I have had an under active thyroid for 30 years with just a tiny slither of gland left. On 100 ms per day Thryroxin. For the last year and a half I have felt so ill, had to stop work. Half of of the week I am bed bound.
My symptoms are:
Low energy/chronic fatigue, waves heat temperature night and day, restless legs (now augmented) loss of appetite and sometimes nausea. Also cramp type pains in legs.
I have seen a chronic fatigue specialist who diagnosed chronic fatigue due to chronic sleep deprivation, (over 30 years due to RSL).
I am also seeing an Endo on Monday. Do you think sleep deprivation causes all of this or could it be an auto immune disease?
Also I am 61 do you think theses results could be plain and simply, (but not!) menopause?
My last blook tests showed high IGM levels. What do you think this may point too?
I would be very greatfull if anyone could look at this and tell me what they think. I feel so unwell but need to get back to work.
Best wishes
Jane
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smilingjane
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I have had an under active thyroid for 30 years with just a tiny slither of gland left
Have you had a partial thyroidectomy?
It would help us to help you if you can post your most recent test results. For a full picture we need to see:
TSH
FT4
FT3
Thyroid antibodies
And because low nutrient levels can cause symptoms, sometimes they overlap with symptoms of hypothyroidism, these tests are also essential:
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
If you can post the reference ranges (usually in brackets by the side of the result on a print out which you can obtain from the receptionist at your GP surgery) then this helps us interpret the results, ranges are needed as they vary from lab to lab.
My last blook tests showed high IGM levels. What do you think this may point too?
I can't help with that, perhaps ask your GP to explain.
I think it's simply being hypo that causes all your symptoms - and possibly nutritional deficiencies, which hypos often have. 100 mcg levo is only a small dose, you probably need an increase. So, it would help if you could post all your results and ranges, it would help us to help you.
High IMG levels indicate an autoimmune disease. So, you probably have Hashi's. Have you had your TPO antibodies tested?
Restless legs, cramps, and muscle spasms of all sorts are usually caused by nutrient deficiencies, the most common ones being low magnesium, low iron and/or ferritin (iron stores), low vitamin D, potassium, and in cases where people have chosen to eat a low salt diet, then low sodium can cause cramps as well.
If your thyroid hormone levels are not ideal for you that can also cause all sorts of problems in just about any tissue and organ in the body. Hypothyroidism usually lowers stomach acid, and gut issues are an extremely common effect of that. With low stomach acid the body can't extract nutrients from food very well and so low nutrients are extremely common in hypothyroid patients. Low nutrients have a complete set of their own symptoms to add to the symptoms from low thyroid - in fact it is often hard to say which condition is causing what.
Magnesium : There is no point measuring magnesium levels. The tests available are very poor. Only about 1% of the magnesium in the body is found in the blood stream. When the levels get too low the body just steals magnesium from other cells in the body to maintain the level in the blood. So a good level in a test could hide a massive deficiency elsewhere.
Luckily, as long as your kidneys are functioning reasonably well, it is safe to supplement magnesium because if you take too much the kidneys will excrete any excess via the urine. The normal daily dose of elemental (pure) magnesium required is about 300mg - 400mg per day. Magnesium supplements come in many different forms, some much better than others. See these links and choose a supplement that appeals to you :
Magnesium is often best taken in the evening because sleepiness as a side effect is common.
Iron : This is something that cannot be taken without thorough testing first because excess iron is poisonous. Anyone low in iron who takes supplements must keep tabs on their iron and ferritin (iron stores) levels to be sure that they don't overdo it and poison themselves. Unfortunately, poor absorption of iron is very common and so improving an iron deficit can be very slow. But there are some people who absorb it reasonably well so levels should never be taken for granted.
You could ask your doctor for a full iron panel. If they agree it is common for people to only get given a Full Blood Count or just a Ferritin test, neither of which is adequate on their own for testing iron. Another alternative is you can pay for a private test which requires just a finger-prick sample.
Once you have some results start a new thread and copy in the results and reference ranges into the post and ask for feedback. Give the thread an informative title - it helps to get relevant replies.
Potassium : This nutrient is of vital importance in the body and having the wrong levels has effects on every single cell in the body, including the muscles, and that includes the heart which is also a muscle. Getting it wrong with potassium can cause arrhythmia and other dangerous effects, so caution should be exercised in supplementing potassium. The best way of improving potassium is with food. Do a search for "Lists of potassium rich foods" and make sure that you always keep some in stock. The ones most people are familiar with for improving potassium are bananas and coconut water.
Personally, I keep some potassium supplements available anyway. If I get cramps I will take a single dose (as stated on the bottle). I don't take potassium every day.
A blog post I like on the subject of potassium is this one from Dr Malcolm Kendrick. The comments are worth reading too :
Sodium : If I've taken a dose of magnesium and a dose of potassium (or eaten a banana or drunk some coconut water) and I still have cramp or restless legs, I will then take some salt - either quarter of a teaspoon in a small glass of water or I will make myself a cup of this stuff which I always keep handy - it has a lot of salt in it but is more palatable than salt water :
Vitamin D : Low vitamin D is very common in hypothyroid people. Optimising it has lots of benefits. You'll find lots of info on vitamin D on the forum, and SeasideSusie 's posts are a wonderful source of info on lots of supplements. Look for info in her replies to others :
If I have cramp or restless legs I consider that to be urgent and I will dose myself with magnesium first (although I take magnesium most days anyway), then I will take potassium if the magnesium doesn't help within 5 - 10 minutes. I take dose of potassium as given on the bottle, although I'll eat a banana as an alternative if I have some. If I still have cramp or restless legs 5 - 10 minutes after taking potassium then I'll try the salt fix I mention earlier in this post.
Fixing low vitamin D and iron are long-term rather than emergency measures for restless legs and/or cramp. If it turns out that your iron levels are low or deficient you can get information on here on how to supplement safely.
I used to suffer both restless legs and cramp several times a week. Since treating my own nutrient deficiencies I almost never get either of these things. On the rare occasions when I do get them I use my emergency measures and they've always worked (so far).
Unlikely to get FULL Thyroid and vitamin testing on NHS.....but see what results you can get
Get any missing tests privately
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels are extremely common and low B12 gets worse as we are
Low vitamin levels result in poor conversion of FT4 to FT3. Then TsH is low and Ft4 high.....results in being hypo, but bloods look "normal"
You may need to get full Thyroid testing privately as NHS refuses to test TG antibodies if TPO antibodies are negative and rarely tests Ft3
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
Cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3 £29 (via NHS private service )
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loss of appetite and sometimes nausea. Also cramp type pains in legs.
Thyroid/sleep investigations, implications
West Sussex/Hampshire/Surrey borders endo recommendation please
THYROID HELP- DOCS APPOINTMENT 
Does this sound thyroid related?
