Need some guidance

[Jefner]

I have my first Endo appt next week and am arming myself with lots of info to take with me and also a list of the questions to ask.

For the last 10yrs each annual blood test I have had to check my thyroid came back "within range" (love that expression lol), although because I never learned about my disease until the last few months I won't ever truly know what those results were.

I have bumbled along feeling OK for the last 10yrs until the autumn when things changed. Joining here prompted me to start learning about my disease and private bloods confirmed I have Hashi's (including very high thyroglobulin antibodies of 4000 early December which have dropped to 275 from my test last week. Have been on a GF diet since beginning of the month

I have always been under active from my past results until October when my TSH went over range prompting a reduction from 150mcg to 125mcg. Did feel better for a very short time and then "bang" hyper symptoms back. Next blood test early December confirmed I was still very slightly over and from advice on here I decided to reduce alternate days. Felt better for the odd day and then Christmas week all severe anxiety back again. Bloods last week confirmed I was way over range 28.2 (12-22) which was also around the same reading back in October. I have again reduced my Levo to 100mcg.

Sorry to ramble on but after researching and reading lots of posts on here I have lots of questions; the first one being WHY have things changed so dramatically for me the last few months? Could I have had thyroid fluctuations/symptoms and not really paid attention to them because for the last 8-10yrs I have been in menopause. A lot of the symptoms are the same so it has obviously been difficult for me to separate them. Now I am post meno (no period for 3yrs) I am able to look back and it seems I was diagnosed under active thyroid when I started peri menopause!

From reading so much now I am aware that it's all trial and error to get to where we want to be. I have been wondering whether moving to NDT or taking some T3 might help me. To be honest I don't know whether T4 alone has helped me or not the last 10yrs because of having meno symptoms as well. When posting my results on here a couple of members (especially Clutter) said I may benefit from a little T3 because I am not converting. At the moment I am suffering badly with hyper symptoms again and reduced my T4 by 25mcg again the other day.

As with all of us, I am so full of questions with no answers. If I had not been going through the menopause then things might have been a little more straight forward, although it might have been menopause related that has caused all my fluctuations over the last few months, although stress has been a factor with me for the last few months looking after my elderly parents and pets.

How do I really know Levo just isn't for me anymore and it probably never worked for me cus of going through the meno at the same time?

Would I actually benefit from adding a little T3 (recent readings 4.44 (3.1-6.8)?

Would moving to NDT help me?

The above questions are the ones that are currently preying on my mind. Is the answer to each going to be "it's trial and error"?

[shaws Administrator]

Many problems arise due to the acknowledgement of the medical profession to use the TSH only instead of listening to the patient and taking note of clinical symptoms first and foremost instead of the TSH. That's where most problems arise - by the adjusting up/down/up/down doses of the TSH to try to keep it 'in range'. They appear absolutely unaware that it changes throughout the 24 hours. If we have a test early a.m. and then again in the evening, they will be completely different.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/thyroi...