Advice please

[Jaynehw]

H, I went to see a Doctor about bioidentical hormones for my menopause a few months ago and it came out in my blood test I have Hashimotos. I have since been to my normal GP who has done bold tests and he has said that yes I have thyroid problems and has put my on Levothyroxine, a very small dose to start and increasing every 4 weeks with another blood test at 8 weeks. To be honest I put all of my symptoms down to menopause fatigue, brain fog, down in the dumps, can’t lose weight but my Doc tells me I’m not menopausal it is my thyroid. If it is Hashimoto does my Doc need to be doing more that prescribing me Levothyroxine?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Your GP can't do anything else, Levo is the only treatment and it's for the hypothyroidism that Hashi's causes.

There is something you can do to help yourself though, which many Hashi's patients have found helps and that is to adopt a strict gluten free diet and supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily to help reduce the antibodies. Keeping TSH suppressed can also help.

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

[Jaynehw in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much

[researcherUK]

Your doctor is right, for a change, and it is a good thing that he started you on thyroid hormone replacement treatment. Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disorder that involves the production of abnormal antibodies that attack the thyroid itself.

It has several root causes such as thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

If you have any blood tests results, please post them.

Ferritin, Vit D, Vit B12 and magnesium deficiencies are very common with Hashimoto's.

Adopting a gluten-free diet and adding selenium 200 mcg/day will help in reducing the antibodies.

Dr Izabella Wentz journey is a good start to know more about Hashimoto's thyroidpharmacist.com/about...

youtube.com/watch?v=8egFSEy...(Not working as expected?)

[Jaynehw in reply to researcherUK]

The only reading he gave me was my TSH which is 10. Don’t really know what I should be asking for! Feeling a bit overwhelmed at present!

[researcherUK in reply to Jaynehw]

He must have done the thyroid antibodies as he indicated that you have Hashimoto's. I hope from now on he'll be testing your T4 and T3 levels to help adjust the dose. Bless you, it is always the case in the beginning and we'll try help when needed, just ask!

[greygoose]

You don't need to ask for anything else for the moment, until your TSH comes down to about 1. Then, it would be best to get your FT4 and FT3 tested.

But, it would be a good idea, at some point, to ask for your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin to be tested, because these could be low, and causing problems.

It's perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed to begin with. But, keep reading here, and it will all become clear. And don't hesitate to ask questions if there's something you don't understand.