Thyroid UK

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Hypothyroidism symptoms

I have been having weird symptoms since beginning of this year,muscle aches,leg pains,internal shakiness,anxiety,nervousness etc

I went for several test but it all came out fine but then I decided to check my thyroid since the symptoms I saw online was what I had..I checked my tyroid and my TSH was 5.6 but the doctor said it wasn’t that high so I wasn’t given any treatment

I’m still having severe symptoms,it’s making me go crazy ,meanwhile I’m just 19

Plss help me out ,is TSH of 5.6 not high enough for thyroid issues???

It’s just affecting my whole body ,I don’t know if it was what affect my sinuses because I also have facial pain and blocked nose and as of last 2 months I got a cold ,since then I have been having reocurrent sore tongue,throat and mouth ulcers

I don’t know what else to do because I’m tired of going to hospital and they keep giving me drugs of what isn’t happening to me ,some would end up saying is just anxiety..everyone is tired about my case ,my parents are tired of wasting money on what isn’t yielding anything

I dont deserve this health issue at this my age ,I’m just suffering this alone so pls here is a copy of my test

Help take a look at it and help me out

I’m so thankful for seeing this forum

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TSH test

56 Replies

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I know how you feel. You HAVE to get a new doctor. It's been hell for me. Your TSH is too high but what you really really really need checked is your Free T3, Free T4, and RT3. The TSH is your brain SCREAMING for T3. I know what it feels like; it's like your insides are trembling and the panic is horrific! Order the book Stop the Thyroid Madness off of Amazon. It'll teach you everything your doctor doesn't know. You HAVE to get on thyroid medication that has T3 in it. Do NOT allow them to give you T4 only because it's clear your body cannot covert the T4 into what it needs to stay alive which is T3. Please get that book, it'll save your life like it did mine. So many doctors are not educated in the Thyroid. Please take care of yourself and fight for your health.

You haven’t seen the above persons labs. You are advising someone to take hormone replacement in which they may or may not need. Ask for labs. Then advise.

Yikes

What else would a high TSH tell you NY?

You should read that book too. It provides all the science on TSH

I’ve visited STTMs website, it’s a load of garbage.

Yikes okay. Sorry you feel that way

Agreed, that site is a bunch of hogwash and can be dangerous. Hormones are nothing to play with. At the same time, the OP does need to find a new doctor that will listen and work with them. Don't worry, T4 is usually satisfactory for most people. It's not the end of the world if u do eventually have to take T3. Have the doc do a full thyroid panel to see a full picture of your situation. Hang in there, it does get better.

Before I get yelled at some more, what are your labs?

My labs are irrelevant to this and the above poster.

The above poster can just be undermedicated on levo. Without labs, you do not know.

I can respect that. No worries. Didn’t ask for your labs. Asked the person you were yelling at me about

No one is yelling at you.

My free T3 and T34was okay

If you post your labs, then someone with more experience can advise you a bit better

Including FT4/FT3/TSH

Instead of just assuming you need T3.

I have posted it dear ,check it out Thanks😊

Oof you must feel terrible with a tsh that high and frees that low. I’m not qualified well enough to advise, but lots of members on here will report back to you now that your labs have been posted. Good luck! And hopefully you feel better soon

Thank you dear

You’re welcome. Good luck! Report back

Hello Brandy and welcome to the forum :

If you go onto the Thyroid uk website, this is the charity who support this forum :

You will find a good explanation of the symptoms associated with both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism - sadly some cross over, but generally you will be able to identify yourself as with hypothyroidism and start ticking off those symptoms that apply to you and list them down so you are better prepared at your next doctor appointment.

Generally speaking when a TSH rises above 3 - one is said to be hypothyroid and a few years ago in the uk the NHS started treatment when a TSH rose above 5 : and this was generally in line with most other countries.

However the NHS guidelines for treatment for hypothyroidism now do not register you until your TSH rises above 10 :

You might like to try a different doctor who maybe more sympathetic especially if you list all your symptoms and explain how your life is now compromised as you can't continue with your work / study requirements.

I have been having weird symptoms since beginning of this year,muscle aches,leg pains,internal shakiness,anxiety,nervousness etc

In a country where the treatment of hypothyroidism has some compassion in it, you would be treated with a TSH of 5. But unfortunately thyroid treatment is very poor indeed in the UK.

[Edit - 24 hours after posting : I've just realised you are living in Nigeria, not the UK, sorry. So most of my reply is not relevant to you.]

