I have a strong family history of underactive thyroid. My mother and all my aunts suffer from it .
I am 27 years old, and over the past two years I have gained around 2 and a half stone and being feeling extremely fatigued. This is despite a high amount of cardiovascular workouts, and eating a healthy balanced diet as I did before. I am physically fit despite being so overweight, I have passed a marine fitness test and my personal trainer says I am working very hard.
I have tried all within my power to lose body fat but there has been zero success, I just look fatter and my clothes are tight. I feel whatever I do will not work. It reached the point where I again visited my GP after gaining 6kg's in just over 7 weeks which I consider quite alarming. We ran what must be the 4th or 5th blood test and predictably the results were ' all within the normal range'.
I've been told it is normal before however nothing is changing for the better despite healthy lifestyle changes.
This prompted me to visit an endocrinologist at a private practice. On the 16th February 2016 I saw an endocrine surgeon and explained my symptoms, he said to me that he felt I would benefit from a trial of thyroxin due to the weight gain, low energy and strong family history of underactive thyroid. I presented a copy of a blood test result from October 2015 to the gentleman. My TSH was higher end of normal at 3.43 ( normal range is 0.3-4.5) and my t4 was lower end of normal at 13.1 (normal is 10-22). This test was was 11:20 in the morning.
I had a more recent blood test earlier this month, and again 'normal' results. There were no thyroid antibodies , TSH now 2.4 and T4 12.6. Has changed slightly.
I presented these results to the private GP and contrary to what I had been told from the endocrine surgeon the following week he felt that actually I would not benefit from any thyroxin. My TSH was normal, and the T4 was again with normal range. He explained to me that prescribing thyroxin could actually do me more harm than good as it would possibly make me overactive - and lead to heart problems such as arrhythmias. He is running another blood test looking for testosterone issues as that can apparently give you similar symptoms. I did ask him what is causing this then? He didn't actually know but he said diet and lifestyle changes could help.
I feel as if I do eat very healthily and now I am very confused as two different medical professionals have told me such differing information.
I feel as if I have nowhere to turn- I have a lot of the symptoms but nobody will prescribe me anything. I understand why they will not but what am I to do? Just wait and live like this ?
I would like your opinions on my blood test results!
Written by
Jose88
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Being low in B12 can present with similar issues. So do have the B12 - Ferritin - Folate - VitD tested to see where you are. You need to be optimal in the various ranges and not bumping along the bottom of the range. Normal is an opinion and not a result. so obtain copies of your results and post in a new post.....
Also INSIST on having your FT3 tested - it could be you are not converting T4 into the ACTIVE hormone T3.
You can have your tests done privately with a discount through Thyroid UK....
....... where you are in the range is important - if it was your GP that said your results were normal - then you must obtain copies of your results so you can see for yourself what the results were. Docs do not receive training at Medical School on vits and minerals
The testosterone issue he is looking for, is actually better known as polycistic ovary. It leads to high testosterone and high insulin levels. Treatment is the same diet as diabetic type 2's eat... Mainly low carb. I only know about this because the teainer at the gym has recently gone up 2 dress sizes despite working 7 hours a day and giving out dietry advice. She has been following the same diets as her clients and they have lost weight whilst she has gained.... She has only just got the polysistic ovary diagnosis and is working it all out. Initally her doc said lifestyle and diet changes were needed...... EH?
However, you have a thyroid problem as evidenced by a raised tsh and low end free t4. Prescribing you thyroxine will probably help a lot... It certainly wont make you over active... Not unless your body has some other problem and decides to over convert the inert t4 into the active hormone t3.....
Sounds like a big step, but in your shoes i would just get my own thyroid meds and see if they make you feel better, once the polycistic ovary thing has been discounted. Its not illegal to buy in meds for your own use, but you have to source them via the net and buy from abroad..... Plenty of us do so and are living to tell the tale. But you need to have everything else sorted first.... You need to know where your thyroid levels are and be sure that its not the low b12 which is causing everything. ( though am pretty sure low b12 doesnt increase weight).
Basically, all is not lost, you have the option to self treat but get everything tested first..... Good place to start learning is on the web site attaced to this forum. Www.thyroiduk.org.uk
The doctor said if you take thyroxine when you did not need it you are likely to switch off your body's own thyroid. The effect is known as thyrotoxicosis and can lead to cardiac arrhythmia . This is my only reservation about self medicating and besides that , how do I know how much to take micrograms wise? Is there some sort of guide.
