His there I've been told by the doc I might have a underactive thyroid until now never even knew really anything about what it was or even heard of it...
After reading the symptoms I've had and how I am now it makes perfect sense that this could be the problem of why I've not been great ..I've had blood taking today and results next week ..so hopefully maybe I am wrong and it's not a thyroid issue even though it's treatable and you can still love a noreal life for me if it is then at least I know what it is and I can move forward and hopefully get help with sites like this to cope with it..straight away I've bought gluten free cornflakes with lacto milk that on one hand says you can have it ..then on another says you can't..please could anyone point me in the right direction to a Web page that really helps you with the does and don't's. .and any early advice would be of help thanks..
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Spodgie
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You may not have to give up gluten or dairy. That's usually suggested for people to try if they have autoimmune thyroid disease, aka Hashimoto's, which is present when thyroid antibodies are raised.
The best thing you can do is wait until you get your results, then pop them on here, along with their reference ranges, so that members can comment. Ideally you need the following tested as a starting point:
TSH
FT4
FT3
Thyroid antibodies
When doing thyroid tests, we always advise:
* always book the very first appointment of the morning
* 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 a diagnosis (also when on Levo and 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.
These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.
Hi susie 1stly thanks so much for your reply I greatly appreciate your advice ..your right wait for results then I will take it from there ..I am glad I joined because I left the docs with so many questions I wanted to ask...but reassuringly I can get help here also..thank's again
You can read Thyroid UK's website but until you have results of blood tests there is not much point in making food changes unless to improve general nutrition to eat more heathily as you don't have the evidence yet to prove a thyroid condition.
Thanks so much for your response 1stly and yes waiting till results come back then I can take it from there..defo upbeat already after joining this site and for the early advice ..thanks
hello Spodgie, I'm quite a Newby here I've just done my first month on Levo having been diagnosed underactive and positive for antibodies. There is so much info out there, some confusing, some plain stupid, some just trying to flog you their own label vitamins. It left me feeling very lost. I have been reading thru the posts on here, and am beginning to understand the condition and feel more comfortable in myself. It helps to know you are not alone. Good luck with your journey xx
Thank's for the reply and advice appreciate it.. even this morn I am up early for wor and wondering can I have tea coffee and with or without milk haha I need to laugh I suppose until I get my results back thur I am going to just gather as much info on it as possible then see where I am in my journey if that's the case...xx good luck to you also speak again
The antibodies that destroy the thyroid gland are many, and tests are normally only administered for the common antibodies. I don't have the common ones, but the uncommon.
You could be gluten and/or lactose intolerant with or without thyroid disease. There is a specific gene for gluten intolerance, and one for lactose intolerance. (23andMe tests for those common things)
Hypothyroidism is a epidemic of global scale and is so often overlooked that it contributes to a great many chronic diseases that could be averted if only people had proper thyroid levels in their bodies. Hypothyroidism can cause a lot of digestive issues, such as low stomach acid, leaky gut, etc., and many far worse pulmonary and cardiac problems.
When I was diagnosed (and at first I wasn't diagnosed, though I had loads of symptoms of hypothyroidism) I left everything to the endocrinologist. Then I discovered that doctors are not all knowing, and I had to learn about my own condition by reading medical textbooks and clinical articles (not opinions from people selling things).
Your thyroid gland controls your metabolism at the cellular level. It is responsible for producing T3, the hormone that enables all of the cells in your body to function properly (all of them!). Doctors may recall from medical school that ATP is essential to the cell's operation, but they often weren't listening when it was explained that the T3 hormone first has to be powering a cell so it can produce the ATP. If the cells cannot grab onto enough T3, this throws off the energy processes in your mitochondria throughout your body.
Clinicians (and helpful friends) are trained to take individual symptoms and find diseases to match them, prescribing pharmaceuticals, or suggesting nutritional supplements such as B-12 in a valiant attempt to fix things that are caused by lack of T3 at the cellular level. They are prone to overlook the big picture of a collection of symptoms pointing to a need to augment with bio identical hormone to power the poor little mitochondria whose struggles are leading to symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, tingling in the extremities, pain in the joints and muscles, insomnia, weakened immune system, anaemia, tendon entrapment, memory problems, urinary urgency, poor lipid metabolism (high cholesterol), irregular heartbeat, weakened respiratory drive, dry skin, hair loss, digestive problems.
All the while, one may have blood levels of thyroid hormone that look adequate or perhaps even good, so don't be pleased if the report comes back that all is OK if you are having symptoms of hypothyroidism.
If reverse T3 is causing you to not convert enough of the T4 your thyroid produces and stores into T3 to power cells, it's due to a genetic polymorphism. My polymorphism produces reverse T3 in response to T4. The result of taking a standard replacement dose of levothyroxine (LT4) was not good. It was ugly and it dragged on for months as I got sicker and sicker. My endocrinologist didn't understand rT3, but he does now!
As I understand, the antibodies do not themselves attack the thyroid gland.
Both Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin antibodies are found in the blood because Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin have entered the bloodstream from the thyroid.
Thank you for clarifying. When I didn't test positive for the normal antibodies, I didn't give understanding it any further thought. All I know is the 12-cylinder Rolls Royce thyroid gland is only running on 6 cylinders now, and that no so well. And that I have the polymorphism for the obscure antibodies.
Hi Spodgie - thyroid problems may not concern many food intolerances but think it is a good idea to cut down on sugar by lactase free milk, and eating gluten free food. I have had hyper thyroid and underactive thyroid, but recently found I had food intolerances which affected my health - I was not gluten intolerant but multi grain intolerant, egg,
dairy & banana. I had the test done through a pharmacy, it was a German smart test and cost £70. The test was only available last January 18.
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