Dshadzz07, Those thyroid results suggest you're not taking any thyroid medication. If you are, please say what, the dose you're on, and how and when you take it. Also, are you taking any other medications?
Ideally don’t change brand levothyroxine as you increase dose to 100mcg
Likely to need further increase in levothyroxine after next test
Anxiety and depression are extremely common hypothyroid symptoms
Once you get on correct dose levothyroxine, this is likely to improve considerably
Approx how much do you weigh in kilo
Guidelines on eventual dose levothyroxine required is that most people eventually need to be on approx 1.6mcg levothyroxine per kilo of your weight per day
Exactly what vitamin B complex are you currently taking
it’s the super b complex on Amazon. I haven’t got the link sorry. I’m quite overweight at 140kg and 6ft 2 which I think is attributed to hypothyroidism.
In the majority of patients 50-100 μg thyroxine can be used as the starting dose. Alterations in dose are achieved by using 25-50 μg increments and adequacy of the new dose can be confirmed by repeat measurement of TSH after 2-3 months.
The majority of patients will be clinically euthyroid with a ‘normal’ TSH and having thyroxine replacement in the range 75-150 μg/day (1.6ug/Kg on average).
The recommended approach is to titrate thyroxine therapy against the TSH concentration whilst assessing clinical well-being. The target is a serum TSH within the reference range.
……The primary target of thyroxine replacement therapy is to make the patient feel well and to achieve a serum TSH that is within the reference range. The corresponding FT4 will be within or slightly above its reference range.
The minimum period to achieve stable concentrations after a change in dose of thyroxine is two months and thyroid function tests should not normally be requested before this period has elapsed.
So keep pushing for increase in dose after next blood test
I just looked at a few of your previous posts, including the recent ones on the British Heart Foundation forum .
you REALLY need to sort your thyroid medication urgently and get an increase .
you also need to ALWAYS mention your thyroid condition /Levothyroxine dose when discussing health issue with anyone else .... at hospital, and on other health forums....
Heart function (and anxiety issues) are DIRECTLY related to thyroid hormone levels . it's not safe to let people re-assure you "you're just having a panic attack. you look ok" when in reality you are EXTREMELY hypothyroid with below range fT4 because no one has increased your dose from 75mcg yet (despite there being good evidence that it needed increasing at least 7 months ago ...i haven read posts any further back than that ).
When you were at A& E and they got these thyroid results .... did they not tell you that these TSH / fT4 levels are probably directly responsible for you feeling so awful you went to A&E ?
If they didn't, they damn well should have done ,, but they are working under enourmous strain at the moment... if you aren't actually dying they may be too busy trying to deal with finding somewhere to put people who are ... which is all the more reason for your GP to have sorted this out long before it got to this stage .. GP's should not be leaving you on such a low dose of Levo that you end up in a panic with heart pains using up a bed in an already overstretched A&E.
So I’ve managed to get a dose increase to 100mg now and it’s been given to me straight away. I’ve mentioned it the doctors every time but they seem not to relate any anxiety to the condition and treat it separately.
Obviously I don’t want to go to A+E all the time, but like I hate this anxiety and I don’t know if it’s related to the hypothyroidism however my first anxious breakdown coincided with my diagnosis of hypothyroidism so maybe.
stay on top of it from now on, .. make sure you stay on top of GP's to do your blood tests on time 6-8 weeks after any change in dose , and get your results from them afterwards so you know where you are ..... ask on here for anything you are not sure of , it's a good place for safe trustworthy 'real' experience of treating and living with hypothyroidism ...... and trust your own instincts ...... GP's are good for some things , but by and large , they are rubbish for hypothyroidism , they don't teach them hardly anything about it at medical school, just the absolute basics.
Most of the text books that had full lists of "symptoms of hypothyroidism" have had those pages removed since the TSH test was invented and became so dominant for diagnosis .... they thought they didn't need to know them in so much detail anymore .. and consequently most GP under the age of about 80 have very little real experience of recognising them , even when they are right under their nose, and as plain as day on the face and previous history of the patient in front of them.
Thyroid hormones (in the right amount for you as an individual ) are needed by virtually every cell/ organ in your body in order for those organs and circuits to function correctly..... including your brain .. messed up thyroid hormones= messed up brain connections = anxiety .
Everything is connected... sadly today's GP seem to be being taught that they are not . they try to treat everything separately .. but that is not how our bodies work. To get decent thyroid treatment on NHS , you need to learn how it works and symptoms for yourself and then you can stay on thier case and make sure they do the best for you.
