Advise needed please

[Turtle1989]

Hi I was hoping someone could give me some hints/tips. I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid a little over a year ago, a few months ago my doctor settled on 100mg of Levothyroxine (I’m not sure of what my levels are as I didn’t get a print out of my bloods) the Levo makes me feel rubbish and weight gain is incredible (gone from a size 12 to a 16 in a year!) so I went back and got told there’s no alternative, however doing some research and speaking to my uncle it turns out there is. I got told I would need to get private blood tests before If I was going to safely take something else, unfortunately I am not able to do them at the minute so I was hoping some could advise me on something I can safely do/take to boost my energy levels. At the minute I just take ibrouphen for the headaches and body pain and do yoga 3times a week and boxercise once a week to try control the weight gain as well as changing my diet. I don’t know what else to do and about ready to give up on the meds. Any advise would be appreciated.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Turtle1989

Unfortunately, there is nothing anyone can suggest without seeing your latest thyroid test results, with their reference ranges. You could pop along to your surgery and ask at reception for a print out, if you are in the UK then we are legally entitled to them. When you have then, post on here for comment.

If you are not optimally medicated then hard exercise can be the worst thing to do, it will deplete your active hormone T3, and unless optimally medicated then weight loss will be difficult. The yoga should be fine, and other gentle exercise like swimming or walking.

It's also possible that the brand of Levo you take doesn't suit you. Some people react to the different fillers in different brands, and Teva brand has seriously affected many members here. So you could try a different brand.

To get a full picture you need a full thyroid panel and vitamins and minerals testing too, they have to be optimal for thyroid hormone to work. Ideally we need to see

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

If you can't get all these done with your GP then we have recommended labs and at the moment all those tests can be done with Medichecks Thyroid Check UltraVit which is currently on offer at £79

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

If that offer finishes then if you order before the end of September and use the code MED99 that will get you a 20% discount.

[Aurealis]

What explanation does your GP have for your weight gain and you feeling rubbish and what is your GP going to do about it? That is after all ... what GPs are for, finding out what’s wrong and doing something about it. I always think you get a better response from GPs if you present them with the problem and patiently and wait for their response, never give them a solution, so they have a chance to show how clever they are. After all it’s not you that’s in a rush .... you just need a solution to your current situation. You have time to sit and wait while they think it through and puzzle it out. Who knows your GP may decide the best option is to treat the thyroid problem adequately !!!!

[Turtle1989 in reply to Aurealis]

The doctor told me that the weight gain isn’t down to my thyroid, and that now I’m on the correct amount the tiredness and etc must be down to something else, but is not willing to do any more tests as before being diagnosed I had an endoscopy, colonoscopy and CT scan but nothing was found. Even when I was first diagnosed I wasn’t told anything about an under active thyroid I was simply told that I needed to take the Levothyroxine.

[Aurealis in reply to Turtle1989]

I wonder if there’s a better GP in your area? Perhaps it’s time to start again?

[Turtle1989 in reply to Aurealis]

I’m going to ring doctors tomorrow and ask for a print out of my last blood tests then I think I am going to take your advise and source a different doctor surgery, thank you.

[greygoose]

Just because your doctor 'thinks' 100 mcg is the right dose, doesn't mean it is - and your symptoms say it isn't. You must get hold of those results, because not only do you need to know what your results were, but you need to know exactly what he was testing. If it was just the TSH, then he has no idea if it's the right dose! Besides, he is supposed to retest you six weeks after starting 100 mcg, to make sure. Did he do that?

[Turtle1989 in reply to greygoose]

No he didn’t, he told me I would be sent for more blood tests in one years time. I am going to ring up tomorrow and ask for a print out of my last blood results.

[greygoose in reply to Turtle1989]

Then he doesn't have the first idea what he's doing. He's going to keep you very sick because of his ignorance and pig-headed attitude. If you can possibly dump him, I would do so asap!

[Hidden]

Did you say you were started on 100mcg, or did I miss something? Usually it's 50 or even 25. Perhaps it was too much? Or, as GG said, you are on a brand that doesn't suit you.