Hi everyone, I am currently off work since end of April with dizziness/light-headedness, fatigue, brain fog, headaches and palpitations. I had a cardiology appt yesterday and all is well with my heart (the episode started with a trip to A & E with sudden onset pain in left arm, heart rate of 122, shortness of breath and tight chest). Symptoms had improved somewhat and I tried going back to work last week (2 half days) and it was too much (felt exhausted, tearful and headaches after). I initially thought it was Teva brand of medication causing problems but I have changed this and apart from improved stomach issues it didn’t make much difference. I know from previous posts on this forum that I should be on increased Levo but GP won’t consider it (“your thyroid function is perfect”)- though she has reluctantly agreed to refer me to Endo so just waiting on an appt (should be in approx 7 weeks). Pretty sure my current symptoms are stress -related as we’ve had 2 really tough years at home with my husband fighting a discrimination case at work (this is now settled) and my autistic son really struggling at school and with anxiety among other things. I love my job but have some managerial responsibilities and it can be busy. I know you should try and avoid stress is possible with Hashi’s and the warning signs were probably there, but I couldn’t do much about them. My question is - would it be worth me trying to get cortisol tested privately? Also has anyone been through similar and what has helped their recovery? I am taking vitamin B12, iron and vit D sprays and vit c daily along with a vit B complex containing biotin. I take 75 mcg Levo at night. Most recent blood results: T4 - 18.2 (12-22), TSH - 2.39 (0.3-4.2), Haemoglobin 132 (120-150), ESR, RBC, kidney function “-all normal”. In A & E at the end of April they said my ferritin and potassium levels were low, but it seems my GP didn’t re-test these. I should say I am 45 and haven’t ruled out possible peri-menopause either.. I have downloaded Headspace app, doing mindfulness, breath work, yoga, daily walks and trying to focus on self-care, but family life can still be hectic at times.. thanks for listening!
Recovery from stress/burnout: Hi everyone, I am... - Thyroid UK
Recovery from stress/burnout
If ferritin is low then you can expect a miriad of symptoms including anxiety and inability to cope with stress.
Suggest you work on that urgently, increasing iron rich foods in your diet.
Which iron supplement are you taking?
Can you try a different doctor at the same practice for an increase? Ask for it as a trial which can go down better.
Point them at the NICE guidelines also where it says a starting dose of 1.6 x weight in kilos.
Cortisol is often affected by low thyroid levels so I doubt there would be much benefit from testing it. You have other things to work on in the mean time.
I have been taking Better You iron spray but realised it’s only 5mg, so have also been taking Floradix iron tablets (14mg iron). I am on gluten and dairy free diet, eat lots of green veg, have increased red meat and eating chicken liver pâté. In Sept 23 I did a Medichecks blood test and transferrin saturation was 16.8 (20-50), ferritin at that time was 36.8 (13-150). I was of the understanding that GP was going to check iron so it was disappointing not to get that done again, as I have been trying to work on increasing.. Thanks for your helpful advice 😊
The product that quite a few members here have done well with is this one. Terrible website but the supplement does seem to work. Iron/ferritin is always slow to raise to hang in there with it. threearrowsnutra.com/en-uk/...
I should be on increased Levo but GP won’t consider it (“your thyroid function is perfect”)
T4 - 18.2 (12-22), TSH - 2.39 (0.3-4.2)
What a stupid thing to say! If your 'thyroid function' were perfect, you wouldn't be on thyroid hormone replacement in the first place! Your thyroid isn't even functioning anymore, anyway, now you're on thyroid hormone replacement.
And your TSH is far from perfect, much too high. Your FT4 is also on the high side, so my guess is that you're a poor converter and your FT3 is low. So, any stress is bound to send you plummetting.
More levo is not the answer - you don't want your FT4 any higher than that. What you need is to procure T3 from somewhere, but you're obviously not going to get any help with that from your GP - she hasn't got a clue what's going on!
So, I would suggest that, first of all, you get full thyroid testing, including FT3. Then, if necessary, seek out where to buy T3 without a prescription. That's what I would do. 
FT4 is only 62% of range.
Yes, it is. But you can't just take one result and say well, that's ok! You have to take the three in conjuntion with each other.
If you look below where DaisyTed has posted her last Medichecks result in September, you'll see that her FT4 was 75.00%, but her FT3 was only 23.78%. Now, her FT4 is lower, so the FT3 probably will be, too. However, that shows that increasing the levo is not the answer. Her FT4 would have to be very, very high to get enough T3 to make her well.
The clue is comparing the FT4 with the TSH. The TSH did not correspond to the FT4 level, so it was a fair guess that her FT3 was going to be low - low enough that increasing levo was not the answer.
Thanks so much for your help. I guess I was holding out for getting to speak to an endocrinologist, which hopefully will happen soon- and then get advice from them, but I know not all endo’s think the same when it comes to thyroid, so maybe this is a false hope!! I do feel that my GP is a bit clueless unfortunately. So I will try and get full thyroid panel done and then need to try and increase T3 to reduce T4??
I don't think you need to reduce your T4. But you do need to know your FT3 level. That is the most important number, and without knowing that, it's difficult to give an suggestions.
Even if you got to see an endo, he probably wouldn't test FT3. Not many of them even know what it is! They are basically diabetes specialists who know little more about thyroid than GPs. So, the best thing you could possibly do next is to do a private test to find out how well you convert: i.e. testing FT3 and FT4 at the same time.
probably not much help as quite out of date now, but this was my Medichecks full thyroid panel result last September. I will get it re-checked asap.
Well, it gives us a clue to the fact that you're a poor converter! Look at that low FT3! And your FT4 was higher, then. What dose were you on at the time?
So, you do need an up-to-date test before doing anything, but I'm pretty sure that low FT3 is a large part of your problem.
Hi, Straightaway on reading I wondered what age you were and if perimenopause or menopause had hit. Time to do all the reading you can and suggest you join some menopause groups as this is where you learn the most.
Menopause Support website is a good start along with Louise Newson at Newson Health, the resources page. The balance app is good but I find it difficult to navigate.
I only mention as I didn't realise perimenopause was causing my issues, in fact I'd not even heard the word before or knew anything about it when I was rescued and put on hrt.
A lot of peri/ menopause symptoms are the same as thyroid so very easy to dismiss, which I did.
Thank-you - yes I haven’t ruled this out and had discussed the possibility with my GP, who said she can do a trial of HRT.. I have been doing some reading up on menopause. I guess the fact that work made it so much worse inclined me to think that stress is the trigger, although it’s hard to know of course!! I will check out those resources you mentioned - thanks 🙏
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Stress and hypothyroidism
Reverse T3, stress and temperature
Recovery after over medication?
Thank you - hopefully on the right road to recovery
An Interesting 'Recovery From Hashi's' Story I Came Across 
The effect of diet on hypothyroid recovery?
Chronic stress and low T3?
Results from my Adrenal Stress Profile - bit of advice needed
