My story

[doreenrj56]

My thyroid diagnosis came about 6 years ago when I had a routine physical with blood work. My TSH was high at 6.59. My doctor prescribed levothyroxine. At that time I didn’t have many symptoms other than some weight gain which I attributed to menopause. About 3 years ago I started having symptoms of brain fog and trouble sleeping. My dose of levothyroxine has been changed several times and I had moments of feeling “normal”. In December 2019 I had a flu-like virus (Covid?) with a fever and upper respiratory symptoms. I noticed a feeling of fatigue and more brain fog after that. My thyroid antibodies are high indicating Hashimoto’s. On 75 mcg of levothyroxine my TSH was very low so my doctor suggested I stop taking it for 5 days then retest. My TSH went from very low, 0.5, to high, 7.95, in 5 days. I had extreme dizziness and felt very unwell. That was 2 months ago. My new doctor suggested Armour, starting at 45 mg and then upped to 60 mg. My fatigue and brain fog is no better. A hormone panel shows my sex hormones are off (I’m post menopause) and my ferritin is 7. So I may be anemic. I feel alone in this condition and am looking for support and any helpful hints for things that have worked for others.

[RoboTh]

Your ferritin needs treatment, it's extremely low. Good luck x

[Jazzw]

I would wager you have never been on enough thyroid hormone replacement (I can’t believe your doctor advised to stop taking your levothyroxine dose altogether. Well—actually I can. We see it all sorts of horrors here… ).

One grain of NDT (60mg) is not a large dose. I take almost three times as much. You might not need as much as me but I’m almost positive you’ll find you need more, once you know which tests to ask for. And TSH in a patient who is being treated for hypothyroidism is not a reliable measure for dosing purposes. We frequently see people having their doses reduced because of low TSH—but it’s FT3 and FT4 that need to be measured. If those aren’t over-range, you aren’t overmedicated. If they’re low in range, you’ll be undermedicated.

Because you’ve been left undermedicated for so long, you’ve probably developed nutrient deficiencies (being undermedicated results in poor gut absorption). You almost certainly do have iron deficiency anaemia—is your doctor doing further tests to check (because they should!)? You need to have an iron panel which includes testing serum iron, transferrin saturation percentage, TIBC plus ferritin. This will tell you if you have iron deficiency.

[doreenrj56 in reply to Jazzw]

My internal medicine doctor ordered a complete blood test last week. They took 6 vials of blood so I think she’s looking at a lot of things. I see her tomorrow to go over results. The functional medicine nurse practitioner ran a hormone panel. I don’t see her for 2 weeks to go over those results. Something is definitely off and I have zero energy and motivation. Also very light headed.

[Jazzw in reply to doreenrj56]

Yes, not having enough thyroid hormone onboard would definitely do that! Don’t just accept whatever they say though—get your hands on the blood test results (including the reference ranges) and post them here for advice. We frequently find doctors don’t really understand thyroid disorders—many don’t get a lot of training on it at medical school.

Something else to consider is Vitamin B12, folate and Vitamin D deficiencies. All are very common in undermedicated hypothyroidism and any one of them can leave you feeling terrible.

[mistydog in reply to Jazzw]

Second all of this.

[shaws Administrator in reply to doreenrj56]

When we're diagnosed as having hypothyroidism, the aim is a TSH of 1 or lower with both Free T4 qnd Free T3 in the upper part of the ranges.

@Jazzw

[doreenrj56]

Here are my results from the functional medicine nurse practitioner as of 2 weeks ago

[Hidden in reply to doreenrj56]

I'd delete this picture if I were you, it contains a lot of personal info. I've reported it to admin in case they can remove quicker!

[doreenrj56 in reply to Hidden]

Not sure how to delete.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to doreenrj56]

Doreen, I have done it for you. To edit a post you click on MORE below the post then you have the option of editing or deleting the post. To remove an image you click on EDIT then REMOVE PICTURE.

[doreenrj56 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Doreenj56

A Ferritin of 7 is iron deficiency which needs treating. You can have iron deficiency with or without anaemia.

Symptoms of iron deficiency can mirror or coincide with those in thyroid disease. They include:

◾Persistent fatigue

◾Pale skin

◾Shortness of breath

◾Headaches

◾Dizziness

◾Heart palpitations

◾Dry skin

◾Brittle hair and hair loss

◾Swelling or soreness of the tongue or mouth

◾Restless legs

◾Brittle or ridged nails

[doreenrj56 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I have all of those symptoms!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to doreenrj56]

doreenrj56

Well a ferritin level of 7 does confirm iron deficiency so your doctor should be treating you for that, also you need a full blood count to see if you have anaemia.

[ZeilaJee]

It's extremely difficult to get a doctor to prescribe Armour as it's expensive and I would get ducks in a row before you jettison the opportunity to be on it - if it may suit you. It takes some time - on here people have said about 6 weeks I think - for all thyroid meds to settle down in the body. NDT has both T3 and T4 in it, not in complete harmony with the human system but maybe better than T4 /Levo alone. Your doctors are taking notice of you! How fortunate is that? Your symptoms sound very Hashi's to me.

[FancyPants54]

You have the thyroid loss of outer eyebrows problem by the look of your photo. So you have probably been under dosed for a long time.

[doreenrj56 in reply to FancyPants54]

I do! And have been losing hair in general.

[FancyPants54 in reply to doreenrj56]

You are low. You need a dose increase.

[shaws Administrator]

Don't worry too much about your TSH as it isn't too high. When I was diagnosed my GP said I had nothing wrong. He didn't seem to understand what a TSH of 100 indicated.

You are fortunate to have been prescribed Armour as it contains all of the hormons a healthy thyroid gland would do. It is a popular replacement with small frequent increases until you feel well and symptoms relieved.

Usually we start on a dose and then after six weeks have a new blood test followed by a small increase. It is a fasting test but we can drink water.

In order to get the earliest blood draw, make your appointment weeks ahead so that you have a choice. It is a fasting test and don't take thyroid hormones before blood draw and take it afterwards. Also request B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate to be tested too.