Something to be aware of is that nutrient deficiencies are extremely common in people with thyroid disease. Many of us on this forum discover we have low nutrients and we buy our own supplements.

First things first... You need to ask for access to your medical records and blood tests online. If your surgery doesn't have this facility then you need to ask for copies of your blood test results. Keeping records from now on is essential if you want to have any hope of regaining your health. Don't ask doctors for access to your results or for printouts of them - ask the receptionists. You are legally entitled to get access or copies. They aren't supposed to ask why you want the information, but it is easier just to say that you "want a copy for your records so you can monitor your health".

Some of your symptoms suggest the following possibilities to me :

muscle aches,leg pains - could be low vitamin D, low magnesium, low vitamin B12, low folate.

internal shakiness,anxiety,nervousness - could be low vitamin B12, low folate, low ferritin (iron stores) or low serum iron. Could also be poor adrenal function (which is often associated with thyroid disease).

None of the things I've mentioned above will fix your thyroid - for that you need thyroid hormones to be prescribed. But since your doctor has said no, in the meantime you will improve how you feel by optimising your nutrient levels.

If you can get your doctor to test your levels of vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, and (with a lot of luck) an iron panel, then get hold of the results and reference ranges, post them in a new post and ask for feedback we can interpret them and tell you which supplements you might need to take and at what dose. It would also help if you had zinc and copper tested as well, but many of us never get that done.

There is no point in testing magnesium by the way. Most of your magnesium is found in your body's cells, not your bloodstream. There is just a tiny amount of magnesium in your blood. When the amount needed in your blood drops too low it gets "stolen" from the cells. So the blood very rarely looks low in magnesium, while your cells could be crying out for it. The only prerequisite for supplementing magnesium is that you have functioning kidneys. If you supplemented too much magnesium your kidneys would expel the excess in urine if your kidneys worked.

If your doctor won't test any of the things I've suggested then we can tell you how to get them done privately with a finger-prick test. (Summary - Buy a kit online, prick fingers to drip blood in a little vial, send the vial back to the lab through the post, get results via email or via the testing site website.)

Good day I have the copy of the tyroid function test I did

Meanwhile I’ve gone to different labs to request for vitamin deficiency test but they would always tell me they don’t perform it

Good morning to you ;

I'm guessing you are not in the Uk as the Thyroid uk website gives details of companies where you can acquire one blood test for everything as detailed above.

If you care to share your blood test result and ranges with us you will be talked through what it all means.

I’ve shared the copy of the blood test on my post already

I'm sorry but I can't find a T3 and T4 result with the ranges in the above :

OK I've just refreshed the page my end and see a photo has been inserted.

Ok then - this so goes to show how the reliance on just a TSH is a worthless test especially when you have a guideline suggesting you can't treat before the TSH rises above 10 - as currently in the UK :

So your T3 isn't even in range and below the recommended base level :

Your T4 is barely in range at just 8 points into a range of 81 so at about 10% :

Did you show the doctor this results and if so what was said ?

He saw the test but he said the test is not that bad therefore I wasn’t given medications

Can you see another doctor ?

Is there an option of taking a " responsible " adult along with you to appointments ?

Other doctors keep saying I’m too small to have tyroid issue that it isn’t it but then I went back to the place I had this test this week He considered I should start taking Levothyroxine to see if there would be differences

Well, some doctors say a load of rubbish as you clearly need medication so go back to the doctor who suggested starting treatment with Levothyroxine and start getting to feel better.

Take the tablet with a glass of water, on an empty stomach, and wait about an hour before you eat or drink anything.

Many people take it in the morning : Others take it at bedtime :

Some, when waking up to use the bathroom in the early hours :

It doesn't matter as Levothyroxine is a storage hormone and needs to be converted by your body into T3 the active hormone that the body runs on.

After 6-8 weeks on this first dose you will need another blood test and probably another dose increase which should be by just 25 mcg a day - it can be a slow process but you will start to feel better once you are on a decent dose and you will see your TSH come down to around 1 : your T3 come in and go up the range and your T4 increase in the range - most people preferring their T3 / T4 in the top half/quarter of the ranges.

It is also important to check your antibodies as there are could be thyroid auto immune disease causing you further health issues.

Your body needs to be able to utilise the medication as well as possible and this needs your core strength vitamins and minerals to be at good levels in their ranges.

It will be useful to test your levels of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D as these all need to be optimal for Levothyroxine to work well in the body and convert to T3 which is what gives you the debilitating symptoms you are currently suffering with.

