Asked for GP help severe symptoms hashimotos

[sparklefairy]

Hi everyone,

So last week I posted asking for advice on t3 as I am convinced somehow t4 is no longer working properly , I had my gp appointment booked and was considering buying a t3 blood test online if he wasn't willing to test me.

Iv never been tested for any other than tsh and t4 however been diagnosed by another surgery years ago as hashimotos and have been on 150mcg since 2010.

The last few months iv been feeling really depressed, anxious, suicidal and have noticed my once flat stomach is now flabby, I'm definitely back to pre-thyroxine weight.

Iv tried cutting milk / most dairy, gluten & wheat, eat mostly chicken, salads (non cruciferous) , lean fish, the occasional red fruits and began reducing my intake to one piece of fruit or a small plate of chicken during the day and then a healthy dinner followed by a snack in evening lf I seriously feel hungry.

Iv been like this for a year but also recently Iv on top of above felt absolutely freezing to the bone , migraines, nausea, a strange urine pain (randomly not when I need the toilet but similar to the feeling when u have a urine infection) , my periods have gone from the usual five days to one or two light days then gone,

This week Iv felt unbearabley exhausted. My eyes are red puffy sore and sensitive to light. I cry about anything. I feel distant and almost faint / like I'm walking on air half the day..I only get out of bed to work and eat really, and ofcourse try to keep up my weekly gym three days a week and one swimming lesson (I'm a dancer so My work is performing twice a week in a show and a kids science presentation) I also have nearly fainted three times during work and exercise this week.

I went to the doctors today and burst Into tears

I explained everything above, the fact I'd researched t3 and the idea I may now not be converting t4 properly and perhaps now that is why my hypothyroid symptoms have reappeared. I explained how id tried supplementing with iron, but was extremely sick on that so stopped and upped my steak and spinach intake to replace iron (also told I'm anaemic and have "slightly but nothing to worry about" low blood pressure )

I told him I would like to be tested for t3 as I am convinced my results don't show how sick I really truly feel. He told me everyone these days thinks they aren't allergic and he's convinced Iv cut out dairy gluten and wheat because I now have anxiety about eating and am blaming my thyroid. That I'm not eating enough for the exercise I do and I perhaps need to speak to someone about my eating disorder.

He's referred me to an endocrinologist and said he's shocks that I have never seen a specialist despite being diagnosed in 2007 with hypothyroidism (3years later told it's actually hashimotos)

Results he had showed TSH "normal" and T4 going slightly over and then under throughout the years. He had no other results than on refer to.

I feel I'm living a half life just now. I know as a dancer it's wasted half my 20s because I'm a size12 and for the little I eat ans the amount of excercise I do I should be atleast a size 8, however now that I'm fainting, anxious about eating, not even looking an inch smaller with a year of strict eating I'm now left with this,

I do feel he's done me a favour, he's agreed to test my t3 (I think he clicked on FT3 I don't think RT3 was one he system) he also referred me To endo and dietician so I do believe he's trying to help me and feels I need to eat more and focus on that until the tests come through, but I cant imagine feeling like this for another 3 weeks and risk fainting on stage or worse!

Anyone have any thoughts??

My blood test is 2 weeks away.

I'm tempted to try t3 for 2 weeks just to get through but I know that'll give him an unfair diagnoses. I know this is wrong anyway cos I would then not be sure if it is worth it and might cause damage coming off it

Just praying the labs don't change my blood test paper and actually follow through. He's also testing me for celiac and vitamin d even though he joked that it's all a fashion these days and everyone things they are allergic when actually they aren't :/

I don't think he's educated enough to realise most hashimotos patiences cut dairy and gluten as a mean so of improving their health, he just thinks I'm a borderline anorexic :/ I don't know what I believe anymore but I guess I should appreciate his referrals and blood test request? He gave me 30mins of his time and even tho I feel like I'm now going to spend most of December fainting and feeling ill, atleast he accepted my t3 blood test request and referred me ??? So I should feel greatful?

