Is my Hypothyroidism getting worse? pls help

[molls3346]

hi all

im new to this so pls be nice

I have had hypothyroidism since I was about 14 and I would say throughout the 8 years of having an underactive thyroid iv dealt with it in a way that maybe I should not have.I take levothyroxine every day since and if I’m honest don’t take it with thought, I just take it because I have to.

Firstly I’m not big on eating healthy and I have tried before but have just given up because even cooking up something healthy seemsSo tiring and all I can think of is ‘what Is the point?’ I know there is a point to it its just I cant convince myself to actually commit to it.

I feel completely depressed, stressed, rushed, anxious all the time , my memory is so bad short term and long term.i can’t retain anything. I cant concentrate at all without taking something which is the worst then when you work 9-5 in a office.I feel I also have RLS because I can’t stop moving my legs and have a general rushing agitation feeling throughout my body.My breathing is also quite shallow and it is worse when I’m shopping, at work or even just with family , basically when there are peopleAround I get horrible panic attacks. It feels like I’m having a heart attack.

Recently I have had two sort of dizzy spells/blackouts that rarely happen to me and I have never fainted before so this was quite scary.I was at home on a day off and had felt very tired and really wanted to feel productive so I took a energy drink and drank it all. I was onMy laptop for a bit laying on my bed when I suddenly got up and started feeling extremely dizzy, my vision went blurry , I could see splashes of coloursIn my vision, like lights and could not feel my body, what also worried me was that my ears popped and I couldn’t hear very well

. I cant remember what I did but it passed after a few min or so.The other time this happened was not so long after the last one (last week)I was out this time shopping and was generally quite depressed and stressed. Anyhow I continued my day, and shopped around withFamily members. I was at a sweet shop when I suddenly felt very sick and then quite dizzy. It then happened again andI was very panicky because I knew what It was and didn’t like it. The ears popped this time it was like being under waterI could just hear voices that were really low in volume. Then the blurriness and colours came in , more extreme this time

And I felt really dizzy, I felt I was going to faint and I hate that so I told my mum how I was feeling and luckily there was a seat to sitOn, I sat down and drank some water but still nothing. I had some sweets but still nothing. Then my mum bought me a orange juiceAnd finally that got rid of it,, after I was very shaken up and assumed it must be blood sugar levels. iI had a cup of tea in the morningAnd don’t really have breakfast. Something I realised after was that I had a about half a energy drink in the

Morning because I felt so tired. I then came to the conclusion that on both occasions of havingThese blackouts I had had a energy drink prior.I have been quite worried since and I have a doctor appointment next week justTo check everything is ok. Im not a fan of doctor appointments and the medical system tbh but I know I need to go.I know I have some vitamin deficiencies because I don’t have enough fruits/veg in general andFor the last 2 mnths I haven’t been eating very well and if anything not at all, before the blackout when I was shoppingI had regained my appetite and was eating quite a lot so maybe my body reacted because of the change? also it wasn’t my first time drinking a energy drink, im usually alright when I consume them,Idk but what I do know is that I feel crap all the time. I miss how I used to be, productive, organised, willing to do

Work and get motivated, speaking to people. Everything seems to be stripped away.Could it be the thyroid, underlying issues,? Like iv said since being diagnosed I haven’t really felt any improvements even with taking the thyroxine

And have given up that I will ever feel ‘good’ even when I do get happy and productive thoughts start to come in about how happiness is limited and I just cant help but think

That I don’t deserve to be happy and its better to feel shit but I know deep down its not the way to live

Any thoughts would be very appreciated and helpful

[humanbean]

Welcome to the forum, molls3346.

Yes, your problems are almost certainly related either directly or indirectly to your hypothyroidism.

One of the effects of hypothyroidism is that stomach acid lowers so your body cannot extract nutrients from your food very well. If you aren't eating well either, then that gives you a double whammy. A lot of your symptoms are typical of very low nutrients.

Your levothyroxine (also known as T4) is a synthetic hormone which is supposed to duplicate the hormone that your thyroid would produce (if it could). In most cases it works fine. About 85% of people do very well on it.

T4 is a storage hormone. It has little or no activity of its own. Instead it acts as the raw ingredient for the active thyroid hormone called T3, and (theoretically) T3 is made as and when the body needs it. If you have very low nutrients then conversion from T4 to T3 is impaired. This is the most likely cause of your symptoms - you almost certainly don't have enough T3.

Before we can help you, you need to find out what your results were for thyroid function testing. Presumably you are tested once a year?

If you could go to the receptionists at your surgery, ask first if patient medical records including blood test results are available for registered patients to see online. If they are, then you need to register, and for that you need to get various codes from your surgery. The link below takes you to the help page for registering for the service my surgery uses. I don't know if every surgery uses the same service.

patientservices.helpscoutdo...

If you can see results online once you've registered, then great. Let us know what they are for the last couple of years, including the reference ranges, i.e. copy the results into a new post and ask for feedback.

If you can't see your own medical records, then you'll have to ask for copies of your results to be given to you on paper, and then you'll have to do the copying into a new post.

As well as thyroid function test results we also need the results of any nutrient tests you've had done in the last year or so. Any of them are helpful, but the most important ones are vitamin B12, folate, vitamin D, and ferritin and/or iron.

By supplementing the right nutrients in appropriate doses you will feel a lot better. And if necessary we can suggest other options to improve things too.

[molls3346 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you for your reply.

Last time I had a blood test to check my thyroid was back in February 2016 and it came back normal and I had to just continue with my dosage (50mg).

I haven't had a nutrient test so It would be worth getting that checked out as well as a general check up.

Do you think the blackouts have anything to do with my thyroid? or is it related to something entirely different?

Thanks

[humanbean in reply to molls3346]

I would guess that your blackouts are related, but that is all that it is - a guess. I'm not medically trained.

You might find this list of hypothyroidism symptoms interesting :

hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypo...

and it may give you some clues as to whether your blackouts might be hypo related.

By the way, never accept that blood test results are "normal" without getting hold of a copy and checking it out for yourself.

To give you an example of the kind of problems people sometimes discover with blood tests :

1) A test result scraping the bottom of the range or the top of the range is classified by doctors as normal. This is not necessarily true. It depends on what is being measured. For example, a vitamin B12 level at the top of the range would be good. A haemoglobin level at the bottom of the range ought to ring alarm bells and suggest other things should be checked. But doctors would be happy with both.

2) Some doctors take things a step further. Since results scraping the bottom of the range are okay (according to doctors), then it isn't a big step to say a little but under the range is only a minor problem, or even not a problem at all. After all it is almost in range.

I think your first step should be to get hold of any blood test results you've had over the last couple of years, then post the thyroid and nutrient related ones on here in a new post. Then ask for feedback.