Hi everyone, My tSH levels are in the normal ra... - Thyroid UK

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Hi everyone, My tSH levels are in the normal range but I have weight gain,tiredness cold extremities, night sweats, depression, all sorts!

Finkle14 profile image
9 Replies

This has been going on for years but got really bad since June 2012, I've put on nearly 3 stone since then, despite healthy eating and exercise, I really just want to feel better, if anyone has got any advice, please help, thank you!

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Finkle14
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9 Replies
Jackie profile image
Jackie

Hi You need TSH T4 and Free T3 tested for a start. Diagnosis cannot be made on TSH alone, it is all about saving money! If GP difficult can you pay for a private ( postal) test through our web site , bloods. reasonable price no authorisation needed if through tUK and ten you can show it to which docs you wish to for treatment.

Best wishes,

Jackie

NatalieR1972 profile image
NatalieR1972

Have your antibodies tested, my TSH levels were normal, but my thyroid antibodies were 600+ which cause symptoms of under active thyroid x hope this helps x

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

Hi Finkle

Once upon a time you would have had a trial of medication due to your clinical symptoms.

If you have had a recent thyroid gland blood test ask for a print-out from your surgery (you are entitled) and post on another question together with the ranges (figures in brackets).

If you haven't had one recently ask for a new one including TSH, T4 and ask for T3 (but the labs may not do this one). You also need a Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate. As Natalie says also ask for a thyroid antibodies test.

We should have a TSH 1 or below.

Many of us have got well despite the regulations but sometimes we have to go private.

Finkle14 profile image
Finkle14

Hi shaws

My last test was 1/2/13, the TSH level was 1.10 mU/L, I was told the range was 0.27 to 4.2, in may last year it was 0.76mU/L and in jan 2011 it was 1.50mU/L, I have no idea what that means!!!

I've been told I'm menopausal, then I'm not, PCOS but my ovaries are clear, I dont want to wish that Ive got something wrong but I know I don't feel right, the last straw for me was someone at the school when I was picking my daughter, congratulated me and asked when the baby was due!!!!

i suffer from extreme anxiety and depression, I feel totally wiped out most of the time, plantar fasciitis in both feet, foggy head, when I came across this site, I had so many of the symptoms, I was gobsmacked.

I do have a very supportive GP she is on leave for another 3 weeks, I guess I really need to know what to ask her, I want to be able to say that ive done my research!!

I got to say too, I know I havent had a diagnosis but just to have found this sight and seen the support everyone gives, has given me a lot of hope, thank you everyone!!!

skyfall profile image
skyfall

Have your adrenals tested the symptoms overlap with adrenal fatigue and it's never measured. It supresses thyroid function and immune function and pretty much rips your life apart. Often they present the same way. My weight gain with intense exercise was depressing...adrenal support has me losing weight and feeling much better on lower T4 dose with NDT.

skyfall profile image
skyfall

Do you wake up 2-4am and crave salty foods?

Finkle14 profile image
Finkle14 in reply to skyfall

Hi skyfall,

I'm not sure about craving but now I think of it I have been putting salt on more and more of my food but I do wake up almost every night, strangely with my legs boiling hot! Not sure what that means but it is really odd.

I don't really understand the adrenal function or NDT???

skyfall profile image
skyfall

Hey there Finkle14

It really sounds like your adrenals are working too hard especially fi you're jittery and anxious. Also you may not have full-blown menopausal symptoms but it may be peri-menopause where things start going weirdly awry! You're definitely not hyperthyroid, and TSH doesn't look hypothyroid but you need to have T4 and ideally T3 measurements too for any concrete diagnosis to be possible. You can get a Myrios test for £16-25 to home test T4 and TSH via finger-prick. These hormones vary during the day so the change in TSH you have over time isn't in itself necessarily significant. BUT if your hormones are out of whack or your adrenals are under stress your symptoms MIGHT make sense. On the hormonal front I started taking (and I'm telling you this only because it made a massive difference to me) 1000mg evening primrose oil morning and evening about a month ago. After a bunch of research, tests and discussions with a Practitioner we discovered I was oestrogen dominant (massive mood swings, felt rubbish, PMT symptoms 3/4 weeks per month). It stopped on EPO within a week. I also take chastain (it's a herb). That sorted, we looked at adrenals. My cortisol is all over the place. I was waking up during the night (2-4am typically) - hot, stressed. I love salt. This obviously led to massive exhaustion, need for top-up sleeps which made me re-examine thyroid (already on thyroxine). We're dealing with the thyroid last because until my adrenals are back in whack they're affecting my thyroid function, sugars, hormones, immune system, the lot. This is documented to some extent in Thyroid Disease - The Facts and on many Functional PRactitioner sites (I like Dr Hedberg in the US). If I was you, I'd humbly suggest talking to a Functional Practitioner about your symptoms. They will look at all your systems - adrenals, liver, immune system, pancreas, thyroid and hormone balance. It doesn't have to cost a lot to get a consultation but it's worth understanding how it all hangs together. GPs like to talk about thyroid more than adrenals and even then, with your TSH measurement they'd probably send you away. Hope this helps. It may sound daunting but I found that the moment I started to take control (even though my symptoms haven't all been resolved yet) the sense of hopelessness and depression went away. Also - side note - my weight has started to resolve which makes me feel even better! Good luck...

Finkle14 profile image
Finkle14 in reply to skyfall

Hi skyfall,

Thanks so much for your advice, it is daunting but I think just finding this site has made a difference to me, it's been such a long time since I've felt right, I thought that was how life was gonna be, even if it all turns out to be something else, or nothing at all, to feel like I'm doing something proactive is good!!

I'll keep you up to date

Finkle x

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