Hi All, I'm new here and am after some much needed advice.
I have been a type 1 diabetic for 11 years and have recently been feeling very unwell. I suffer on and off with depression and have been taking antidepressants for over 8 years now.
My GP has requested lots of blood tests which I had done yesterday and am currently waiting for the results. One of the things he is testing for is thyroid problems.
My current symptoms (which don't seem to be improving) are - a general low mood, night sweats, excessive tiredness, weight gain, excessive sweating and just feeling unwell. I am also having fertility problems for the past 6 years.
My cholesterol rest came back today of 7.18 which my doctor has said needs to come down asap although as I told him my diet hasn't really changed recently. My full blood count and liver and kidney blood tests have come back ok.
Are there any signs that I should look out for when the thyroid results are in? Would also like to know people's thoughts on my symptoms if possible please.
Any help would be greatly appreciated 😊
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Rubizzalf
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There are over 300 known symptoms of low thyroid. So, just about anything can be a symptom. It's when you have quite a few of them that thyroid should be suspected. But, unfortunately, doctors know nothing about the signs and symptoms of low thyroid.
Certainly high cholesterol is a symptom. Do not let your doctor put you on statins. High cholesterol in and of itself is not a problem - it does not cause stroke or heart attacks - it is a sign that something else is wrong in your body. Probably low thyroid. And it has little to do with your diet. Cholesterol is made in the liver.
When you get your results, you should post them on here - with the ranges - so that people can comment. What doctors look at is the TSH. They consider that if TSH is high, you are hypo, and if it's low, it's hyper. Unfortunately, things aren't as cut and dried as that. So, hopefully, he has also tested your FT4. If that is low, then you are hypo.
The migraines and nausea could be due to digestion problems. Is he also investigating your gut?
The Practice you attend will receive funding points for prescribing statins but very little for thyroid meds.
Over 80% of cholesterol is made in the body and for good reason. The brain is around 25% cholesterol and most hormone production involves cholesterol. The synthesis of VitD in the skin also needs it.
The food industry that has grown around lowering cholesterol is also flawed.
I suggest also having the following tests .... Ferritin - Folate - B12 - VitD. All need to be optimal in their ranges. I have read that low iron can sometimes cause headaches due to lower oxygen.
I am not a medic - just a Hashi's gal with a B12 issue .....
Hi and thank you for your replies. I have called the GP surgery this morning and the receptionist told me the results still aren't back. My own GP is not back till Wednesday. I hope I don't have to wait until then for the results 😔
I have been looking at the home test kits. They look like they test for more things than the NHS do.
Do you take metformin for your diabetes? If so this can lower your B12 level. I agree with Marz that a full series of blood tests is the way to go. If your GP doesn't do all of the tests recommended, there are labs that will do them privately. Low thyroid and low B12 have similar symptoms and often occur together. Hope they will identify what is causing your symptoms soon.
for info: metformin is used to treat type 2 (insulin resistant diabetes). Type 1 is related to problems producing insulin and responds to different medications and requires replacement insulin to control blood sugar levels.
Also my cholesterol was 5.13 2 years ago and now 7.18. Would you say this is a big jump? I have refused to go back on statins as last time they gave them to me I had very heavy feelings in my arms and legs which I have explained to the gp
Well, that's good that you're not going on statins! I dont know how old you are, but cholesterol does get higher as you get older. But, it really doesn't matter.
By the way, if you want to reply to someone specific, you have to click on the green 'reply' button under their comment, or they won't be notified, and won't know your reply is there.
Thank you so much grey goose. I hadn't noticed the reply button 😳
Just spoken to the GP surgery. They are now saying that thyroid blood tests weren't requested by the GP but he told me they had been. Now have to wait until Monday to collect another blood test form and wait for the results. So frustrated 😥 as feel like there is no end to this.
Oh dear. It's depressing, isn't it. Why do they need to be so rude?
I really think you'd be better off getting private tests - if you can - and then you wouldn't have to put all with all this nonsense! And you'd get all the tests you ask for.
Silly question but if I get the tests done privately do I then take my results into my own GP? I have been looking at the 11 test blood test from blue horizon. Sorry for so many questions
Don't worry about the questions! If we don't ask them, we don't learn!
You can do what you like with them, they're your results. No reason why you shouldn't show them to your doctor, but the problem is, they often dismiss private tests, on some trumped up excuse or other. But, at least you will know.
You'll know if it's still a route worth taking. You'll know if it's so bad you need to start thinking about self-treating! And, you'll know if you have any nutritional deficiencies - which you will have to treat yourself, anyway, because doctors know absolutely nothing about it. And, it's perfectly possible that nutritional deficiencies are at the root of your problems.
Also, if you come back as having Hashi's, but your thyroid hormone levels are still ok, you can put yourself on a gluten-free diet, and start taking selenium to lower antibodies. Because your doctor won't do either of those, anyway!
So, it's entirely up to you. The power is yours, rather than the receptionist's! Yes, I do think it goes to their heads, and they get above themselves, assuming that they have more power than they really do! Just ask them where they got their medical degree! lol
First: anti-depressants are a poor substitute for FT3 in the upper half of the normal range. (Speaking from personal experience.) Proper T3 level plus good nutritionals was like magic for me.
Second: all your symptoms could be hypothyroidism. I would encourage you to go to URL:
... which lists the more than 300 symptoms caused by thyroid problems. Unfortunately, most doctors practice by numbers now, not by symptoms.
Third: it is dangerous, to the health of a baby, to conceive and carry a baby to term when you are hypothyroid. Take a look at ThyroidPregnancyBook.com. I encourage you to make sure you are fully euthyroid (FT3 and FT4) before conception, and while carrying the baby.
Fourth: you ask if there are signs you should look for. Unfortunately, if the doc you are using does only TSH (and maybe FT4), that does not provide a full picture of your thyroid health. All patients with hypothyroid symptoms should have the full panel TSH/FT3/FT4/rT3/TPOAb/TGAb. The last two are the antibody tests which tell you if you have Hashimoto's autoimmunity, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. If a TSH is all you have to go by, you are more likely to be OK if TSH is around 1.0, rather than 3.0 or above. The AACE TSH range is 0.3-3.0, but labs have refused to adopt this more sensible range, many of them say you are "normal" if TSH is as high as 5.0. In my euthyroid state, my TSH is below 1.0. If you do not have primary hypothyroidism (thyroid gland deficiency), then TSH is likely meaningless.
Thank you so much for this. So very informative! Had the blood test on Tuesday and the GP has messed up the tests so now I have to have the thyroid test done again
anti-depressants can cause depletion of folate in some people - and there would be an overlap in symptoms with B12 and with thyroid.
Is the nausea associated with the migraines or is it totally independent? There is another condition - involving the ileo cecal valve not closing properly which has symptoms very similar to B12 deficiency and also has nausea that would be unconnected to migraines.
Symptoms of B12 deficiency, diabetes and thyroid all overlap a lot.
PAS forum is the place on Health Unlocked to go to find out about B12 deficiency.
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Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
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