Underactive thyroid

[Daryl80]

I've not been diagnosed but I have to be retested for underachive thyroid- I've been reading people's threads and is it wrong be be hoping that all my symptoms will be expelled by the Dr conforming that I actually do have an underactive thyroid!! I'm feeling really down with feeling like a "fat knacker "!!!! I get really sweaty late at night- although I've been shivering all day, I feel myself expanding after every meal, just all the symptoms match- I don't know what I'll do if the test results come back negative. A positive test would make sense of it all!!!

[bluebug]

If the tests come back negative and you haven't had a full range of nutrient tests (vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin) plus a full blood count then have that done for a start.

Also be aware that you need to get the test results with the ranges as often doctors say "there is nothing wrong" or your results are "normal", when in fact your results are every thing but.

[silverfox7]

Yes post any results with the ranges and we can give better advice. Then it's very much a learning curve but don't worry, shout out if anything you don't understand. Being diagnosed isn't an instant fix but takes time to get everything in place and working but you will improve as you go along. When diagnosed you will be given a low starting dose to get your body used to it and as it will take 5-6 weeks for you to experience the full effect then you should be re tested and most probably need to up your dose. Any change up or down is usually in 25 mcg steps. You may find as you travel on your journey that other minerals and vitamins need to be taken. Most of us need to do that as we seem to be low in some things. If you look up the Thyroid UK site you will see lots of information plus there is a list of possible symptoms. Don't worry is a long list but we don't get them all but it might be a good idea to print that off and tick the ones you have to show to your GP. there will be some you won't have thought as being thyroid related and so many doctors try to treat the symptoms rather than the cause. Only useful info on some does and fonts and it may throw up some questions to ask your doctor. Sadly not many are up to speed so we need to learn about what is happening and what we need to do. So yes strange to say you hope it is a thyroid problem but I can understand why you say that but let us know how you get on and that's your first step to thyroid wellness.

[CSmithLadd]

A great thing to do is to read up on vitamin and mineral supplements that can help your body make the best use of what thyroid hormones you do produce.

Lack of essential nutrients necessary for thyroid hormone conversion is a big reason why hypothyroidism exists. Hypothyroidism causes the stomach to produce less acid. Acid is needed to break down foods and is vital for absorption of nutrients in those foods. Without sufficient stomach acid, we can take all the T4 and vitamins out there and still suffer. For some, stomach acid isn't yet an issue and their thyroids just don't produce enough hormones. Eventually, low stomach acid will become an issue.

Therefore we need to make sure we can absorb our foods and get the nutrients from them. This is important whether we are hypothyroid or not as aging alone naturally causes low stomach acid. Looking into HCL with Pepsin (or Betaine) tablets can help with that. Adding HCL will give you the right amount of stomach acid to digest your meals. This allows thyroid hormone to receive the vitamins and minerals (from either food or supplements) necessary to complete conversions.

I'd suggest making sure to find out if you're Selenium and/or Iodine deficient. It is vital to have adequate levels of selenium and iodine (among many other minerals and vitamins) to stave off hypothyroidism. These are easy for a doctor to see the necessity of investigating. When interest is shown, add some more in to check.

To be able to do this you need to brush up on the reasons why certain vitamins, minerals, and hormones are necessary for making the most of your own thyroid production. It will keep you busy and give you the knowledge necessary for understanding how to help yourself all you can and educating your physician. The article below can be helpful in getting you started:

newsmax.com/FastFeatures/thyroid-health-5-vitamins/2014/12/24/id/613352/

Doctors, unfortunately, are not in the vitamin and hormone business. They are, for the most part, basically pill pushers for Big Pharma. They dispense pills that mask symptoms rather than get to the root of the problem. (That way they can discover yet another "XYZ" syndrome so that pharmaceutical companies can make another pill for it!) - They certainly make a tremendous profit exploiting each and every incredible number of symptoms hypothyroidism causes!

Giving a patient thyroid hormones without any regard to their current vitamin, mineral and hormonal status is reckless. It is a sad state of affairs when you learn that the vast majority of doctors (including endocrinologists) do just that! And patients suffer because of it.

By educating yourself on what is necessary to ensure your thyroid hormone replacement will work optimally, you must learn about the vitamins and minerals necessary for that optimization to occur. Then you can request tests for such and be able to tell your doctor why they are necessary.

By making essential nutritional changes it is possible you may not need thyroid hormone for lifelong treatment.

Some doctors are actually willing to learn about whatever can possibly help their patients; others are not. I hope yours is one of the former.

Don't worry. You're in the right place. There are lots of EVEs (Experts Via Experience) here to assist you. (Hmm, I kinda like that just-thought-of acronym!)

In the meantime, stay calm. Stress is the worst thing for you. Embrace knowledge and become well.

Hugs!