Hiya. Have you not been under endo after the radio iodine. Tsh way too high for post cancer. Mines usually 0.2 ish. Start shouting. I’m 2 yrs in and still moaning at them. Doesn’t help pathology just merged and a new platform is now used so numbers very different to usual. 😩
Replies to your previous posts have pointed out that you are undermedicated and that you need your TSH down to at least 1, possibly even lower.
As you have had thyroid cancer, one would hope that your doctor (endo or GP) would authorise FT3 testing. I imagine your endo is a diabetes specialist with not enough knowledge of thyroid. You don't need Total T3, you need Free T3.
If you can't get the full testing done through the NHS then maybe do what hundreds of us here do and that is private testing with one of ThyroidUK's recommended labs
Probably the best value is the full thyroid panel plus vitamins and minerals (including Vit D):
Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus Eleven - bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t... and if you order by 31st December you can get 20% discount by using code ENDOFYEAR
I don’t have an endo. I just see my GP 😭 and they are a waist of time. Only see my oncologist in Feb for radiation results. Do I need to just do a wait and see if the 200 mcg does the job? I just have no life at the min
There is a big difference in your TSH. To compare results accurately we have to do the test under the same conditions every time. We always recommend when booking thyroid tests, always book the very first appointment of the morning and fast overnight (water allowed), this means have your evening meal/supper the night before then delay breakfast until after the blood draw, drink only water, no coffee, tea, etc, before the test.
This gives the highest possible TSH which is needed when looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction. TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. It can also lower after eating and coffee also affects TSH. Also, take your Levo after the blood draw because if you take it before then your FT4 will reflect this and show higher than what is normally circulating. We usually advise 24 hours between last dose of Levo and blood draw so if you take your Levo in the morning then delay until after the test, or if you take it at night then delay that dose until after the test. These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.
So if conditions weren't the same each time that could explain the difference in your TSH and it would be a good idea to follow the recommendations for testing in future.
Only see my oncologist in Feb for radiation results. Do I need to just do a wait and see if the 200 mcg does the job?
If you don't think you're going to get the full testing in February, personally I would do the private test I recommended now. At least you'd know what's going on.
My guts are a mess at the mo. Living on cereal 3 times day. Constipation is driving me mad and GP keeps giving me codine for pain but it constipation me.
Just stopped teva on Xmas day been on that sine June and I think it’s that what is causing my issues
Brand is northstar actavis
Got a wedding tomorrow night. Should I drink alcohol?
If you get constipated why not take some lactulose this can be bought from the pharmacy for around £3. I have to take this sometimes as I have no gallbladder. This was recommended to me by my local pharmacist it's gentle.
If you are "living on cereal 3 times a day" it's no wonder you are constipated and not feeling well - your body isn't being adequately nourished. So, given these conditions, I think alcohol would be an unwise choice .....
"I eat a lot of bread and fatty foods. Have all my life.
Never eat veg or fruit"
I'm guessing you know what the answer is Paul. I think being constipated is the least of the problems you could be stacking up, and that was when you had a functioning thyroid. Even with optimal thyroid hormone replacement if/when you reach that point, you are a person without a thyroid; and it's imperative that you nourish your body very well, for countless reasons. Not wishing to be in any way a nag of course, but with a thyroid disorder, we can't play fast and loose with our nutrition.
2. Have a comprehensive set of blood tests that include vitamins and minerals as advised by SeasideSusie above, and post the results for her and others to comment.
3. Supplement only where the tests results confirm you have a deficit.
4. Apart from a good B Complex if your results identify you need it, avoid multivits - they often don't provide the levels you need, or the forms that are best, can include things you don't need, or definitely shouldn't be supplementing inadvisably such as copper, or include things that work against each other.
I know you don't have diabetes but the diabetes.co.uk website have good dietary advice that could benefit someone who needs to improve nutrition. You can even register for a programme that helps to change the way you eat. I'm not diabetic but following the advice on a low carb, high (good) fats diet has made me eat more healthily. lowcarbprogram.com/?utm_sou...
I know this might sound odd but I find that I am not constipated after eating something fatty which I don't do often. Eating and very healthy diet i.e. fibre fruit and veg makes me constipation, the very opposite of what we read. I have been eating all the wrong things over Christmas cake, sweets, cream and I am fine, no constipation, lovely but very unhealthy long term.
There is a book Your Thyroid and how to keep it Healthy - by Dr Barry Durrant Peatfield -you may not now have a thyroid but this is an excellent easy to read book explaining much of what has happened and what you now need to do to get your body stronger enough to
withstand life without a fully functioning major gland.
You need to read and equip yourself in order to get yourself back on track.
In my experience the Nhs seems to be somewhat unconcerned about ongoing thyroid symptoms and are much restricted in the treatments options they can offer you.
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