Thank you for taking the time to read this. I have been diagnosed with hypothyroid since 2009. Since I have been on medication (rangeing between 25mcg to 75mcg) I am more aware of my symptoms. This has always been an issue but I have never found a doctor willing to investigate further, other than doing the usual TSH and T4 test. That always comes back 'normal'. I have made the mistake of not asking for test results on paper, which I will do in the future! I had a baby November 2015, with help with clomid as I have fertility problems due to my thyroid and low progesterone. I was on progesterone for the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy and have been told there is no long term use of progesterone. Since giving birth to my son my symptoms are 100 times worse. I'm constantly tired, headaches, aches and pain, weight gain (particularly around the belly area which seems to increase and decrease as if swollen), foggy mind, heavy periods, slow thoughts and movements, dry skin, depression and I'm concerned for my mental health. My eyebrows thinned out and I lost part of them shortly after starting medication. I am anemic and take my iron tablet 12 hours after I have taken my thyroxine, so that they don't counteract each other. I think it's worth adding that since my diagnosis I have no libido, at all! I'm at a bit of a loss and I don't know what to do next. I'm looking for some advice really. My doctor wants to put me on anti depressants which I have refused as I feel like there is an underlying issue that cannot be corrected with anti depressants. They have suggested beta blockers but I am asthmatic and cannot take them. I understand that some of my symptoms can be mummy stress related. I really need to hear that I'm not in my own little crazy world and what I am experiencing is 'normal' thyroid related and it can be solved does anyone have an questions I can ask my doctor or any tests they recommended? How easily is hastimotos diagnosed?
Again thank you for reading xx
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have you read any posts regarding NDT (natural desiccated thyroid)? type T3 or NDT in the oval search box in the top right of page and you'll see lots of people with similar symptoms, no, you are not alone and you're not losing it, when most of us read a post like yours, we see ourselves, doctors have us feel like we're losing it, but some of us our figuring it out and fixing what they cant and wont. this website has been invaluable and the members are amazing, caring and they get what others dont about our health issues.
i started taking desiccated thyroid about three weeks ago and i am a completely different person, i used to wake up exhausted no matter how much sleep i would get the night before and now, i could get 4 hours and still feel great, i have a clear head for the first time in 8 years, like a heavy weight has been lifted, the problem with desiccated thyroid or T3 is doctors wont prescribe them, we buy it online from other countries, the one i bought is called thiroyd by greater pharma, 1000 tablets it cost under a $100 including shipping. im sure one of the administrators will contact you, they're really helpful and know a lot more than me, i just wanted to send a quick reply to hopefully make you feel a little better, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, i cant imagine having a newborn along with your symptoms, it takes some of the joy out of what is one of the best moments of your life. im sure he's an amazing little guy, and the incentive to get well.
I could have written most of it and certainly I blame everything on thyroid. But I could never convince the doctors so I agreed with them and wasted many years of adult life in a limbo. I'm self medicating with NDT after asking people here. Still not a 100 but much better. A book worth reading is "tears behind closed doors". Hold on in there. There is a way to improve. Slow recovery but so worth it.
Thank you I really appreciate your replies. I will look more into ndt and speak to my doctor about also testing my t3. I have asked a different doctor in the past and was told that it is not cost effective as they do not prescribe t3 medication in the uk. Very nervous about self medicating but something needs to be done! X
Why be nervous. When you get the natural thyroids you take one for each 25 tablet from the doctor, and you feel better, somethign to look forward to not dread.
Normal is a very broad range and having TSH smack in the middle is normal but isn't optimal. The first thing to do is to get a copy of your last results with ranges (figures in brackets after results) from your GP receptionist. Post them in a new question and members will advise.
Your GP may have done a thyroid peroxidase antibody blood test to check for autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) when you were diagnosed, ask the receptionist to check. If not, ask your GP to test along with vitamin D, B12 and folate which are often low/deficient in hypothyroid patients as well as iron.
There is no treatment for Hashimoto's other than Levothyroxine to replace the low thyroid hormone it causes, but 100% gluten-free diet can help reduce Hashi flares and antibodies.
