OnJust booked appointment!

[Charliekilosierra]

Hi all I've just booked a thyroid function test. I'm a 37yo male. Tbh I've not felt right for years, all niggly things that just amount up really. I've looked at hypothyroid and I fit most of the symptoms but also some hyperthyroid. I'm hoping the test will show something about it.

Here is a few things I've been struggling with

Weight gain of about 1.5 to 2 stones when I have been the same weight since 18

Scalloped tongue that sometimes hurts and has ridges in

Aching fingers and hands especially in the morning

Ectopic (skipped beats)

Urge to clench teeth on an evening after a hard day, excess saliva and sometimes not enough.

Hooded eyes

Thinning hair

Sometimes sick feeling and gag

Sweat smells different since I had covid, like onion smell

I can't function at all working outside in the cold

Sinus issues

Clicking joints and urge to crack fingers

Sometimes constipation sometimes loose

Seem to have excess fat on my chin and jaw I'm not overweight

Aching in neck and sometimes under arms. Sometimes hot neck and sore throat

Weak feeling in legs, not often but has happened

Muscle twitching all over for the last 4 years

General fatigue

Panic feeling and anxiety when I am actually relaxing, had to start medication for low mood depression and I've never suffered before

Regards

Chris

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Welcome to forum. 

They do sound like thyroid issue could be possible.

Are nutrients being tested too? Do you know exactly what is being tested?

Is this a private test? Recommend the blood draw appointments are book for early morning draw & fast over night.  Do you take any supplements containing biotin.  If yes, leave off 3 days before test as can interfere with testing.  

Hope test gives you get answers.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to PurpleNails]

Thanks for that, no I don't take anything atm. I'm just going to see the doctor which in itself is a miracle and I'm going to ask for a full thyroid test

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Any close family with any autoimmune disease ?

Often GP will only test TSH (and Ft4 if lucky)

Request they also test thyroid antibodies and vitamin D, folate, B12 and iron/ferritin

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested 

Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once 

Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum

About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies 

Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s

Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis. 

Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.

Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)

20% of autoimmune thyroid patients never have high thyroid antibodies and ultrasound scan of thyroid can get diagnosis 

In U.K. medics hardly ever refer to autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto’s (or Ord’s thyroiditis)

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

if you can’t get full test on NHS

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options and money off codes

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning. 

Watch out for postal strikes

[Charliekilosierra in reply to SlowDragon]

Thankyou for your thorough reply. I tried to do one of the test kits you do at home and send off but couldn't get enough blood! No family issues that I know of although when I was 21 I had a thyroglossal cyst removed

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Medichecks or Blue horizon both offer private blood draw (Approx £35) or nurse to visit you at home - more expensive

thyroglossal cyst removed - hypothyroidism

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/730...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Charliekilosierra in reply to SlowDragon]

I had the cyst removed 16 years ago l, weird symptoms happened about 4 years ago. Does that still add up?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Charliekilosierra]

possibly

symptoms can take a long time to develop

Have you had Covid?

[Charliekilosierra in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes I have.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Charliekilosierra]

are you vegetarian or vegan?

If yes, how long since changed diet

[Charliekilosierra in reply to SlowDragon]

No I'm not either

[Litatamon]

Do check your b12 levels, if you have not. A lot of symptoms overlap, and some listed are distinctly b12 deficiency issues.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to Litatamon]

Thankyou

[Partner20]

Those symptoms could have several causes, so best not to jump to conclusions yet. You need to report all these symptoms to your GP who should then request a comprehensive range of tests, not just thyroid ones. Hope you get a thorough check which will give you some answers.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to Partner20]

Yeh I know, been like it for ages now but just get on with my life, I'm never off work and never Ill so it's weird. Not nice though

[Partner20 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

It's something a lot of us do, we just carry on with whatever responsibilities we have without considering how we are really feeling. Personally I also found it quite difficult to actually say to a GP that I wasn't feeling well! It seemed almost as if I should be putting up with it until something really serious occurred. However, for the sake of our sanity and well-being, we need to put ourselves first when necessary. Hope you get things sorted out soon.

[ICE187]

Scalloped tongue following the other symptoms- Have a test for Amyloidosis as well.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

Am I gonna die or what 😭

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Get the test and stay off of google IF it comes back as amyloidosis, they will find out what type. Hypothyroidism can cause a scalloped tongue as can amyloidosis. I personally know people that have amyloidosis that triggered hypothyroidism and they are still around 20 years later. Research has come a long way.

