I have been on 50 levothyroxine since 2005. I am also on HRT and an anti- depressant!

[Aseamark]

My latest TSH is 5. My dr says within normal range (under 5.50). Trouble is I feel dreadful. So tired and lathargic , my legs feel like lead weights and generally feel unwell. How do I move forward ? Why won't GPS treat the symptoms and not just reply on a bt test !

[HarryE]

I'm not surprised you feel dreadful, my TSH never got to 5 and I was really ill. On medication that is truly terrible. And 50mcg is a very low dose. I would get hold of the small book that is sold in most pharmacies by Dr Toft about Thyroid Disorders & show your doctor that your TSH is meant to be in the lower part of the range.

[shaws Administrator]

My word, you have been treated since 2005!! Your GP is ignorant of how to treat thyroid gland dysfunction. He should be aiming to get your TSH to at least 1 or below.

You asked 'how do you move on' - my answer is by sacking your GP.

If he is giving you an anti-d (although some people may need it) the fact that you are on such a low dose of medication for your thyroid gland and your GP wont raise it is awful.

He should prescribe a proper dose of levo or have added T3 which is the active hormone we need in every cell in our body (particularly the brain) and 50mcg probably wont convert to enough. A few may do o.k. on 50mcg.

Change your GP - why should you be permanently unwell because he doesn't know the aim of medication for the thyroid gland is to make us well with no clinical symptoms. In the USA if you had a TSH of 3 and had never been diagnosed before, you would be started on treatment.

They cannot blood test for depression - they have to go on clinical symptoms but 'they' will give you a prescrip for Anti-d's and ignore the fact that it is clinical symptom of hypo.

When you next get your blood test - please get the ranges as it makes it easier to comment as labs differ. Have your blood test as early as possible, don't take medication on the morning but take it afterwards. Also ask for vitamin B12, Vitamin D, iron, ferritin and folate to be tested as they are usually low in hypo.

I will have to lay down to recover as it infuriates me that the suffering continues for years - 9 in your case!

From now on always get a copy of your blood tests, with the ranges for your own records and so that you can post if you have a query. We are entitled and the surgery cannot refuse. We may have to pay for paper/ink but its usually not much. I pay nothing.

[Aseamark in reply to shaws]

Shaws, will you come to my Gp appt with me??. I get so upset and angry that I don't seem to get my point across. Maybe need to write it all down. Thanks for your reply.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Aseamark]

You can tell your GP you are now a member of Healthunlocked Thyroiduk an NHS approved site and are studying how to recover your health.

First email [e-mail] for a copy of Dr Toft' Pulse Online article and question 6 informs your GP where he should be aiming the TSH. I would send him a short note enclosing a copy so he has time to absorb it before your appoint. You can tell him in your research you have come across several papers re thyroid gland and depression and the use of T3 but if you have an increase in T4 to bring your TSH down, you may convert to enough T3 and feel so much better.

Don't deluge him all at once but this is from PubMed. This is the link

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/243...

The above was on a previous post, below:-

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

The following is for people who haven't got a thyroid gland dysfunction. So for people who are hypo - is it not more important if the GP diagnosis depression that he add some T3 to T4 (in Dr Toft's article above he does say that T3 can be added). levothyroxine is supposed to convert to sufficient T3 which every cell needs and the brain contains the most T3 receptors.

holtorfmed.com/depression-s...

You may be surprised that if the GP gets your TSH down you may begin to feel much better. You come to realise that many doctors do not know how to medicate us and you know more than they do.

[Glynisrose]

Anti - depressants will inhibit your body's uptake of thyroxine.

[Aseamark in reply to Glynisrose]

I had read that the HRT will do this too ?

[deniD]

Do you still have your thyroid?

[Aseamark in reply to deniD]

Yes I do.

[Glynisrose]

So can HRT it depends which you're on and was it prescribed BEFORE the levo or after? If it was after then even your GP should have known better!!