normal blood test but thyroid symptoms and itchy rash

[kittythepink]

I have had an itchy rash that looks like goosebumps all over my body, arms, legs, neck, ears and back for 5 weeks. Doctors have tried normal meds for rashes but no improvement.

I also suffer from very dry hair, brittle nails, irregular periods, bad headaches, insomnia but constantly shattered and want to sleep and a few more thyroid related symptoms.

Had a blood test two weeks ago and result was normal but now I have developed a swelling either side of my neck at the base and the feeling of a lump in my throat when I swallow.

Any ideas what I should say to my GP?

[vikkihope]

Have you been diagnose with underactive thyroid, Have they also tested you for lupus, it's annoying when they just everything is normal when it's clearly not, it took them 6 months to even consider testing my for my thyroid and that was 11 years ago, keep going back until you get answer good luck take care vikki x

[Irene]

Some vitamin deficiencies can present similar symptoms to thyroid problems. Vit D and Vit B12 in particular. Another auto immune disorder, Coeliac Disease, can also display a rash as opposed to just the bloated tummy and other symptoms of being unwell. Iron and Ferratin levels also play an important role in how you feel. I had noticed that I had developed brittle nails with ridges and thought that this was down to my thyroid disorder. However the endocrinologist soon realised that I was deficient in iron and it was this causing the nail problem. The difficulty is that several of the auto immune diseases present similar symptoms. I'd suggest you work with your doctor to go down the list eliminating common factors until you arrive at a cause for how you feel..Stick with it. Irene

[RedApple Administrator]

Urticaria is an itchy rash often experienced by people with thyroid dysfunction. I assume your GP has tried you on the various types of anti-histamine?

Don't accept the vague term of 'normal' when it comes to thyroid testing. You need to find out the actual number. Get in touch with your surgery and ask what your latest TSH result was, and make sure you are also given the associated lab reference range (a typical lab reference range for TSH will be something like 0.35 - 4.95).

If you then post the details here, someone can probably give you some pointers as to how to best approach your GP.