Under active thyroid

[Patann12]

I have just been diagnised with under active thyroide what do i need to do apart from take meds to stay healthy i am 61 and spent 6 weeks in a nursing home very ill with this complatint

[Hidden]

Hello Patann,

Welcome to our forum and sorry to hear that you feel so unwell.

Levothyroxin is usually prescribed for hypothyroidism and takes up to 6 weeks to initially saturate the body which will only tolerate small increases at any one time. Your doctor should retest your thyroid hormone levels after 6 weeks and adjust the dose according to results. Leave 24 hours between last dose and blood draw and try to have the blood draw early in the morning when TSH is highest.

It is important to take your pill on an empty stomach with a glass of water, 1 hour before food, 2 hours before supplements and 4 hours before calcium, iron or vit D supplements. I take mine upon waking first thing in the morning but some members dose at night.

Depending on how long your hypothyroidism has remained undiagnosed, your symptoms may continue for a while, but be assured that you should start to see an improvement once you are wholly medicated.

The goal of Levothyroxine is to restore the patient to euthyroid status and for most people that means TSH just above or below 1.0 but symptoms can lag behind good biochemistry by 6-8 weeks.

People with thyroid issues often have vitamin deficiencies so ask your doctor to test B12, vit D, folate and ferritin as optimum levels are required to ensure thyroid meds are absorbed.

The main dietary advice is to avoid soy and uncooked goitrogenic foods such as kale, broccoli and cabbage. Ensure to eat regular meals including protein, fat and low GI carbs in your diet which will provide essential nutrients and help in the making of thyroid hormones.

If you have any test results, post complete with ranges ( numbers in brackets) for members to comment. A doctors "normal" is not always the same level that members have found to be most beneficial in alleviating symptoms and getting meds to work well. Also advise of medication & dose.

I hope you feel better soon.

flower

Hypothyroidism

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

This following link explains the importance of vitamins and where they may be obtained. This forum is supported by the charity ThyroidUK. You do not have to join the charity to benefit from this forum but by doing so you will be supporting the charity and also entitled to various discounts when buying supplements, as detailed in the link below.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

....................................................................................................................................................

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

......................................................................................................................................................

[jacrjacr]

be patient which can be hard because they will gradually retest you every 4-8 weeks and increase your dosage until your tsh gets in range and if a good doctor, he will also test your free t3 and free t4 but don't panic......your body has to slowly adjust to getting thyroid hormones all over therefore is the reason you retest and gradually increase. When you get on the correct dosage , you will feel so much better....I was dragging myself.....before I got diagnosed....it gave me back years......I had energy again... then most doctors will have you come back after you are on the right dosage 3-6 months to check your blood test again to make sure you are on the right dosage...

I was also low in vitamin d3, the sunshine vitamin, and b12,low normal ferritin serum...........which is common with hypothyroid people.....hence they also effect energy and pain