Hello,
New to this forum and new to all of this. I'm going to share background information, the history of my ill health, then my current hypotheses and plan of action. I will keep it as succinct as I can.
Reading posts on here it seems people have been through similar symptoms / experiences and have accumulated a lot of tacit community knowledge; i'm very keen for your thoughts.
Background information
I'm 31, female and have previously experienced good health with a lot of energy and a pretty good diet. I don't drink much (did binge drink at weekend in early to mid twenties, not now) and have never smoked or abused narcotics.
3-4 years ago I went through a period of high stress where I completed a doctorate degree and was in a toxic relationship (now over). I then was in a high stress job which I have recently left to be in my dream job (currently low stress). I am married and in a healthy and stable relationship. No children - yet. I have a good support network in my family and friends and mostly they have listened and supported my experience of the symptoms. I earn a decent salary which allows me to be self sufficient in addition to my marriage. Me and my husband have no external life stressors, like money problems.
I live in an urban conurbation and the pollution is probably quite high. I commute for an hour each way to my job by car.
History of my ill health
For the past two years or so I have experienced fatigue (sometimes debilitating), muscle aches, bone aches (especially in wrists, finger joints and ankles), brain fog, bloating (on and off, and in strange places like my fingers, thighs and ankles - I developed cankles for a week, it was pretty hilarious), occasional dry eyes where my eyes will hurt and water incessantly for about a minute, hair loss (hair line and now eyebrows and eyelashes (it seems my leg hairs grow back slower in between shaves as well, so there's an unexpected bonus!ha!), breathlessness, insensitivity to the cold, pins and needles (but infrequently - could just be random pins and needles!) and, to some extent, weight gain (I have put on about a stone and a half, but fall in a healthy range because I was very slim and exercised a lot before all symptoms started). I haven't noticed diarrhoea but my stools have been loose and splattery for a while (if you get what I mean!), I pass solids about twice to three times a day - don't know if this is normal or not! I haven't experienced insomnia, quite the opposite - I can sleep for up to twelve hours (but always wake up groggy, never fresh).
I have also experienced high anxiety and low mood following anxious periods. This led to a one off episode of psychosis in June last year. I had two months of work, took medication for anxiety and was known to a psychology home treatment team. Since this time, I have seen a therapist weekly and really worked on the mental health symptoms. My therapist and I take self recorded data of my levels of anxiety monthly and they have significantly dropped. I no longer really experience it. I get low mood when I'm fatigued but I do yoga and meditation to combat this. Also, I am a very positive person and have made a choice to just have faith in the universe that things will be OK and this really helps me (I guess you could call it a pig headed optimism). I also make use of my support network. Ultimately, I feel I have got this reduced and under control.
I am also a bit of a type 'A' personality and perfectionist but have really worked on this during therapy and can list successful behaviour and perception changes.
Current symptoms
The symptoms have never really fully gone away, I've just ignored them and carried on best I can. The fatigue and pain are the worst really, they impact on daily life the most.
However, recently my hair loss has got worse, I am losing my eyebrows fairly steadily. Also fatigue and pain have got worse recently as well.
I seem to have had more bloating recently, it comes and goes.
Current hypotheses
Last year myself and my psychology team hypothesised that I was burnt out from the years of stress and had as such developed anxiety, which had led to fatigue and other symptoms.
At the time I think this was the most parsimonious hypotheses. However, I have systematically and fully addressed my psychological symptoms and they have reduced and don't really occur now. Plus, apart from all the physical symptoms i'm in a great place personally with my life and actually generally happiest I've been in years.
Yet the fatigue remains. Plus, that hypothesis doesn't really account for why I am losing hair, bloating etc.
My new hypothesis is that having ruled out mental health as the only cause, I want to re-explore physical / medical influences.
Plan of action
I feel that I have not really have a consistent, systematic assessment of my physical health. I have seen lots of GPs and they seem to just throw about hypotheses rather than create a list of what it might be and knock down hypotheses (i.e. the scientist practitioner model).
As such, I am now taking matters fully into my own hands. I have ruled out MS after an MRI scan that came back fine.
I am now exploring the thyroid / endocrinologist side of things. Reading on here I was surprised to see how difficult this can be. As such, this is my current plan:
- I have had some blood tests from the GP, waiting on results. Unfortunately, he did not really involve me in a conversation about what and why so I am also going to ask for all my medical records so I can figure it out myself.
- I am going to get a full thyroid health check from medichecks.
- I am booking an appointment with a private endocrinologist in Birmingham (GP refused to refer me), it is Professor Neil Gittoes
- I am going to ask GP for a Gluten intolerance check, if they say no I will get a private one
- If these all actions lead to dead ends, I will research other things the symptoms could be and explore those.
- If that leads to dead ends I will see a dietitian / nutritionist and explore the murky world of food intolerance
- If that leads to a dead end I'll go see one of those functional medicine people and then other such non western medicine specialists (but coming from a scientific background I really hope I can figure it out through western medicine)
Questions:
The medichecks website has so many options, its confusing. Which one would you recommend I go for?
Has anyone heard of Professor Neil Gittoes at the Birmingham Thyroid Clinic? Any good as a practitioner? - PM me for this please, I'm not down for professionals being lambasted on the internet.
Any general thoughts you have on my journey - a cliche but it really is a journey!
Thank you for your help 
Bloods not matching symptoms 😟
Recent test results 'Satisfactory' - NOT! - and any advice about supplements on which order to take?
GP will say I'm hyperthyroid and reduce my T4. According to these blood tests, would she be right?!
adrenal testing on the nhs?
