Newly Diagnosed Underactive Thyroid

[Kath36]

Hi Everyone

Completely new, only been taking levthyroxine? 50mg since Thurs. Was having difficulty in swallowing last November so had a scan and bloods, scan came back as benign cysts though they still bother me and bloods showed tsh levels of 4.8 and t4 11.6, advised to wait 3 months and redo bloods, they came back as tsh 5.2 no other results so gp has suggested taking meds as she has diagnosed underachieving thyroid and review in two months, any advice would be welcome to keep me as healthy and as proactive as possible as worried about the cysts, my father had throat cancer so it is a sensitive area for me, worried about weight gain, can't seem to shift weight, lethargic, depression, have a burning in my feet sometimes. Thanks for reading this far 😀

[Anthea55]

Hi Kath36, Welcome to the forum

You will find plenty of help and support here.

Learn as much as you can. A good place to start is the Thyroid UK website at thyroiduk.org/index.html

There are also several useful books.

All the best.

[greygoose]

You need to get your nutrients tested - vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin. Burning feet could be B12 deficiency. Hypos often have low nutrients, due to low stomach acid. And, while you're at it, ask to have your antibodies tested.

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum,

When you get blood tests for thyroid hormones they have to be always at the earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water). If you were taking thyroid hormones you'd allow a gap of 24 hours between the last dose and test and take it afterwards.

This procedure keeps your TSH at its highest as it drops throughout the day. Usually, we get a blood test every six weeks with each dose increase.

Request B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate too. Deficiencies cause symptoms.

[valjo18]

Very early days yet, give the Levo a chance. good luck x