I'm a newbie so firstly thank you for reading my post. I'll give you a little background first. I'm 36, male, in good health/weight generally. However I have suffered with chronic fatigue on 3 separate occasions over the last ten years mainly following a period of stress. Nothing has ever been found and I've recovered after a few months.
However for almost a year now I've suffered again and it's worse. This time I have a few more symptoms. I was vitamin D deficient so have been on supplements for 6 months, and anti-depressants since December (prozac which didn't agree with me and now venlafaxine). My depression has lifted and I should be off them from next month. But the vit d has not helped my tiredness at all, if anything I feel worse. Having read about hypothyroidism I have a lot of similar symptoms, but was wondering if the previous periods of fatigue were the start of it and now it's just getting worse. Does that happen? Can I be ok for a couple of years and then it happens again? It's also difficult to know what if any are side effects of the venlafaxine. My current full symptoms are:
Vitamin D deficient – diagnosed November 2015
Depression – diagnosed December 2015
Involuntary muscle twitches (eye and legs worst, especially when tired) – on and off for ten years, various tests including epilepsy all clear
ZERO libido – gradual decline for 3 years
Tired all the time, not helped by sleep. Fall asleep easily, occasional daytime nap – on and off for ten years, much worse in last 6 months. Brain foggy
Weak muscles and sore legs with occasional cramp in calf muscles. I'm exhausted the day after if exerted - this is within the last 6 months, getting worse
Constipation - very new to me. Never like this before. Diet has not changed at all, used to be daily, now 3 times-ish a week
Dry, itchy eyes sensitive to blowing air
Nose feels swollen inside / semi blocked. Occasionally runny
Throat – occasionally sore and/or feel a lump when I swallow
Persistent itching, particularly on the legs - comes and goes
Dry skin on face with whiteheads
Always cold - fingers and nose worst
Although all of these sound thyroid related they also could be completely unrelated. I suppose my main query is whether the thyroid can work ok for a couple of years and then not, as the fatigue issue is definitely on and off over a period of years. I've got a drs appointment in 2 weeks so will ask him for a full thyroid blood test but was just keen on your thoughts.
Many thanks for reading
Steve
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stevep130
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Welcome to our forum, Steve and you are symptomatic. Sometimes we actually have hypothyroidism for a long time but due to the way we are diagnosed in these 'modern' times, the doctors only take account of the TSH and if it doesn't reach 10, we remain undiagnosed with medications for the 'symptoms' rather than thyroid hormones.
First thing to do is ask GP for a full thyroid function Test (most probably wont as some labs will not do them if TSH is 'in range' and top of the range is 5 or 6 (even though the British Thyroid Association states not t prescribe until it reaches 10.
Make the earliest appointment for the blood test and don't eat before it.(If you were on thyroid hormones you'd allow 24 hours approx between last dose and test and take it afterwards.
The GP should ask for TSH, T3, T4, Free T4, Free T3 and antibodies. Also Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate.
If you can afford a private test we have recommended labs and you get a discount (I think about £10) - I'll give a link below.
Fewer men have a dysfunction of their thyroid gland than women but treatment is the same.
Always get a print-out of your blood test results, with the ranges (these are important as labs differ). Some surgeries charge a nominal sum for a copy and some nothing.
Put them on a new Post and members will comment. Link for recommended labs below:
Thanks for your prompt response. Would you recommend a private test over a GP test? I can't get an appointment for a couple of weeks. If so, which private test is best - postal, clinic, and what would be the best type of test as there seems to be a lot. Thanks. Steve
Some doctors wont accept Private Blood Tests. You could phone your surgery and leave message for GP. No point in getting them if he wont agree.
If not, the labs are accredited ones and I think most use the pin-prick ones. If you put up another post asking for recommendations, those who've done so will respond. I think you need the whole thyroid ones but GP can do the others later on.
GP tests are cut to the bone to save money - they are likely to do only TSH if it is in range. They rarely do antibodies, and when they do they don't always do all the ones that might apply. As far as iron goes, they usually only test ferritin, they don't do a full iron panel. They rarely do vitamin D. You might get folate and vitamin B12.
If you get private testing done and your GP refuses to acknowledge them there is nothing to stop you doing something about the results yourself e.g. treating low vitamin D by buying vitamin D supplements, or treating low ferritin by buying iron supplements. It has the advantage of never having to beg or ask permission, but obviously costs money.
Thank you all for your help. I've opted for the Thyroid Check Plus 10 home kit which I should get the results of before my GP appointment and can take along. Although I don't want to have any kind of illness, an answer and possible solution would be lovely
If I remember correctly, the Thyroid Check Plus 10 doesn't include vitamin D. You'd be amazed how many aches and pains disappear once vitamin D levels are optimal. You can get that done with a finger prick test here :
When I started supplementing with vitamin D I took 1000 iU per day for several months. Then I re-tested. And my level had actually dropped. It only started rising (very, very slowly) when I increased to 3000 iU per day.
I got my level to optimal eventually but it took a long time (I could have speeded up the process by increasing my dose, but I chose not to). I now take 2000 iU per day in the hope of maintaining my levels.
Hmmm I'm on 800 iU per day and have been since November. I'm going to be retested at my next Drs appointment in two weeks so it'll be interesting to see what the results are
I've just done that test this week f sent off my parcel on Tuesday last post, and had my results email this morning. Very pleased with the speed of turnaround and service.
I'll leave the thyroid info to the more knowledgeable in the audience...but, have you had your sex hormones, testosterone FSH & LH checked? Might be worth a look, low libido, depression and a myriad of other ailments can result from low testosterone.
I wish docs would check sex hormone levels before chucking us on anti-depressants.
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