How did you feel before diagnosed?

Before being diagnosed hypothyroid how did you feel? How ill and what symptoms did you have?

I am not too well and in my bed, my GP came out to me on Monday and did alot of tests. Ears, throat, up my nose, oxygen levels, BP, balance test, muscle test, eyes.... and diagnosed me with stress and anxiety.

I have suffered from anxiety on and off all my life. 3 years ago I had a very stressful time with family and as a result my anxiety returned but it was so bad I was crippled by panic attacks and developed agoraphobia. In time things got better but then I was struck with intrusive thoughts that crippled me for a year. Things were getting better but 2 months ago i had a panic attack in the nurses room and my agoraphobia has hit since. My son has been bullied and ill all year with panic attacks at school, the childrens mental health team assessed him but refuse to help and say I am more equipped to deal with it than they are despite him having suicidal thoughts. He is only 11 and it's broken my heart. My daughter has been ill in hospital last week with a bowel infection. It's been horrible. I have a very supportive husband but I have no other support.

My daughter was rushed into hospital last week and had to stay 2 nights with my husband. She came home Thursday. Since Friday I have had the dizziness even more and since Sunday I have practically been bed bound with it. I have found it terrifying. I noticed it a couple of weeks back like a sudden feeling the ground was moving but it soon passed. But since Friday it has been constant when I walk around and now i am terrified and lie down most of the day.

He diagnosed me with stress and anxiety. He said anxiety when acute like this can cause dizziness and an unbalanced feeling. He asked why my mother doesn't support me and I told him I had no idea, I have no support and my husband has to work.

I have never experienced this and I'm terrified. Even though he's done a full check up I am still so scared. He told me to rest but also keep moving round slowly to build my confidence again. I picked my son up from school then my daughter, made their dinner and then I remembered my son had gymnastics so I had to go out in the car again. The floor felt it was moving and I panicked I'd fall to the ground. I was terrified. I just took my kids to school this morning and when I got home I felt like the ground was moving under me, my legs feel like lead but weak, I feel just generally ill and very very afraid. I am sat sobbing. I keep waking up praying it has gone but only to feel it just as bad I am adding fear to it I know but I can't help it, I am so scared it's a brain tumour or something serious. My gp assured me it isn't but I am so scared the doctor is wrong. I have never felt off balance before with anxiety. It feels like my legs are weak and heavy and like ia m going through the floor or the ground is moving then that makes my head feel dizzy. I feel so off balance it's terrifying

I am struggling to accept it and I sit around crying all day. I don't know how to accept it and carry on as normal when I feel so bad. My GP said he came out to reassure me it wasn't a physical illness to see if this would calm me and maybe then the symptoms will calm a bit. I am just struggling to accept anxiety can do this. I am so afraid. It made me think could it be my thyroid. I had my bloods tested about 12 weeks ago. I had a TSH of 5.33 and T4 11. I spoke to 2 doctors and both said that I wasn't borderline and I was fine. My B12 was 212 and again I wasn't being treated as told that was fine but I am no supplementing it with 1200ug a day. I am supplementing my iron as my ferritin was 15, my ferritin has been low for years.

Sorry to be so doom and gloom. I am just so upset and feel a useless mother like this. I can't even stand to cook. I am worried what's happening to me. I do keep flooding my body with more adrenaline everytime I have to walk around, the very thing my GP said was causing this. He said I need to try and stop fueling it because adrenaline is what's exhausted my body. He said I need rest but also to walk a little throughout the day. I find it terrifying.

Can anyone relate?

Julie

[HarryE]

Absolutely, I had terrible symptoms, including dizziness & fainting, with a TSH of 4 & was refused treatment repeatedly. Your T4 is awful, can you get them to test your FT3 & antibodies, or maybe get them done privately?

I had no choice to self medicate & am now completely better. You should try again with your doctor, and you're right, your iron & b12 need so serious work too

[Hidden in reply to HarryE]

Hi Harry

It's all raising my anxiety. I am worried sick and cry all day. I am terrified I will collapse and end up in hospital being told I have some serious condition.

My GP told me I was fine. They dismissed my B12 saying it was normal and I only needed to work on my ferritin at 15.

When you were fainting what did your GP do?

Thanks for your reply.

Julie

[HarryE in reply to Hidden]

Nothing. They did absolutely nothing.