He says I should keep taking all my vitamin and supplements (selenium zinc vitamins omega 3 and probiotics)

But totally convinced my thuroids fine and it's just that I'm unhappy with myself an so have developed an eating disorder that's why I'm ill and need to spend a few weeks building a relationship with food..

He said it'll take two months for an endo appointment.

Anyone shed some light on this?

Or have advice on what I can do in the next few weeks to actually help me? I don't want to spend half of my month in bed :/

[Clutter]

Sparklefairy,

'Normal TSH' could mean anything from 0.2 - 5.0. What was your latest TSH and FT4 with the lab ref range? Your symptoms sound as though you may be undermedicated. It's a shame you're having to wait 2 weeks for a blood test.

Why don't you order a private thyroid test to check TSH, FT4, FT3 and vitamins and minerals. Medichecks Ultra Vits includes those but if cash is limited you could just order TSH, FT4 and FT3. A test including rT3 is very expensive plus you will need to pay for phlebotomy as a venous draw is required for rT3.

Medichecks are offering 20% off up to and including Monday. If you send the test off Monday or Tuesday you should have results by Wed/Thurs. thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

You could wait could wait considerably longer than 2 months for an endo appointment.

Although giving up gluten can help reduce Hashi attacks and antibodies there's no need to give up dairy unless it makes you unwell and you really don't need to avoid cruciferous goitrogens. Eat whatever you like with the exception of unfermented soy/soya which is no good for man or beast.

There's absolutely no point in having a coeliac test in 2 weeks. As you are gluten-free you will get a negative result. You need to be eating normal amounts of gluten for six weeks before having a coeliac blood test.

[sparklefairy in reply to Clutter]

Hey clutter

Thankyou for the advice,

I gave up milk predominately because It was affecting my singing voice giving me migraines and a harsh lump in my throat I couldn't swallow.

The first appointment for bloods available was two weeks away, he's requested TSH t4 t3 as well as vitamin d liver and celiac.

This is the first time Iv read people saying there's no need, so thanku for ur honest responses as it has made me think perhaps I do need to eat more..

If I eat bread, cracker, pizza I clog up toilets and bleed trying to "go" :/ I assumed this was a bad reaction to wheat/gluten?

Thanku for liver advice I will give that ago n didn't realise about spinach I eat spinach leaves with rocket not the heavy stuff

Xx

[greygoose]

I agree with your doctor, you aren't eating enough! And, if you are a poor converter, it's probably because you aren't eating enough! Normally, I would say cut down on the exercise, because it uses up your T3 at an alarming rate, and also uses up the calories that you need for conversion, but I realise that's your profession, so you can't really do that. But, cutting back on your food and over-exercising is not going to help you lose any weight, and could very well make you put more on, because it makes you more hypo.

Be very wary of dieticians, as a general rule, they know nothing about being hypo, and how it changes your body. (My personal opinion is they don't know much about diet, either, but that's just due to my own experiences!)

Rather than eating steak and spinach, you'd be better off eating liver once a week to raise your iron. It has more iron than steak. And, although spinach contains a lot of iron, humans cannot absorb it, so not much point! But, if you're eating steak, you do need some form of vit C with it, like potatoes or tomatoes.

I agree with Clutter, there's no point in avoiding cruciferous veggies, unless they disagree with you (can cause wind!). Same for dairy. The only thing you should avoid like the plague is unfermented soy. Apart from that, just eat what you feel comfortable with.

If you start taking T3 before the test, it will skew your results, and you'd end up shooting yourself in the foot. Just try eating more whilst waiting, because that might make you feel better in itself.

[sparklefairy in reply to greygoose]

Yes try Thankyou x

Honestly I really appreciate your responses, I really think perhaps I do need to focus on diet then x

[greygoose in reply to sparklefairy]

You're welcome.

[shaws]

You need a Full Thyroid Function Test which is TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies. You also need B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate as deficiencies can also cause unpleasant symptoms.

We have private labs which will do the tests the doctor doesn't.

