in need of encouragement

[JenVanderhoven]

In 2012 I was working as a sales and marketing territory manager, driving up to 1,000 miles a week. It was a tiring and stressful job, but I still found the time and energy each evening to go out and play, whether this was a bike ride, climbing or the pub with friends.

In the summer of 2012 I set out on two amazing trips. July saw me climb Mont Blanc in France and in August I climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa. When I returned from Africa I became increasingly tired and my muscles began to ache all the time. I put this down to over doing it in the summer. Winter came and went and I noticed I was becoming even more tired and really struggling with concentration and my sleep patterns were completely messed up. I still put it down to doing to much and continued as normal.

Over Easter 2013 I really begin to notice how I just didn’t feel right. I started to have weird allergic reactions, pins and needles, exhaustion, severe brain fog, feeling cold, dizziness, migraines, intolerance to alcohol. Things really began to get me down and soon started to feel depressed and anxious. I could no longer do all the things I was used to doing as I was so tired.

In the summer of 2013 I went back to the doctors as my sleeping was worsening – most nights I would get around 4 hours sleep and all my muscles ached even though I hadn’t been exercising. My periods had started to be irregular and my hair was thinning. My GP ran some tests and took down my medical history. All my results came back as ‘normal’ and I was told I was depressed and should take antidepressants. I was also given sleeping tablets. I refused to take both as I knew deep down there was something inherently just not right.

Autumn 2013 saw things go from bad to worse. I was having regular panic attacks and just couldn’t seem to ‘wake up’ from this horrendous brain fog. I began to think I was going mad. This resulted in me having 5 weeks off work.

Still, my GP insisted I was suffering from anxiety and depression and reluctantly in January 2014 I started to take antidepressants. The side effects of the tablets made me so violently ill I stopped taking them after 2 weeks. I decided to struggle on as normal and just accept that this was how my life was going to be from now on.

In March I got the shock of my life and found out I was pregnant. The next 9 months saw me become even more exhausted and by 7 months pregnant I was working from home as I was just too tired to get to work. my GP put it all down to the pregnancy and stress.

After our daughter Freyja was born in the November I became increasingly withdrawn and the brain fog became intolerable. I now had a horrible metallic taste in my mouth all the time and swollen eyelids. My GP diagnosed me with post natal depression and insisted I started in sertraline anti depressants. I reluctantly took them. 6 weeks after I started taking them things were still no better and I was getting desperate. I decided to start seeing a counsellor.

I relayed my story to Jacquie the counsellor. She listened with empathy and said it could well all be down to stress and depression, but that there were a few other things I should get checked out first. She suggested I go to my GP and ask for my progesterone and thyroid levels to be checked.

On Monday June 29th this year I went to my doctors to get my blood test results. This is when I received my Diagnosis of having hypothyroidism (hashimoto's).

I have been on 50mg levothyroxine for 5 weeks now and still feel as bad as ever. I literally am struggling to stay awake and my whole body aches. My brain hurts and feels like it might explode. I know it takes 6-8 weeks for the meds to start to work and that my dose is very low, but I feel like i am going insane.

I could really do with some encouragement that others have felt the same and now feel better.

Thanks

[galathea]

Yep, been there, done all that, except for the baby thing... Your doc sounds pretty useless, thank goodness you had a clued up counsellor. As far as you know, you have been ill for at least 3 years, so all your reserves of vitamins and minerals will be on the way to depletion and the adrenals have probably been propping you up.

Have a look at d3, b12, ferritin, folate and iron and get them all into optimal range..... And if you can afford the £70 odd pounds, get an adrenal saliva profile. Details of testing on the thyroiduk.org.uk home page, under testing. You can deal direct with the labs yourself.

Having run everything down its not going to be a simple case of take one pill and a miracle happens. You are going to have to rebuild all your reserves. It's probably going to take to the end of the year to start to really notice improvement.

Getting a diagnosis is a big hurdle.... Getting better is the next.

It is very possible though. Promise.

Have a read of 'your thyroid and how to keep it healthy ' by Dr Barry peat field. Available on Amazon.... And a really good starting point.

Xx. g

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Jan

You've had experiences which are quite common on this forum. I myself was ignorant of the thyroid gland's function and so were all the doctors and consultants I saw. You get told so many other things but, in the end, you finally find out what the main cause is.

You do feel awful at present and Galathea has given good advice as on this forum we all seem to have had a struggle, first with being diagnosed (if ever).

It is a slow process and levo should rise by 25mcg around every six weeks (as long as GP doesn't stop prescribing when your TSH reaches 'normal range'. We should be feeling reasonably well when the TSH is around 1 or below, so don't be palmed off with 'your in normal range - no more increases'.

When you get your blood tests they should be as early as possible, fasting and leave about 24 hours approx between the last dose of levo and the blood test. Take levo afterwards. Our TSH is highest a.m. and many doctors only take notice of it and not our T4 and T3 of which the T3 is the most important.

We have to read and learn. You can borrow books from Thyroiduk.org.uk for the cost of postage.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/suppor...

You can also become a member of Thyroiduk.org.uk

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/member...

[Batemas01]

Hello ,

So glad you got sorted out in the end even though. You have suffered for a length of time . It's aweful having this hypothyroid . It does slow you down . But when your dose of thyroxine is correct you should start to feel much better .

San