Fed up with hypothyroidism

[Pc72]

Diagnosed 12 years ago on 50mg Levothyroxine now ... Feel worse now than I ever have done. I had a recent blood test "normal" so overweight now look pregnant, terrible heart burn, so tired bloated and to be honest fed up

[Pastille]

Hi Pc72 Welcome to the forum. I get what you mean, it's really crap and no way to live. Thankfully you don't have to Unfortunately the only way members here can really help you is if you post your most recent blood test results, including ranges in brackets. TSH, T4. T3 ( if you were lucky enough to get that done ) You will also need to be tested for Ferritin (storage iron) Folate, B12 and Vitamin D as these all need to be optimal in range for us to benefit from any thyroid medication. Don't take 'normal' for an answer, you need the actual figures and you will then get excellent advice from this site and be on your way to feeling much better. My gp would also have left me on 50mcg levo. It's quite a low dose and you may well be under medicated, I was, I knew I wasn't right. Good luck x

[Pc72 in reply to Pastille]

I have only been reduced to that for the last year I went down from 100 .. I am seeing my gp this week so will ask for them and also I am anemic was taking iron tablets for a while and do have deficiency in Vitamin D but apparently most of the population does says one GP and her advise was to contact a personal trainer for diet and fitness training guidance. I just need want to loose some weight and feel better about myself ... Thank you for your reply x

[Pastille in reply to Pc72]

Hi Pc72 , contacting a personal trainer for diet and fitness will only make you feel worse if you are under medicated. Without sufficient thyroid hormone you will really struggle to lose the weight or to feel better. I would start with posting all blood results anyway, you've got nothing to lose by doing that, if you have a good read through the posts on here you will see that most people who come here find that they are not on enough thyroid hormone replacement or that they are not converting T4 to T3 properly. Most people feel a relief from symptoms etc. with a TSH of 1 or below. It is very common for a gp to say you are fine with a TSH of 5, even more. Your heartburn is likely to be due to low stomach acid which generally comes with hypothyroidism. Many people here find relief from using an organic, raw apple cider vinegar

[Pc72 in reply to Pastille]

I have started to read through and I definitely will post my blood results on ... There is so little information supplied to you and it's not regarded as very serious condition in my opinion. The heartburn has only been the last few months really which I think is where my tummy is so bloated at the top it's like I'm squashed up restricts my breathing at times. Tbh I feel like a hypochondriac

X

[Pastille in reply to Pc72]

Don't feel like a hypochondriac, what you are feeling is very real, this illness is so trivialised that we do end up thinking we need to pull ourselves together or something, meanwhile we are getting more sick. I can assure you that I felt all of that discomfort from the gut and esophagus and it's awful to have to live with. I don't have it now, I am not bloated like I was and no where near as tired. Only with the help of the wise ones on here did I make any progress. Keep reading and asking questions and post your bloods, you can lose the weight, have more energy and get relief from your gut issues, just do it the right way with the advice from here. Exercising now is not good for you, using energy you don't have. Hope you feel better very soon x

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Suggest you ask GP to check levels of vitamin d, b12, folate and ferratin. These all need to at good (not just average) levels for thyroid hormones (our own or replacement ones) to work in our cells.

Also have you had thyroid antibodies checked? There are two sorts TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) Both need checking, if either, or both are high this means autoimmune thyroid - called Hashimoto's, the most common cause of being hypo. NHS rarely checks TPO and almost never checks TG. NHS believes it is impossible to have negative TPO and raised TG. It's rare, but not impossible, there are a few members on here that have this.

Make sure you get the actual figures from tests (including ranges - figures in brackets). You are entitled to copies of your own results. Some surgeries make nominal charge for printing out. Alternatively you can now ask for online access to your own medical records. Though not all surgeries can do this yet, or may not have blood test results available yet online.

When you get results suggest you make a new post on here and members can offer advice on any vitamin supplements needed

If you can not get GP to do these tests, then like many of us, you can get them done privately

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

Blue Horizon - Thyroid plus eleven tests all these.

This is an easy to do fingerprick test you do at home, post back and they email results to you couple of days later.

Usual advice on this test, (home one or on NHS) is to do early in morning, ideally before 9am. No food or drink beforehand (other than water) don't take Levo in 24 hours before (take straight after). This way your tests are always consistent, and it will show highest TSH, and as this is mainly all the medics decide dose on, best idea is to keep result as high as possible.

Low stomach acid, due to inadequate Levo dose can be cause of bloating and acid reflux. Lots of info on here about how to treat with cider vinegar or peptin HCL.

If you have Hashimoto's then you may find adopting 100% gluten free diet can help reduce symptoms, and lower antibodies too. (But is good idea to be tested for coeliac first, before going gluten free, though test can give false negative.)

Assume you know that Levo generally should be taken on empty stomach and no food or drink for at least hour after. Many take on waking, some prefer bedtime, either as more convenient or perhaps more effective. No other medications at same time, especially iron or magnesium, these must be at least 4 hours away

Best advice is to read as much as you can. Vitamin and minerals levels are very important, but standard NHS thinking, doesn't at the moment seem to recognise this.

You will see, time and time again on here lots of information and advice about importance of good levels of B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D and gluten connection to autoimmune Hashimoto's too.

vitamindcouncil.org/tag/aut...