Going back to testosterone he is saying it may be low testosterone levels causing these symptoms but wasn't hopeful that it was but checked anyway.
My endocrinologist just put me off self medicating but I still don't know what to do? Argh
Ha! No, you probably dont have pcos in that case! Sorry.
Of course taking thyroid meds will stop your own production, when you take enough meds the tsh ( thyroid stimulating hormone) drops so your thyroid doesnt need to produce anything..... If you have a sick or ailing thyroid, this can be a good thing and is the course often taken... When you stop taking thyroid meds, the tsh rises in order to get your thyroid to produce hormones (if it can).
You can buy armour thyroid without prescription, but its the most expensive brand of Ndt. There are lots of other brands all with the same amount of hormones in. You have to buy from abroad and to get sources you would need to post a message asking people to send you private messages.
There are guides to self treating and there have been many posts about this on here.., (worth doing a search...). The general rule is to get yourself tested as a base line, then start on half a grain a day. ( A grain is 60 mcg)... You hold the dose for a few weeks and then increase by another half which you hold a few weeks.... Carry on until you feel better - you can tell when you are taking too much. So then you drop back.......
Thyrotoxicosis us a word bandied about by docs and endos because it sounds impressive and scary. Its the case when your free t3 is over range and your tsh is supressed..... To qualify, both measurements need to be taken!
Before you think about trials of thyroid hormones, its well worth checking that you dont have high blood sugar and therefor high insulin and that your b12 levels are good as well as your adrenal function. ( saliva test)
I feel like i have waffled on too much...... Basically check everything and when there is no other thing that could be causing the problems, try the ndt.... You at least now have a way to move forwards!
Jose, the first lesson to learn is that doctors - including endos - know nothing about thyroid. They say all sorts of things - most of them wildly inaccurate - I often think they make it up as they go along, because they will say one thing one day, and the opposite the following week! so, it really doesn't matter what your doctors said!
A TSH of over 3 is hypo, no matter what they say. It's very important to always have your blood tests at around the same time of day to be able to make comparisons. TSH lowers throughout the day, so best to have a fasting blood test at around 8.0 am to get the highest TSH. Any later and it will be lower. After eating it will be lower.
If the TSH continues to swing, it could be that you have Hashi's, even without the antibodies. Besides, one negative result does not prove you Don't have Hashi's, because antibody levels vary.
But, as others have said, you really need that FT3 tested.
Always, always get a print-out of the results, Don't just take your doctor's word for it. He doesn't have to live with the results, you do! If you live in the UK, it's your legal right to have a copy.
I had a funny turn today . I felt very dizzy and off balance. I had to stop seeing patients due to this and I was quite scared. I have read it may be caused by hypothyroidism. The doctor gave me something for the dizziness , said it's probably a viral ear infection. Seems strange all these symptoms are being discounted ?
Yeh I hear you, I think the fear is triggering hyperthyroid and having the issues with cardiac arrhythmia which I admit is a massive concern for me. Blood sugar perfect by the way ! B12 are said to be great !
Luckily, I did the blood test on an empty stomach in the morning! I hope it can hasten my diagnosis for some hormone replacement therapy.
If you get hyperthyroid symptoms through taking medication. ( liothyronine or ndt) you jyst stop taking the meds for a while, you soon cool off. The only way you woukd get hyperthyroid taking levothyroxine would be if you had additional problems so your body just converted the t4 into t3 all willy nilly, whether you needed the t3 or not. Not saying it doesnt happen, but really?
The funny turn, may be as the doctor said, an infection.... Or it could be linked to struggling adrenals. Heart problems are just as likely with undertreated thyroid as with over treated. Have a look at Hypothyroidism type 11, written by Dr Mark Starr... He explains the heart connection.
What sort of practice are you in to have patients?
Oooh, 95/64 isnt that a bit low..... Hmmmmm. Adrenals? Have you heard of the saliva adrenal test? Well worth checking them.... You can get the test done via thyroid uk, the only nhs hospital i know of that uses it is Southampton. Have a look under testing on the thyroid uk homepage. Its about £70.
Alternatively, if you are disciplined enough, you could measure your temperature 3 or 4 times a day and plot the average. This will give you a better idea if you have adrenal ir thyroid problems... ( or both). drrind.com/therapies/metabo...
Optometrist... Hmmm. Have you come across things like thyroid eye disease? And, how do you manage not to laugh when we patients have to put on the lens holder things in an eye test🤓
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