Sorry for being a bit 'shouty' earlier .. didn't mean to make you feel bad for going to A&E .. it's not your fault you ended up there ..... it's just really infuriating to see the same scenario's played out over and over again on here , and see people put through additional (unnecessary) suffering just because the NHS system doesn't understand the full implications of how thyroid hormones work and what they do. So my cross 'tone of voice' was not aimed at you, but i realise it might have felt that way. Soz
For me, high anxiety has been my worst thyroid symptom. I just wanted to reassure you that with optimal thyroid medication and key vitamin levels, the anxiety massively reduced.
Currently getting tapered off citalopram to try me on Venaflaxine for my anxiety.
It'd be more to the point if they got your thyroid treatment right. Anxiety is a symptom of being hypothyroid and should resolve when it's treated adequately. You have a long way to go getting your thyroid treatment right and no wonder you have anxiety!
Take some time to do some reading here to see what helps people get well. Get copies of your thyroid results and post them here. Many get private bloods to get FT3 results.
It's not health anxiety if you're actually sick! It's medical gaslighting.
yeah I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety tho as I do have fears of other conditions like heart attacks and neurological as it’s difficult for me. But Yh ofc hypothyroidism is a condition
A totally underestimated condition. We really need to train our doctors much better. They are contributing to our misery with their ignorance and lack of care.
My iron panel was fine don’t have the results but it was all good.
You really need to get hold of a copy of these results. The problem that many thyroid patients have is that doctors believe that any iron-related result that is in range is absolutely "normal" and "fine". If it is close to the range they think that it is "close enough".
I've been told that a ferritin result of 20 was fine. I had under-range serum iron at the same time and it was never even mentioned. I only found out when I got a copy of my medical records. When it comes to anything iron-related, always get the numbers and the reference ranges. You can then post those results and ask for feedback from the forum.
Low iron and/or ferritin is extremely common amongst people with thyroid disease, particularly when they are under-treated, as you are.
And another thing... Low iron/ferritin can cause severe anxiety if it is bad enough. As can low (or high) levels of thyroid hormones.
Another thing of relevance... Low iron and ferritin (a measure of your iron stores) can cause chest pain. I've been diagnosed with angina. But it went away when I treated my own low iron for long enough to raise my ferritin to mid-range. And then I treated myself to keep it there. The diagnosis of angina is still on my list of "current" diagnoses, of course.
blimey chap you must feel dreadful on those results. Wishing you well, isn’t this forum brilliant, you’ve had tonnes of great advice, I just wanted to extend a virtual hug and say well done reaching out and getting on top. My recent increase to 125mcg has caused my depression to lift, I’m like me again, it’s such a surreal experience! 🦋💚🦋
HiI just wanted to say that my anxiety is terrible when my t3 is low. It's worth getting private testing alongside your nhs testing. They never test t3 unless they are prescribing it. This is not unsurmuntable. Its just really hard to get a handle on things when you're not functioning properly. Keep reading and posting on here. Knowledge is power and people here are so generous with their time and advice. We've all been where you are. You will need to be firm with your gp as well, or change gp! Take care and be kind to yourself while you recover.
You may not realise but panic attacks and anxiety can occur with Hashimoto’s and medics often treat it separately instead of understanding that if thyroid and nutrient levels are raised to decent levels then there’s no need for sedatives, anti depressants, etc
I haven’t had a single panic attack since having my diagnosis and only one episode of anxiety in six years
hi 👋you’ve had some brilliant advice here, which you will always get from these very knowledgeable people. Please take time to read here every day just for 30 minutes or so. I knew literally nothing about the thyroid until I came here 2 years ago. Now I feel like I could take an A level in the subject ( not a degree like some on here 😂).
But I will say this….. I have PTSD (23yrs) . My anxiety can be so severe I am pinned to the sofa/bed for weeks at a time. That’s when I have a bad attack. But that is not the same as anxiety from Hypothyroidism which you most definitely have. You may not need antidepressants when you get your thyroid levels up and TSH down. If you are weaning off citalopram and upping thyroid then why take venlafaxine 🤷♀️. You could wait to see if the thyroxine works first. IF you still need an antidepressant to help with your anxiety levels ( because you have Health Anxiety) then Sertraline ( I have found) is better. Venlafaxine is a little “harsh” I have found and I have been on many. Read my bio for an explanation.
Good luck. Keep asking questions on here and you will get great advice.
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