Feeling 'wound down' like a broken toy - thyroid, iodine, peri menopause, or nutrition?

[Datafan55]

For about 15 months, I have been feeling very ‘wound down’.
Mentally I feel fine, but physically I am dragging myself around.
Sometimes it’s from first thing, other times it comes on later in the day.
Sometimes I feel like a toy that has wound down completely.
When I get moving, I can feel better.
The frequency has possibly increased (at first it lasted eg five days, then better).
Odd days I feel fine!
I just can’t work out what is corresponding to.

I am 48, so could be peri menopause. However women talk more about being ‘tired’: I wouldn’t describe it as tired, but maybe it’s what people mean by it?

I default to a vegan diet, so someone suggested iodine (sources dairy, fish: depleted by green veg). I really hadn’t considered that before and it might fit. Got a phone appt with surgery pharmacist on Thursday am to discuss a supplement (I’ve got nodules on my thyroid so don’t want to overstimulate it).

I am sure I lack in minerals too, but what?
Possibles - magnesium, zinc, vit a or d, copper, other?
Sometimes I perk up if eg I eat chick peas, other times, no difference.

if I ask GPs re mineral tests/peri menopause hormone tests, they say not possible.
All they’ve given is full blood count, thyroid, iron, calcium (fine), b12 (fine).
My sister works in a lab and says serum magnesium levels etc are very easy.

One doctor suggested they could try me on a low dose of HRT and see if I feel better. I’d prefer to know rather than just dabble!!

--
Relevant to add;
I do have an underactive thyroid and take medication. Have antibodies, and a recent scan showed nodules. Don’t know my results, eg if top of range/bottom of range. The brain stimulating thyroid is completely normal. No one is adjusting medication so currently in range. Blood tests increased to every six months.

I take an iron supplement and it doesn’t seem to correlate to that.

My GPs have been very helpful for something else recently, but for this – which I’ve mentioned several times to several different doctors - I just seem to hit a blank.

Any relevant experience?
Thanks all, appreciate any responses.

What's your menstrual cycle like? A few years ago I was told I couldn't be peri menopausal as I was having regular periods, but since then my cycles are much shorter - 19-25 days and they are now testing me. I have to leave 6 months between tests as the hormones fluctuate so much and it's very difficult to tell you if you're menopausal just from a test. They go more off symptoms.
However I've also just been told by a nurse that all women are peri from the age of 45. You can be peri for 10 years!

My cycle has been shorter for many years, and then it's been all other the place for the last couple of years - generally now I am skipping every other month (although once last year I finished one, had three days off, then went on to the next), so I'm sure peri m/p is a thing. I'm just not sure what it's accounting for!

Your point about the hormones fluctuating/going off symptoms might explain why they're not rushing to test me for that though! - thanks.

I just don't want to take HRT and have it mask other things, if that makes sense. Iron has already acted like a red herring (ie it pops out first, and it gets blamed for everything).

Okay, so I would either just try the HRT or leave it a bit and say you're now getting hot flushes or palpitations.

Can you ask the GP to test for vit d level? I have felt as you describe for the last couple of years and test recently came back as vit d deficiency. I’ve been taking a high dose since and think it is making a slight difference. But also I fear hormones are not on our side!

I've definitely been very low in it before (although didn't feel like this) (maybe this is an advanced version? - could be).

Last time I asked a GP for a test, it was a young whippersnapper (:-D) who said no as it wasn't standard.
Normally I'd just take a vit d supplement in the winter, but massive swallowing problems this year meant I had to drop it. Although maybe I could manage them again now... A good reminder, thanks.

What are your TSH ? If your blood count has been done for thyroid then your TSH result will be listed

I don't know what's causing your symptoms. I can only say I'm also 48 and feel the same. I'm very flat, lethargic. A wound down toy is a good description. I also have to drag myself around. Mentally I'm fine. Perfectly content. Physically I'm just worn out, run down. I get fatigued very easily and have to pace myself. My blood test results are fine. I really do believe it's perimenopause with me.

Have you mentioned the swallowing problems to your GP?
You follow a mainly vegan diet, which puts you at a higher risk of b12 deficiency this can cause an exhaustion, brain fog, muscular weakness and in rare cases dysphasia - trouble swallowing.

I don't know the actual results, although GP said this one ( think) was 'quite normal'.

(I wish the surgery would resurrect their admin email address; useful for asking for things like this).

It's pants, isn't it?! Massive big pants.

Although the first line of the article my mother sent me on iodine really popped as it read;
Olivia, age 36, dragged herself slowly into the consulting room. “I’m running on empty,” she said. She slumped in her chair and described how hard it was to get out of bed in the mornings and get through the ordinary tasks of daily life, much less motivate herself to do anything beyond them.

B12 was last checked in December, and absolutely fine.

