Should I feel better?

[Maud04]

Goodmorning all,

Yesterday I had an appointment with the consultant at the respritory clinic after pneumonia and sepsis in March that I never seem to be recovering from, now they have thankfully ruled out COPD and think my ongoing chest/breathing problems are down to an underactive thyroid discoverd a month ago when a consultant noticed my goitre.

The consultant yesterday also informed me that the Endo has told my GP if I am not better by the time I see him next Friday he is to make an appointment for me to see her. I now feel that they think I should be all singing and dancing one month afer having a TSH of 85 ( The consultant advised me yesterday but I will ask GP for full results from initial testing done one month ago and the blood test to be done on Wednesday for which I will avoid taking my meds till after......... as advised to many people)

My question is Should I really be feeling better after 1week on 50mg and 2 weeks (now into 3rd week) of 100mg of Levo ? Reading posts on her I was of the opinion that anywhere between 4-6 weeks was the norm?

Also a little afraid of being sent to the endo as from reading posts here it seems like they think they should be doing more important stuff than seeing people with hypothyroidism ! The other lady in this area did not seem to get on too well with her from her post . Perhaps I am just a little over emotional as very tired and like most of you ladies really sick of being unwell. (I was so full of hope for the medication)

On the plus side my sweat glands seem to be working so now my night sweats are exactly that instead of just hot LOL

Any advice would be greatfully appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[bantam12]

It usually takes months sometimes many many months before people feel any better, the body has to adjust to meds and recover, it's a slow process and can't be hurried.

[greygoose]

Doctors have unrealistic expectations of recovery because they've never been through it themselves! My first endo told me that at the end of two weeks, I wouldn't recognise myself, I'd be feeling so well! Actually, I didn't recognise myself - I felt ten times worse!

I think, really, it's too soon to be doing labs, after just one month. It should be at least six weeks to see the full effect. In fact, it won't be a month on 100, will it.. You say two weeks on 100 and tests next Wednesday? 3 1/2 weeks. There's no point in that.

Also, they have increased your dose rather quickly, haven't they. Increments should only be 25 mcg at a time. That might have been a little too much for you, I don't know, but the 100 dose certainly hasn't had time to take full effect yet.

Your TSH was very high, so you must have been hypo for quite some time. And the longer you've been hypo, the longer it's going to take to improve. Levo is not an aspirin, it doesn't work instantly. It could take a couple of years for you to get back to your old self. Although you should be feeling increasingly better throughout that time, but nothing is going to happen after just four weeks. So, no, there's no law - either of nature, or of logic - that says you should already be feeling better.

You could also have quite a few nutritional deficiencies, being so hypo, so ask them to test your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin. These all need to be optimal - not just in range - for your body to be able to use the hormone you're giving it. If you post your results on here, members will be able to advise on supplementation.

[Anthea55 in reply to greygoose]

Hopefully the endo will do further blood tests. You need to be tested for antibodies, which many of us have with our hypothyroidism.

Many of us also benefit from a gluten free diet.

Hope you begin to feel better soon.

[Maud04]

Many Thanks,

Thanks Greygoose. You are correct two and a half weeks on 100mg and they are testng my bloods again.

Having read previous posts I thought it was a little premature for drugs to be working, perhaps by the time I get an appointment with the Endo it will be long enough for the drugs to be in my system and have alleviated a lot of my symptoms.

Will post all test results after my trip to the GP next Friday.

Kind Regards

[shaws Administrator in reply to Maud04]

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[SlowDragon Administrator]

They need to test for both types of antibody - TPO and TG - to establish if the cause is autoimmune, called Hashimoto's. This is by far the most common cause of being hypo. You can be high in either or both, so should be tested for both. NHS rarely tests for TPO almost never does TG.

Most medics seem to have no idea about importance of vitamins, minerals, nutrient and diet with thyroid issues.

vitamin D, b12, folate or ferritin all need to be at good (not just in range) levels for thyroid hormones to work. Leaky gut and/or low stomach acid (acid reflux) is common if hypo and can cause low vitamins, minerals as well as gluten issue.

Low stomach acid often misdiagnosed as high acid.

If you do have Hashimoto's then many of us find adopting a 100% gluten free diet improves symptoms and may also slowly reduce antibodies. Supplementing selenium can help too. Vitamin c with zinc good for supporting your adrenal system, important while your metabolism slowly improves.

Thyroid uk has lots of info on their website including where to get private blood tests, if you can't get NHS to do them all. Many of us have had to resort to this to work out what is going on.

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

Very important to take your Levo on empty stomach and no food or drink (esp tea or coffee) for hour after. Many take on waking, some prefer bedtime - again no food or drink ideally at least two hours before.

Also some of us find noticeable differences between brands of thyroxine. You may find only one type s

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Whoops pressed "submit reply" in error before finished sentence!

Also some of us find noticeable differences between brands of thyroxine. You may find ond brand suits you better. If so, try to ensure always get same one from pharmacy when you collect prescription, best to check the bag before you leave the chemists. Changing brands with new prescripition, can slow up getting better. Good idea to stick to one brand anyway.

[Clutter]

Maud04,

My sister was advised that it would probably take up to a year to fully recover from a bout of pneumonia.