Recently informed I have borderline under active thyroid. GP says repeat blood test in 6 months. Same GP prescribed me with anti depressionmeds about 6 weeks ago. (Citalopram 20mg).also referred me to local CMHT. During recent phone assehssment with CMHT I mentioned the thyroid blood test and they said if I was under active then the meds and any therapy won't work properly unless the thyroid condition is treated.
I have symptoms of u/active thyroid such as depression, lack of energy, very tired, yawning a lot,etc. I take general multi vitamins inc iron. I am 52 female. Not sure if I am menopausal or not.
I did tell my GP that I didn't feel any different with the anti-depressents hence the thyroid test, but now that seems to be it for six months until I have repeat test.
Any suggestions what I can do to help myself ?
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saloplass64
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Hi. I was borderline for years before I was diagnosed so at least you have a GP who is better than some. First I'd suggest that you ask for a copy of your test results so you can see how far down/high in the ranges your results actually are.
If you're having symptoms (depression is a symptom BTW) I'd suggest going back and asking for a trial on levothyroxine (low does) to see whether this helps. Now and not in six months. If you're hypo it will take months before you recover (possibly a year) so the sooner you start treatment the better
If the trial doesn't sort things out then you know it needs treating differently. But until your thyroid is confirmed and treated if necessary there's not going to be any improvement
Use the counselling refusal as a reason for trial ie let's see if this can be resolved either way as I can't have counselling until it is
Hi thanks for your quick reply. Yes I will ask for a copy of the test results and post on here for further advice. In the meantime is there anything else I can do? Like changes to diet, or other vitamin supplements to try?
This is how many of us started our battle. Well done for finding us.
What your GP is doing. Is waiting until your tsh gets to 10 before diagnosing you, this is madness as the level is 3 in Germany and USA.
So you will need to ask for your thyroid antibodies testing, if positive then you have autoimmune hypothyroidism. You also need to ask for your vitamin d, b12, ferritin and folate testing.
Do not mention Internet or thyroid groups, doctors are not happy with us taking control of our health.
Do not wait 6 months, see a different doctor, preferably a locum.
Have your blood taken as early as possible in the morning, ask for the blood form and go to the hospital where most open at 8am, our tsh is higher around 3am and then gradually goes down during the day.
The word border line really winds me up, I usually say that you cannot be half pregnant!! You are either hypothyroid or you are not. Prior to 1973 when the tsh blood test was devised doc would say you were hypo by your symptoms.
Depression is a symptom of hypothyroidism, doctors are treating symptoms, not the cause. Doctors have extra points when they prescribe anti-depressants, statins and BP medication and more points when on repeat prescriptions, and we know what points mean! To be fair doctors are not to be blamed, it's big Pharma, they operate doctor's strings!
Always get a copy of your results too which you are entitled to.
Id like to suggest depression is a symptom of mental I'll health caused. Y neurological changes in the brain through other things and some medications not necessarily related to the thyroid on its own Suze - not every one who gets depression has a thyroid problem, like not everyone with a thyroid problem has depression. I had depression once caused through a very bad business experience before I was even diagnosed as being Hypo. It's only since my spontaneous Aneurysm and Brain Haemorrhage 3 years ago that I've been frustrated at not knowing why it happened.
It's that frustration that led me to start researching last year - if I'd been depressed I wouldn't have cared one way or the other!
I am not saying that everyone who has depression is hypothyroid, it is one of the many symptoms. What is a tragic Shane is when people are treated for each symptom like depression, carpal tunnel, sinusitis, dry skin, constipation ... The list goes on but the route cause is not searched for.
If the patient has many classic hypo symptoms doctors ignore it until that magic no. 10, how many people are given a trial of thyroid medication like Dr Chris Steele used to do when he was a GP.
...mm and how many other meds are they taking for some of those as well? Interfering possibly/probably with the intended benefit of each drug for each health condition!
Personally after being extremely ill for 5 years and the research I have done I will not take prescription medication. All medication is harmful and I am unBle to quote the exact figure but many thousands of people worldwide die each year as a result of medication.
In my personal opinion big Pharma want everyone to be on medication which is why they push statins.
This is why many people over 60 are taking at least 5 medications!
Hi Saloplass64 - sorry to see your post - but it's not possible to be Borderline Any health condition! blood tests and/or other tests will show whether you DO or DO NOT have a condition, so firstly stop worrying about that aspect of his words to you.
Do you have your blood tests results with you, if so post them on here. There will a number by the TSH result followed by a range of numbers in brackets eg. 0.17 mUl/l (0.55-4.78) -that is my last result 4Mar. for you it will depend which Laboratory tests your blood and by which method, again you will probably see the info underneath in brackets.
It doesn't sound as though the antidepressants are working for you, and those taken with other meds, whether over the counter bought by you or prescribed, if you are being treated for other conditions also, may well be having a detrimental effect on your metabolism. You are near the age for menopause, your hormone balance may be changing, oestragon levels dropping. There are many factors involved in your overall health condition at this time of your life - not to mention personal issues if there are any - so many things cause stress in life these days, unfortunately and you don't need to add that.