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Amyloidosis was mentioned by my doctor with my symptoms. I googled it and it scared me. He sent me for testing and my tests were good. I had both hypo and hyper symptoms. I'm hypothyroid. What country are you in?

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

UK mate. Mine seems like both at times

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Same as mine. I lost a lot of weight just prior to being diagnosed and lost weight while being treated. Looking back, I rapidly gained weight at one point. My labs were flagged for hypothyroidism in 2015 at the time I gained my weight. My liver was failing as well. The weight I lost was the weight I gained. I was never checked for hashimoto's, but assume I have it. Gluten and dairy cripples me for weeks. Now I notice that sugar has the same effect on me. As for amyloidosis, it is better to get ahead and rule it in or out.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

Sorry to hear that mate, did you have most of what I have?

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

I had all but the scalloped tongue. I also had gastro issues, kidney and liver issues, vision and hearing issues.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

Yeh I have silent reflux, if I don't have anything to eat for a while I feel like I can't breathe properly. Awful. It's not one massive thing just loads of things. So annoying. Hope your better now mate

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

I am better for the most part, but still have issues. I'm quickly learning by trial and error on what to avoid. When I was first prescribed Levothyroxine, my symptoms became worse. It was a roller coaster for 8 months. I'm still under medicated and hoping to get a higher dose. My weight says I should be on 137mcg of Levo. I'm on 100mcg. My tsh results are not optimal, but in range. The tiniest amount of gluten brings out all of my past symptoms. Nerve and bone pains intensify. If I tattoo myself, the same thing happens. Some sort of massive inflammatory response. The people here on this site are of GREAT help. Trust in their knowledge.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

I'm so glad I've found the site as I'm such a worrier I hate anything medical it freaks me out. Sounds like a minefield mate, thanks for helping me out

[Charliekilosierra in reply to ICE187]

It's funny you should mention the tattoo thing as I've recently had a leg piece done and I felt ill for about 3 days afterwards while it was healing.

[ICE187 in reply to Charliekilosierra]

The tattoo issue had me curious. I had my doctor run a white blood cell test and CRP test after I did each tattoo. Each time, my wbc and absolute neutrophil count was high. Look up Hypothyroidism and tattoos or Hashimoto's and tattoos.

[humanbean]

Urge to clench teeth on an evening after a hard day

That could be low magnesium. It's incredibly common. Muscles can tighten up due to low magnesium. People can voluntarily relax the muscle then it fairly rapidly tightens up again and you have to use concentration and will power to keep it relaxed.

People with functioning kidneys can take magnesium supplements (at sensible levels) without any kind of testing, but people with kidney failure should discuss it with a doctor first. The kidneys excrete excess magnesium in urine, but only if they work. If they don't work then magnesium can build up in the body and cause problems.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

Another possibility is low potassium. This one is more difficult because it is one of the substances that controls what goes into and out of the cells in the body. It is also really important in controlling the heart. So care should be taken with this.

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/...

[Charliekilosierra in reply to humanbean]

Full bloods and thyroid test should suffice then?

[humanbean in reply to Charliekilosierra]

Doctors will sometimes test magnesium, but it is really a waste of time, The body has magnesium in blood, bones and muscle. Less than 1% is found in the bloodstream, and the body prioritises the blood having enough magnesium. When it is a bit low in blood it will steal magnesium from the bone and muscle. So getting a good result in blood is not very informative - you could still have far too little altogether.

I would suggest that you choose a magnesium supplement that sounds good to you, then buy some from Amazon, Ebay, or some other site which sells supplements. Just take the dose recommended by the manufacturer. I bough some magnesium Citrate powder ages ago and it tastes vile so I put it into orange juice in order to make it palatable.

Potassium can be measured and the result is useful. It is usually tested in a "Urea and Electrolytes test, which would often be done in a kidney function test.

labtestsonline.org.uk/tests/ue

Supplementing potassium is probably safer if you just look up potassium-rich foods on the web, and incorporate some of the things you find in your diet a few times a week.

[Charliekilosierra in reply to humanbean]

I have some magnesium but haven't taken any yet I'll wait to see if my kidneys are ok before

[Charliekilosierra]

Throat is killing today. Like a sore throat from hell. It will be gone when I wake up. Strange enough it's making me want to clench my jaw/teeth.