How can I improve?Any recommendations for debilitating fatigue?

[RachelChD]

I have been struggling with debilitating fatigue for 20 years. It took 10 years for myGP to diagnose me with Hypothyroid but still they didn't put me on medication. I have seen a few functional medecine practioners who diagnosed me with Hashimoto gave me a lot of supplements but nothing to support my thyroid.

I'm now seeing a Private GP who started me on Levo 75mg, then 100mg which was of great help until I felt knackered again after a few months.

I'm now on two grains ( I was on 2 and half before and tried one only but my GP recommended 2) of Armour thyroid (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), and still feeling knackered. I'm also taking HRT, selemium, vitamin D and C. My latest iron test was normal

My brain seems to function well but physically I feel exhausted all the time. I'm on a gluten free diet, tried dairy free for a bit but didn't see any difference. I love my kefir too much and try to stick to goat cheese only.

Any clues how I can improve my physical stamina, I feel I'm moving in water all the time, wearing lead soles ? I'm 59 and I can't stand to feel like this all the time anymore. Thank you for your insights.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

It certainly takes the wind out of your sails 😕after 10 years it can be quite a long, slow climb back up

Have you got some results and ranges to share? We are a bit adverse to 'Normal' on GP notes 🤗 add them to this post and advice will flow

p.s. are you using testosterone too?

[RachelChD in reply to TiggerMe]

It certainly feels like that, Thank you for your reply, my testosterone was a bit low. I will add all the results.

[RachelChD]

Here are m latest test results:

Ferritin 107 range 30-150 ug/L

TSH 0.137 range 0.270-4.2 mlU/L

Free T3 3.7 range 3.1-6.8 pmol/L

Free Thyroxine (T4) L 11.7 range 12-22 pmol/L

testosterone 0.41 range 0.101-1.42 nmol/L

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to RachelChD]

Last year there was some concern that you might have iron overload, did the GP look into this? I have no experience of NDT so I'll leave that to the others but with fT3 that low I'd be feeling crappy too 🤗

[RachelChD in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you. That makes sense the GP was concerned about my low FT3 hopefully this will improve with the Armour. Last year my ferritin was high but it seems in range now. What are the symptoms of iron overload?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to RachelChD]

That sounds promising that your GP actually knows what fT3 is... the results I saw showed good ferritin but very high Transferrin saturation 72.3(%) >50 high

Iron 31.9 umol/l in range (top end if range 5.8-34.5 Medichecks)

Ferritin 103.8 in range

Total Iron Binding capacity 44. 1 <44.8 Low

Transferrin 1.91 <2.0 low

It was this post that   Pearlteapot commented on the results (right at the bottom of the thread) healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron overload feels much like deficiency but is worse in some ways with fatigue, joint pain...

[RachelChD in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you that's very interesting as I feel completely out of breath going up the stairs!

[Brightness14]

You need to be on your two grains for a few more weeks before taking a blood test and posting the results with the ranges on here for answers. Sometimes when taking NDT you require just one more quarter to feel well. It takes time. Why were you on 2.5 and then dropped to two?

[RachelChD in reply to Brightness14]

Hi thank you, somehow I felt better on just one. The GP said 2.5 was probably too much as Ih felt jittery. When I take my second grain in the afternoon I feel I have a crush of energy and feel worse?

[Brightness14]

I always take more in the morning and less in the afternoon. At 6am my stomach is completely empty but in the afternoon even after one hour after lunch which gives me

a boost (the food I mean) I then take less NDT.

[RachelChD in reply to Brightness14]

Thank you I will try that.

[tattybogle]

TSH 0.137 range 0.270-4.2 mlU/L

Free T3 3.7 range 3.1-6.8 pmol/L

Free Thyroxine (T4) L 11.7 range 12-22 pmol/L

What dose were you taking for the 6 weeks before this test Rachel ?

[RachelChD in reply to tattybogle]

I was put on 2.5 grain than I lowered to one grain as I felt better on it.

[tattybogle in reply to RachelChD]

yes i saw that

but what dose were you taking for 6 weeks before this test ?

ie. were these results done when taking 2 and a half grains , or one grain , or 2 grains ?

and how many weeks were you on a stable dose before this test was done.

[RachelChD in reply to tattybogle]

I was on one grain for 4 weeks before the test.

[Bertwills]

One thing I found helpful with decreasing my fatigue is LDN. Apparently it increases the efficacy of thyroid hormones so some people can even reduce their dose. It also dampens inflammation.

You can self refer at clinic158.com. You will need to show them blood test results. They will arrange a private phone appointment with a prescriber & then you set up an account at Dickson chemist in Glasgow. They send out bottles of drops every month. You need to increase the dose very slowly taking at least 3 months to reach the max dose which is still a tiny dose. It’s microdosing. If you find the initial drops that you swallow upset your stomach, they did mine, you can ask for sublingual drops instead. I was able to walk much further with my dogs once I reached a full dose. I wore them out!