Menopause hell

Hi I'm new and need advise and reassurance. I have had an Underactive thyroid for about 17 years and am on 150mg of levothyroxine. I am now 54 and assume I must be perimenopausal. Does having an Underactive thyroid make the tiredness and lethargy symptoms etc worse. I'm on the correct dose but feel so crap.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Thyroid levels can go off at menopause. Good vitamin levels are essential too

For full evaluation you ideally need TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4, TPO and TG antibodies, plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested

See if you can get full thyroid and vitamin testing from GP. Unlikely to get FT3

Private tests are available

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Vitamindtest.org.uk - £28 postal kit

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should 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, lowest FT4 and most consistent results

Link about antibodies

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

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum,

If you post your latest results of your thyroid hormones with the ranges it will enable the members to respond.

The reason being that 'normal' doesn't always mean 'optimal' and it is optimum which relieves all clinical symptoms.

After being on levo for 17 years it might mean you need a Full Thyroid Function Test which is TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies.

If your TSH isn't 1, you need more hormones. Many doctors believe that if TSH is somewhere within the range the patient is on sufficient but that's not true, we need at least 1 with a FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the range.

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

When you have blood tests for thyroid hormones, you have to always have the very earliest appointment, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test. This gives us the best possible result for us and may prevent an unnecessary adjustment.