So tired!!!

[Linzilei]

Hi I was told 4 months ago I have an under active thyroid. My first test came back as 5.0 then 6 weeks later it was 5.2 I was then put in tablets but they made me feel so low so I stopped taking them as I was not able to get in to see a doc after 5 weeks I was getting worse working 40 hours a week and sleeping once I got home till I have to go back to work I have no energy with my kids. It got to the point I was crying all the time as I was just so sleepy. I managed to get an appointment with the doc and he upped my tablets to 50mg but as I still have to work my energy has peeked but not much and I have received my blood results again this week and they are 6.1 I feel that the tablets just are not working and with all this tiredness my vit D was tested and that's really low too I just want to feel normal and not have these worries

[shaws Administrator]

Linzilei I am sorry you are feeling so rough. I believe that hypothyroidism hasn't been explained to you properly and sometimes we feel so bad before being diagnosed we cannot take anything in. With a TSH of 6.1 you are very undermedicated still but it should be done gradually.

Once you are diagnosed as hypothyroid it means that your thyroid gland has begun to not work so efficiently and may eventually stop producing thyroid hormones. We cannot live without sufficient thyroid hormones and that's why in the UK, any other medications for anything else are free. With Hypothyroidism it is a lifelong disease and we must take thyroid hormones daily. We cannot stop as levothyroxine (or other thyroid hormone replacements) have to drive our whole system, heart, brain, and everything else. That's why we feel quite emotional too and aren't sure why.

Liothyronine (T3) is the active hormone and levothyroxine should convert to sufficient to saturate our receptor cells.

50mcg of levothyroxine is only a starting dose and you should have a blood test around every 6 weeks with an increase in medication until you feel well again. The doctor shouldn't stop your dose according to the whereabouts of your TSH level although many do.

First when you go for your next blood test, have the earliest possible and fast. Leave about 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood test. Take levo afterwards. You should take levo first thing with a glass of water and wait about an hour before eating as food can interfere with the uptake of levothyroxine.

Always get a print-out of your blood test result with the ranges for your own records and you can post if you have a query. If GP hasn't done a vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate ask for these too as we are usually deficient and everything has to be towards the top of the range rather than middle or below.

We also have to read and learn to try our best to get well.

Best wishes.

[Linzilei in reply to shaws]

Thankyou your advise means a lot to me and as I am still new here with this I need to understand how it works I am seeing the doc next week again so fingers crossed they help me out

[shaws Administrator in reply to Linzilei]

I doubt any of us would have ever realised we'd have to practically study for a degree in the function of the thyroid gland. It came as a great surprise to me and I should think many others on this forum.

One thing about Thyroiduk.org.uk it has helped hundreds if not thousands (I am one) to recover their health, despite the BTA guidelines as they stand at present.

[spongecat]

A...Linzilei (((big hug)))..... it's rotten isn't it. Don't give up! We are here to sympathise.

Shaws has given you wise advice. I recognise too well the all-encompassing tiredness, it's horrible isn't it. One minute awake(ish) and then the most awful fatigue and your eyelids feel like lead weights.

You will feel better as you get optimally medicated but in the meantime people around you should understand that it can take time. It's not like treating something with antibiotics and you are well again in around 5 days or whatever. Hormonal things take time to percolate and wrongs in the body righted.

After having been given a rising dosage of Levo I suddenly realised that at 100mcg I hadn't slunk off for yet another daily nap in the daytime for nearly a fortnight! I was elated! I also realised other little things that were getting "better" too. This has truly delighted me as I believe I was an undiagnosed hypothyroid for possibly a few years and it got to the stage where I lost my much-loved job and consequently rarely ventured out of the house I was so down. It was thanks to a gouty toe and the practice nurse ordering a blood test which pointed to primary hypothyroidism.

If any good has come out of this I am now able to listen to my body's little quirks and foibles for when something is up.

Hang in there! If we get anymore sunshine (hahaha!) , get out there, even if it's only for 15-20 minutes and bare your arms to the rays. It is still the best way to try and recuperate flagging Vit D levels as well as taking D3 tablets which is pretty much essential in the gloomy winter months.

It's tough being assertive (but still polite) to GP's but stick to your guns. If you don't feel right, press on this, don't let them fob you off with "well your results are in normal range...". If necessary maybe take someone with you to give you some support?

[Linzilei in reply to spongecat]

Thankyou for your kind words being on here does help me with my bad days just I find that when I can I notice I am in bed waking from my sleep yet again it's hard as we just bought our first house and I want to decorate it and tidy the gardens but have no energy at all to do this I feel like I am loosing my days off with sleeping and it's not fair on my family. I am gaining weight so quickly and it really does not give me any confidence to go out I have become so anti social I have stopped drinking all together and also stopped smoking I just feel that if I could live in my pj's I would.. It just makes me sad that I was such a outgoing person even with living with anxiety for the past 6 years #lostmyself