Sorry you are having to go through this too, but your ferritin needs to be over 70 & your B12 over 800. These will help as they will be affecting your ability to convert & use thyroid hormone. Your anxiety is likely a hypo symptom too.

Sorry to be gloomy, but you are likely to have to take this into your own hands

[Hidden in reply to HarryE]

I am taking a Biocare multivitamin. I am taking D3 1000ug a day. B12 1200ug a day and iron for my ferritin. I am trying my best but suddenly feel worse than ever.

I don't know what to do. I am being told this is anxiety and to rest.

[HarryE in reply to Hidden]

You may well be anxious, it's hardly surprising when you feel so ill & no one will help. But it doesn't look like they will.

If they continue to refuse, you can try another doctor, or do your research to back up why you need treatment or do it yourself.

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

I think you need to increase your daily intake of B12, 1200 isn't very much, I Don't think - although not sure what ug means... I think it's mcg. In which case, you would need to increase it to at least 5000 to make any impact on your B12 it's so very, very low, I'm not surprised you feel bad. You should also be taking a B complex with it to balance your Bs, because they all work together.

[Brubru]

Breath. Slowly. Check mindfulness meditation online. Yes your thyroid can cause all this for sure. Get the tests done. On your previous post where you put the results you got very sound advice. The number of responses can be a bit overwhelming maybe your husband or a friend could read and help you take small steps? I've been unwell too many times, and each step I take towards health makes me angry how unwell I was and coping because I thought that was my life. This is not your life and with the right treatment you can get better. Slowly. One step at a time. Breath.

[Hidden in reply to Brubru]

Thank you for your reply.

The thing is I have had wonderful advice on here but my GP still refuses to treat me. I have tried 3 GPs in the practice. All 3 have said that they cannot treat me until my TSH is 10. They say a TSH of 5.33 is fine and my T4 at 11 is ok.

What else can I do?

Julie

[Brubru in reply to Hidden]

I've been self medicating since coming to this site. I was left for 6 years on 50mcg Levo with a TSH of 5 very symptomatic many days crying in bed weight would vary up or down 3 stone for no reason crying and yes all was in my head. Given antidepressants diazepam but no running on thyroid treatment. I've followed the mindfulness summit but now is not free anymore but there some free ones. I'd reccomend on top of getting your vitamins sorted and maybe going private? Harry has given excelent advice. Is your b12 the methylcobalamine one? Iron takes forever to increase. One step at a time themindfulnesssummit.com

[Hidden in reply to Brubru]

Thank you so much for your helpful reply.

Yes that's the B12 I use.

Walking round my legs are so heavy and weak and I feel very off balance. I find it so hard to believe this is anxiety. I am struggling with 3 children when I can't even walk around

[Brubru in reply to Hidden]

My thoughts are with you. Breath. With three children going through all this. But take one step at a time. It's not only in your head no matter what the gp says. Supplements, eating nourishing food, and caring for yourself. Hope you get out of it soon.

[Clutter in reply to Hidden]

Julie, a lot of GPs will consider treatment when TSH is > 5 or 6 especially when thyroid peroxidase antibodies are positive. If you can't persuade one of the GPs at your practice to trial Levothyroxine to see whether symptoms improve you should consider changing practice or self medicating.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Has your GP suggested taking Propranolol - a beta-blocker -this reduces adrenalin and stops the anxiety piling up. (You can not take this if you have asthma).

Reducing your anxiety might also improve your TSH - should improve your adrenal/cortisol levels too.

I have relative who, like you, had quite high TSH at nearly 5, also a number of hypo thyroid type symptoms, ( eg dry skin, poor sleep, tired, cold etc) as well as bad anxiety. Taking low dose propranolol has really improved their anxiety, and very interestingly significantly reduced TSH and hypo symptoms have all faded too.

I personally had low level anxiety for years before I was diagnosed with Hashimotos. Perhaps if I had addressed the anxiety (and perhaps as a result reduced my TSH) the Hashimotos might not have developed. Who knows? (See my profile for more info)

Medics recognise that anxiety increases risk of developing thyroid issues - eg during WW2 rates went up

[HarryE in reply to SlowDragon]

But then again, maybe if the Hashi's had been addressed the anxiety wouldn't have been a problem? It's so hard to know which came first

[Numberone1 in reply to SlowDragon]

or maybe the stress of WW2 caused the thyroid to disfunction and its a well known fact that anxiety can occur because of thyroid problems.