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Tradoc profile image
24 Replies

So back at the doctor's again this morning for another blood test as I'm still not eating or feeling good.

She hit my elbows and knees with a hammer thingy and she now thinks I'm hyper. So confused. I've booked a private endo but can't see him until march 19

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Tradoc
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24 Replies
tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

The hammer test was probably to see if your reflexes are too fast or too slow . Too little thyroid hormone means they become slower than usual , whereas too much thyroid hormone makes them go faster than usual.

It's an old test from the days before they had blood tests.... however it's more usually done on the ankle reflex when assessing symptoms of hypothyroidism .

Did you ever find the range for your recent fT4 test ?

test result was 24 ish .(if range was [12-22] then that's not very much over range.. if it was [7 -14 ] then it's more over rage.

But when GP says "you're hyper now" , she doesn't mean "you've got hyperthyroidism" .. she just means "you're a bit overmedicated" ... this had been addressed already by lowering your dose to 100mcg .. but it will take a few weeks for you to feel the difference .

It's far too soon to do another thyroid blood test , you need to be on 100mcg for 6 weeks first .... what was she testing for today ?

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply totattybogle

I told her that and that I had also taken my meds. I rang because I feel so awful and can't eat. She's the first doctor to ever do the reflex test which wasn't slow it was hyper and feel my neck.asked her to why don't they do My T3 and she said only specialists do that .The range on my last 3 print outs for T4 is 12-22.i had taken my levo that morning as well

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toTradoc

Well she's trying . so that's good . some of them will still have a bash at the reflex test, my GP did it when first considering hypo.

T3 is tested by NHS labs , but usually not just because GP/patient asks for it....it goes like this:

Test TSH >> if TSH very underrange >> test fT4 >> if fT4 very overrange >> test fT3 .

Your recent fT4 of 24 [12-22] would be unlikely to trigger an NHS fT3 test , as it's not much over range , and you're taking Levo , so they know "slight overmedication with

Levo, dose reduction needed " is the most obvious explanation and course of action.

(NHS are only interested in fT3 in cases of 'true' hyperthyroidism .. ie. dangerously high fT4 and fT3 levels made by the persons own thyroid gland , not from taking Levo )

if you took you levo dose a few hours before this test , and that short lived peak is what the fT4 of 24 is showing, then your 'real' fT4 for most of the day will probably be about 21 /22 ... impossible to say for sure , but still somewhere near the top of the range .

Sorry you're feeling so lousy ... when you say 'you can't eat' .. what do you mean exactly

?

Lets see what else she tested for today , and what the results are .

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply totattybogle

I've no appetite at all. I do think she was trying as she was going to give me drinks to help but checked and there was iodine in the. The doctor from my last test dropped me from 125 to 100 and been on that fir 10 days. I'm sure her test will be useless but it was worth a try.

She did check my urine to for infection which would stop me from eating

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toTradoc

last time i had a dose reduction i had no appetite at all for week or two , but appetite was OK again after a while . So try not to worry about it just yet . The body has all sorts of reactions to a change in thyroid hormone level ... until it levels itself out again once it's got used to the new dose .Just make yourself eat a little bite of something full of nutrients here and there.. even if it's just a tomato on the way past the fridge ... and make sure you drink enough..... Hopefully you'll start to feel better over the next week or so .

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply totattybogle

Thank you

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply totattybogle

She rang me and wants me to go down to 75mg now after my tests today. Confused.com

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toTradoc

Has she had this mornings bloods back then ? did she say anything about them ?

I Hope she's realised that 1 week on a lower dose will not have had time to be reflected in thyroid bloods yet .

Even fT4 test will take about a week and a half to be something like accurate , cos Levo lasts so long in the blood .

And TSH will take weeks to respond to new dose ... 6 weeks to be on the safe side.

Try to find out what the actual results were.. Dropping again so soon to 75mcg is pretty drastic ... i'd want to be clear about her reason for this suggestion before doing it .

if you were only slightly overmedicated , then dropping by this much will leave you horribly undermedicated in another few weeks .

Sometimes if you go in to see them desperate and in distress ,they feel they need to 'do something' rather than just tell you to 'wait and see' ... but with thyroid hormone replacement 'wait and see' is usually exactly what we DO have to do .

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply totattybogle

She put a rush on the test this morning. Yeah I think I'll stay in the 100. Although I was on 75 for a long time with no issues.I'll ring tomorrow and get the actual numbers.

She said I was still looking high

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toTradoc

Good plan . See what she's seeing, then decide what to do .

Unless your fT4 has inexplicably gone through the roof to something silly like 30 , i can't see any reason to reduce by another 25 mcg so soon.

sunsation1 profile image
sunsation1 in reply totattybogle

I had a dose reduction of 15 mgs on the 18th jan and too have felt awful gone off food. Feel sick and ache all over

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply tosunsation1

How are you feeling now

sunsation1 profile image
sunsation1 in reply toTradoc

Awful

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply tosunsation1

sunsation1 How are you doing now

AppleOrchard profile image
AppleOrchard in reply toTradoc

It’s really crucial to have a T3. The consultant I used to see wouldn’t do anything without it. If they won’t do it, perhaps you could have it done privately.

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply toAppleOrchard

I have a private endo appointment march 19th

AppleOrchard profile image
AppleOrchard in reply toTradoc

At least you have that. Perhaps you could persuade the GP to do it.

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply toAppleOrchard

I asked her today but she said only specialist do it

AppleOrchard profile image
AppleOrchard in reply toTradoc

Oh dear! Roll on March!

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply toAppleOrchard

I have a medichecks test kit here to just waiting a few weeks to use it

humanbean profile image
humanbean

Possibly irrelevant, but I was looking at the wikipedia article on folate deficiency today. Two of the symptoms are loss of appetite and weight loss. Have you got a recent test result for folate? And do the symptoms listed on this link ring any bells?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folat...

Tradoc profile image
Tradoc in reply tohumanbean

There's folate in my super b complex I take from ingenus

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toTradoc

I take the Igennus Super B, but my folate is very temperamental and will often drop to very low levels.

To try and overcome this I take a methylfolate supplement at a dose of 1000 mcg, one a day for four days a week. I still don't have a good level very often and it still fluctuates a lot.

If your folate is at a level you are happy with, then great. But if you struggle to raise it then an extra supplement might help, even if it is only a few days a week.

sunsation1 profile image
sunsation1

All my vitamins are being tested today and ferratin and folate

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