Now what? My ill health started with terrible migraines, ear aches, blocked ears, sinus pains in face and head and a bad cough causing me to be too ill to do a thing and crying constantly. I was put on antibiotics and steroids and it would shift only to return weeks later. This went on for ages. I then said to the doctor that it was odd that I kept getting infections and they kept returning he just said it is one of those things. I insisted it was odd and insisted my research told me it might be due to underactive thyroid. He reluctantly did a blood test which confirmed it and I begain taking levo. 25 mg then 50. He said well you are only borderline but I felt better. A year since starting levo I did start to get good weeks where I felt fine - except for swollen ankles/feet I was full of energy, able to think straight and all the rest.
Then a few months ago another infection hit me - head, face etc. Had to be taken to hospital urgently and was there a while. Put on antibiotics and steroids. Could barely move and was wheezing such a lot. Came out of that and a month later it comes back, came out of that and a month later it comes back.
I hate taking antibiotics. But it is all the doctor can give me. And i know all about the gut flora thing and do that properly.
A few days ago it started again! I know that if I tell the doctor how bad I feel she will say well we cant keep giving you antiboitics, they are bad for you etc. I will say but how come I KEEP getting infections? She says the answer is to go to ENT, I cannot see this as it just happens to be my nose etc that is infected, just like it was at the start. My blood test shows my level of levo is fine.I have seen a consultant who agrees no need to fiddle with it. Dont ask me for the figures. If they say they are fine I am sure they are. I now take 75 mg yet a year ago I was only borderline. And yes I have tried takinga bit less and taking 50 mg instead, it makes no difference. And taking less would not bring on infections.
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decembersignup
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Why don't you ask for a copy of your results? It's your legal right to have one. Personally, I would never, ever trust a doctor to know when my thyroid labs were 'fine'. What they mean by 'fine' is 'in range'. But that is not the same as 'optimal'. You don't even know what they've tested, they might not be doing the right tests, even!
And, have you had your antibodies tested? You probably won't even know that unless you get a copy of your results from the beginning. If you have antibodies, that can cause all sorts of undesirable symptoms, like sinus infections. It is very unwise to just trust your doctors opinion of 'fine' where thyroid is concerned. They just don't know enough about it.
Have you got any vitamin D, ferritin, folate and vitamin B12 test results to share?
You have posted before but haven't posted any test results so it's difficult for people to help you.
There are other posters like you who don't believe they are deficient or sub-optimal in vitamin and mineral levels because they take a multivitamin or just "because" until posters on here suggest they get them tested and then find they are.
Believe or not I actually just got randomly really ill for no reason with sinus problems exactly like you have now. I saw ENT and ended up being operated on.
I then got worse with pain everywhere in my body and after a year of GPs either ignoring me or saying I was crazy, a nurse practitioner tested me for vitamin D then I broke a toe. I got my test results back and I was severely deficient in vitamin D.
I was then told by a completely different practitioner that I was very low in ferritin and by B vitamin levels weren't great either, and that low vitamin and mineral levels are linked to hypothyroidism so it not surprising I have issues.
Another reason they refuse to believe they could be deficient is because they eat a 'good, clean diet'. But, you aren't what you eat, you are what you absorb.
Yes understand that. But doctors will tell you that if you are not absorbing you take vitamin and mineral supplements etc. And a lack of vitamins and minerals is very unlikely if you were fine for a year and your diet has not changed.
Firstly doctors get very little training in nutrition at undergraduate level. Once they reach post graduate level they only get trained in specific vitamins and minerals if they either do a post graduate course on nutrient, or there is a high profile court case where deficiency was not recognised e.g. familylawweek.co.uk/site.as...
This means the majority of GPs and even endos would not be able to tell you if you were deficient in a vitamin or mineral as they haven't had the training. Many but NOT all will know what the end of severe disease looks like due to vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Secondly vitamin D deficiency is a common deficiency in the UK in recent years effecting lots of people regardless of whether they have any other medical conditions. This is due to our poor summer weather and the fact that more people are going outside less. In addition as you get older your body finds it harder to synthesise vitamin D from the sun.
So while you may have been fine last year this year you could be deficient in vitamin D as your body stores would be depleted.
There are reasons why you may have been fine last year in the other vitamins and minerals but not this year I won't go into them.
Thirdly and most importantly if you have hypothyroidism to ensure your metabolism is working at it's best and you can convert T4 into T3 you need to ensure your vitamin and mineral levels are optimal. So asking for a blood test for these plus getting the results for these and your thyroid hormone tests to ensure you are in the best health, is actually going to help you not hinder you.
You can post your symptoms every few months and state that you are ill but we cannot help you without test results.
If your vitamin D level is not around 100nmol/L your level is sub-optimal.
If your serum vitamin B12 level is not at or above the lab range your level is sub-optimal.
If your folate level is not over half the lab range your level is sub-optimal.
If your ferritin level not near 100 your level is sub-optimal.
If your TSH is not near 1, T4 and T3 levels are not in the top three quarters of the range than thyroid hormone levels are sub-optimal.
You may be taking supplements and/or medication for some or all of them but your body may not be absorbing them or the supplement level may simply not be high enough as your body is using more. This is why you need the test results and the ranges.
I take supplements every day. I tend to have issues keeping my ferritin (iron) level up and every now and again my vitamin D level also falls below sub-optimal levels so I have to increase the dosage of the respective supplements.
I had 3 episodes of awful infections (ears, throat etc) when my thyroid levels were not optimal. I have not had so much as a cold since. Increased infections are a common hypo side effect - it stands to reason that if your body is not running efficiently it cannot cope with any extra strain.
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What to do now ?
Awful reaction to Levothyroxine
TSH "too low"...dose reduced
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