New to this forum and would be greatful for any advice, brief history. Diagnosed with fibromyalgia late 2016, worsening symptoms informed it was probably menopause as i was 46 at the time. Had covid in october 2020 and since have felt generally unwell all symptoms of hypothyroidism found GP not supportive finally had my bloods taken at local ED where thyroid was 8. Now struggling with actually seeing a GP they have started me on Levo 50mg without an assessment, they wont do antibody testing. What should i be doing and what should the GP be doing. Symptoms have not improved been taking them for 3 weeks. Was looking at going to a private endocrinologist. Live in Worcestershire but i am willing to travel if anyone has found a specialist that actually listens and knows what they are talking about.
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Nattie663
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First step is to get full thyroid and vitamin testing done in 3-5 weeks time
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
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
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)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue
Thank you SlowDragon. I have managed to get some blood tests done today. However I didn’t know about the not taking medication before hand however she didn’t put TSH or T4 as those were only done 3 weeks ago. I’ve had antibodies and hormone vitamin d ferritin. Had other vitamins done previously. I will keep you all updated thank you 😊
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Newly diagnosed hypothyroidism.
Subclinical hypothyroidism
Newly diagnosed with sub clinical hypothyroidism 
Subclinical hypothyroidism 
Subclinical Hypothyroid 
