Any suggestions/info please I am new to all this !!

[Wendywoo0805]

I recently moved and had to join a new health practice , I finally did so as I forced myself to go about how bad I was feeling.

I am tired of feeling exhausted, falling asleep etc and generally felling like I have no energy. My skin is dry, nails have chunks break out of them easily and my hair is drier & coarser than normal and has been getting quite thin over the last months. Looks the same but feels very different. My hands embarrass me...the skin just looks "old" to me and I try and hide them where possible. I have put on some weight but had dismissed it as I gave up smoking a while back. The weight is not all over tho...more round the middle. A shape change really. And my face seems different..not sure how else to put it.The final straw came when family and my hairdresser were making comments about the above...they had also noticed changes in my appearance and well being.

I just don't look or feel like "me" any more...its the best way I can describe it. It is definitely not menopause as all that side is fine

I got blood tests done with the GP suggesting underactive thyroid as a possibility (I have a few relatives with it also)

I was told my results were absolutely fine at my second visit...and offered anti depressants which I refused !!

A few weeks on I am just the same, nothing has changed except I am feeling even lower about the physical problems such as energy etc and I decided to ask for the actual figures.

My figures are given as 11.9 and 1.07.......

The new DR insists this is perfectly fine but I think it seems low after looking it up a little.... and would much prefer to try thyroid treatment to anti depressants (I am not supposed to take anti depressants anyway due to another condition but that is besides the point)

Can anyone hear shed any light on this for me or give me some info please?

I am at the end of my tether and wonder if there is any way to self treat etc to see if it helps at all.....

Thanks

Wendywoo0805

[alangardner]

hi there wendywoo , welcome to 'our site ' ----I am certain that the good people on this site will be able to help you .....firstly you need to have the correct tests done on your bloods [ tsh/t3/t4 etc ] and you need to get the levels that the lab works on [ they seem to work on different levels ] then post all info on here and you should get more info from the people here ---who have and are experiencing your situation ----this will help you ...I KNOW THIS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIANCE .....good luck .....alan

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to alangardner]

Thank you

[pottyrai]

Hello wendy, you say you have joined a new practice, is there more than one DR. I have recently last week changed my GP and I went armed and insistant that my doseage was insufficient. Firstly I would print off all the symptoms lisyed on here, discuss your family history and make sure you get your blood test results printed out so you can log them in a question. The admin team are absolutely fab, with there advice and opinions. Don't settle with this GP either as he/she is just looking at your results and not at you in a holistic way. Keep in touch and best wishes.x

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to pottyrai]

Thanks for the advice. I shall try and get printouts this week

[Moggie]

Go back to the doctors and ask the recpetionist for a print out of these results - it is your right by law to have them, so dont let the receptionist tell you otherwise. Some GP's charge a small amount for this service but it is worth it to be able to keep a check yourself on what is going on (I have been doing this for a few years now and you wouldn't beleive how many times it has been a god send)

Once you have your results post them on here, with the ranges that are in brackets, and people will be able to advice you on what to do next.

Moggie x

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to Moggie]

Thanks..........I hadn't realised it was all so complicated til I joined this site lol.... you would think tests would be standardised !!

[nostoneunturned]

....and meantime, on the main site :

thyroiduk.org

there is an amazing amount of information for you.

As you seem to have encountered GPs who apparently know nothing, it is always a good idea to be able to quote from one of their own (after you have posted results on here plus the ranges as advised above and have had insightful advice) and this is where a BMA publication, a little £5 from chemists/Amazon booklet, by Dr Anthony Toft, former head of the BTA is usefu: he gives information on Page 88 on Judging the correct dose of thyroxine.

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to nostoneunturned]

Thanks I shall look for this as I need to increase my understanding of all this

[Heloise]

Wendy, Symptoms are pretty classic for most hypothyroids but treatment can be variable. You have to determine whether T4 only works for you or a desiccated extract or as some have found that NO T4 and ONLY T3 is their answer. You may have to figure this out yourself with the help of a cooperative doctor. Of course, adrenal disfunction can also have a huge impact and should be checked as well. stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to Heloise]

Thankyou.....had a quick look and will look properly once I have the print out

[editfmrt]

I'm assuming you have not had a diagnosis and therefore are not taking any thyroid medication? Is that right as some posters are talking about types and levels of medication so I'm a bit confused.

Advice is good to get printouts of your test results with the reference ranges and post them here for further advice.

