-total thyroidectomy. Started on 50mcg levo, 100 three months later, there it stood for 25 years. Now take 112.5mcg since menopause. My optimal tsh is under 2.

It makes me so cross that women have to argue so hard for optimal care. I slid into hypo when pg with ds (he's nearly 28). Lost some eyebrows and much of my body hair from my arms and legs.

Interesting to hear stories of people having difficulties being diagnosed or getting medication.
I had no symptoms but a routine blood test (family history) showed TSH levels of 7.21 miu/L which I was told was only a little bit underactive?
T4 was 12.2 pmol/L which I’m told is fine.
I’ve been put on 50mg levythyroxine, it’s been a month and can’t say I feel any different as I wasn’t experiencing symptoms before ??

OP, don’t know if I’ve missed your age but the symptoms are very similar to peri-menopause, has this been discussed?