Abdominal scan

Hi, I'm one of these who despite being medicated is at the higher end of my TSH range and still has symptoms. Where I live once you are in range the T4 is not tested so no idea where that is at. Anyway have seen an endo re remaining symptoms and was rererred on for abdominal scan re obscene belly fat. Waited two months for appointment which had been booked for me at inconvenient time but when read through prep remembered why the last one I had six years ago and prior to hypoT dx was such agony. You have to fast for six hours which is fine but you also have to drink six glasses of water and hold a full bladder for an hour. No way. I suffer from frequent urination and doing that then having the inustrument pressed heavily on my hyst scar (this is what they did last time) is like a torture. Then at the end of it you are none the wiser anyway.

So I've opted out of that one thank you very much. Been thinking about buying my own water tablets because if they found fluid this is most likely what they would prescribe. Had a look at the Alli brand in the supermarket, nearly fell into my trolley when I saw the price of them! Might see if I can find some other less expensive ones. Been doing quite well with the weight loss anyway by myself. Lost nine pounds since I saw the endo in November. Cut out cakes, biscuits eat less bread and potatoes and take long walks on days I am not too breathless. Don't really want to do the weight watchers thing again despite being gold member from 2004 and being slightly curious about the new 'pro-points' programme.

Anybody else find the abdominal scan a torture and anybody recommend water tablets?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

But Alli are absolutely not water tablets. They inhibit fat intake.

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Oh, sorry about that, way too expensive whatever they are.

[Poppy03]

You don't need to drink that much water. I know it probably says so on the leaflet but I too did that once for an ovary scan and it was a total nightmare and as you say, so so painful. When I had my little girl, 3 years ago, I went for a very early scan and again needed a full bladder so drank the recommended amount but literally couldn't have the scan as I was too full and uncomfortable. The lady told me they say to drink that much because so many people wont drink at all and then they have trouble. So if a scan is needed I would only drink a couple of glasses and you will probably find it to be ok.

[nanniejan]

Try and rebook and just drink what you can , I went a little while ago and no way could I have drunk all they said , and if they need you to drink more they will give it to you there , and sure it's a little uncomvy but no more than that , I had it done as well because of my belly fat to see if it was anything else and lucky enough it was not .

I have just started to lose weight as well my T3 has been put up to 10 from 5 and I have lost 10lb and like you have cut out bread , potatoes , cakes and try not to eat much at lunch , its hard and I love bread so that is what I miss most but hey no pain no gain .

Hope you feel better soon Jan x

[Muffy]

Sounds like typical hypo belly fat!

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.....and it's typical hypo breathlessness, painful feet, frequent urination all of which the endo denied had anything to do with my being hypothyroid. My only hope is that my TSH will have risen above the range in August when my next test is due then I might get an increase.

[FionaGFG]

It may also be worth asking for the tTG and IgA blood tests to check for Coeliac Disease. It and Thyroid have strong links together as they're both autoimmune diseases. Often people have the Thyroid problem first then discover (after harrassing GPs for 1o yrs or more) that they have CD. Symptoms vary, some people have bloated tums, some are over/ under weight. Most will all feel tired, have some form of anaemia due to the body attacking gluten and damaging stomach villi so absorbing vitamins and minerals is hard esp iron, vitamin D, B12. Night cramps, twitchy eyelid, feeling cold, foggy headed are all part of the neurological symptoms. So it's worth mentioning it if you don't get much joy with the route you are on.

[fennel]

If I were you I would try and get to see Dr Peatfield, and also to buy his book and learn about how to look after the thyroid yourself!! It sounds just like a problem with converting the inactive T4 hormone, levothyroxine, into the active T3 hormone which is what makes you well. I also had an overactive bladder, so bad I was due to have an operation for incontinance, and fortunately I turned it down as it resolved itself completely when I got proper treatment for the thyroid. You have to be very careful not to get treatment for all your symptoms separately as you will find that if you get proper treatment for the thyroid problem then most, if not all, your problems will melt away. We all have bulging tummys if the thyroid hormone is not getting into the cells.

[Angel54]

the more information i read on this site the more i know that the levothyroxine i take is not getting into the cells. I do convert T4 to T3 but from all my symptoms it cant be getting into the cells. Years ago long before i was diagnosed with hypothyroid i had to have 3 bladder ops. Had no idea it was related, also been anaemic on several occasions. ibs all sorts of stuff. I now realiseall these things are related to thyroid. Yes i agree as well so many different symptoms being treated instead of the cause.

Thanks for that information.

Best wishes Angie x

[Hidden]

Hi Fennel,

yes I have just aquired a copy of Dr Barry Durrant-Peatfields book 'Your Thyroid and how to keep it healthy'. It's very interesting but a lot to take in all at once. Most likely when I've read through bits that apply to me I will read the whole book again from start to finish.

That's kinda scary about you nearly having an op that was not needed, thanks for the warning. Sometimes our instincts prove to be correct. When I had an ab scan six maybe seven years ago now the four nurses who did it tried to tell me that I had one overy larger than the other and that I would need an exploratory op, I knew they were wrong because despite my protests they were placing the instrument in the wrong area and also gave me an internal at the same time! They would not listen when I tried to tell them they were exploring the wrong area and the whole examination took forever and caused me emotional distress as well as physical pain. Even though I knew nothing about hypoT at that time (pre dx) I sensed they were not sure about what they were saying. I think they were trainees or something and also half way through the examination they all cleared off for about 20 mins leaving me there in a state of undress with gel all over me. Stuff of nightmares.

I'll keep reading the book. Thanks for your input.