i am 29 yr old male. weighing 60kg skinny build. since 2017 i haven't been feeling whole. im tired all the time. after standing on my feet for 30 mins or walking a mile i feel exhausted . like there is no energy in me. i have sit for hour or 2 to feel better and then get up again to do the chores. one trip to grocery store and im done for the day. its not normal.
i see my friend and family up all the time enjoying there lives, no one is tired like me. they do things, go out, play. My hairs falling and im not able to gain any weight.
i did blood work back in 2020 and doctor had me on 50mcg levo since then. but im not feeling at all.
my recent blood work showed these results. Test were done before 9am , last levo dose 24 hrs before the test and no biotin use.
test Range
TSH- 2 .23 : 0.20-6.50 MIU/L
FREE T3- 5.7 : 3.0- 6.5
FREE T4- 15.4 : 10.0-25.0
B12 - 280 : >160
FERRITIN- 40 : 30-500
IRON- 26 : 8-35
TESTOSTERONE TOTAL- 15.4 : 8.0- 35
Im alos taking Vitamins like- B12, iron, vitamin D3
even though all these shows within range but no impact on how i feel. doctor keep saying everything is good but im not better at all. he is not increasing my dose even after begging him, he said he cant do anything else.
Free T3 and Free T4 shows optimal but how come TSH is not coming under 1. i dont know what to do. please help me out. all other vitamins are optimal as well.
sometime is think i should try 75mcg without letting my GP know. i ll just cut 50 mcg in half and try it out. once i run out of prescription i ll tell him that im taking 75 mcg and there is nothing he can do about it. i don't know what else i can do. i need to enjoy my life as normal human being. Please help.
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You sound under replaced and your doctor sounds clueless. Your 29! You should be enjoying life! When they fail to get us onto a therapeutic dose they might as well not have bothered.
So a guideline dose in UK is 1.6 ug per kg. It is often in the medication leaflet.
So 1.6 x 60 kg = 96 call it 100ug - he is under medicating you.
Doctors try to fit patients to blood tests (without actually understanding how to use them) somewhat in the way that a person might cut the corners of a Square Peg to fit it through round hole. It is very crude and it is completely wrong.
You are going to need to get up to speed in order to self advocate otherwise this will just go on you need a different doctor for a start. If they are happy to ignore you living a half-life then you need to move on. But try to get to grips with your condition and understanding how you can negotiate with the next doctor first.
You need an emergency pack of information! There is also a amazing resource in Canada - Thyroid Canada
First off click on my icon grey hair face at top of my reply and read my bio. I too was under medicated. There are a lot of the misconceptions doctors have covered here. I specifically wrote my bio to act as a case study and pass on information.
You absolutely can be better and have more energy and thank goodness you know this. I’m going to ask SlowDragon a big favour to supply you with an ‘info dump’ some amazing advice and links that will help you. There is a lot - I was a recipient and worked through it slowly and read up on hypothyroidism and successfully advocated for myself with the GPs at my then local surgery. I’ve written posts on how I did it.
Hello, welcome along... sounds like you are doing all the right things with the supplements you are adding but I would also suggest some Vit D + K2 MK7, I don't know if you have a result for it but living in the northern hemisphere you'll be lacking at this time of year and ties in with hair loss... grassrootshealth.net/projec...
Certainly looks like an increase of Levo is needed, you could even start with adding 12.5mcg as you are converting well to fT3 and hopefully that'll improve things and then you can do battle with your GP when you feel better 🤗
I'd suggest your thyroid is struggling and you do need that increase!
FT4 and FT3 are not optimal, if they were you would be symptom free!
Your doctor is talking rubbish when he claims, he cant do anything else.
Both Frees should be roughly approaching 75% through their respective ref ranges
Your FT4 result is miserably low at only 36% through the ref range leaving plenty room to increase
But...
FT3 is higher at 77.14% through the ref range, this discrepancy suggests your thyroid is failing and consequently ramping up T3 production to keep you functioning
However, that " emergency" T3 increase is not usually reflected in improved symptoms
In your shoes I'd be raising the dose because 50mcg is just a starter dose and generally needs to be increased after 6/8 weeks. Further testing will show if you need another increase
Symptoms are a large part of the diagnosis but yours seem to be ignored.
It's your health and you know your body better than anyone....don't let a doctor's ignorance leave you feeling as you do.
Be patient it will take time to resolve this.... but start looking forward to feeling better.
I would start a daily journal listing your symptoms, your hours of activity, your sleep, even consider temperature and blood pressure, pulse etc. Then write a letter to your GP listing your symptoms and stating you are not euthyroid, and asking for a levo increase or referral to an endo consultant. You have plenty of wiggle room to increase your t4.
With serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a separate B12 supplement and a week later add a separate vitamin B Complex
Then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), you may be able to reduce then stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
Are you vegetarian or vegan, if yes likely to need ongoing separate B12 few times a week
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
In week before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg) and continue separate B12 until over 500
Post discussing how biotin can affect test results
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones
Sounds like me when I was your age but that's so long ago it's hard to remember. I lacked motivation then because I was just tired all the time and didn't go out and do a lot because of being tired. I could fall asleep at a stop light or go on a five-mile run return home then be asleep in five minutes waiting to cool down. I didn't find out I had "sleep apnea" until I was 47 and I had loads of medical tests. At 47 a sleep test showed I held my breath on average 32 seconds a "snore". Ask your spouse, friend, or family if they hear you snoring and pausing to hold your breath, if so your problem could be as easy as mine, just get it fixed sooner. I'm 75 now and doing fine. :). Very best.
You will need to source your own levo if you are going to increase against GPs advice. I will PM you some sources. It might be best to see another GP and ask for increase or refferal to endo
SlowDragon is absolutely right about your B12 - it is extremely low. Please consider the symptoms list he sent you - do you have many of these (fatigue is a common B12 symtom)? If you are already taking supplements please consider the possibility of pernicious anaemia.
UK Doctors are very stubborn. I was too soft at first and accepted everything they said so have been under medicated for a long while. I got more clued up by people on this site.Just recently demanded another test and turned out my tsh was high. My doctor still was reluctant to raise my levothyroxine. She just thought I was maybe missing doses or taking it wrong. Once I explained I take it at 4 am every morning away from any food or drinks she agreed straight away and even said she will look at another raise if needed.
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