thyroid function

[Angeren14]

I had a phone appointment yesterday with one of the gp's from my surgery, not spoken to her before, I asked for my blood results I had done 15th January she said my TSH was 2.59 and was bang in the middle where they like it to be. I asked if there was any other tests that could be done on checking whether I was under active as all the symptoms i have points towards being under active she said no. I mentioned my weight gain and fluid retention, she is putting it down to me taking mirtazapine and pregabalin and my maturing years!!!!! her words not mine . I expected better from a female doctor. she said you can put on a few pounds when you go through menopause, I explained Ive put on nearly 1 stone since Dec 2015 and in total almost 2 stone over the last year, again medication was to blame. I told her I stopped taking pregabalin 2 weeks ago as I had read this can cause weight gain and that i wasnt really feeling any benefit from it, Ive been on 75mg x2 a day since August and before that i was on Gabapentin that also didnt give much relief from pain. I now have an appointment on Monday 8th feb to have a heart trace done.

[Ruthi]

I was very ill by the time my TSH reached 2.5. It may be in the middle of the range, but people who feel well generally have a TSH around 1.0.

I suggest you ask her if you could have a trial raise of meds, to see if it helps. That would probably be easier than getting your Free T3 tested - which I expect will be towards the bottom of the range.

[Angeren14 in reply to Ruthi]

im not on any medication for thyroid as they say my thyroid function is normal, I had right side of thyroid removed as I had benign nodule. the surgeon said my thyroid can function without medication. Only medication im taking is for fibromyalgia.

[eeng in reply to Angeren14]

Many people find their fibromyalgia improves when they get their hypothyroidism treated.

The doctor is saying that they like to see people's TSH at 2.59 because she mistakenly believes that the average healthy person has a TSH in the middle of the range. This simply isn't true - most healthy people have a TSH between 0.5 and 1.5. In some countries you would be treated for hypothyroidism with a TSH of 3. Unfortunately the NHS makes you wait until your TSH is either over their range (typically 0.5 to 5.5) range or, in some practices, over 10.

You won''t get help from the doctor. You do however have the option of self treating which, though it might sound scary, is what a lot of people on this forum have done. You start yourself off on a low dose, and if you feel better for it you know you are on the right track. If not you stop.

[Angeren14]

What do you take to self treat?

[eeng in reply to Angeren14]

People either buy Levothyroxine or some form of Natural Dessicated Thyroid (NDT). There are several makes of NDT - try searching this site.