Hi I am fairly new on here and really in need of advice. I had my thyroid removed 6 years ago when I lived in Hungary as I had a large goitre, They never really explained to me what the actual problem was so I have lived in ignorance all these years. For the past 18 months I have had lots of health problems including stomach pains, not sleeping, picking up every bug going, always too hot or too cold, diarrhoea, joint pains and not being able to eat.
I now live in Spain where they will test TSH and T4, but do not even recognise that T3 exists and even though I have been to doctors, both public and private, hospital and endo, they tell me nothing is the matter as my results are in range and that I am suffering from depression. They even stopped my B12 injections which I have been on for about 20 years. As I knew nothing at all about thyroid I believed them until I read this site.
I have no idea how to go about getting proper blood tests done and even if I can, where I would go to have them analysed. I am not a great believer in self medicating, but I am now at my wits end and feel so ill and tired, as well as having constant panic attacks. I have
Can anyone advise me how to go about finding answers, especially if you live in Spain. I currently take 75mg of throxine each day. I am 60 years old, but a real novice with regard to what I should be doing.
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izzymc
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There may be members who live in Spain who can help, but if not then I would contact Blue Horizon and/or Medichecks to see if they can offer a solution. It would mean getting your blood sample back to them as quickly as possible if Spanish post offers any kind of expedited service to the UK.
Thyroid bloods are usually quite stable over several days - but the main problem for an individual transporting blood across borders is sorting out the inevitable red tape.
There is however, an excellent blood transportation system that keeps blood fresh for a very very long time - it's called your body! If you can get yourself back to the UK or Ireland we can definitely help you but we have no permanent mechanism for getting samples back from overseas, although people do manage it with varying degrees of effort and success.
Just a thought. Are you anywhere near one of the larger holiday areas where there are often international medical clinics? Even better, how far are you from Gibraltar? Gibraltar health service, public and private, works the same as in the uk. Tests would be the same and, with results, you could come back here for advice.
Thanks Paul, I am normally in the UK 2 or 3 times a year in Scotland, so it might be more sensible to wait until I am over there again, if I can't find something here
Welcome to our forum and it amazing the ignorance of the Medical Profession with regard to dsyfunctions of the thyroid gland. Most of our members self-medicate due to the fact that they either remain undiagnosed because TSH hasn't risen high enough.
As you have no thyroid gland at all I would ask for a Free T3 and Free T4 to be taken. There must be a private lab in Spain would do so for you. I always think that if someone has no thyroid gland it would be more compassionate to add some T3 to their T4. I am not medically qualified myself but remained undiagnosed for years.
Once we are diagnosed and take levothyroxine or any other thyroid hormone replacements the aim is a TSH of 1 or lower and some of us need it suppressed. Can you get a print-out of your latest results? with the ranges and put them on a new post?
Blood tests have to be always at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as that is all they seem to refer to.
You can self-medicate if you wish and I don't think anyone can stop you. After all you are trying to improve your health.
Do you have pernicious anaemia in that you were having B12 injections but they are now stopped? If so you can source B12 methylcobalamin sublingual tablets and Amazon have a good selection. Most pharmacists don't seem to hold sublingual but we need it to be absorbed through our tongue as many of us also have stomach issues. Our B12 should be around the 1,000 mark.
Iron, ferritin and folate and Vit D should also be tested.
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