I've posted before about having hypothyroid symptoms but i feel like recently my general health & wellbeing is getting worse.
Most alarmingly of all is my emotional state. I'm constantly crying, sometimes to the point where I feel nauseous and it's overwhelming. I'm also having anxiety dreams/nightmares a lot lately. I'm not usually like this at all, I'm struggling to hold myself together.
I'm also sweating an awful lot unusually despite cool temperatures and deodorant, showering etc. Today I sweated so much under my arms despite deodorant etc that I ended up severely chafed and sore. It's never happened before. I sweat a lot through my back and between my thighs too. It just happens out of the blue and without usual causes - heat etc.
My fatigue is constant from the moment I wake. Coffee seems to do nothing. I'm eating well. Lots of fish & fresh veg, organic, wherever possible. Taking D3, iron, b complex and zinc but I just feel awful.
Also I'm not sure if this if related but I am coming up with quite a few what look like insect bites as of late on my arms.
Trying to get hold of GP but it's been difficult to get through. Any help in the meantime?
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Britangerine
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Wow. Looking back at your other posts and test results it looks like that your TSH is increasing and your T4 is not too good. The figures might be within "range" but since things are increasing something is amiss and you need to get this looked at urgently for your mental health not just the other symptoms.
I know how you feel as I had similar symptoms before diagnosis and I really felt as if I was going to hell in a handbasket.
I would ring for an appointment tomorrow and if you are told to ring at 8am of a morning or whatever tell them that you are too ill and permanantly exhausted to make a call a that time and you urgently need a face to face consultation.
I expect you have read on here that many people have dreadful symptoms and GP's refuse to treat because things are "in range". This is nonsense, how about asking how the poor patient feels and treat accordingly? Maybe with a trial run of levo-t to see if things improve over six weeks?
Don't be fobbed off with antidepressants either. You have had symptoms for a long time. If you have no joy maybe see another GP if you have more than one in the practice or change docs altogether.....there are some out there who listen and treat holistically!
I'm sure someone else will be along to offer advice but always remember there are a lot of shoulders here to lean on when things are tough!
Hi Britangerine, poor you, it sounds like you are really being put through the wringer at the moment. You sound very under medicated to me, I know Spongecat looked at your past results and commented (I admit I have not) but the stated aim of the medical treatment for hypothyroidism is to medicate to the point were a sense of wellbeing is restored, maybe you need to remind your GP of this. Believe me, these feelings do pass and you can become you again when you are correctly treated, best wishes to you.
So sorry you're going through this. I too sweat a lot and can't bear much heat - I hate feeling it down my back and i am very conscious of leaving damp patches on seats as though I've had an accident! Under dresses I wear cut off leggings to prevent sweaty thighs from chafing and becoming very sore.
Have you had your blood pressure tested. This time last year, I felt very much like you describe and it turned out my blood pressure was very high. Might be worth getting it checked out.
Make an appointment to see your GP. Ask for a full thyroid function test. You don't need to tell him you've had them privately. All of your symptoms sound connected to your thyroid gland.
Tell him you are feeling very unwell can you please have a Full Thyroid Function Test. That's TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and and antibodies (if not already been done) a B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate. The lab might not do all of them if your TSH and T4 are in the 'normal' range. You might have Hashimotos if you have sweats etc as you swing between an excess of antibodies and then too little. (also called an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease). If you have antibodies and bloods still in the 'normal' range you should be prescribed levo anyway.
If you are given a new blood test make it at the earliest and fast also (you can drink water). As you aren't on thyroid hormones at present you don't only need to have a gap of 24 hours between test and levo.
I hope you feel better quite soon as it is awful when we haven't a clue why we have all these (clinical) symptoms.
