Blood Tests sent off.

[crystaltips]

My GP has sent off some blood tests as he says that I might have an under-active Thyroid. What does this mean please ?

I think it is something to do with your metabolic rate, as some people rush around and never sit down etc and some are the opposite. I think i might have this problem too, but my veins are hard to get so have to go to the hospital. If you do have this I think you have some pills or something to sort it out, but I might be wrong so don't quote me. Hope everything works out for you.
If you do have tyroid problems I think you can get prescriptions free as it is a lifetime problem.

Your thyroid gland contols you metabolism. So things like low energy and weight gain can be signs that you have an underactive thyroid. It is vital it is treated as left untreated for years you slow metabolism will put strain on you heart and eventually kill you. It also causes 'brain fag'. Ever stood in a checkout queue and struggled to count out the money. Or gone into a trance when someone else asks you phone number?

These symtoms started for me after the birth of my DD. Luckily there is a history of Hashimoto Thyroiditis in my family so everyone around me pushed me through the door of my GP. This is an hereditary condition where you immune system attacks you thyroid gland until there is nothing left. For the past 3 years the treatment has been simple. Every moringing I take a tablet containing thyroxine. This is the hormone that the thryoid gland produces. And thats it.

There are different causes for an underactive thryroid. Hasimoto is just one. I understand that it is quite common to have a temporary underactive thyroid after childbirth. Sometimes you thyroid gland will be underactive but still remain (i.e not attacked by you immnue system like with Hasimoto). Obviously if you are diagnosed with an underactive thryroid your doctor will be able to investigate the cause. Though to be honest it won't change the treatment you get, which will still be thyroxine. It can take up to 18 months for the symptoms to even out, but this depends on just how low you thyroid levels are when you begin treatement. Obviously the earlier its caught the quicker you should be able to get your health back on track.

And yes you get free prescriptions for life as it is considered to be a disease like diabetes. Drug dependant and potentially life threatening if not treated. But rest assured it is very very rare these days to die from hypothyroidism (and underactive thyroid) as it is easily diagnosed and treated.

Hope I haven't mis - explained everything. This is just my understanding from my own diagnosis. HTH

my God that is just like me, with the brain thing when someone asks me something, my brain goes completely blank. And I have put weight on and I don't eat hardly anything, do you think this could be it?

Thanks pie - off to read up more about the subject.

Crystaltips, I've also got an under-active thyroid (diagnosed in 1991), but pie's post is so good I haven't got much to add.
The only little "complication" is if you're pregnant you have to have frequent blood tests to check that the thyroxin dose is still enough for you and the growing baby. They then adjust the dose and after you've given birth and/or stopped bf you probably will go back to your pre-pg dose.

How long is it likely that I have had this - cos truthfully I have been feeling like this for ages - it's just a totally unrelated doxtors' appointment threw out this issue.
I just thought that it was the downside of having 2 boisterous kids. Having done a bit of homework on the subject - there seem to be too many symptoms that can't just be co-incidence.
DH on the other hand is so unsympathetic, as he has a cold ( ooops sorry - its FLU )

I was diagnosed after the birth of my second child after I lost weight rapidly for no reason and then put loads back on again also for no reason. Like you, Crystaltips I thought it was due to having two boisterous kids. I've been taking 75mg (yes you do get it free ) for 8 months have lost all the weight I gained and have loads of energy again. It made me realsie just how tired and lethargic I'd been and has given me my life back. I hope it all works out for you.

I wouldn't worry too much about becoming pg on thyroxine. I had my thyroid removed in 1990 and so take thyroxine every day and will do for the rest of my life. I was pg with my son in 2001, and yes, you will have blood tests during the pregnancy to make sure the dosage is OK, but my info is that measuring how much thyroxine you need is a fairly exact science.

Also, I know two mums who were diagnosed with underactive thyroids post-birth and in each case the initial dosage of thyroxine prescribed did the trick. And yes, the free prescriptions do come in very useful.

I've had an underactive thyroid for almost 20 yrs and it's no big deal. I take 150mcg a day and have had two normal pregnancies in that time. The whole thing about taking the thyroxine (teeny-weeny tablets, too!) is that it returns your body to normal. HTH, Crystaltips!

Ditto! I started off with a wildly overactive thyroid, it is now permanently underactive after radioiodine treatment and have just increased dose to 200 mcg. Had a perfectly normal pregnancy during the overactive period and was just monitored more closely during that time.

I'm now wondering if I have an under-active thyroid too - am feeling really tired with "brain fog", am always cold and now my eyebrows have fallen out for no apparent reason!? Luckily they are fair anyway, so it's not very noticeable. Anyone else ever lost their eyebrows??