Hi all,
I have been borderline for several years and this year my new Doctor decided to take action.
50mg of levothyroxine daily (2weeks in no change) I know it will take time.
Although results borderline my symptoms over ruled. Hope to find relief.
Symptoms I have
Severe weight gain
Depression
Fatigue
Really Dry skin
Forgetfulness / confusion
Blood tests again beginning of April
Thanks for reading x
Your GP should retest thyroid levels after approximately 6 weeks. Quite likely you will need to increase. But we have to do it in slow steps and be patient
Usual advice on ALL thyroid tests, is to do early in morning, ideally before 9am. No food or drink beforehand (other than water) When taking Levo, then don't take it in 24 hours before (take straight after). This way your tests are always consistent, and it will show highest TSH, and as this is mainly all the medics decide dose on, best idea is to keep result as high as possible
Would be good idea to ask GP to also check levels of vitamin d, b12, folate and ferritin. These all need to at good (not just average) levels for thyroid hormones (our own or replacement ones) to work in our cells. Common to be low in some or all when hypo. They may need supplementing to improve
Also do you know if you have had thyroid antibodies checked? There are two sorts TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) Both need checking, if either, or both antibodies are high this means autoimmune thyroid - called Hashimoto's the most common cause in UK of being hypo.
TPO is rarely checked and TG almost never checked. More common to have high TPO or high TPO AND high TG, but negative TPO and raised TG is possible, though rarer.
ALWAYS Make sure you get the actual figures from tests (including ranges - figures in brackets). You are entitled to copies of your own results.
Did GP explain thyroxine must be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after. (No coffee or tea) Many take on waking, but can be more convenient and recent research, suggests perhaps is more effective taken at bedtime. (Must be at least two hours after eating)
Also try to stick to same brand of thyroxine. Sometimes pharmacy keeps changing which they give you. Lots of us find dose more stable if always stay on same brand
Hello,
I'm at a bit of a loss. I have asked my GP if I could get all thyroid tests done but she said "no, the NHS doesn't offer them" there is alot of family medical history with thyroid related illnesses but they don't even want to hear it. At the moment I carry a diagnosis of depression and anxiety, with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, shakiness, forgetfulness, mind fog I also have alcohol intolerance (or so we think as it makes me sick for days). My Ft4 is at 12 (range 9-22) and tsh is 1.14 (range 0.35-5) as these sit in the "normal" range they won't look any further completely disregarding symptoms and family history. I know that my thyroid could have a lot to answer for, if ALL tests once assessed show no irregularities then I cam find other ways to deal with my symptoms, but my GPs just won't do it stating that all the other symptoms I exhibit must be due to depression and anxiety. I'm at the point that I'm looking for private thyroid tests and specialist endocrinologists. Can anybody please share their experience and advise on how to get this properly looked at please?
Thanks all in advance xx
You will get more responses if you post your own question, rather than tacking it onto the end of someone else's thread. 
I did realise after, what I had done. I'm sorry 😞 it's my first time posting. Thank you for the heads up 😁
No problem.
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