Help please

[pauline1972]

Hello can anyone help me I've been to the doctors to see if my thyroid was playing up bcos over the last few months I have put on weight & my feet legs & hands or swollen i also suffer from terrible night sweats every night also i suffer from a very painful left heal when i stand on it or walk on it so he tested my thyroid & it came back normal what ever that is im on 100mg levothyroxine then he decided to test me for diabetes but that came back normal so can anyonehelp me im at my wits end & sorry for the rant

[Clutter]

Pauline1972,

Ask your GP receptionist for your thyroid results and ranges (figures in brackets after results) and post them in a new question for advice. 'Normal' is a broad range and having TSH at the top of range will generally result in feeling very unwell whereas most people will feel well when TSH is low in range.

[Marz]

Normal is an opinion and NOT a result. So you need to obtain copies of the tests that were performed - the results with ranges. Then post them in a new post here for people to advise.

Did you have the FULL Thyroid Profile tested ? - or just the TSH ? These are the tests you need - TSH - FT4 - FT3 and Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg.

Also you need OPTIMAL levels of B12 - Ferritin - Folate - VitD for your thyroid hormones to work within the body and for you to feel well. So those should be tested too ....

If your GP is not co-operative you could have all the above done through Thyroid UK with Blue Horizon - see below .....

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

Package 11 seems popular on the forum.

Hope you soon feel better.

[alangardner]

you need to really listen to the reply from ''marz'' ..... you have to have a FULL thyroid function test which should encompass ALL OF THE TESTS STATED complete with ranges of the testing lab to evaluate a treatment regime ...... 1 question though ---- if your gp says that you don't have a thyroid problem WHY HAS HE/SHE GIVEN YOU LEVOTHYROXINE ??? ..... they must know you have a problem to prescribe it !!!!!!......alan x

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

pauline1972 I've just looked back at your previous posts. So you were eventually diagnosed as hypothyroid and now take 100mcg Levo (I assume).

Night sweats could be menopausal but that probably doesn't explain your other symptoms.

Are you having annual thyroid tests now that you've been diagnosed? If so, do you have your test results? It's a good idea to get all your results each time you're tested, keep a spreadsheet (or note of them somehow), with date, test, result, reference range, dose of Levo, how you feel, etc. That way you can always compare current tests and symptoms and if you don't feel right or symptoms have returned, and your dose has been changed, you can always say... ' but when I was on xxx dose I felt fine, now you've reduced my dose to xxx I'm experiencing these symptoms again, I would like to go back to my previous dose' - or some such thing, you get the idea.

So, if you don't already have your results, go to your surgery and ask for a print out of them all, it's your legal right under the Data Protection Act. You may be charged a few pence for printing.

When you have those results, start a new thread, post the results with reference ranges (very important as they differ from lab to lab, you should find them next to the actual result, usually in brackets), and then members can comment.

To give an even better picture, as Marz says, ask for the following

Vit D

B12

Ferritin

Folate

All those need to be optimal (not just in range) for thyroid hormone to work properly. Any deficiencies can be supplemented and will help enormously.

And if you can get antibodies tested (Thyroperoxidase and Thyroglobulin) then that will complete the picture as it can rule out or confirm autoimmune thyroiditis aka Hashimoto's disease.

It's a good idea to get them tested privately if your GP wont do them, and Marz has given details of that.