Newbie

[Ellie91]

Hi

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid 4 years ago and recently had my 10mcg of T3 stopped. I am just on my Levo dose of 150mcg now. A list of my symptoms are below:

Chronic fatigue

Low stamina

Low concentration

Insomnia

Weakness

Waking up feeling tired

Frequently oversleeping

Weight gain

Low appetite

Cold intolerance

Cold hands

Cold feet

Slow movements

Absent reflexes

Slowed speech

Frequent infections

Low immunity

Premature ovarian failure

Vitiligo

Puffy eyes

Puffy face

Puffy ankles

Puffy legs

Puffy feet

Difficult swallowing

Pain in neck/thyroid area

Goitre

Burning in throat

Sore throat

Salt cravings

Sweet cravings

Dry mouth

Noises in ears

Poor focusing

Double vision

Dry eye

Gritty eyes

Blurred vision

Sensitive eyes to sun/light

Drooping eyelid

Dark rings under eyes

Hair loss

Dry hair

Brittle and flaky nails

Dry skin

Cracked heels

Jaundiced looking skin

Cracked lips

Bruising

Numbness in legs, feet

Headaches

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Joint stiffness

Muscle cramps and spasms

Aching muscles and joints

Constipation

Excess trapped wind

Heavy periods

Loss of libido

Fibrocystic breast disease

Jumpiness

Anxiety

Memory loss

Confusion

Mental sluggishness

Albuminuria

Decreased output of urine

Low and weak pulse

Chest pain

Thanks for reading and sorry for long list of symptoms (taken from another website)

TSH 4.3 (0.2 - 4.2)

Free T4 15.3 (12 - 22)

Free T3 4.0 (3.1 - 6.8)

TPO antibody 279 (<34)

[Hidden]

Well, you're clearly under-medicated from those results. Was your Levo increased when T3 was withdrawn or were you kept on the same dosage? You definitely need an increase as your TSH is far too high.

How are your vits/minerals? Have you had B12, folate, ferritin and Vit D tested? If you have, please post so people can advise further.

[Ellie91 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for reply. Levo was reduced when T3 was taken away. I will post vits and mins now.

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum and you have an Autoimmune Thyroid called Hashimoto's or hashi's for short. It is due to having thyroid antibodies which attack your thyroid gland and they wax and wane - sometimes too much and at others less.

Going gluten-free should help reduce the antibodies and the attacks.

T3 I am sorry to say has been stopped regardless of what the patient suffers without it.

These were the 'new' guidelines from the BTA 7 months ago:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

It's as if we are in some type of conflict - fighting to get thyroid hormones that suit us. If you're well on levo you wont be looking on the internet for help/solutions.

Instead of doctors and Endos following guidelines for 'clinical need' of patient are instead jumping the gun and withdrawing T3.

Make an appointment and talk to your MP and if everyone did this it might also help. Phoning an MP isn't as successful as a face-to-face talk:

If we have a 'clinical need' T3 should not be withdrawn: Extract:

In the FAQ’s for GP’s they state, “Whilst we appreciate the commercial imperative to cut prescription costs, like you, our first concern is that in all cases the clinical needs of the patient should come before financial considerations.”

They also state, “The decision to switch from L-T3 to L-T4 should be based on clinical considerations and should be reached in conjunction with the patient after a discussion of the risks and benefits. Patients established on L-T3 who continue to derive benefit from its use should continue on L-T3. However, patients with uncertain benefits should be considered for a switch to L-T4 and advice should be sought from an endocrinologist on how this can be safely done.”

This is most definitely not what many doctors are doing from what we are being told by patients contacting us and on our forum.

We need to fight (only figuratively of course ) in our own corner.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Ellie91 in reply to shaws]

Thanks Shaws I was better on T3 and the endo prescribed it to me saying I would benefit from it. A new endo told me to stop it altogether.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Ellie91]

The first Endo probably saw the benefit to his patients of prescribing T3 or some T3 to T4.

The second wouldn't see a benefit as he refused to prescribe T3, either T4/T3 or T3 only.

[jgelliss]

Here we go again and again . Endo's/Dr's just don't know how to dose patients optimally .My sympathy goes out to you .You have all the hypo symptoms clearly . Nutrients need to be included to your well being too . Salt craving can be adrenal insufficiency . Vit"C" and B-5 Celtic sea salt is beneficial for your adrenals . Run labs on DHEA . Hypo patients tend to be low in DHEA .

Wishing you fast resolutions with your symptoms .