Under active thyroid

[Catherine90]

Hi about 4 months ago I found out I had an under active thyroid I’ve put on weight lost hair and feel tired all the time my doctor says I’m on the right dose of tablets now and said I would go back to normal but I haven’t can any one give me any adivise on this

[Fox78]

Hi there

It takes time to feel better 4 months isn’t that long and it depends on how long you had it before you were diagnosed

Other members will ask you to post your results and also ideally they should be checking tsh and t4 and vitamin d iron ferritin and folate too x

[Catherine90 in reply to Fox78]

Thankyou for your reply I’ve not had those vitamin tests done so will go back and ask bout those I’m new to this so haven’t got a clue all I know is my thyroid was 159 under active and now the doctor says it’s ok but got to stay on this dose and go back in 6 months but I still feel rubbish lol

[Fox78 in reply to Catherine90]

If your tsh was 159 that is very high which is the opposite so means your very hypothyroid if you t4 was low

I’ve been diagnosed just over year and still struggle some days

It would be worth asking the gp to test for thyroid antibodies too which will determine if you have hashimotos which is the autoimmune condition

[Nanaedake]

What dose are you on and what were your last thyroid test results? You are entitled to results and make sure you get a print out that includes the lab ranges. If you post your results here then people can make helpful suggestions.

How long have you been on, 'the right dose'? Everything about hypothyroidism is slow. It takes time to get ill and time to get better. It takes 6 weeks for a change in dose to get around all the cells in your body.

Have you had vitamins tested? B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D? Hair loss may be low vitamin or mineral levels and tiredness can be low iron levels or low B12.

[Aurealis]

I remember when I was diagnosed 25 + years ago. My GP said he knew what to treat me with but he was relying on me to tell him how much, based on how I responded to dose increases. Trouble is, over the years GPs have started to believe that they can do it all on their own. They can’t.

It does take time though. How much are you on now? How long have you been on this dose? What were your actual test results? Did your GP get free T3 and free T4 tested?

It is possible to adjust it so you feel well so don’t worry, you will get well... but you may need to challenge your GP a bit.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Catherine

Do you have your latest test results? If not ask at your surgery's reception for a print out. In the UK we are legally entitled to our test results. Don't accept hand written or verbal results, make sure it's a print out and the reference ranges are included with the results, eg

TSH: 2.5 (0.2-4.2)

Post them on the forum for members to comment.

Ideally we need to see :

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies

And if you've had any vitamins and minerals tested, post those too, ideally:

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

These all need to be optimal for thyroid hormone to work properly.

Also, tell us what dose of Levo you are taking.

Were you started on 25mcg or 50mcg Levo, were you retested 6 weeks after starting, with an increase in dose? Retesting/increasing should be done every 6 weeks until your levels are where they need to be for you to feel well. The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their ranges if that is where you feel well.

Are you taking your Levo correctly - on an empty stomach, one hour before or 2 hours after food, with a glass of water only, and water only one hour each side, leaving 2 hours between Levo and any other medication or supplements (some need 4 hours).

When booking appointments for thyroid tests, always book the first appointment of the morning, no later than 9am, leave off Levo for 24 hours and fast overnight - you can have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before, just delay breakfast until after the test. This gives the highest TSH and lowest FT4 which are needed when looking for a dose increase or to avoid a reduction.

If you take a B Complex or Biotin supplement, leave it off for 3-5 days before the test as it can give false results if biotin is used in the testing procedure.

[Catherine90]

Gosh thankyou all for your comments I haven’t got a clue I’m going to go back to the doctors because I didn’t know any of this I didn’t know I had to take my tablets on an empty stomach for a start all I know is my level was 159 and I started on 25g then it went down to 75 and now I’m on 50g doc says it’s fine now but I still feel rubbish and still have same symptoms so I will go back to docs and also get a print out thankyou again

[Baggiebod]

Hi Catherine,

I fully sympathise, as I've been there & got the DVD & Tee shirt! I still don't think I am adequately medicated after about 4 years. I have pushed for increased in doses & even managed to get a small dose of T3. Having said that, I am better than I was! My hair is no longer falling out and my weight has stabilised. Strangely, I had private blood tests recently which shows my T4 is below range and my T3 is at the very bottom of the range. But, because my TSH is suppressed the Endocrinologist has kept my dosage at 50mcg Levo & 10mcg T3 daily. I'm seriously considering adjusting the dose myself using private blood tests to determine when I get to the right levels. It's quite daunting though.