Feeling symptoms of menopause?? but only 36!

[Anne5150]

I'm not sure exactly if it's menopause symptoms, or rather hormonal imbalance, but I did a test last year and it said everything was fine, I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism in the past and am pushing for a new test this friday (my last years test said I was ok) So I am not presently on any medication. 

But basically I suffer a lot from overheating, but mainly in the head area, the back of my head starts to sweat and my whole head feels so so hot that it's super irritating and frustrating.  I also get a feeling of 'burning' on my tongue, like I just want to stick my tongue in cold water and leave it there, not sure if burning is the best explanation, it doesn't hurt, but it's just super hot as if it's overheating. 

When I told my doctors (a few different ones) about 'hot-head' and 'hot-tongue' they just look at me like I'm bizarre, and tell me I'm too young for menopause.  Which makes me feel like it's all in my head (well it is but you know what I mean here) and that what I am experiencing does not really exist.  

But when it happens, it's really frustrating, red cheeks, sweats etc etc.  I have tried to figure out if food has any effect, etc, but have not found a common trigger, I just feel like it's hormonal imbalance of some sort.

I just don't know how to explain it to get the right answers, would love to be able to stop this from happening....does this happen to anyone else?

[Marz]

No I do not experience the symptoms you describe.  The thing that concerns me about your post - is the fact that you have been diagnosed as being Hypo and yet you are not on medication.  That does not sound right - sorry !  Saying your results are/were fine is not enough - you need to know the actual readings with ranges.  Post them here and people will make their suggestions based on knowledge and experiences.

You will need a full thyroid Profile and not just the TSH - which is a very small part of the thyroid story.  Also you will need tests for B12 - VitD - Ferritin - Folate - all are usually low when Hypo and will cause many health issues when low.

The full Thyroid Profile is :-  TSH- FT4 - FT3 - Anti-TPO - Anti-Tg

I would imagine many of your symptoms are linked to low thyroid .....

Tongue issues can be linked to LOW B12 - your result needs to be around a 1000 ....

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

I will try and push them for another set of tests this friday,  my tests, a year ago (which I don't have the results unfortunately) showed I was ok....and not in need of medication. I was on medication in 2010/11, but it was not regulated, and at some point I became very depressed, with low energy and no motivation to do anything, I would cry easily over nothing.  When I went off the pills, I felt a lot better.  And since then never went on pills again.  Did some self-medication with seaweed, kelp etc, which seemed to have brought up my levels, and the doctors said to stick with it.  Although she would not advise me, and I read online that too much kelp can bring on hasimoto's?  So I got scared and stopped doing that as well.

I will try and get my numbers next time I am at my GP, so I can post them here.  It's so frustrating to never get proper answers from the doctors. 

Thank you for your reply   

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

Well you WILL get proper answers here !  If you were told your results were OK - then Docs usually mean they are in range - yikes !  Where they are in the range is KEY.  So the FT4 needs to be around the upper part of the range - as does the FT3.  Did you have anti-bodies ?  It is rare for all these tests to be done - so important.  If just the TSH is tested - then that is a little like filling your car with petrol - but forgetting the oil and water .....

You probably became depressed because the FT3 was low in the range.  Kelp is not such a good idea if you have anti-bodies.

Your low energy can also be linked to low T3 - along with Low B12 and VitD ....

I am not a medic - just a Hashi's girl/old lady - with a B12 issue.  Click onto my name to read of the shortened version of my journey to wellness !

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

Thanks for your replies!  I have read your journey!  And the dogs! (thyroid issues!)!

The last tests I can find are as follows:

in 2010 I was T4 12, TSH 3.72, Feritin 43

in 2011 I was T4 11.3 TSH 1.19 - file says normal and no action required. 

I'm sure I wrote down the later ones somewhere but can't find at the moment, but will make sure to push for the tests and get a copy of the results for this site next time.

My grandmother had thyroid cancer, but I suppose that is completely different then hypo and hyper.   I was told people that are from mountainous areas (she's Swiss) are more likely to have thyroid issues?!  Mine started when I moved to Brazil (via London, originally from Canada)....have no idea if it has any connections, but it was worse when I was there and seems better here in the UK (or its not better but the UK doctors won't tell me).  I always have low energy, etc.  My weight is pretty ok, but I also have a lot of allergies, so I eat pretty healthy, don't eat much stuff that would affect weight gain anyways I suppose.  

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

Do you have the ranges ? - as labs do vary as do the machines they use.  From reading other results here - I think your FT4 is very low and just above the bottom of the range and needs to be much higher.

Normal is just an opinion and not a result.  Docs are obsessed with ranges and results can be anywhere in the range and they think it is fine.  If you go to the Thyroid UK main website - there is a page about Understanding Test Results....

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Your Ferritin needs to be around mid-range - which is mostly around 80/90 - so yours is low and could be better.  Are you supplementing ?

What supplements do you take ?

Allergies are immune responses - so again that points to the need for those pesky thyroid anti-bodies to be tested in case you have auto-immune thyroiditis.  In which case that would explain the variations in the TSH as you can swing from Hyper to Hypo.  Hashimotos is the most common thyroid conditions - so why do they not test for it ?

I despair !

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

2010 The ranges were TSH 0.35-5.00, T4 9-23, Ferritin 10-291

2011 T4 9.0-19.0,  TSH 0.3-5.0

I take vit D, thats all. 

yes, it's rather frustrating that when you are already feeling ill, you need to fight to be heard, I already have low energy! haha, where do i find the energy to argue with the doctors, constantly?!

