I’m a 27 year old woman. About nearly 1 and half year ago I went to the doctors to have a blood test for something different then once the results came in I was put on levothyroxine 25mg. This was very confusing as this was the first time I ever heard about this. I don’t really remember having any symptoms of hypothyroidism before hand. Is it common of women my age to be diagnosed with hypothyroidism? Is it a good thing I’m on medication so soon? I assume it’s a good thing being spotted early since I guess this would have given me a lot of problems the older I get?
I have done research myself about this since my GP haven’t really ever fully explained anything to me, even when I ask they talk gibberish to me.
I’m now on 50mg of levothyroxine...
Thanks for your time
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CheetahPanda
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No, you're not particularly young to be on levo - but because for most of us it's a life-long thing, obv many hypo people are older
You will have learnt that your GP knows very little about the condition, so please look at the questions and answers here to help you get to know more. Have a rootle around the hypo section of the main Thyroid UK site and helvella 's excellent glossary (saved in "pinned posts") to get to grips with the jargon.
But to start you off, a few things to mention:
* to get the most from your levo, take it on an empty stomach, just with water, an hour before or two hours after other drink and food. It makes no difference if you take it in the morning, the evening or split the dose, but we recommend on here having a (regular) gap of 24 hours from your previous dose of levo before each blood test, (then take the next dose) so that you have a representative level of hormone in you at the test, rather than a spike from just having had your meds.
* always have an early morning, fasting blood test (before 9am) - as TSH is highest then and so many GPs are TSH obsessed.
* always get your actual blood results afterwards - don't rely on some receptionist saying they're ok or (dread phrase) "In range" or "getting there" or other such twaddle. You want actual numbers and the related lab ranges (which vary from lab to lab). If you post them here afterwards the lovely people here will help you understand them
* getting your results also shows how much (or little) has been tested. Too often it's just TSH - and this isn't enough. If you're lucky they also test free T4 - but FULL testing is TSH, free T4, free T3, thyroid antibodies (unless already tested and shown as high) AND key nutrients - ferritin, folate, vit D and B12. If your GP can't/won't test all of those, treat yourself to private tests if only once.
* the nutrients are important because so many hypos are deficient and need to supplement - and you need good levels for your levo to work best. But GPs aren't taught about nutrition so don't know this. I've had some success with my GP by saying that these are the tests recommended by Thyroid UK
It is surprising that there is a big learning curve as the majority of patients, when finally diagnosed had no knowledge of a thyroid gland or its function. I had never heard of 'thyroid gland' but neither did any of the medical professionals I consulted. Whatever they charged for a consultation they didn't return it when I finally diagnosed myself TSH was 100.
No, not too young. I started showing signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism when I was 25, it took 2 years of repeated visits to the doctor for him to stop blaming the fact that I was tired due to having two young children and start taking me seriously, and that's only because my husband came with me and told the doctor that he needs to do something because he's sick of me! I was 27 when eventually tested and when he had the results the doctor said "Oh, you really are poorly!"
I think you are very fortunate that you have been spared years of feeling ill and getting nowhere. Take what's offered but learn as much as you can so you can help yourself too 😊
You might find the link below helpful. Few, if any, GPs seem to be knowledgeable about dysfunctional thyroid glands and usually don't increase our dose to optimal and are happy to keep TSH somewhere in the range, instead to 1 or lower:-
Taking a Vitamin D supplement lowered thyroid antibodies in Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and this may just help you feel better! (3).
So many people who see me have been told there is absolutely no way to reduce thyroid antibodies and yet there are scientists working on this problem at this very moment and publishing papers like this one to give us all hope and a direction to follow.
The Vitamin D & Hashimoto’s Story So Far:
We’ve known for some time that low vitamin D status was associated with the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the US, UK and Australia – an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
What we’ve not known was if increasing vitamin D levels would have any impact on Hashimoto’s (1,2)
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after any dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg
Likely to need further increases in levothyroxine over coming months
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
Many people find different brands are not interchangeable
Important to regularly retest vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 as we are often vitamin deficient with hypothyroidism, especially if cause of your hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
Request thyroid antibodies tested at next bloods if not been tested yet
Always test thyroid levels as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
I was on brand Mercury pharma but now on the brand almus.
I was diagnosed very early 20s. Other than viral type fatigue I had no symptoms. I didn’t get other symptoms until I was put on Levo. Luckily my doc was decent and got me on 100 straight away (TSH was mid-30s!). Good job you have found this site early - took me nearly 10 years of misery.
No you are not to young to be diagnosed, I was diagnosed as a child, at about the age of 6 years old, have a under active thyroid. Have taken thyroxine for about 60 odd years.
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I must be well then
Any help would be appreciated
Newly diagnosed!
Am I likely to be mildly hypo or full blown?
Levothyroxine and periods
