You all know my story. I will again attach my results just so you remember me.
I spoke to a useless gp 2 weeks ago about my results and today I finally got to talk to my GP. He said my TSH at 5.33 was not borderline hypothyroid. He said i wouldn't be symptomatic. He said my B12 was fine. My Ferritin was low and that will be why I feel anxious, fatigued, weepy, generally unwell.... I have had a much lower feritin than 15 and not felt how I do now.
He agreed to repeat my thryoid test in 2 months and cholesterol.
I told him I had a dry mouth recently and he said it could all be diabeties and now wants me to go and have a blood test for that. Right now I feel so anxious I am struggling to go out to appointments I asked if he could just do the urine test and I would drop that off today and he said no.
I am sat sobbing. He made me feel like this is all my anxiety. I told him my anxiety was better and I was living life again. Now since the fatigue hit I am feeling so poorly, brain fog and ill it's no wonder I am highly anxious. I just don't feel on form. I feel slowed down and drained.
It's my birthday today and I just feel totally fed up and am crying. I give up, I guess i have to stay feeling awful and just blame my ferritin.
Sorry to moan. I just thought I'd update that I did speak to my GP and it got me nowhere.
Bless your heart! People who know more than me will be along soon to give you what I am sure will be useful advice. You do have options, I think. I know what I would do but I don't want to comment on that until I see what the others have to say.
Funny how they all want to check cholesterol levels and toss thyroid issues aside.
Cholesterol has an inverted relationship with cholesterol, if you didn't already know.
Doctors years ago before blood results were relied on knew that high cholesterol pointed to hypothyroidism, modern Doctors don't seem to connect the two. ???
Do not be persuaded to go onto Statins, statins cause more illnesses than they help.
I am no expert Jingyd35, but your TSH, B12 and ferritin all jumped out at me.
TSH too high, in Europe and America they have lowered their TSH bloods down to 2.5 so anything over would show hypothyroid, you are way over on your TSH.
B12 low 'within range' they say there is a grey area up to 400, where you can be having B12 symptoms and feel quite ill. Japanese keep their people's B12 levels above 500 to avoid Dementias and Altzheimers apparently.
Sorry I cannot help you on the diabettes point Jingyd35, but I will point out that taking Statins can actually lead to Diabettes, heart attacks and strokes, etc., etc., but your Doctor probably would not tell you that info.
You can buy B12 Methycobalamin online to get your B12 levels up, I take a daily B12 5000iu, some are sublingual, (under your tongue disolving.) Many different makes.
For my low Ferritin level I now take ferrous fumarate, but take them just before eating food or they are difficult to stomach and can make you feel sick.
Blood tests can be done through the posts, many Thyroid Uk members use them. We have just sent and recieved a test kit (finger prick test,) to send back in the post for Hubby for ferritin and iron from Blue Horizons, which we are hoping to try tonight.
Also if you get no joy from your Doctor for your Hypothyroidism diagnoses you can always go down the self medication route, but do ask more experienced members for more advice, ask as many questions as you need to.
I shall look into the private testing. My friend actually suggested it. I am just worried if I can do it as I hate finger prick tests, I never get much blood out lol!
I bought a b12 spray today from Holland & Barrett. £12 for 40 days worth, not bad. It has 1200ug per 4 sprays, which is a daily dose. I hope that will help.
I take Spatone for my ferritin as I can't tolerate iron tablets. I asked my GP today how can I increase them and he said just take 2 a day, but surely I need more than 2.
You might be needing a higher B12 dose Jingyd35, both Hubby, Mum and I take B12 5,000 methycobalamin and I know for both Hubby and Mum their B12 bloods are at a good level now.
Well, he knows nothing about thyroid, does he. He wants to treat you for anxiety, high cholesterol and diabètes because it's more lucrative for him. He doesn't get any funding points - or whatever they are - if he treats you for hypo. And he obviously just doesn't care about his patients.