The GPs have been brilliant about the swallowing problem. I put up with it for weeks, but finally crawled in in desperation. Took me very seriously, not least as I lost over a stone in a few weeks in November when it really escalated, and pushed referrals through. Had an urgent ENT appt, and barium swallow and thyroid ultrasound, and have an appt with a specialist physio in a couple of weeks. Weirdly that's reflux, exasperated by five weeks of coughing with covid in Sept, all causing irritation round the voicebox; the inflammation felt like the sides of my throat were meeting (every evening especially I was a pair of panicked eyes), and the neck/throat muscles gripped solid from the irritation. ENT diagnosed it in a second after they stuck a camera up my nose. GPs seem happy for me to go in and chat about it too (I did show up 'in distress' and I know they recorded that!). So, although explanations change slightly depending on who I'm speaking to, and although I live in fear of getting cough germs, that is sort of in progress, and felt looked after by the GPs.

The wound-down thing doesn't seem to be ringing specific bells for the GPs, so it's either so obvious to them that it's peri m/p, or I'm explaining it really badly.

Link to that article about iodine;
www.wddty.com/features/solving-the-mystery-of-a-patients-thyroid-illness-and-cysts/?fbclid=IwAR0jVYZrDKAKsu6QvGHB9pW1hEks3jblIFlU43JUwOnG8QirRmexcVaAoJ0

I wish the surgery would resurrect their admin email address; useful for asking for things like this).

you can just check on your NHS app, all your gp appointments etc along with test results including full details of numbers are on the app

Oh that's interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Just to say re: vitamin D you can get this as an oral spray if swallowing is tricky

You've mentioned iron but have they checked ferritin (iron stores) as the normal range for that doesn't necessarily correspond to optimal.

Yes that's true.
My budget tends to just allow for pound vitamins :-( - but I have this week got some little Asda multivitamins that are quite small and thin, so that's good. Helpfully their range has tablet size shown on outside.

They have definitely checked that before but not every time, I think. I will make a point of asking for that when I request my 6monthly iron tests, ta.

(my very old browser hates Mumsnet, hence not on every day!)

Just in case anyone is interested re iodine;
Spoke to the surgery in-house pharmacist about it last week. She did seem interested.
GPs confirmed via her that there is no blood or urine test on the NHS to check levels.
However the more expensive supplements eg Centrum have it in.
(oh the irony of me not eating meat or fish as I can't afford it, but then needing fancy supplements).
They didn't recommend the liquid iodine (the edible supplements rather than the wound dressing ones!) - rather something where it's all measured out and containing other minerals too.
Still have to look up the tablet size to see if I can get it down.

If you are medicated for UAT then your thyroid blood results should be 'optimal' not 'normal' ie around 1 rather than up to 4.5ish.

You should go back to the gp and get your actual results. There's some really good NICE guidelines about ensuring medication is reducing levels sufficiently. I still felt like shite when my levels reduced to 3, gp increased my prescription and now it's at 1 and I feel so much more alive.

Second the peri stuff too. It's just a car crash of shit happening all at the same time.

But get your thyroid function/medication sorted.

I take an iron supplement and it doesn’t seem to correlate to that

Not within 4 hours of thyroxine? It affects absorption.

B12 levels can be marked normal but you can be symptom the lower end of the normal range, the same with ferritin.
Did they check Vitamin D? That deficiency(along with ferritin & B12) goes hand in hand with hypothyroidism and many vegans are B12 deficient.
I was told that I should avoid iodine when taking thyroxine. Off to read that link!

My mother is going to be gratified at the attention the article she sent me (in the way that mothers do) is getting :-)

I really am going to have to ask for my blood test results, I think. I could be in the depths of normal for all of them and not know. Note - must ask biochemist sister to write down ranges for key contenders so if the GPs mention numbers, I am forewarned.

I normally keep the iron well clear of thyroxine, but I've been on gaviscon (avoid all other medication within two hours) 4 times a day for the last couple of months so some of the other gaps do slip occasionally: good to be reminded.

'Avoid iodine when taking thyroxine' - yikes, that's another contradicting theory.

I can only say that I have had barely any iodine sources for about six months plus, and my thyroid is very enlarged. Hmmm.

Actually that's a really good point. I was assuming it was 'controlled' but maybe there's room for improvement. I have been on the same level of thyroxine for 10 years and it's only recently I've been feeling like this, so maybe it's not this, but I would assume it's been working badly for a while. Certainly has been enlarged for 6months now and showing multiple nodules. ENT follow-up on Friday said they'd whip it out if I liked.

Too many possibles, grrh!

Boots have teeny tiny vitamin D tablets btw.

I hope you get to the bottom of everything OP.

That's good to know, will add to my list, thanks!

(OP - that's ME :-) Don't normally start threads! Odd sensation)