New member, please help needing support

[Aleisha881]

Hi I feel very stupid coming here and like I am imagining my symptoms so apologies if I have come to the wrong place. I am 20 years old and I am currently taking 50mcg levothyroxine and I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid in 2013. I was taking more than this and I felt best on 200mcg levothyroxine.

These symptoms are so bad they make me cry sometimes. I am passing big clots during my period, about half the size of my hand. Eyes feeling sore and tired. Gained about 10kg through barely eating as much as I did before. Sleeping a lot during the day. I was passing stools every day and now it is once a week and when they come they are very hard to pass. Dizzy spells when on periods. Losing hair which is blocking the shower plug hole. Joints in knees aching. Having regular slips and falls and have fractured the bone in my tibia.

Please if anyone could advise I would be grateful and sorry for the moan.

[Emyloulou]

Hi,

I just wanted to say don’t feel stupid! Most of the people on this forum, including myself have been where you have and come here for help.

I’m very new myself but have found everyone to be wonderful and I have learnt so much that I never would have know. The one thing they will need to help you is up to date blood results with the appropriate ranges and if you post them someone will be along to help. Definitely someone who knows far more than me x

[startagaingirl]

Hi and welcome and we will definitely help and advise. Your symptoms are all typical of under-treated hypothyroid and probably the almost universal serious nutrient deficiencies associated with hypo. They can be addressed.

The most important thing you can do now is go to your GPs receptionist and request copies of all your recent blood tests, as many as you can get from TSH, ft4, ft3, anti-bodies TpoAb and TgAb, vit d, vit b12, folate and ferritin. If you post them with ranges - for instance TSH 4.3 (0.4-4.1) - then we will be able to give you specific advice.

Also if you could tell us a bit more of your history, including who reduced your dose and why, then we will have a bit more to go on.

Gillian

[SlowDragon Administrator]

When was dose reduced from 200mcg to 50mcg?

Was this done by GP?

It's a massive dose reduction, Levothyroxine should only ever reduce by 25mcg at a time.

Have you had thyroid blood test done since?

If not make urgent appointment to see GP. (Perhaps a different one at the practice)

request that thyroid levels are tested, plus vitamin D, Folate, ferritin and B12

You almost certainly need a dose increase. 25mcg at a time, retesting after 6-8 weeks

Do you know if you have high thyroid antibodies?

This is Hashimoto's or autoimmune thyroid disease.

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH and most consistent results

Link about antibodies

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