I agree with jingy, your TSH is more than borderline, it's overt hypothyroidism in real terms. Your B12 is dangerously low. Actually, the Japanese range starts at 500, but optimal is 1000, so you're way off that. And your FT4 is too low - below mid-range - to have much to convert to T3. So, all in all, it's no Wonder you're feeling bad, and weepy, and fatigued. And he's an ignorant... (fill in your favourite insult)
However, he is right about your ferritin. That is too low, and that will also make you feel tired. So, I sincerely hope he gave you suppléments for that!
I see no reason to think that you have diabètes. By all means have the test, as it's on offer, just to be safe. But Don't let it worry you. You are hypo and you have B12 and iron deficiency. That's why you're ill. And that's quite enough, I think!
Don't cry. Not on your birthday. I cried on mine this year, so I Don't reccomend it. Happy Birthday! Go out and have a drink, or treat yourself to a nice restaurant, or a take-away. But Don't let this idiot spoil it for you.
Your reply made me feel so much better, I love this forum, you've all been so kind.
I cried my heart out to hubby after my phone call and said now he wants to add more tests into this and I just feel too anxious to go. I used to suffer from high anxoety and agoraphobia which has been triggered again since feeling this unwell physically, and i swear my GP is treating me as just over anxious or like you say trying to blame it on my ferritin or diabetes.
I have done the urine test and left it at the GP and I thought they can test that and go from there. I told him I could do the urine but he said no I needed bloods. My old GP used to test urine for diabetes and didn't push for bloods as the first point of call.
I have bought a B12 today, 4 sprays a day and that's 1200ug. It's the good B12 too, the meth.... one I am taking Spatone twice a day and asked my GP if I could increase that to say 3 and he said no. I can't take tablet forms of iron so Spatone seems to be my only option.
I have been to Costa with hubby and take away tonight with the children, that will be nice.
Thank you for being so kind. I kind of feel I don't know where to turn. I feel so ill every day, brain fog, fatigue, I can't workout so am gaining weight which makes me feel worse, I am weepy, weak muscles, my eyebrows are so thin, my hair is losing more strands recently, very high anxiety... I just feel so slow and sluggish and for some reason very anxious.
Julie, being hypo will increase your anxiety. The brain suffers when thyroid hormones are low as well as the body. Hashi played havoc with my long term stable bipolar but it restabilised once I was optimally medicated.
I would increase the Spatone to 3 sachets and take with vitC as I advised in my post below. Some liquid iron can stain the teeth so you may want to drink it through a straw to minimise staining.
I had my urine tested for glucose and all normal. My step dad is diabetic and he did my blood sugar tonight snd it was 9.2. Que a panic attack as it scared me. My sister is a nurse and she said that 9 was normal at 4pm and if eaten sugary cereal about 3.30 and been to Costa for a birthday treat this morning. The gp wants me to still have thr blood test to rule diabeties out. My anxiety is rife now anf it's ruined my birthday 😯
Thanks again I will increase my spatone and up the vitamin c.
I feel so worried now aboit my sugar. I even refused birthday cake 😃
Julie, high anxiety, sluggishness, and agoraphobia are all hypo symptoms. You have probably been hypo for a lot longer than you think.
And weight gain has nothing to do with how much exercise you get. It's also a hypo symptom. In fact, it's probably as well that you can't exercise much at the moment, because exercise uses up your T3, and you haven't got enough to spare. In any case, it will not make you lose hypo weight.
All this, and more, will sort itself out when you get your thyroid levels optimised. Unfortunately, doctors know nothing about hypo symptoms and always want to push them onto something else. Well, to be honest, all of them could be something else. But when you have a handful of them, it's got to be hypo, hasn't it. What are the chances of anyone having 30 different illnesses, with one symptom each? It's far more likely that they just have one illness with 30 different symptoms : hypo.
Well, to be honest, it would be better to hold off the exercise until your T3 is optimised. Just a little walking to keep you moving. But going to the gym sould be out. It's not going to make you lose weight, anyway, and will probably make you put more on.
What can I say about your blood pressure? Worrying isn't going to change anything. But I can't advise you about the results, I know nothing about diabètes. Just put it out of your mind until the test results. I know that's easier said than done, and being hypo makes you more anxious, but do try to forget it.