"I am not medically qualified in any way. I am qualified through my own personal experience with hypothyroidism and the statutory treatment regime of the BTA and their guidelines which didn't make me well. - in fact I had even more symptoms and pain but finally recovering my health with the help/advice of Thyroiduk.org.uk. and alternative hormone to levothyroxine and comment is not given in my capacity as an Admin of Thyroid UK or endorsed by TUK. Information on the forum is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. - shaws"
Thank you all, and I have an appointment for later on this morning. Had to take an emergency appointment which I didn't like doing but I honestly feel like a precarious house of cards that will come undone at the slightest wind. Let's hope something comes of it x
I'm going through the same at the moment but the insect bites things are mostly on legs a few on my neck and shoulders. I am following your post to see what your GP says. I cannot face going to mine. The last time he told me I was never going to be happy unless I was sick and that I have to address my issues with depression and Fibromyalgia. No results no diagnosis would ever be good enough for me and I was wasting NHS time 😟 just cannot face them again. Xxxxx
I was amazed to read your post as it reflects my situation so much. I feel a physical and emotional wreck. I have also suffered from small bites all over my body. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease. In January 2014 and now Tyroid Eye Disease in August 2015. The sweating - feeling red hot, crying and constantly in an anxious state, exhausted and fatigued is getting me down. I am coming to the end of a 12 week course of IV steroids and start radiotherapy next week for my eye disease. I am really struggling but try to keep going. I want my old self back. My consultants keep saying that I will get better but it doesn't feel like it.
I suffered for years before my GP finally took me seriously and prescribed levo. I thiught I was going insane. My lab tests were within range doncha know! They seem to use a one size fits all approach, a bit like buying a kaftan in a market. I had an immediate improvement which was sustained for quite a few years, but then i hit a plateau, and I am now going down the other side, with many of the symptoms you describe including generalised anxiety, depression, weight gain (12lbs in 3 months), fluid retention, physical and mental exhaustion like I had at the outset. In spite of all this because my TSH is out of range. on the low side, the endo wants to cut my levo. My blood pressure, heart rate etc are all ok.
Stress of any kind knocks me out for the rest of the day. The worry of spending Monday morning last week having blood taken and stuff injected into me (I have a phobia of blood and needles) is still affecting me now. With all the other life problems, including money, it gets overwhelming. Even the stress of being ill itself doesn't help. Try to take some time out - even bedtime - when you can listen to a self hypnosis or relaxation tape, or meditate. Practice mindfullness. These are things that help me. without them I'd have killed somebody by now, because the other thing affected is my temper. I have become very irritable and short tempered lately.
I dont think we are allowed to do commercials on here, but if you have a tablet or smartphone there are a couple of really good free relaxation apps that you might find helpful.
Totally empathise with the temper thing. I know when my levels are skew when I turn into a spiteful bitchy she-devil to my poor OH. It is like I cannot help it and it just comes pouring out of my mouth and my head says "Go on, I know you can REALLY be more nasty", like a devil sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear.
*Sigh* I should have known as soon as I saw that it was a locum doctor that I wasn't going to have much luck. An Australian bloke, he was the stereotypical no-nonsense black or white type guy.
So I told him, his reply: so you're depressed and hands me a mental health questionnaire. I told him I wasn't depressed or feeling bad about myself but I was anxious and with constant severe pms-like emotional symptoms. He made me fill it out anyway so I did and he concluded that I wasn't depressed.
I had to tell him my whole history because he didn't know, which took time and he quickly tried to get through. I told him my hypo symptoms and showed him my latest blood results. He didn't have his glasses so all he asked was if it was in range, which it was but he didn't want to know any more.
I broke down crying a couple of times and told him that I felt the GP doctors weren't looking at me as a whole person but looking at each symptom in isolation, which I felt was wrong. I told him that I know my body and that things don't feel right. He then relented slightly and prescribed levothyroxine 50 - but he said he's only doing it because i'm insistently convinced it's thyroid but that he doesn't do that usually if it's in range. I told him if I was in the US and according to Thyroid UK, I'm considered hypo.
As is becoming a regular habit with my brain fog, I forgot to mention the sweating and the insect bites, but I don't think he would have done anything. He even asked me to make another appointment just to book a follow up blood test to check my vitamin d after I finished my high dose course. Why I couldn't do it there and then I don't know.
Britangerine, I know youre feeling terrible about this visit, but I think it's important to remember that you've actually succeeded! You've got the prescription, and that's the best you could have hoped for.50 levo is a low dose, but it's also the usual start dose. You should expect to be seen again in 6 weeks, have a set of blood tests and a conversation about it.