All blood tests for thyroid hormones have to be at the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a 24hour gap between last dose of hormones and test and take afterwards.

Get a print-out and post for comments.

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

Strenuous exercises deplete T3 and it is T3 which is the only active thyroid hormone required in our billions of T3 receptor cells. Levothyroxine converts to t3 and you have to have sufficient dose.

[sparklefairy in reply to shaws]

Thankyou

X

[Aurealis]

Sorry to hear that you’re feeling so poorly. Why have you got to wait two weeks for a test? I waited 3 months for a first endo appointment but felt too poorly to wait. Fortunately I was able to go privately, but have no regrets, if you can afford it and find a good endo it’s worth it. Good luck sparklefairy xx

[sparklefairy in reply to Aurealis]

I'm not sure

I guess this is a busy time for blood tests :/

Thankyou xx

Even just the results will help , I havent been tested since Nov 2016 guys and that was t4 and TSH I didn't write down the levels but I for sure will from this result onwards xx

[marigold22]

Is there any particular reason you have cut out dairy? I was so desperate I went to see a Homeopath in August. He has changed my life around with a special way of eating.... I won't call it a 'diet'. He told me to cut out all carbohydrates, saying all grains are a form of grass, we aren't cows & can't digest it (cows have 3 stomachs). He also told me to cut out all sugar including only having maximum one piece of fruit a day as it's high in sugar. To eat a lot of 'good fats' - full fat milk, real butter, olive oil, real cream, avocados, nuts (not salted or roasted), any cheese, cream cheese, eggs, meat including bacon (not sausages), oily fish (tinned mackerel is my favourite), white fish, plain bio yoghurt, all vegetables (I make veg soup with a blender), all salad, beans (I buy tins of mixed beans & baked beans from supermarket & drain off liquid), tinned prunes (delicious with cream!). There are other foods that are ok – eg pulses, sauerkraut (which I’ve googled how to make & about to try making it), Hellmans mayonnaise, Bovril, cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate) in warm milk, Lindt high cocoa chocolate slab, Not meant to eat potatoes as they are high carb (I have a little). Our brains are made of 80% fat, so all this malarky about eating a low fat diet to avoid heart disease, has kept a lot of people very ill. Until I saw my Homeopath I was still sleeping in the day, having periods of suicidal thoughts, agoraphobic, very depressed, high anxiety.

It's worked for me..... I can now string two sentences together, multi task, have a correct sleep pattern, am happy and fulfilled. I'm still getting used to what feels like being 'reborn'. I have Hashimoto's, so now my Homeopath is saying any inflammation has gone by using this way of eating.

However, you may have a conversion problem.... I did a private gene test in August and it returned as positive, therefore I know I must have T3. I did one dozen print outs of it, waved copies in front of both my GP and endo. They didn't fully understand it, but I did my best to explain, and I got T3 prescribed.

You absolutely must have T3 bloods done, and make certain you get a copy of those results.

[shaws in reply to marigold22]

I am glad your diet change has improved your health.

[Hidden in reply to marigold22]

marigold22 very interesting! I know I need to make more dietary changes but find it difficult cooking for one and wanting to keep wastage low. What accompanies your avocados? Would gluten-free sausages be OK?

[marigold22 in reply to Hidden]

I live alone & have not found this different way of eating a chore. I eat avocado with either cream cheese & walnuts, or Hellmans (not low fat) mayonnaise, or other cheeses. I do not eat sausages in any form!! There are so many unknowns in them. If Bronze Age man wouldn't recognise it don't eat it! Last evening I ate some chicken (pre-cooked to make life easier, but I do cook good quality chicken... The Co-op seems to have the best for cheapest), with a pile of French green beans, a spoonful of Hellmans, a few cherry tomatoes & some mixed salad leaves. Then I had a massive bowl full of plain bio yoghurt with double cream in it plus some thawed out raspberries from freezer. I use my microwave every day or the top of the stove to cook meals, it saves on firing up the oven which is no doubt more expensive. I'm on a tight budget so every penny counts. If you would like more meal ideas, happy to oblige