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Symptoms under active thyroid

JanetteWebster profile image
14 Replies

Hi all. I am totally new to this and very confused.  My 16 yr old daughter has been back and fore to the GP for the last month. As I have PA I was convinced her symptoms were B12 deficiency but her level was 420. Her folate was low and so they gave her 5mg folic acid.  CRP raised and being monitored. Was 6 then 8 and raised to 14. Her thyroid "borderline" what ever that means. They said underactive but repeating the test in four weeks and not treating as yet. However, last Weds she ended up in hospital with severe abdominal pain, nausea, exhaustion, blood in urine and generally unwell.  They have not rechecked her thyroid as initially thought she had kidney stones but the scan was clear. Can these symptoms be thyroid. We are at our wits end as she is still unwell. Any advice would be great. Many thanks xx

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JanetteWebster
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14 Replies
Pastille profile image
Pastille

Hi JanetteWebster , welcome to the site. Has your daughter been tested for Addisons? Just a thought as I know the exhaustion, abdominal pain and nausea are symptoms of that, and that it is common to have alongside hypothyroidism. Having said that if she is hypothyroid, we usually have stomach and digestion problems with it, acid reflux, unable to absorb nutrients etc. I hope she's okay soon and that you get the help you need , it's awful enough seeing your child ill without the added frustration of not knowing what the problem is. 420 doesn't sound great to me for B12 but more experienced people will be along to advise. Would be better if you could post any blood results you have with ranges in brackets so people on here can advise you better from their own experiences. If you were not given the actual figures of the thyroid function tests then could you contact your surgery and get them as well as anything else tested? People can advise you much better then. Good luck xx  

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster in reply toPastille

Thank you so much for your reply. I am sorry for my delay in replying. No she hasn't been tested for Addison's. That's really interesting to know that symptoms are so similar xx

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

There are 300+ clinical symptoms and I'll give you the link.

If you can get a print-out of her blood test results from the surgery with the ranges members will comment upon them.

It is not surprising that many people diagnosed with 'other' illnesses remain undiagnosed with a dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

For her next appointment - which should be the very earliest possible - she should not eat before it although she can drink water. This allows the TSH to be at its highest (it drops throughout the day) and that is the only result the GPs have been advised to diagnose by. The ideal would be TSH, T4, T3, Free T4 and Free T3 and antibodies.

As T3 is the active hormone required in our billions of receptor cells if we don't have sufficient our metabolism cannot function normally. Doctors do not, in the modern era, recognise clinical symptoms which they used to do before blood tests were introduced. Many also remain undiagnosed due to the TSH being lower.

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Hashimoto's is the most common condition but you have to have antibodies which wax and wane till your gland is knocked out. Going gluten-free (if hashi's) helps keep antibodies reduced.

Also an 'old-fashioned' way to diagnose was temperature, i.e. hypo usually have low temps.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

At the next blood test also ask for B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate.

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster in reply toshaws

Many thanks for such a comprehensive reply that's great. I have been along the road of un diagnosed B12 deficiency myself for the last year and only now on every other day injections to repair the damage of being untreated in time and don't want her to go through the same bad experience. I shall read up on all of your links and get more bloods done next week. 

Many thanks x

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply toJanetteWebster

My mother had P.A. and for years had injections until one day her GP told her 'your bloods are fine now and you don't need any more injections'. Both my sister and I said 'that's great Mum'. Little did we have any idea of what was ahead for her and us. A disaster is not a strong enough word. We said 'if only' but by that time it was far too late but we did rely on GPs.

Further along the road and going back and forth not one doctor in the surgery flagged up lack of B12 as it was never tested taken again.

Get the actual 'borderline' result with range and post it here. gp has to allow u copy. It can be raised as a result of illness which is why they are re checking in four weeks. U could ask for her antibodies to be checked if it is high next time.

Blood in urine isn't a thyroid sign, nor severe abdominal pain, exhaustion is...  something else is going on and the raised thyroid is in response is my instinct, but I am not a doc. 

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster in reply to

That's an interesting point. Our body's are so complex ain't they. I just fear that they are not looking for the right thing :( 

greygoose profile image
greygoose

She may not have PA, but her B12 is too low. Anything Under 500 can cause irrepairable neurological damage. Optimal is 1000, no matter what the range says. And low B12 can cause symptoms that can easily be confused with low thyroid.

If I were her, I would supplement with 1000 mcg sublangual methylcobalamin daily. Plus a good B complex with methylfolate. Ditch the folic acid, it's not really a good thing to take. The folate in the B complex will bring her folate level up. :)   

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster in reply togreygoose

Hi. I totally agree I have recently endured the long fight for correct treatment of B12 deficiency and only now on every day injections because of the neurological damage that insufficient treatment and incorrect diagnosis has caused. I am going to get her tested again next week and will ask for her results. 

I was wondering about giving her Bcomplex after the tests if I get no joy. 

Many thanks

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toJanetteWebster

A B complex on its own won't do much good. She needs high doses of B12.

Personally, I would give her 5000 mcg sublingual methylcobalaming daily for about a month, then drop to 1000 mcg daily.

At the same time, give her the B complex, but make sure it's one with methylfolate, rather than folic acid, and that will bring her folate up. :)

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster in reply togreygoose

Thank you for your advice. Do you have any that you would recommend ? X

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toJanetteWebster

Jarrows or Solgar. That's what most people take.

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster

Hi  I agree. I shall ask for a copy next week. Many thanks

JanetteWebster profile image
JanetteWebster

Morning. Thank you so much for all your replies and help. I am very sorry for the delay in respond. Unfortunately she spent the last week in hospital and the diagnoses went from gall stones to kidney stones then hey discharged her with antibiotics saying it was a water infection, two days later back in to hospital with suspected appendicitis and the final diagnosis was cysts on her ovaries. This was without doing a scan and purely on symptoms. Oh and gave her antacids for upper stomach irritation. 

She is now home and in less pain but remains unwell. We were advised to chase up further thyroid tests yet they didn't do those at the hospital. I am not convinced that she has cysts on her ovaries and believe that it's is a combination of thyroid and B12. Plan to go back to the GP next week and also get some more bloods done :(. Xx

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