I will push to test the antibodies, never had that done before I guess. 

The last doctor told me my symptoms were just of a panic attack?  which i found odd.  I also get a tightening of the throat feeling (i guess she was commenting mostly on this symptom).  But I feel like there is a lump in my throat (along with the overheating feelings), not sure why this is. 

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

As you can see the FT4 is VERY low in the range - so that usually means the FT3 will also be low.  That is the ACTIVE thyroid hormone needed in every cell of your body - so simply put there is not enough to go around the trillions and trillions of cells. 

On the website I posted above - click onto Private Testing and look at Blue Horizon and their packages.  I feel the more you mention the more important it is to have those anti-bodies tested ....  Docs do not bother as they think the treatment is the same.  There is so much we can do to help ourselves ....

So you need the B12 tested as a matter of urgency along with the Folate ....

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Everything you need to know about B12 - and you will read of its importance.  Often the symptoms can be similar to Hypo and the symptoms can overlap ....

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

thanks! i will read about b12 and check out blue horizon to see how it works!

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

Hope you found the links helpful.  When you read through the post headings on a daily basis there is so often 1/2/3 references to Blue Horizon - BH - as more and more people are having tests done privately.  It's a good way of finding out and taking control ...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

The above link will take you to all the options.

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

Hi, yes I have noticed the postings about Blue Horizon, if the nhs doesn't want to do it I will try that or another one.  Blue Horizon seems to be a good price, but I'm not sure how to do it from home!

I wrote down all the things you said about what I should get tested and I will go in for my appointment today and see what I can manage to get across to them! 

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

Hope all goes well !

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

thanks a lot!

[Anne5150 in reply to Marz]

ok! so I'm back from my appt. I thought I would share with you the results.  I had to cry, but I got them to do a blood test, which will be tomorrow, for everything except T3 which they say they don't do. They said it's a non-fasting diet, but I read here from various people that you should indeed fast?   And she requested that I do a throat ultrasound (which I pushed for), but she said, like the other doctor, that the pressure in my throat is due to anxiety/panic attacks (the only panic I feel is after spending 6 hours feeling this pressure in my throat! and it driving me nuts) 

And I asked for a print out of my last blood test which is June 08 2015, which came back as no action required, I definitely ate before this one as I remember them saying it was non-fasting.

Serum Ferritin 42 (10-160)

Serum Folate 4.4 (3.8-20)

B12 528 (191-900)

Free T4 11.3 (10.5-24.5)

TSH 3.14 (.30-4)

If you have an opinion on this, please let me know.

Thanks a lot!

[Marz in reply to Anne5150]

Your TSH needs to be around 2 or 2.5 as you not taking T4.  The FT4 as you can see is only just above the bottom of the range and needs to be nearer the top - so your thyroid is NOT producing enough.  The T4 needs to convert into the ACTIVE hormone T3 - so that will also be LOW.  Your Ferritin needs to be around mid-range - so 80 would be better.  Your B12 is better than many I have seen - but you could still supplement to get it nearer a 1000.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

[Barrister]

Yes, I have burning mouth syndrome, it's horrible. It has calmed down a lot but still get it sometimes. My doctor ignored me when I mentioned it so I had to research it for myself. It's possible that your B vitamins aren't up to scratch. Also, whilst you are young to be going into menopause, that doesn't mean you aren't menopausal. I have several friends who gave gone through the menopause in their early 30's. Mine started in my late 30's and my periods stopped completely by my mid 40's. I found I was flushing just on my face. I didn't want to take any HRT ( my doctor also told me that I wasn't going through menopause but I was! I researched ( again!) and discovered high dose sage (2000 mg) daily. Within 2 weeks of starting this, my flushes had dramatically reduced. Hope this helps. Clemmie

[Anne5150 in reply to Barrister]

Thanks for letting me know.  I did a bit of research on and off and found it so overwhelming to pin point what it actually is.  They did do hormone tests for me last year, have no idea what it showed, but got a text from nhs saying no actions are required.  

So you say that you used sage, in pill form?  I will have a look into this.  The flushes are really irritating....I was trying to see if there was a connection with food, etc, but I suppose it is always linked to hormones? 

Did you do anything for bms? I usually just suck on an ice cube hahahaha :/  

Why do doctors just ignore us! i don't understand!  I have gone at least 4 times over the past years and said the same thing....hot tongue, hot head etc etc... 

[Barrister in reply to Anne5150]

I had blood tests which ,y doctor said showed I wasn't menopausal. - I was having such light periods that i didn't need to use any protection and they were only once every 3 months by that time so she was obviously wrong! I got the sage from Healthspan ( it's an online vitamin/ supplement company) very good, pretty cheap and worked well for me. With the burning mouth, I found that chewing gum sometimes helped and yes, lots of cold drinks. But definitely get your vitamins and minerals checked as this might be what's causing it.  I don't know why doctors don't liste. I've got to the stage where I now tell them what I want and they pretty much accept it ( I am a qualified nurse and also a barrister so perhaps they are scared of me suing them, lol!) You just have to make sure that you research, research, research and show them that you know what you are talking about and that you want them to consider what you are telling them.

Good luck, hope you get sorted out.

Clemmie

[Anne5150 in reply to Barrister]

Thank you!  I will!  And have done that in the past, just told them what I wanted :)!  I will try again and see what happens.

For me actually my period remains super super heavy.  hmmmm.

[Barrister in reply to Anne5150]

Heavy periods can be linked to your thyroid ( another symptom! And another reason to get your thyroid tested and start medication). Clemmie