New and scared of meds.

[Nel85]

Hi all, I have a lot of health issues, fibromyalgia being the most recognised and benign fasciculation syndrome which is basically muscle twitches, lots of other symptoms which are probably down to my thyroid but I didn't know. My gp tested my tsh levels last year (I didn't understand about the other tests then) and they were 4.? and he said they were okay, I saw a neurologist in January about my twitching and muscle issues and he ordered thyroid tests and the results were tsh 9.2 free t4 of 9.9 and thyroid peroxidase of 12 when it should be below 5.6 according to the letter, my gp checked my thyroid again about a month ago and my tsh was 4.7 and t4 was 11.8 so my levels had gotten better without meds, he started me on 25mg of Levothyroxine and said he will retest in 4 weeks BUT I haven't started my meds as I am terrified of side effects, not just nervous but like a literal phobia, I have hyper symptoms too like a fast pulse, palps and I keep sweating etc so I am scared that if I start this my heart will be under more strain as I am obese as well. My mom has had thyroid issues since she was in her 20's on and off but swings from hyper to hypo etc, and she was only on 25mg but got palps etc and her sister, my aunt has been on them since she was young because she is hypo and is now 80, and now her brother has been diagnosed too and is on meds so looks like a genetic link for me maybe. Sorry to rabbit on I just do not know where to turn and the facebook groups don't seem to get many replies so found this site, oh and I read an old post on here from a woman who started levo 25mg and she was fit and healthy besides the thyroid who had an heart attack that night so I am more terrified than ever has I have health anxiety, all replies really appreciated.

[Nel85]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, according to my gp all my levels are fine now other than iron being slightly low which I am on tablets for and my vitamin d was low which they treated me for too, my mom has issues with vitamins too bit she isn't very good at taking control of her wellbeing so she is probably still deficient.

[humanbean in reply to Nel85]

Levels being "fine" is just doctor-speak for "your results are in range". But many reference ranges are far too broad for good health. For example, ferritin (iron stores) needs to be roughly mid-range or a little bit higher for many people to feel at their best. There are optimal levels for several of the basic nutrients which are vital to good thyroid function (or thyroid hormone function), and if your levels are too low you could improve them by supplementing.

The same comments could be made about thyroid hormone levels too - you need to find the optimal level for you.

If you are from the UK you are legally entitled to copies of your medical records and blood test results. If you can get copies of blood test results going back a couple of years or more, you can find out what tests have been done and how close (or otherwise) your levels are to optimal.

When you have copies of results, post them in a new post on here, including reference ranges and ask for feedback.