You'll then be in a far better position to negotiate for an increase if you feel you need it. You may actually be feeling better within the week - I usually get a burst of feeling fantastic on a new dosage.
Agree with SilverAvocado and say yaaaay, well done you! You done good!
If this is starting something right for you (and let's hope so!) it won't happen too quickly as with antibiotics, just be aware of that. That is why they leave follow-up bloods etc. for 6 weeks. It needs time to convert and percolate through to your cells that are crying out for assistance.....but one day you might stop and think, "Heck, that's feeling better" or you might realise you haven't burst into tears over something that before you would have got into a bit of a lather over or that weird niggling pain has lessened.
Remember to take the pill on a empty stomach with a glass of water to make sure it doesn't get stuck in your gullet. Don't eat anything for around an hour to maximise uptake.
A lot of peeps take the pill early morning as soon as they wake up. Keep the pills and a glass of water on your bedside table. Because of brain fog in the early days I found it helpful to decant the pills, a week at a time into one of those weekly dose boxes. I got one that cost something like £1 from the local pharmacy!
As Shaws said further up the page, when you have your blood appointment in 6 weeks make sure it is early as possible (ideally before 9am or so). Empty stomach.....so no breakfast....and don't take your morning Levo tablet. You can drink water, in fact drink plenty it makes the phlebotomist's job easier. As soon as the blood is drawn, take your daily tablet as normal and have something to eat.
Hey! Good luck and fingers crossed that this is the start of a better you!
Thanks, I feel more positive now. The only thing I'm worried about is levothyroxine exacerbating my hair loss as I heard that is one of its side effects....
Hi, when you go back for your blood test don't take your levo , or eat til after the blood test. Water only and then take levo as usual, and make your test as early as possible in the a.m. when the tsh is at its highest. Hope that all helps.
I feel for you. That was me at 38. A friend realized I had menopause symptoms and I went to the doctor. My estrogen was ridiculously high (called estrogen dominance). I ended up using testosterone gel for 3 years to keep it in check. The very first dose helped 80% of my symptoms go away. Over about 3 months the rest resolved too. Thyroid dysfunction is correllated with this problem. It may not be this of course, but I would at least check it out. I felt like a total psycho (usually quite calm) and it just got worse n worse over time. Worst time of my life. but it got better immediately with treatment. See a gyn. They are better about estrogen stuff. Go during a time estrogen is typically lower.
By the way, I was even taking showers midday... The sweating was awful.
According to the late clinician John R Lee, M.D., estrogen dominance is behind many cases of midlife hypothyroidism, in which there are inadequate levels of thyroid hormone. When estrogen is not properly counterbalanced with progesterone, Dr. Lee surmised, it can block the action of thyroid hormone, so that even when the thyroid is producing normal levels of the hormone, the hormone is rendered ineffective and the symptoms of hypothyroidism appear. In this case, laboratory tests may show normal thyroid hormone levels in a woman’s system, because the thyroid gland itself is not malfunctioning. This problem is compounded when a woman is prescribed supplemental estrogen, which then leads to an even greater imbalance. Prescribing supplemental thyroid hormone in that case will fail to correct the underlying problem: estrogen dominance. - See more at: drnorthrup.com/thyroid-dise...
Well I'm 31. I did suspect that oestrogen dominance might have something to do with it. So much so that I recently bought natural progesterone cream and apply between 100mg and 200mg a day to see if they relieve some of the symptoms - so far nothing but its only been a few days.
I don't want to take testosterone though because I feel that might exacerbate my hair loss. What levels of oestrogen did you have? The last times I tested my oestrogen was 234 pmol/l during follicular phase of cycle (0-300) and 753 pmol/l during the luteal phase (250-1000). So on the upper side of the range....
I'm trying Chrystalheart. TBH I've had a lot going on so thyroid issues have had to take a back seat so I haven't taken anything just yet. Just waiting on one more set of test results.
I totally get it. There is *life* around this. I drank a lot of chamomile tea and used St Johns wort too. Maybe they can help until you get to the doctor. Good luck!
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I don't normally post anything...
Newbie with some results that I don't know where to start with! 
I don't know how to eat! :(