In addition to considering thyroid disorders bearing in mind your family history and your symptoms, I would also look at testing for vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D deficiency and a full blood panel with ferritin to check for iron anaemia as these can give rise to similar symptoms.

The change of appearance and other signs and symptoms are happening for a reason and your GP should be investigating all avenues to find the cause.

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to editfmrt]

hI, Thank you

You are right, I am not on meds or diagnosed. Just the opposite. My levels were given as 11.9 and 1.07I but I don't know what scale was used. I did have a full blood count done as well as glucose but was only told everything is ok. I know my glucose was 6 but no figures were offered to me and I only know these as I called to ask.

I started taking sea kelp and selenium a couple of weeks ago in a bid to try and improve things for myself meantime but I have no idea how much I would really need to take to make a proper improvement

I will try and get print outs this week so I can post properly.

[tegz in reply to Wendywoo0805]

For iodine and selenium the max doses are roughly the same [not that the former RDA is actually gauged for much more than the thyroid uptake, from all I've seen.

It can also affect TSH so if being treated can confuse matters.

The normal safe dose for both is around 400mcg, that's under ONE milligram daily- and best tested for if doing long term.

The RDA for Iodine is 150mcg and is best taken as a standardised dose. Check labels. It seems to work quickly at lifting temps.

Sel. can be toxic -but is low in western diets.

You will need to firm down your results further to get better comment here.

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to editfmrt]

despite all these symptoms and also telling her I cannot get thru the day without a sleep (yet feel just as tired when I waken) the GP insists that sometimes there is just no reason and repeated her offer of antidepressants!!

[Heloise in reply to Wendywoo0805]

Wendy, that change of appearance really makes me feel you are hypothyroid. Mine did, too. The eyebrow bones become more prominent and you lose outer eyebrows. Under your eyes, you accumulate fat pockets and fluid and general puffiness so your looks change dramatically. I don't know if a pituitary problem would cause your TSH to be so low. One (1) is about perfect so it would appear you don't have a thyroid problem but it really depends on what your FT3 reading is and it can possibly be very low and causing these symptoms. Is there any way you could go ahead and go to Blue Horizon or Genova and pay for the test yourself. It could clear up a lot of questions.

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to Heloise]

My aunt has commented that the facial changes she sees in me remind her of herself before she was diagnosed with hypothyroid (she is a medical person) I am not sure if I could afford private testing but I am certainly going to look into it and ask my health centre for my full results ( I had blood for thyroid, glucose and full blood count done) My glucose was 6 and I know I hadn't had a breakfast that morning so not great... I just feel if its NOT thyroid it has to be something.... my father , my aunt and a cousin all have underactive and all tell me they can relate to everything I am saying about how I feel........

[editfmrt in reply to Wendywoo0805]

Trust your own instincts and do not be fobbed off. If you can manage to afford private testing as others have suggested that might give you some answers. Don't forget the possibility of other autoimmune conditions like pernicious anaemia though. Sometimes there is a family history of different conditions between family members.

[lola1956 in reply to Wendywoo0805]

hello wendywoo, feel so sorry for you , i know exactly how you feel as your description of symptoms could be me, i too look so different. i cant pretend to know enough to help you as i am new to all this as well, but i can tell you that you have to fight for all your treatment its hard and doctors do not care as they should, but you will get all the help you need on this site , i wish you well xx

[Wendywoo0805 in reply to lola1956]

My aunt was given treatment a few short years ago...it was automatic really if your levels were 14 or under....she would not be treated now under the newer guidelines probably.

She has said she finds that scary given how ill she felt and how much difference the treatment has made.

The treatment is cheap and effective and small amounts would not be harmful even if it didn't help (I have ben told that by a medical person) I cant help but wonder if its more lucrative to offer people like me anti depressants instead.........

So many seem to be in the same position.....we can't all be wrong surely?

[lola1956 in reply to Wendywoo0805]

hi, yes i agree, i think its all about the big drug companys making cash and politics is involved as well. my doctor fobbed me off for years that it was just age lol and depression, so much so i believed him. when other symptoms appeared he would look at me like i was stupid and very needy, or at least thats how it felt and still does

[lola1956 in reply to lola1956]

to be honest i think even my grown up children think the same , ive asked my daughter a few times to read an article about under active thyroid, so as to give her a better understanding of how i feel but she says she knows what it is lol they think i just exaggerate