New to group

[rottilover64]

Hello everyone! So glad to have found this group! I have hypothyroidism due to removal of my thyroid when I was 7 and diagnosed with Graves. I also have fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy. On a side note. I've been an EMT for the last 16yes but never thought that my thyroid levels could possibly be the cause of most of my probs! I'm looking forward to learning more thru this blog!

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum and you will get responses from those who have/had Graves.

7 is a very young age to have had a disrupted thyroid hormone condition. What is EMT, please?

[cjrsquared in reply to shaws]

I think EMT are emergency medical technicians, one down from a paramedic in the ambulance service.

[shaws Administrator in reply to cjrsquared]

I thought it was a medicine i.e. on EMT A big difference and thanks for translating.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to shaws]

Have a look here:

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

Some might suggest that helvella added EMT after this thread had explained what it stood for, but I couldn't possibly comment.

[humanbean]

For anyone with a thyroid condition who doesn't feel well there are several likely culprits. Low vitamin and mineral levels is a very common reason for not feeling well. Being under-medicated or wrongly-medicated is another reason.

I wonder if you are taking levothyroxine? People with no thyroid usually need more than just levothyroxine. I don't know if you know this, but Levo (also known as T4) is actually a synthetic storage hormone with almost no activity of its own. In order to be useful to the body it has to be converted to T3 which is the active hormone. In many people on thyroid treatment for hypothyroidism, levels of T3 are too low and this is what causes many of the symptoms people get.

There are alternative ways of treating hypothyroidism. You could have T3 added to your dose of levothyroxine. You could take NDT (Natural Dessiccated Thyroid - a very old treatment which is made from the thyroid of pigs) which is popular with many people who try it. Or you could try taking T3 on its own (an option doctors rarely prescribe).

You would need to ask your doctor for some blood tests to help you find out what needs to be done to help you feel better. You would also need to get copies of those results with the reference ranges. Tests to ask for :

TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)

Free T4 (NOT Total T4)

Free T3 (NOT Total T3)

Vitamin B12

Vitamin D

Folate

Ferritin

CRP (C-Reactive Protein)

It might help if you discovered your levels of antibodies too. I am not knowledgeable on the subject of thyroid antibodies, particularly in those with Graves' Disease.

Be aware that many people asking for blood tests for thyroid function and related issues discover to their horror that the doctor only did TSH and nothing else. If that happens to you then you could order your own blood tests. See this link, and look part way down the page where it lists some labs in the US which do blood tests without the need for a doctor's permission or approval :

stopthethyroidmadness.com/r...

Welcome to the forum.