Re the Vitamin, iron supplements you are taking, they will not be giving you your RDA anyway, you need that from the food you eat. Many supplements are powder coated. If you know you are deficient, try talking to your pharmacist, tell him what your doctor said, take result with you if you have it. If you do need supplementing as I said natural food or a natural product from the chemist or a health food shop. The pharmacist will be better qualified than a shop assistant I would imagine in terms of advice given because they have medical qualifications.
I'm not medically qualified but my own health took a sudden turn for the worse 3 years ago and Ive spent a lot of time researching My conditions, medications etc. I've looked at them all and yes I am getting there, albeit slowly because I only started about 7 months I was diagnosed as Hypothyroid in 2000 - it's taken 16 years of not knowing anything till I started asking myself the questions about my own health history from birth and researching everything I could remember. Family genetics come into it, especially on your father and grandmothers side in terms of their health and problems if any.
I use "Drugs.com" to check out meds prescribed singly or if taken in conjunction with another one that will tell you about contra-indications if any. "Labtestonline" will explain your test results for you, again will give full explanations if you scroll down the pages.
For fatigue, ? Mood changes, for myself I buy an Arkopharma product called Arko Royal which I buy from the chemist. It certainly helped me regulate my sleep patterns better, I had better mental cognisance and capacity and certainly more energy. It's your decision whether to look at something like that or not. I take it because it contains all natural products, is a liquid in a series of small glass ampoules, which are broken open ar either end, pour contents into a half tumbler of water before drinking it. However I also know my food intake needs addressing, not in quantity but quality.
You can research everything online - start with,Wikipedia for health conditions or symptoms. That will give you a choice of various websites with lots of info and research articles if you want to go that deeply into things.
I don't tell people what they should or should not take, except when comes to antidepressants - I was put on lots of wrong ones over the months, very often the toxins from them end up in the liver and bloodstream which carriesthose toxins to the brain affecting neuroreceptors and neurotransmitters. I'd already had a genuine brain injury from a haemorrhage 3 years ago, the effects of which were wrongly diagnosed by my doctor and the antidepressants made a lot of the physchological effects much worse. I stopped all meds except my Levothyroxine in Autumn 2014 and it's taken me this long to be able to function better mentally and emotionally, I'm left with the neurologically responsible physical aspects of that mainly, I.e. Walking, talking, vision and hearing - all slowed down and worse than before the BI. I know what conditions have caused what symptoms now with my health and hopefully I'm rectifying a lot of them. yes it's all complicated, I'm 68, been where you are now when I was 53.
I wish you well in your quest - you now have 6 months before your next blood test, a good long time to start sorting yourself out - look after your Enocrine System and it will start looking after you - it's possible your next blood test may show you do not have a Thyroid problem. If the results do, check them out also on the suggested website, and post on here.
Others will also answer your post and suggest all the other things to ask to be tested for at the same time. I suggest you come back on here a week or so before you book your blood test, because ideas and research are constantly updating.
Good luck and a Happy Easter to you and yours. x
PS Citalopram was one of the drugs I was given! Also if you are overweight and told you are also Type 2 diabetic, ple ase be careful about taking Metformin with Levothyroxine if you are put on that in 6 months. They were the only 2 meds I was on, having been told I was "borderline" diabetic 5-6 years ago and together they screwed up spleen, resulting in a blood disorder because I was not producing enough white blood cells and enlarged thickened red ones. I now have a very compromised immune system, with 2 proven Autoimmune conditions Hashimotos - which is AutoimmuneHypothyroiditis!
I was told my thyroid was "borderline underactive" in the early 1990s. I was still untreated in 2013, which is when I begged and begged my doctor for some treatment for my thyroid. I was prescribed the smallest possible dose, 25mcg levo per day, and she refused to raise the dose. That is when I started treating myself.
Don't wait for your doctor to decide that you've suffered enough, because you could be waiting for decades if your TSH doesn't rise any further.
Get copies of any thyroid blood tests and any tests of nutrient levels, including the reference ranges, that you've had in the last couple of years and post them on the forum for us to see, and we can comment.
Saloplass - check out endocrineweb.com - that will tell you everything there is to know about the Thyroid gland itself, then you can suss out all the answers you have received, my previous one included, into context with your own health.
I was borderline since 2008 still had horrible symptoms, weight gain and was previously a size 8-10, now a 14 and eat less. Swelling all over, hair loss, dry skin, hair, insomnia, depression and also had 7 miscarriages so it affects everyone differently. I now have almost no T4 in my system and low T3. It just a term doctors use to mean we won't treat you until it gets worse.
If you are hypothyroid and it is not treated then serious health problems may result, doctors go on about being over medicated and there is no evidence of this and yet I know people personally who have health problems from not being medicated.
There are many people who's TSH doesn't rise, therefore will never be treated. I know of several people who are super well since managing their own health as they are undiagnosed.
Six months is far too long, especially if your tsh isn't going to get to the magic 10, I was lucky I only had to keep insisting on blood tests for 12 months, some people have gone for 20 years!
The TSH blood test is to blame and is responsible for people losing their careers, homes, relationships and for some not being able to have a baby. The TSH blood test is inaccurate and should be re-assessed.
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