Did my endo take me seriously?

[orangesunset]

So, i've had symptoms of hypothyroidism for about a year. Severe fatigue, dreadful constipation, very dry skin and terrible weight gain. After being tested by my GP early this year, I got prescribed 50mg Levothyroxine because my TSH was 6.3. Well, fast forward to now, my symptoms are the same, so out of desperation I ask to see an endo.

At the endo appointment, it lasted about 5 mins. She started off by saying that she looked at my last lab results from the GP (my last blood test was a month ago) and says that my TSH is now normal at 0.8. She says that I have subclinical hypothyroidism, not full blown hypothyroidism, and I should just carry on taking the 50mg Levothyroxine. She then said she is discharging me. She didn't ask me my symptoms, didn't feel my neck, didn't ask me to have another up to date blood test. I told her that I'm exhausted all the time, that I sleep all the time, that I can't stay awake. She then said that my tiredness is probably because of my mental illness (depression and anxiety) but I've suffered with that for 9 years, my extreme exhaustion has only been like this for a year, so that doesn't make sense to me. She said that I need to take vitamin D supplements, but I already take those occasionally anyway so I really don't think that's what's causing my tiredness. Anyway, she again said she's discharging me, so I left, feeling very deflated. I'm only 22 years old and I'm living like an elderly woman. I have no social life and have no energy to do the things I used to enjoy doing like drawing. I'm sleeping my life away and don't know what to do to fix it, the 50mg levothyroxine isn't working.

Also, all my other blood tests were taken on an empty stomach, except for my most recent one where my TSH had gone down to 0.8, I had a sandwich before that one. I asked the endo if that could have messed with the results and she said no. Is this correct? It just seems weird to me that my TSH could go from 6.3 to 0.8 in 1 month.

Anyway, what I'm asking is, does it sound like my endo didn't take me seriously? Or is she probably right, that my tiredness is due to my depression rather than any thyroid issues? I just don't know what to do, if I should see another endo, or just accept that my thyroid function is fine now and the symptoms are just due to depression and anxiety.

[orangesunset]

Sorry I meant 50 mcg Levothyroxine (not mg)

[greygoose]

I think that she's very wrong, and that your depression is due to your hypothyroidism. But it didn't sound like she knew anything much about thyroid anyway, and just wanted to get rid of you as quickly as possible before you asked any embarrassing questions! That was not what I call an endo consultation. I'm willing to bet she's a diabetes specialist who knows nothing about thyroid.

Do you get copies of your blood test results each time? Can you post your results (with ranges) from a month ago? 50 mcg is just a starter dose and is rarely enough to make anyone well.

As to your last test, if you had a sandwich before the blood draw, that sounds as if your blood draw was in the afternoon. Is that right? Which could account for your TSH being much lower than the time before. The time we have our blood drawn is very important and is best in the early morning. But, should always be done at the same time if we want to compare results.

[humanbean]

She then said that my tiredness is probably because of my mental illness (depression and anxiety) but I've suffered with that for 9 years,

I suspect that you've been suffering from hypothyroidism for 9 years, and this is the cause of your depression and anxiety. If the hypothyroidism is treated properly then the depression and anxiety will probably disappear or be much better.

Anyone with hypothyroidism tends to have too little stomach acid and as a result they can't extract nutrients from their food very well. As a result we end up with low levels of all sorts of minerals and vitamins, and that adds to the problem of lack of energy, depression and anxiety.

The reason that untreated or inadequately treated hypothyroid people end up being anxious is that when the body has low thyroid hormone levels it tries to compensate for the lack with cortisol and adrenaline. (They aren't brilliant substitutes in modern times, but they probably would have helped when we needed to hunt our food). And it is the higher than ideal levels of these that causes anxiety.

There are ways and means we can help ourselves. There isn't a quick fix, but helping your gut, and fixing nutrient deficiencies can help an enormous amount. And if the worst comes to the worst you can even buy Levo, T3 or NDT to treat yourself.

Sadly, the chances of a doctor of any kind helping a hypothyroid patient to feel better are extremely slim if TSH is in range.

[Absolute_Volatile]

Hi Orangesunset,

It is so sad to hear that at 22 you are feeling this way. I can relate because not even 6 months ago, i was in a very similar state. My endo, just gave me pill after pill for evey symptom. So, a lot of us here have been forced to self treat.

It is important you get tested for thyroid antibodies, B12, ferritin, D3

- Nutritional supplementation is another aspect which can really help with fatigue.

B complex

Selenium

Vit C

D3, K2, Magnesium

Trace minerals

Iron supplements (depends on your ferritin level)

- inorder to support digestion there are many things you can try

Home remedies (ACV, ginger, pepper, lemon, etc)

Enzymatic support

Stomach Acid support

Within 4 months of nutritional and digestive support, my quality for life has had a drastic improvement. So much so, that after 12 years, i could resume workout, without falling ill, or dying of fatigue the next week.

All the best.