Okay thanks so much dearI appreciate

Hopefully the next time I would go to hospital I will request for the tests

Please can I also ask After I got a cold i started having sore throat ,painful tongues and mouth ulcers including thrush

Could it be possibly related to tyroid?

It could well be - go into the Thyroid UK website - there is a page dedicated to symptoms of hypothyroidism.

You are very run down and am guessing that your ferritin, B12, folate and vitamin D will also be low and suggest you get these checked out sooner rather than later.

Can this doctor who offered you a trial of Levothyroxine run these for you as well as the antibodies ?

I don’t really know if he would do it I won’t be going there for now till I’m able to gather some amount of money myself since everyone has given up on my case

And I think the more you want to check ,the higher the amount

So I think I would just get the Levothyroxine and be taking for now

Well, we will not stop trying to help you - do you have anyone you can talk all this through with and where are you ?

Well I have my mum but my health issues really affected her because of different tests we went for including CT scan of head It really costed her much so at a time she gave up on going to hospital and praying that I will be fine because must doctors told her is anxiety which I was very sure I’m not having and my mum basically believed the doctors at some point since there was no diagnosis

So at this point I will have to carry my cross alone

I really appreciate the fact that I was able to come across this forum 🤲

Thanks for trying to reach out to my messages ,I appreciate

Ok - but talk through this all through with your Mum, show her the blood test as this proves you have hypothyroidism and that you need medication - Levothyroxine.

We all trust doctors until we know differently : please start reading up as the more you learn the more you will be able to look after yourself and not have to pay doctors talking rubbish.

Please read up on the Thyroid uk website as this is the charity who support this forum, and come back with any questions you may have.

Take good care, and share this all with Mum as you need to reduce your own anxiety :

Thanks a lot I appreciate 😊😊

This member is in Nigeria

Yes - I found this out reading through other posts :

Thank you:

Golly it's all got very upsetting reading through these other dialogues :

I just hope the original poster will not be discouraged to come back on if need be :

Is T3 and T 4 different from free T3 and free T4?

Yes, but we need free T3 and free T4 and that is what has been tested.

Well like I said, you need T3! Your labs are showing your Pituitary gland (TSH) screaming at your thyroid to wake up. Your T3 is low. It needs to be in the mid to upper 3s.

So can I get Levothyroxine for it?

The principle is that if you take T4 (levothyroxine) it will get converted in your body to T3 - as needed.

Many find this is not a smooth and bump-free road, and some definitely need T3 (liothyronine) at some point.

But as your Free T4 is low in range at present, it seems entirely appropriate to try levothyroxine and see what happens. That could be all you need. Or it could provide 90% (or whatever) of the answer even if, eventually, you add T3 (liothyronine).

Alright thank you

Why does she need T3? That’s a last resort if Levothyroxine at an appropriate dose fails to raise the FT3 via conversion?

This response is not accurate. She will only need to have T3 if Levo fails

Thank you so much 😔😔I appreciate No doctor ever mentioned this to me

I will message you right away

FT4 is very low too. Tsh very high.

Most members on here would advise to get your tsh down to 1 and FT4 upper range to evaluate conversion and the need for T3. This is what I was advised on here by other members and by my endo to evaluate the need for T3 meds.

No worries

Taking Synthroid and lowering tsh will kill people?

If you have a medical degree, I hope I never get sick wherever u practice medicine.

I’m not trolling, but advising someone to take T3 when they may not need it can be haphazard and dangerous.

Not only are you advising someone to take T3 when they’re clearly not optimally medicated on levo, you’re also advising dosages! Telling them to take 30 then 60 and stabilize after 2-4 weeks and go up to 90.

Even if the above poster were to switch to ndt, what makes you think you know how much they need?

You’re also advising someone to make treatment decisions based on the STTM website. That website is utter garbage and sometimes downright dangerous. It constantly advises being thyrotoxic, that MORE hormone is better. More hormone isn’t always better and it’s definitely not safe

Message me if you have anymore questions.

This is a FORUM.

The huge advantage of that is if someone makes a mistake in providing advice, others can comment and (hopefully) put it right.

We expressly discourage members taking issues to private messages (with the exception of things like sources of medicines and opinions of doctors which cannot be done on forum).

Please do not ask members to take discussion to private messages.

These tests are almost eight months old Brandy. You need Complete set of thyroid tests which are recent. Post them here and you’ll get help and support.

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Hypothyroidism symptoms

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