Am I going mad or is there something not right! Please help

[Amber83]

Hi,

I’m 34 and for months I have been feeling so ill and not myself.

I’ve been to the doctors and can’t get to the bottom of why I feel like this, it’s making me feel anxious and depressed and quite frankly desperate.

I feel so tired but ill tired. My head feels full of fog, my eyes sting, my skin is dry and feels like it’s aged especially my eyelids that are currently dropping onto my eyelashes, I get hot flushes, when I try to exercise I feel terrible after, my sex drive has completely dissapeared the list goes on.

I’ve had some blood tests done but supposedly they are normal -

Cortisol morning 288 nmol/L

Growth hormone <0.1 ug/L

Testosterone 0.9 nmol/L

Fsh 5.9iu/L

LH level 3.1 iu/L

Anyone have any ideas, the doctors are putting all of my symptoms down to anxiety which I know can make u feel poorly but I feel like I can’t do anything. Please help x

[Marz]

Do you have any thyroid results you could share ?

[Amber83 in reply to Marz]

The only other thing that I feel maybe thyroid related is

TSH 1.45 miu/L ?

[Amber83 in reply to Amber83]

I asked the doctor to do free t3 and T4 but she said the LH and FSH is enough?

[Marz in reply to Amber83]

Rubbish ! He's watching his budget - sadist

[Marz in reply to Amber83]

Yes that is the result for the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This is only part of the story - and a small part too. You also need the FT4 and FT3 along with the Thyroid Anti-bodies tested - TPO & Tg. Are you in a position to have Private Testing through Thyroid UK - used by 100's on this Forum. The NHS rarely test the important ones needed to diagnose a Thyroid issue - sadly ....

The TSH above is in range - but .... you need the other results. A bit like saying the accelerator in your car is working but there is no petrol in the tank

[Amber83 in reply to Marz]

Yes, if it means I could get to the bottom of feeling like this then I will find the funds somewhere. How do I do it?

[Marz in reply to Amber83]

Go to Thyroid UK and click onto ABOUT TESTING ...

thyroiduk.org

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Amber83]

For full Thyroid evaluation TSH, FT4, TT4, FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies. Plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12.

Essential to test thyroid antibodies plus vitamins

Private tests are available

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

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.

Medichecks do offers on Thursdays

Blue Horizon often towards end of month

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)

If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's

You can test vitamin levels at same time as full Thyroid

Or cheapest test for just vitamin D is vitamindtest.org.uk £28 postal kit

Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12. Always get actual results and ranges. Post results when you have them, members can advise

Link about thyroid blood tests

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

Link about antibodies and Hashimoto's

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

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

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

[Amber83 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon. I’ve had Vitamin D on most recent blood test. It was 30 so I have been given supplements. Can Vit that is only classed as insufficient not deficiency cause me to feel this bad? X

[Marz in reply to Amber83]

How much VitD are you taking ? Maybe too little if GP prescribed 😴

[Amber83 in reply to Marz]

The doctor gave me it yesterday. I’ve got 25,000 iu ampules one a week for six weeks then 800iu tablets for up to a year x

[Marz in reply to Amber83]

After your loading doses I would ask for a re-test. 800 iu maintenance dose is rarely enough to keep the levels good. Check out VitD Guidelines for your area ...

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

That happens here too. Many docs think if they check my T3, T4, and TSH that covers it. Wrong!. I was even told re my latest labs which showed reasonably normal T3 and 4 but a TSH that was at the very top of the normal range that everything was fine,I had the previous TSH result which was still high but a bit lower than the current one-which meant it was drifting higher as time passed. I suggested that we up the dose and was (really!) actually told "we don't like to change the dose until the TSH gets closer to 12." I was already tired and insisted so she reluctantly raised my dose from 100mcg to 125, This one reason I am making changes.

[greygoose]

We really need the ranges for those tests. But Growth hormone doesn't look 'normal' to me. And, that could indicate that you have low T3.

[Amber83 in reply to greygoose]

I thought that, it looks like it’s just above the lowest end of the range. I’m looking into getting those other tests done. X

[greygoose in reply to Amber83]

Low GH in itself will make you feel pretty bad.

[Amber83 in reply to greygoose]

So I’m not going mad, I’m scared to go back to the doctor and mention about the GH. X

[greygoose in reply to Amber83]

No, there was never any question of you going mad! But, the sad truth is, very few doctors know anything about GH. Many of them believe it's only a problem for children. It's doubtful he would know, or care to, do anything about it. GH has to be injected, it's not just a matter of taking tablets, like thyroid. And, the injections are very expensive, and impossible to self-treat with.

So, if the problem stems from low T3, the best you can do is optimise your FT3, and hope that helps. The important thing to do is to get your FT4 and FT3 treated, now. You cannot know anything about your thyroid status without knowing those. Although doctors think you can! It could be that you have some sort of pituitary problem. Both TSH and HG are pituitary hormones, and if your pituitary is struggling to make hormones, both TSH and HG will be low. And so will your Frees be low, because you're not producing enough TSH to stimulate the thyroid to make them. But, you won't be able to tell any of that just by looking at the TSH. Doctors' education in hormones - and, specifically thyroid hormones - is so limited.

[Amber83 in reply to greygoose]

I completely agree, I know my body and I know I don’t feel right at all. I thought maybe pituitary since a lot of my symptoms seem to hormonal....ish. I was losing about 1lb a week aswell until I started eating 24/7 and it’s stayed up. I’ve looked at thyroid check on medichecks,

TSH

Ft4

Tt4

Ft3

Tgab

Tpoab

B12

Folate

Crp-hs - inflammation marker

And ferritin

Do you think this would be a good test to get done and is a finger prick reliable enough?

[greygoose in reply to Amber83]

That would be a great test, and would give you a much clearer picture. Yes, finger prick is adequate for most people.

[Amber83 in reply to greygoose]

I’m going to order now, thank you so much for your advice. It means the world to me. I’ll let you know the results x

[greygoose in reply to Amber83]

You're more than welcome.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Most of those are sex hormones - doctor thinks it is is menopause. You need TSH, Free t4, Free T3, ferritin, folate, B12, D3 all done at the same time. Id there is a possibility it's a cortisol problem you need a short synacthen test. Serum cortisol is pretty useless test and is only even vaguely useful when taken first thing in the morning.

[humanbean]

Do you have the reference ranges for the results you give? And what time of day was the blood taken?

[Amber83]

Blood taken 9:30am

Cortisol 288 nmol/L (185.0 - 624.0)

Growth hormone <0.1ug/L (0.0-2.8)

Testosterone 0.9 nmol/L (0.0 -3.1)

Fsh 5.9iu/L ( 3.8 - 8.8)

LH 3.1 iu/L (2.1 - 10.9)

[Amber83]

I do use non stick pans. I tried drinking bottled water for a couple of months and it made no difference to how I feel. I eat fairly well, red meat, white meat, veg, fruit and maybe have takeaway once a week or fortnight. X