Just diagnosed with underactive thyroid and in need of advice.

Hello. I have just been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. My TSH score was 8.4 and I have been taking 25 micrograms of thyroxine for 2 weeks, increased to 50 yesterday. I was exhibiting all the classic symptoms when I saw my GP and understand it takes time to reach the correct dosage level. My question though to people who have been through this is when can I realistically start to feel better? I am suffering from extreme fatigue and have been signed off sick from work. I am also feeling very low and generally unwell. I am 55, have no other health issues and normally fit and very active i.e running 3-4 times a week and hillwalking on weekends. Until this condition kicked in I was a normal weight, now probably 2-3 stone overweight. I eat a healthy diet, don’t smoke and drink in moderation. Feeling quite miserable to tell the truth. Any and all words of advice would be much appreciated. Best wishes.

[Huanghil]

My dad who's in his 60s was diagnose with frozen shoulder a couple of months ago, the specialist gave him a cortisone injection, then a few weeks after the injection he started experiencing hyper active thyroid symptoms, went to the gp who ran blood test and confirm he now have grave disease and he was refer to a cardiologist because his heart is now unusually fast, could the cortisol have cause all this and what's the cure?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Huanghil]

Huanghil You should start your own thread to ask your question.

[Huanghil in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks SeasideSusie, i see what i have done now, new to this, will do 😊.

[Hidden in reply to Huanghil]

Hi Huangil. I hope your father gets the treatment he needs. I'm sorry but I don’t have the knowledge to be able to respond. Best wishes.

[Huanghil in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Bazarov.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hidden It takes 6 weeks for the full effects of starting Levo, or a dose change, to be felt. You are on a starter dose and will need retesting and an increase of dose (25mcg a time) every 6 weeks for a few months until you reach your optimal dose and you feel well. Patience is needed, hormones have to be increased slowly. It might be a good few months before you feel well.

The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges if that is where you feel well. You may have good test results before you actually feel properly well.

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your response SeasideSusie. So a good few months then. I've never before felt so unwell, it's all come as a huge shock. Apart from taking the thyroxine and being patient, is there anything else I can do to help feel better? My GP, who has been excellent, suggests rest, and that's why I have been signed off work for a couple of weeks. Is it really just about resting and waiting for the tablets to kick in? I think I'll go bonkers.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Hidden]

If you were tested for TPO and TG antibodies and they are positive (meaning that you have Hashimotos aka autoimmune thyroiditis) a gluten-free diet will probably help as will selenium supplements. It's worth getting antibodies testsed if they havent been done and also B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D as, if they are less than optimal, you can't use the thyroid hormone effectively.

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thanks for this. This is very helpful. A few people have mentioned getting the other tests done and taking the selenium supplement. Another GP had suggested a year ago that I could be suffering from IBS and so I minimised the amount of gluten I was eating. Thanks again.

[spongecat]

Hi Hidden .

This is only my opinion and a suggestion that works for me. I don't know what your work is obviously but I think your doctor might have given you leave to alleviate any stress you might have or been going through?

It doesn't necessarily mean sitting at home on the sofa feeling that you are going bonkers! We have a metabolic condition, everything sloooows down. This can affect thought processes, speech our digestion etc. I found that when I was first diagnosed I had awful lethargy and even felt anxious about going outside, I was really vegetating.

One day shortly after starting levothyroxine I decided to go for a walk to "blow away the cobwebs" and felt completely rejuvenated and almost elated when I got back! I now strongly believe that even if you are dreadfully fatigued, even a little stroll round the block will help. We have to try and encourage our metabolism from stalling completely as we are a bit "broken" in that department. but we still need to exercise to our physical ability. Don't go mad, over time you will need to find out how your body converts T4 (the levothyroxine) to T3, the active component that all our cells need to do their jobs. If T3 is in short supply because of conversion issues or underdosing then you will feel tired but if things level out over the months and you find your "sweet spot" then I personally think it's important to keep the engines running well with appropriate exercise and good diet, of course.

You enjoy walking so do it! Take a phone with you or someone else, some money for a cab or whatever in case you run out of gas! You know as well as I that it lifts the spirits and de-stresses so be kind to yourself and don't confine yourself to the sofa!

Did your GP run a panel for mineral and vitamins eg. folate, ferritin, vit D and B12 and thyroid antibody status? It's important to know these as if they are low (even if they are within the guidelines) if you are hypothyroid you will need to supplement these for the levothyroxine to convert properly. In fact if you have any blood test results related to your diagnosis that you can share with us we can advise you in a more customised way. When you put up blood results you also need to show the figures in brackets as different labs have different criteria.

[Hidden in reply to spongecat]

Thanks for such a detailed response spongecat, this is wonderful. It would be really helpful if something like this advice could have been provided straight away when I was diagnosed. It's the not knowing what to do or expect that I find hard to handle.

My job is full on and stressful, a 10-12 hour day is the norm. My GP reckons I need a complete break. He's right. I went shopping today and that was enough to exhaust me. I'm finding this situation very scary to be honest. I'm the pro-active, get up and sort it out kind of person...and I can't fix this, at least not quickly and not without medical intervention....and that's very frustrating. I'm starting to understand that this will take time.

Thanks again for your advice. I'll digest it properly over the next day or two. Best wishes.

[spongecat]

You are more than welcome Hidden .

Be kind to yourself. It is overwhelming at first and it's annoying that it's not a massively quick fix either but you will get there, it just needs a bit of patience *sigh*.

This is a condition where knowledge is power. Lots of info on the parent website ...thyroiduk.org. with information on other things to read up on. For now you might find the section in the sidebar "Getting a diagnosis and starting treatment" helpful.

If you have questions or just need to vent off you have come to the right place! Lots of helpful people here with advice on all things thyroid. Take care