I feel so sorry that you are feeling so unwell. Please follow Clutter's advice and post your results on here. I found out that my B12 was low after fifteen years on thyroxine. I was feeling worse and more and more tired, I had twitching muscles, periods of loss of balance, and felt as though my brain had become porridge! Low B12 often accompanies thyroid, they seem to go together. So ask for a blood test, if only to rule it out. My level was 176, anything under 200 is usually treated, there are many people with symptoms at higher levels too. Good luck MariLiz
That will only work if you don't have a digestive problem absorbing B12. A lot of us have to have injections or use sublingual sprays & lozenges, nasal sprays or skin patches. Also, the amount of B12 in a multi vitamin is not going to be enough to repair any severe neurological damage. We. Have a four to five year store of B12 in our liver, it can take that long for a serious deficiency to arise. The early symptoms are subtle, and easy to dismiss, or blame on other things. It is especially thyroid under activity that seems to share the same or similar symptoms. I only suggest it is worth checking, because, in my own case I became very ill before it was discovered. It is seldom looked for, even in a full blood count. MariLiz
Sorry, what I was trying to say, is some of us actually have a defect in the absorption process in the gut, and if that is the case, then pills won't work. The ones it does work for are often vegetarian or vegan, and are just missing out on eating B12 rich foods. I have always eaten well, and looked after myself. It was a shock to find I had this problem. It can happen to anyone, and if you have an underactive thyroid too, it is worth checking B12 in a blood test. The effects of it being low over a long period are very serious, and can include permanent nerve damage. Doctors are often unaware of this. Check out the Pernicious Anaemia Society website if you are interested in getting more information. MariLiz
Yes I understood that. I have enogh coping with problems I have without looking to spend hours researching and worrying about problems I do not have.
I know a lady who smoked and smoked constantly. She had no consideration for others around her. She would puff in their faces and think it was fine to come round my house and turn my ceiling dark brown (I was not stupid enough to let her visit).
Then when she stopped smoking
it is all she ever talked about. She became obsessed with how people should not smoke. I have never smoked . But she would not listen.
You poor thing. They should test your blood for antibodies for hashimotos, but also for Vit D and for any other antibodies. Autoimmune diseases often go together. You sound like I felt at the beginning of the summer (although no babies in sight, only teenage louts!). Of course it will make you feel low to feel so bad but I really don't think anti-depressants are the answer. Maybe you're not converting properly or maybe you just need a bigger dose to feel well...or perhaps there is something else going on or a Vit deficiency too. Good luck! Let us know how you get on. X
You poor thing. Hypo plus a new baby - anyone who has no autoimmune conditions finds it hard with a new baby to look after never mind with a hypo mum.
You will find that doctors wont prescribe NDT or T3 (liothyronine) due to the guidelines of the British Thyroid Association.
Your fertility was also affected by hypothyroidism. Everything in our body is affected and doctors are at a loss as they know nothing about clinical symptoms, i.e. menstrual problems, libido, pain, about 300 clinical symptoms roughly. Nowadays everything is upon the whereabouts of the TSH and UK has the highest TSH guide in the world, i.e. TSH has to reach 10 whereas in other countries you can be medicated around 3+. Most doctors believe if the TSH reaches 'normal range' the don't increase levo any more and the patient suffers. Most of us feel better with a TSH around 1 or below.
We have to read and learn in order to recover our health as much as we can.
When you have a blood test for your thyroid hormones allow approx 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood test, fast also (you can drink water) and have the earliest possible appointment. This enables the TSH to be highest.
In the link above at the very top you will see other topics which may interest you. Some links within them may not work as the site is archived.
They prescribe any other medication for the symptom but not sufficient hormones for our body to work efficiently. There's no blood test for depression yet they will prescribe anti-d's when it may be because your T3 is too low if your T4 is not sufficient. T4 is a prohormone and should be adequate to convert to T3 to enable us to function normally.
One of the things I hate about doctoirs is when they give you a medication that causes something like depression or anxiety and then instead of sorting it out they try to fob you off with a tablet for that. Then if you take that you get other side effects and so on.
This is why I now study natural health and food and try to help myself with things that give no side effects instead. I have been given tablets by the doctor where I have felt so ill I was suicidal over it, you have to think for yourself. Do not allow them to ignore you or neglect you or misdiagnose you, do things for yourself.
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does anyone have an questions I can ask my doctor or any tests they recommended? How easily is hastimotos diagnosed? 
Feel like I'm going mad
I feel like a hypochondriac
Thyroid makes me feel like I'm going to faint if I don't eat.
