Need more energy! Hypothyroidism.

[43hippychic]

Hi, i was diagnosed about 4 years ago with hypothyroid, ended up with levothyroxine 100, felt better for a while but then blood test showed a higher tsh so gp increased it to 125. For several months now ive been feeling crap....exhausted, depressed, constipated, aching just walking up stairs etc. Had another blood test done...ft4 was 14 and tsh was 8.9. Gp has increased meds to 150. People think im lazy as i just want to sleep or rest. Am unemployed as i was a carer for parents for years and on jsa now, feel unable to work at the moment as im so knackered. Someone tell me itll get better! I also have out of control type 2 diabetes and copd.

[Diomalco]

43happychic

I was on 100g of Levothyroxine for about 4 years and the dosage was increased to 125 a couple of years ago. I have exactly the same problems as you and have a diabetic review next Friday.

For most of my life I have been an insomniac and for the past 3 years have thought maybe I'm catching up on all the hours I should've slept in the past. Some days I sleep for 18 out of 24 hours, and that can continue for over a week at times. On other days I feel so shattered I fall asleep wherever I happen to be, unable to stop it happening. Since I'm disabled to the point where I'm practically a recluse at least it doesn't happen in public. A couple of days ago, after reading about how Levothyroxine's absorption rate is affected by other drugs and/or vitamins on this website I changed the time and how I take the drug. I used to have it last thing at night in combination with a cocktail of other drugs for other conditions.

For the two days I've been taking it at the same time but shifted all the other drugs to 4-5 hours earlier so the Levo can't be affected by them and taking nothing else after midnight until about 8/9 the following morning gives Levo the chance to do its stuff without interference. I found over the years my system reacts almost instantly to any drug so side effects tend to show up immediately and vice versa.

Although my days and nights are still skewiff, or upside down, (maybe that'll get sorted out over the next couple of weeks) I can tell you I've already got more energy than I've had for a very long time and was able yesterday to stay awake continuously without difficulty for more than 12 hours. Even managed to sleep for 6 hours with only 2 brief 'wake ups' every couple of hours before writing this.

You may be taking the Levo in isolation in which case my experience won't help you much, but if not, give a try and see what happens. I'm hoping my change isn't a flash in the pan and I'll be able to grab some of my life back at long last.

Good luck - Dio

[Jackie in reply to Diomalco]

Hi It is important to increase the T4, Levo until the blood test is high enough, frequent re tests and rises in Levo, usually needs to be in top third of range. You also need to have your T3 done with the T4 and TSH, Levo, common to need T3, a little too. It all depends on the levels. Most people do well with the FT3 near the top of range ( never over) .Also make sure you have had the other relevant tests too.Hormonal and autoimmune, B12+ Foliates, needs to be high in range, Diabetes( similar symptoms),vit D , hormonal, and feritin/iron, ask them also to do the absorption rate of this ( NHS), that needs to be well in range.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[T3sortedme]

Diomalco, very similar to how I was before they diagnosed hypothyroid (took 2-3 years!). You need higher T4 until the TSH drops to 1.0 or lower. If that does not work (it did not for me) then you may need to try T3. Try it first in combination with T4 and drop the T4 to compensate. If that does not work, try T3 only. What I have just described will take a year to trial but the end result is well worth it if the problem is in fact your body not being able to change T4 to T3 (T3 is what the body actually uses to create energy). A shorter path if the doctor will listen is to simply add T3 to your current dosage of T4 and see how that works for you. It should drop the TSH down and give you a lot more energy and mental clarity. If you want more information, just ask. Paul Robinson book 'Recovering on T3' explains it all. Hope that helps. It took me a long time to find the answers but I am back to near normal after 6 years trying to work it all out!

[Anuba]

yup conversion problem probably but lots of good info above - good luck Or you may need more thyroxine....>?dunno

[43hippychic]

Hi Dio, i read through some of the posts and realised that other drugs can interfere with the levothyoxine so i take it first thing on an empty stomach. I am on other tabs for diabetes, cholestrol and depression. I have to go for another blood test in 2 months so i will ask if they will do the other tests. Think i need to read more about the condition, seems so complicated. Does anyone know why tsh can suddenly go up, tho i dont know how long its been like that for. Ive read up on sites that say you just need to wait for a few weeks for levo to kick in, but ive been tired for years, tho not as bad as this. Thanks guys for the info, could anyone suggest a decent site for learning about t3 etc? Good luck everyone xx