Help got a doctors appointment tomorrow

[Tinyowl99]

Hi All you great peopleGot a doctors appointment tomorrow I'm on levothyroxine 125mcg 4 days aweek & 150mcg 3 days a week been doing this slowly over the passed 2 month till i reached 3 days at 150mcg which my endocrinology told me to do

I've been here before on 150mcg but it makes me feel completely crap terrible fatigue headache feeling sick very bloated heartburn shaking inside joint pain feet swelling palpation swollen glands under chin nerves Ness

Pain in right arm and shoulder cough &shortness of breath

I've also had terrible itching feet arms back head lower legs thigh face & bum cheeks

My doctor as a greed to do bloodtest but that's not till end of month could anyone give me any advice on what to ask my doctor as my old doctor left and every doctor I've been to since doesn't have aclue what they doing

This 1 seams to know more than any of others and agreed to my bloodtest for vitamins & full thyroid check is there any other checks that might need adding

I know from when I've asking for advice that I'm not converting T3

I'm new on the site so any help would be great

I take levothyroxine as stated on here:

Not sure with vitamins when need to stop before bloods

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

If taking any of the supplements you are having tested you need to stop supplements about a week before the blood test so we measure what your body is holding and not that just ingested.

Also anything containing biotin can interfere with the chemicals used in the Laboratory.

So for thyroid we need to see a TSH +Free T3 + Free T4, antibodies, inflammation and ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D.- and do not take your T4 on the day of the fasting blood test until after the blood draw - which should by 9.00 am which then gives you around a 24 hour window from your last dose of T4. so we measure what your body is holding and not that just ingested.

As for this appointment tomorrow if there is time after you have explained about all your symptoms and the fact you can't tolerate T4 in tablet form - ask if you can try liquid T4.

You could also try and discuss the blood test results you posted on here previously and suggest that you seem not to be converting well the T4 into T3 and is there another thyroid hormone treatment that may suit you better since you have had RAI thyroid ablation.

If you go into openprescribing.net and then analyse you can see by surgery and then ICB area how supportive, or not, your primary care doctor and hospital are in prescribing all the other treatment options -

just enter Liothyronine for T3 and Armour ( the leading brand of NDT ) as the drugs.

Your doctor can't initiate any other thyroid hormone replacement but he can refer you so you likely need to look up both surgery to see if they are writing prescriptions as well as the hospital who has to initiate the new treatment option.

[Tinyowl99 in reply to pennyannie]

Hi pennyannie thank you so much for your message sorry I didn't message back yesterday we had storm and no Internet Lucky I haven't taken supplements all week hoping that she would do bloods today all I know is she done vitamins & full thyroid

I always do fasting & medication 24 hrs before & only have water

I told her my symptoms and everything asked if I could try liquid T4 she said would see results first & get back to me

The trouble I'm having is the doctors haven't updated the doctor that knew everything about thyroids retired and none of them seam to know what they are doing they correspond with my endocrinology which is a dxxk & not bothered because he says my results are in rang

The other doctor I saw was great but then left before I got to go back he was going to change me on to T3

But if I don't get any joy I will keep fighting & go private I had 3 hrs sleep last night totally exhausted I'm so hoping I sleep tonight rubber hammers ready lol

[pennyannie in reply to Tinyowl99]

If the doctor who left was serious about including some T3 in your treatment regime - maybe this is mentioned in your medical notes that he should have made.

However an NHS doctor hasn't the authority to change your thyroid medication from T4 monotherapy and all he can do is refer you back to a NHS endocrinologist who assesses your need for the introduction of T3.

I know the stress of all this simply exacerbates ones one health issues further -

I eventually gave up the fight after a couple of years in 2018 as by then, I had built up my knowledge, and core strength vitamins and minerals and felt able to Do It for Myself.