new to this site

[diddydee]

Hi everyone, i have been reading some of ur posts and i know i take leveothyroxine 100mg but i couldn't tell u wither i am over active or under active to be honest i just get sent blood forms twice a year and they tell me if i stay as i am or move either up or down,,.......i dont understand the t2,t3 etc i have been on this medication for at least 2 years ....... so if someone could take the time to explain a bit i would really appreciate it i have tried to read up about it but im unsure what type i am ...... i do get very tired, depressed i take mirtazipan to help taht i am disabled due to spine problems as well ....thank u for reading

[Raventhorpe]

Hi diddydee if your on levothyroxine it means you are under active which means your thyroid is not working properly it's not producing enough t4 and t3.i f you look on thyroid UK there is alot of good information that tells you how the thyroid works and treatments, it's put very simply so it's easy to understand, this is a good place to start. suggested reading is understanding thyroid disorders by Dr Anthony toft you can buy it in W.H.Smith or Amazon for £4-95 it covers most things and is easy to understand.when you take your thyroxine make sure you take on an empty stomach so 1hour before food or 2 hours after eating and take with water only no tea or coffee or milk this way the levothyroxine is absorbed best. Also very important is your vitamin levels they need to be optimal so if you haven't had B12, ferritin, Folate and vitD tested suggest you have them tested and supplement where necessary as we very often are low in these vitamins.there is alot to learn and I suggest you keep reading the posts on here as you can learn an awful lot from them.

[bluebug]

Hello and welcome,

I suggest you get your latest blood test results and ranges. It is your right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to have a copy and you simply need to request the results from the receptionist. In future do this about 5 days after you have had your test. Then keep them in one place so you can refer back to them. Some surgeries try and charge people for them so always go to the doctor armed with pens and paper. In fact it is a good idea to make notes when you see a medical professional as many become more careful about what they say to you.

Then when you do have a blood test make sure you have it as early as possible in the morning and you have fasted over night. You can drink water. Don't take your levo until after you have had the blood test. This is so you can get the highest TSH possible.a

In fact for all blood tests now whether they test thyroid hormones or not do them fasting and as early as possible as then you can easily do a comparison between them.

In regards to learning about the thyroid browse through the thyroid UK site - thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index.... Take your time it takes a while to understand and absorb the information.

Finally once you do get your latest test results from your GP start a new thread and post the results with the ranges. Then posters can help you see why you may feel so rotten and tell you where to go fro there.

[greygoose]

Hi diddydee, welcome to the forum.

If you are taking levo, you have an under-active thyroid.

Having an under-active thyroid means that, at the time you were diagnosed, you had a high TSH, and low FT3 and FT4 (they don't measure T2, I don't know if there's even a test for it).

TSH is a pituitary hormone (a gland in your brain) - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. When the pituitary senses that there is not enough thyroid hormone in the blood, it raises the level of TSH to stimulate the thyroid (a gland in your neck) to make more hormone.

The thyroid makes T4 and T3. T4 is a storage hormone which has to be converted into the active hormone, T3.

T3 is needed by every single cell in your body. So, if it is low, you get all sorts of symptoms, like depression, weight-gain, hair-loss, and about 300 others.

Levothyroxine is T4.

It doesn't sound as if your doctor is being very helpful in the management of your hypo. Just sending you bits of paper is not good enough. He should discuss it with you. Explain why you need to raise or decrease your levo. So, it would be a very good idea if you started to be a little proactive in all this, and ask for printouts of your blood test results. If you live in the UK, it is your legal right to have one. Then, you can post the results on here, with the ranges, and people can explain it better to you.

How are you feeling on 100 mcg levo? Do you feel it's the right dose for you? Or do you still have symptoms. How you feel is just as important as your blood test results, and a good doctor would ask you, and take it into account. Anyway, if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask. There will always be someone here to answer.