What can I do.

[Linmic]

I'm new on here, and my thyroid problems started over 25 years ago when I started to lose weight and had lots of energy even getting up in the middle of the night to clean cupboards out. I thought it was great but my husband was worried as my weight had dropped dramatically so was taken to the dr and various tests done then refered to hospital lots of tests done , but was over 10 months before overactive thyroid was diagnosed was given tablets and told to wait for an appointment to have radioactive iodine treatment,which was done a few weeks later, then more tests but the consultant said removal of the thyroid was best option so this was done. Was quite well after this for a few months then weight gain and in a couple of months I had gained over 3stone , so now underactive thyroxine was prescribed and over the next few years weight reduced and back to my perfect weight, and it's been perfect until this year when dr said she was reducing thyroxine because something in the test was low which meant I was recievingto much thyroxine. I've now been having muscle pain but dr said I needed another blood test, so had one and dr has reduced it even more and I now feel like my legs are filled with lead and just ache all over, and honestly feel that I'm tired all the time, and yet for 25years I was fine . I don't understand the thyroid test but this dr did say that it was something to do with the results of the brain thyroid being low whatever this means just hope someone on here can help me with this problem. Just like to say that I was diagnosed with angina and thyroid eye disease as well .

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Linmic You are going to have to learn about your condition because your GP is going to make you unwell.

Take a look around ThyroidUK's main website (this is their forum) and read as much as you can. Ask questions on here and we will help you understand. Start here and work down the menu on the left hand side

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

I'll try and explain, ask if you don't understand.

The test your GP is talking about is TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Unfortunately, most doctors dose by TSH but that is wrong.

The pituitary gland checks to see how much thyroid hormone (T4) we have, if it detects there is too little then it sends a signal (TSH) to the thyroid gland to produce more. If there isn't enough thyroid hormone (T4) the TSH will be high, if there's enough thyroid hormone the TSH will be low.

Because you are taking Levo (which is synthetic T4 to replace the T4 you can't produce yourself because your thyroid gland was removed), the pituitary knows there is enough thyroid hormone so it doesn't ask the thyroid to produce any so your TSH is low.

T4 is inactive, it is a pro hormone and your body has to convert the T4 into T3 which is the active hormone that every cell in our body needs. The tests to see how much T4 and T3 we have are Free T4 and Free T3. It is these tests which are more important, and the most important one of all is FT3 because that tells us how much of the active hormone we have.

Unfortunately, doctors don't seem to understand this and if they see a low TSH they panic and say we are over medicated which will cause atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis. This is wrong. They then lower our dose of Levo and make us hypothyroid again because there's not enough T4 for our needs and we develop symptoms again.

I hope I've explained that we'll enough for you to understand.

**

What you need to do is find out the results of your thyroid tests. We are legally entitled to them under the Data Protection Act 1998 so pop along to your surgery and ask for a print out. You may be charged a small amount for paper and ink but they are not allowed to make a profit from this so if they want to charge silly money just ask to see the results on the screen and write them down, don't allow them to write them down for you. What you want are the results and the reference ranges, and they will look something like:

TSH: 2.5 (range 0.27-4.20)

FT4: 17 (range 12-22)

FT3: 4.0 (range 3.2-6.8)

Once we can see those results we will know if you are on enough Levo and whether you convert T4 to T3 well enough.

The ranges are important because they vary from lab to lab and can only be interpreted with the ranges from your lab.

So once you've got those results, come back and make a new thread, post the results and members will comment.

**

Also tell us if you have any other diagnosed medical conditions and what other medication you are taking. If you are taking supplements then list those as well.

**

A few patient to patient tips to get the most from your Levo and tests.

Always take your Levo on an empty stomach, one hour before or two hours after food and drink, with water only.

Any other medication and supplements should be taken a couple of hours away from Levo, some four hours.

When having a thyroid test, always book the first appointment of the morning, fast overnight (water allowed), and leave off Levo for 24 hours (take after the blood draw). This gives the highest possible TSH which is needed when looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction. Do this every time so that conditions are the same and you can accurately compare results.

**

Please ask if there's anything else you want to know, and when you post your results members can interpret them for you.

[Linmic in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for your reply its much appreciated and i will get my test results and put on here , will also list what other conditions i have and list medication .

[eeng]

People who have had thyroid problems frequently end up with low levels of Vitamin D, B12 and Ferritin. We need to have healthy levels - at least half way up the normal range. If not we end up with lots of aches and pains and other odd symptoms and our bodies can't use the thyroid hormones we take properly. I do suggest you ask your doctor to test these so that you can address any shortages. I have found I need to take much less Levothyroxine now my vitamin levels are improved, and I feel a lot better for it.

It is said that the reason for our bodies becoming short of these nutrients is because thyroid problems change the acid levels in the stomach, making the body less able to absorb the nutrients from our food, so we become deficient however healthy our diet is.

[Linmic]

thank you will ask my dr about vitamin test as maybe this is what is causing my aches and pains .