A nice doc who listened! Results, what to do next.

[Nuttymummyoffour]

Hi everyone.

I saw a new GP after leaving my old practice and changing doctors. (Leaving in tears and feeling like it was all in my head) He listened to me and took my results from July into consideration and agreed I did the right thing upping my Levothyroxine to 50mcg. On Tuesday I saw his partner and said I was still very tired and the pain in my feet and legs was becoming unbearable and getting me down. He ordered new blood tests including FT3!

My results are:

TSH 1.12 miul/l (0.25-5.0)

FT3 4.8 (3.5-6.5)pmol/l

Ft4 17.2 (9.0-23.0) pmol/l

My blood pressure is very high 164/119 so they have given me a 24hr monitor to use. It hurts! I have lots of water retention on my upper arms and it's squeezing so tight it makes my fingers tingle.

Anyway, is 50mcg enough or should I ask for a higher dose? I still feel rough, but I'm not as fatigued. Hair is still coming out in handfuls and my eyes stream and itch. Weight has stabilised, even lost a kilo last week. Periods have gone back to 28 days but I still have a weeklong blood bath 😐 which makes me almost housebound. I loose around a pint every time.

I'm taking 5000 mcg B12, B complex and 10,000iu D3 as well as the Levothyroxine.

Any advice please? H x

[bluebug]

Ask for a dose increase to get your TSH to just under one and your FT3 to over 5 but don't expect to feel loads better until your vitamin D and vitamin B12 levels are sorted out. It can take another 4 months or so until your vitamin D levels are sorted out.

[bluebug]

Oh and make sure you tell your doctors about your heavy periods and get them to test your haemoglobin AND ferritin levels.

To save themselves money they don't need to do a full blood count as well they just need to do these two specific tests. (And you know other people whose GPs have just got these two tests done.)

Make it clear you know what ferritin does e.g. protein that stores iron and you know that low ferritin levels are often a precursor to iron deficiency anaemia. Plus for healthily hair you are advised to have a ferritin level of 80.

You want a haemoglobin level of 12g/dL or above as per the NICE guidelines on iron deficiency anaemia. This may not correspond with your NHS lab lower boundary for haemoglobin levels.

[Nuttymummyoffour in reply to bluebug]

#bluebug Many thanks for your replies. I will keep taking the Vit D etc. My last doc told me to stop taking iron as he said I was in range so all was Ok. The new doc did a FBC and the haemoglobin is 132 g/l (115-160)

There's no ferritin on there though so I will talk to him about this. I was on 210 mg iron 3 x day for almost 2 years.

My blood pressure is scaring the crap out of me. It's been creeping up for 2 years now. Not sure what to do to try and get it down. I know loosing a few pounds will help but it's so bloody hard. I love to swim and walk the dog but I get so exhausted and give up after a short while.

[Ratkinson in reply to Nuttymummyoffour]

I have just bought some hand grip exercisers , odd as it may sound studies have found that using them every day can bring blood pressure down by as much as 15 units. Worth a try for under £10 bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-372....

There are different sorts on Amazon , I have bought the cheaper version - here's hoping!

Also cut out as much salt as you can.

[greygoose in reply to Ratkinson]

Don't cut out as much salt as you can! That's dangerous. The body needs salt - the heart needs salt - the adrenals need salt! - and it's very rare that high blood pressure is caused by salt. It's more likely to be her hypothyroidism causing it. High blood pressure is a symptoms, not a disease.

[Ratkinson in reply to greygoose]

Maybe I should have worded that better! Yes I agree salt is very important , but it is amazing how much hidden salt we have in our diet without realising it. It's not a bad place to start if trying to get a reduction in BP.

My baseline blood pressure is always slightly on the high side ( possibly because I am also hypothyroid but also because of my other pituitary replacement hormones ). I make a concerted effort to do what I can to keep it as low as possible - that means a multi pronged approach of diet, exercise, relaxation , that way I have been able to stay off medication for the moment - fingers crossed

So I would still say have a look at your salt intake, maybe try the hand grip exercisers ( mine arrived in the post this morning, I can let you know how I get on , I am a bit cynical but for £8 they are worth a go.) Meditation ( Helped my mother in law not be so stressed by the father in law!) and exercise if you can manage it, meanwhile you can try and get to the root of the underlying problem.

Hope you get sorted soon 🙂

[greygoose in reply to Ratkinson]

Me? I don't have a problem. lol

Hidden salt is only a problem if you eat processed foods. If you cook everything from scratch, you know exactly how much salt you're getting. Also, you get healthier salt - sea salt or Pink Himalayan. Salt if processed foods is always nasty processed stuff with lots of chemicals. Makes a difference.

[bluebug in reply to Nuttymummyoffour]

Ferritin tests are more expensive so unless you have a GP that knows why they should test this, or you personally can convince your own GP why you want it tested they will refuse to do it.

If you are having heavy periods what tends to happen is that your haemoglobin level stays up but your ferritin level falls as your iron stores get depleted. Ideally you want to work out a dose of iron you can take weekly - and you probably have to do this yourself - to keep your ferritin level up. However this involves testing more frequently than the NHS will do.

The pain in your legs and feet is probably caused by your very low vitamin D levels - and your vitamin D levels are very low to be on 10,000IU per day. This means that walking will be difficult until your level increases. So don't beat yourself up for not being able to walk or even swim for so long.

When you don't feel in such pain you need to start walking at 10 minutes per day e.g. taking the dog out to relieve him/herself, and not more. Then the next week add on 5 minutes and continue to add on 5 minutes weekly. If you don't build up gradually then what you will find is because you have lost loads of muscle tone and strength in your tendons and ligaments, is that you will walk for 30-45 minutes one day then will have to rest for 4 days.

[Pearl1981]

If your losing so much blood your ferritin is probably really low which is making you feel as weak as hell (speaking from experience)

The higher dose of levo will male your periods lighter too

Really heavy periods like this is a symptom of hypothyroidism

[Marz]

Magnesium can help to relax the arterial system - as well as muscles. If the arterial walls are tight and narrow it pushes the blood through at a faster rate. As we know the heart is a muscle too ☺

[TupennyRush]

One thing you may want to try for blood pressure is hibiscus tea. It has a lowering effect. I normally steep petals in water plus a small amount of honey (it is tart) and drink it cold.