Hi Grey, your comment on exercise using up your t3. Is this why when i go gym or swimming within an hour i am floored and need to sleep. How can i overcome this? Do i take extra before i go gym or after? I only dose once a day as i have trouble when multi dosing with peaks and troughs.
Will this all resolve when i am at my optimum dose?
Yes, it probably is wy, Sparkly. And it should resolve when you get to your optimal dose. In the meantime, I Don't know what you can do. But if you try taking extra, I would take it a little bit before your exercise, rather than after. But I've never tried it.
Jingyd, blood tests are commonly ordered to rule things out rather than confirm a diagnosis. It's unlikely you have diabetes unless you are experiencing frequent urination as well as a dry mouth, but your levels may be slightly elevated due to high TSH.
You got nowhere because your GP is adhering to guidelines and won't diagnose or treat until TSH is over range. He is flat out wrong to say that you would be asymptomatic with TSH 5.33, which is almost top of the range, but I'll bet he'll agree you can be symptomatic with TSH 5.51. TSH rises in the colder months so you may tip over the range in 2 months. Have a fasting test (water only) at the earliest available appointment, 8.00am if possible. If you are given appt late in the morning see if you can reschedule an earlier appt on another date.
Low ferritin and B12 can cause anxiety and fatigue. NHS don't prescribe when results are within range but you can self-supplement to improve your symptoms.
Supplement Ferrous Fumarate 210mg to improve ferritin which is optimal halfway through range. Take each tablet with 500mg-1,000mg vitamin C to aid absorption and minmise constipation.
Supplement 5,000mcg methylcobalamin for a couple of months and then reduce to 1,000mcg to improve B12 which is optimal at 1,000. Take a B Complex vitamin to keep the other B vits balanced.
Not sure if you saw my reply above to someone else.....
I had my urine tested for glucose and all normal. My step dad is diabetic and he did my blood sugar tonight snd it was 9.2. Que a panic attack as it scared me. My sister is a nurse and she said that 9 was normal at 4pm and if eaten sugary cereal about 3.30 and been to Costa for a birthday treat this morning. The gp wants me to still have thr blood test to rule diabetes out. My anxiety is rife now and it's ruined my birthday 😯
Thanks again I will increase my spatone and up the vitamin c.
I feel so worried now about my sugar. I even refused birthday cake 😃
I didn't dare eat the cake with a sugar level of 9.2 and it's left me very worried since incase indo have diabetes. I should have had the cake instead of the cereal for sure 😉
Aw bless jingy i do feel for you, I've been in your position like many others on this forum.
Yes you are definitely hypothyroid, but some of the clowns we have as Gp's are just not trained or refuse to acknowledge symptoms and blood results.
It's so frustrating when you know your are ill and what is causing it but are not listened to.
Is it possible for you to go private and see an Endocrinologist. Thats what i ended up doing and it was the best money i ever spent. My tsh was only 4.27 and ft4 12.9 but was diagnosed because i had a thorough examination. My endo noted i was cold to touch, low pulse and slow ankle reflexes. I also had a scalloped tongue. These are physical signs that most Gp's wouldn't even look for. This is what helped my diagnosis.
Had this been an NHS appointment a would have had 20 minutes i guess but going private my appointment was an hour and 3/4 long.
If you can afford it then ask other members in your area if they can recommend a consultant, choose wisely as the majority will follow guidelines to the book!
Please keep fighting, i did and i'm good now and its thanks to all the help and advice from everyone on this forum.
Happy birthday even though i know you don't feel it.
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I asked if he could just do the urine test and I would drop that off today and he said no.
I am taking Spatone twice a day and asked my GP if I could increase that to say 3 and he said no. I can't take tablet forms of iron so Spatone seems to be my only option.
Speaking to my GP this morning
Saw Dr Peatfield today
Advice please- GP wants me to stop levo
GP says am overmedicated
My GP has no idea how hypothyroidism has affected me.
