should i take levothyroxine

[Jenashon]

Hi - I recently had an MOT request from Dr's, well the Dr's surgery wrote to me to say it was advisable to get an NHS health check, the last one i had about 5 years ago.

So I went for the blood test & the next day the Dr called me to say I had low thyroid, also mentioned a figure of 4.8 & asked a bit about how I was. Well I said I am good & doing ok,

I have been living ok, play tennis, run, cycle & swim & do long walks, so pretty active. My job is also quite active, on my feet most of day.

The Dr quite a few questions, & the only things that I could say were that I do feel the cold more than some people as I may have layers on when some people look like they should be wearing more clothes - Also even when playing tennis, some folk are sweating & may still have a fleece on.

Also get Raynauds - my hands get cold & fingers turn white, but I have lived with that since childhood.

The other thing i noticed was my pulse rate is about 48/49 which i found out when doing a first aid course, every one else had pulses of 60-100, the guy doing the first aid course thought mine was a bit low but when i said about the tennis & running he said that maybe its because of my fitness.

The Dr did mention that my cholesterol levels were a bit high, & she said she was going to prescribe Levothyroxine.

So now I feel a bit worried, should i take Levothyroxine, will this create some sort of imbalance with other parts of the system ?

I am not overweight, I still have a good head of hair & generally feel ok apart from the the cold bit.

What worries me is if i start taking levothyroxine, will my thyroid stop producing its own thyroid & how will the correct dose be found - this is all new to me, I am just doing a bit of research to gain some confidence that taking levothyroxine will be a positive step in that i may feel the cold less & my cholesterol level may decrease,

Is this something that others have had to think about & what experience & advice would anyone give.

Regards J

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Welcome to the forum Jenashon

So we can offer better advice, can you share blood test results (with ranges in brackets) for:

TSH (I’m thinking this might be the 4.8 but please check)

FT3

FT4

Plus any antibody and key vitamin tests (ferritin, folate, vitamins D and B12)

The antibody tests will show if your thyroid condition is auto immune (aka Hashimotos)

In the first instance, do ask your GP for the above tests. We don’t recommend supplementing key vitamins without testing first (and sharing results with us).

If your GP is unable to complete all the above (eg if TSH is within range, some surgeries may not be able to access FT4 and FT3 tests), you could look to do this privately, as many forum members do, for a better picture of your thyroid health:

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

[Jenashon in reply to Buddy195]

Many thanks for the reply so quick Buddy

As this situation was not something I had been prepared for, well I will say that about 5 or 10 years ago I was told I had low thyroid but as I felt ok then I ignored it, I could do the same now, but as there may be a link in the feeling of cold & my raynauds ( cold hands) then maybe i should do something, but taking medication is not something that i want to have to do unless i am convinced that it will not play haywire with the other parts of my body.

Thank you for your advice i will certainly try & get the results for the TSH , FT3 & FT4 plus the other tests you advise.

Regarding private tests - do you have any information on who offers these tests, or where i may find where I can have a test carried out ?

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to Jenashon]

The link above provides details of tests. You can do a home finger prick test or have a venous draw

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Suggest you get copies of actual test results and ranges

See exactly what has been tested

Was test done early morning, this gives highest TSH

Test both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies to see if cause is autoimmune thyroid disease

Equally important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels as well

[cyberbarn]

I think you are in the same boat as I was just over 10 years ago when I went to my GP because of increased pain in some of my fingers. Other than that I was feeling fine, active, healthy, although also like you I felt the cold and always showed up in mittens, scarf and so on (when I started chairing the PPG group they nicknamed me Scarf Lady!).

Sure enough, TSH was above range. tested again in a few months, a little higher again. He started me on a low dose, and I started feeling better, and over the next few years I slowly built up. I did start to have other symptoms, and did start gaining weight. Another blood test, another rise in TSH. A higher dose, and I would feel better again for a year or so.

I think what happens is the thyroid problem creeps up on us and we don't realise there is a problem. Then when we are medicated, we realise that we weren't feeling so good afterall!