I first posted a while ago as was at my with end with my health which I was sure was thyroid related. Only to be told by endocrine doctor to lower dose to 300mcg from 375mcg (and don't take it when taking other mefocations). When I went back for follow up end of Jan there I was told my levels were fine and I asked why I felt worse than ever. Extreme tiredness (yet can't sleep well), depression worse, hair coming out more. (My Hairdresser commented on it), pins and needles in arms, unableto stay decent temp (feeling the cold more) and sore eyes. Anyway u guys suggested I get copy of blood results and put on here (just been to doc and got my anti depressant dose increased). So here are results in pic. I feel like I'm stuck now and no one is listening
Underactive thyroid query: I first posted a while... - Thyroid UK
Underactive thyroid query
Sorry it's upside down
OK your TSH is 1.15 that's fine for a healthy person but on the high side for a thyroid patient
What drugs are you taking 300mcg of?
Do you take any Vitamin D supplements?
Give us a bit more and we'll try to help
Can I just ask, what is optimal for a hypothyroid patient?
Unfortunately we're all different. For me 0.3 is good but for others 0.7 or higher
Thanks... just wondered because I always feel better quite a bit below 1 and when my old gp used to look she would try and keep it at about 1.
Silly GP. Best test is, get a finger prick test from Blue Horizon, wait till you have a day when you think, yes, today is a good day, go to bed, take blood when you wake up before you take your meds, a d THAT is good for you. Might be 1 might be 0.4 you are an individual
Have they not taken your T3? You could really do with this, also, b12 and vitamin D - it's common for those with hypothyroidism to be deficient in these and the symptoms are really similar. My TSH was lower than yours and T4 and T3 looked quite good but I felt awful. I had a bit of an ordeal trying to get b12 injections on the NHS (though the dr who looked at my blue horizon test and my endocrinologist both said I was low). I ended up going through a charity and I am starting to feel like myself again. You could do with a more comprehensive test if you can get one. I ended up paying £99 for a blue horizon test - I don't get them regularly because I couldn't afford it but it helped to identify what was going on.
I agree with the suggestion that your B12 ,Ferritin, folate and VitD need to be checked. If these are low you will get symptoms very like underactive thyroid plus numbness, feeling the cold, sore eyes, aching muscles etc... Do you also have a sore mouth/tongue, any ulcers, or a tendency to bite your tongue?
Thanks for reply, no I don't get mouth ulcers etc or bite my tongue.
OK, I only mentioned those as they are also symptoms of low B12.
My mum and her 2 sisters both have vitamin b12 deficiency
Definitely worth getting everything checked then. If your B12 is low, then you won't be able to use the thyroxine you are taking effectively. It is needed for conversion of T4 to T3.
It's 300mcg of levothyroxine, was on 375mcg. I'm also on other medication (no vitamins though), I'm on gabapentin, co codamol 30/500 and amitriptyline (all for sciatic nerve pain and now osteoarthritis) plus sertraline for depression and estradol (had to get hysterectomy 2yrs ago due to endometriosis and other complications)
Perhaps you could spend some time on Google looking at drug interactions with the ones you have just mentioned. Estrogens for a start interact with thyroxines, I do not know about the others. If they are interacting then they will prevent absorption, conversion and transportation of the thyroxine hormones to your cells - you will then feel ill with hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed with arthritis when my thyroxine dose was too low, when I raised my (then) Levo dose, the bone pain disappeared. Sciatic nerve pain is a science unto itself, I recently clobbered my sciatic nerve and was in agony for two weeks, it is very slowly fading as I write, mainly due to rest and keeping the weight off that leg. I am studying how to fix that problem and will post an answer if I ever get one. Try not to let them give you steroids - the usual fix - that will interfere with your thyroxine meds for sure. Ironically steroids will then cause muscle weakness and aggravate the very reason it was given (a muscle/nerve problem).
Get on Google, learn as much as you can, the doctors an only take you so far - and that is not very far from my experience. Oh and btw, 300+ mcgs of any thyroxine medication is a colossal dose, something is being missed somewhere.
Thank you for it wonderful response, I was on 375mcg of levothyroxine for nearly a year and my go wasn't happy with my last blood test bends why she referred me to the endocrine doctors. It was reduced by them along with being told to take the thyroxine on it's on (about 2hrs) before or after other medication. They also tested for a wheat allergy as apparently wheat can cause interference with thyroid absorption. I'm just the mirror of my mum (just 20yrs earlier lol) as mum has underactive thyroid and osteoarthritis (to name a few auto immune diseases). I have osteoarthritis too and was told to ask about whether I have fibromyalgia.
Hi Millarmum, I did a little bit of research to find out what one can do about sciatica without taking heavy duty drugs. It seems that we must get as much Magnesium into our system as possible. This can be achieved in two ways. The first is to soak about 20 mins per day in a bath containing about a cup full of epsom salts. Epsom salts is Magnesium Sulphate and is readily absorbed through the skin. The second way is to eat as many foods as possible that contain magnesium, these would be:
Cocoa: Dark chocolate (500 mg of magnesium per 3.5 oz). Yum, no problem.
Green leafy veggies
Fruit: Banan, apricot, avocado,melon, plum
Nuts: Almonds, cshews, hazelnuts, walnuts and Brazil nuts
Fish: Salmon, halibut and tuna
Foods rich in B6: fruits, beans, veggies, fish and chicken
Foods rich in B12: meats, poultry, fish milk and eggs.
It mentioned that a deficiency in B12 can cause nerve pain.
Don't take too many anti inflammatories, but Aspirin and Aleve do help.
I am about to set out on this diet for a while and hope to get rid of my sciatica - which I managed to acquire riding my bike too far one day! Not lifting something too heavy, not doing anything terrible to my body, just a keep-fit little ride on my old bike!
I got told by a chiropractor and a physiotherapist that my spine is more curved than what it should be and that my hypermobility has caused (along with years of dancing and working in a pub lifting full/empty kegs didnt help). Between that job and my 40hrs office job my back decided it had enough. The straw that broke the camel's back was getting my spinal during emergency c-section (and my 2nd spinal from 2nd pregnancy) as my back got worse a lot quicker since
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