Getting diagnosed with thyroid illness

[birkie]

Hi everyone ❤️

Just reading on here today and find it still discusting people are having trouble getting diagnosed because of their blood tests reading normal.. I can say that's poppycock because my gp constantly told me my thyroid tests were in range, well if that was the case why was I sweating profusely shaking, lost my hair lost over 2 stone in weight, and totally exhausted, I kept telling him it was not the menupause but he kept saying it was, I was offered antidepressants do GPS get some big commission on antidepressants because they give them out like sweets, but not T3, 😠 upshot in 2018 after me going to my gp nearly every fortnight I could no longer walk without aid, my son took me back to gp he did do blood they came back in range 😠 then 3 weeks later my son took me back down saw a diffrent gp she took one look at me and said you have an overactive thyroid I FLIPPIN KNOW I HAVE,, told her of my journey with the other gp but she just carried on getting blood from me, came back the next day as TSH suppressed, T3 24.8 how come it came back with in range 3 weeks ago and now it's defo overactive 😠 upshot I went in to thyroid crisis and lost my thyroid, I'm fully putting the blame on my surgery for this.. My gp who couldn't diagnose me saw my a month after my op he said "do you realise how ill you we're!!! Yes I did but you obviously didn't... I agree with Lora7again things should be revised like within range bood tests if your showing symptoms then surely they should be looking at them and not NHS guidelines, my gp nearly killed me having thyroid crisis is not nice I was in hospital for 11 days and that's long for this day and age, things need to change quickly.. Or do what I do now when GPS say your bloods are within range I say IN RANGE FOR WHO!!!! 👍

[jimh111]

It's very frustrating. There can be many reasons the blood test look normal when they are not. There can be interferences with the assays, giving a false high or normal TSH. Endocrine disrupting chemicals can affect peripheral tissues but not the pituitary -> normal blood tests. Doctors have a dreadful habit as treating TSH, fT3 and fT4 as independent when they are closely interlinked. Each can be within its interval but not functioning correctly as a system.

So glad at least one doctor saw sense and diagnosed you.

[birkie in reply to jimh111]

Hi jimh111

Thanks for the reply 👍 my gripe is when your clearly showing symptoms but GPS egnore them just because your bloods are within range, my father had numerous blood tests but nothing showed up until he permanently lost his voice gp said he had laryngitis when he actually had lung and throat cancer he died 2 years later so I'm not a fan of going off blood tests alone.. I can remember as a child in the 60s if you went to see the doctor he gave you a full examination, now your lucky if the doctor takes your blood pressure! Times have change and not for the better😠

[shaws in reply to birkie]

First of all, I'm sorry that you remained undiagnosed for a long time.

My doctor (after I said I would have to pay for a private test as there was something seriously wrong with me) he assured me that he would test everything. Later he phoned to tell me all my blood tests were fine.

Fine! !!!! How did he not notice that the TSH was 99? I was bedridden. Not only did GP fail, the person I paid also failed. The fact is that all doctors appear to have not undergone training for one of the commonest autoimmune conditions, which - if not diagnosed - the patient could go into a coma.

Obviously the majority of doctors are absolutely ignorant about one of the commonest diseases and before blood tests were introduced all doctors knew the clinical symptoms and people were given a trial of NDT (natural dessicated thyroid hormones) and if they were improving they stayed on it.

[birkie in reply to shaws]

Hi shaws

That's so bad of your doctors not to notice a TSH of 99...like you say you can go in to a coma if not treated.. My T4 went to 100 and my T3 was at 39 at one point with a suppressed TSH.. They got me to hospital when my gp noticed my oxygen level was critical I was totally out of it can't remember much of going to A&E .. I'm now on my thyroid journey after total removal of my thyroid I'm still totally lost don't feel much better and still have many bedridden days which I hate.. I wish they would just get me the right meds in the right amount.. I'm still hyper which bothers me I thought I'd be hypo.. 🤷‍♀️

[shaws]

Why is the (supposed to be) professional completely ignorant of the symptoms of hypothyroidism?

Before blood tests were introduced along with levothyroxine, all doctors diagnosed us upon clinical symptoms alone. Nowadays I doubt a doctor knows one clinical symptom, never mind the myriad of them.

[birkie in reply to shaws]

Complety agree with you shaws♥️

[PixieElv]

I am so sorry to hear about your awful story and feel for you. GPs seem to be happy to diagnose anything other than hypothyroidism.

My results are not as drastic as yours but I still have nasty symptoms. I’ve been offered HRT & anti depressants when I know it’s not that!

I am going to a private Endo next week and am hopefully he might listen to me.

[DeeFish71]

Exactly why they need to be educated more. These blood tests are useless. I haven't been well for 19 months now since a virus in March 2019 and there must be a reason for it! I am sick of being told my thyroid is "slightly borderline" - what does that even mean? I refuse to back down from my 100mg a day as I feel so tired, cold and terrible brain fog. I totally agree with your comments about antidepressants - could almost see the glee in my doctor's eyes when I agreed a year ago today to take a few months course of Sertraline. But I had to stop in 6 days as my left pupil dilated and went to an out of hours doctor (as called 111 and they told me to go IMMEDIATELY), and he said to come off them as no matter if it were SNRIs or SSRIs, its dangerous for someone with a closely related condition to glaucoma should be on them at all. The doctor did not believe me that I had even BEEN to that appointment, as it had been marked "private" - how I do not know cos if anything I had specifically asked for the information to be passed on to her. I wanted an endocronolist referral last year too and went back to see her and she said "they don;t want to see you" - I was shocked and upset - she must have totally played down my symptoms to them.