Ok. I dont know where to start here. I have hashimotos and taking 125mcg levothyroxine daily. My pms symptoms have greatly increased and I now have severe problems 14 days before my period. It has affected my relationship, and everything in my life. I have severe depression and cannot function at all some days. I need to go to my gp and know exactly what to ask for.
Ive had a full hormone test which also came back normal. Whenever I get bloods tested they also come back 'normal' so nothing is done and it is implied that I am just making it up. I am at my wits end and I just cannot go on like this. Someone mentioned that progesterone cream worked for them, but again, I do not know what is the correct thing to take as dont know what is going on. I have sever brain fog also and my mood fluctuates greatly from very anxious to super depressed. I just cannot keep tabs on it as it is so inconsistent. Can anyone help at all?? x
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woody
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Hi Woody. I'm not a doctor but I have a relative who suffers from debilitating pms, which has got progressively worse over the years. Her doctor has finally diagnosed her with PMDD. This relative has no (known) thyroid issues.
Hy Woody, I am not medical trained, but done a lot of reading, Hashimotos is a Autoimune D, that means our immune sytem is attacking our glands and organs, Therefore we need to find the route cause of the Autoimmune attack, whether it be, low iron, b12, vitaminD candida, hormone inbalances and othe co factors such as adrenal, serotonin, progetorone and so forth.
we need to find all these factors, because we will always feel un well and thyroxine will not work because it is a Autoimune problem not a thyroid, professionals with their best intentions give us thyroid meds, as a result will exasibate smptoms causing more health issues.
When you have hashi all your hormones will be out, as they are all interlinked hence the cause, we need to unravel to fully determine what vitamins minerals and meds we need.
hope this all makes sence and forgive my spellings, doctors dont have a house so to speak for Hashi or graves other than thyroid meds, which usually dont work or the patient feels better for a while and then gets frustrated when the issues arise again.
your blood test are coming back normal because you need test to establish the cause in the first instance, you need a full metobolic panel, allergy, food intolerance, vitamin and mineral test, candida and so on.
I am reading a interesting artical and I have contacted the author and challenged his findings.
My doc gave the impression that I am fabricating my issues lol did, but not now, as the test i ordered are showing issues.
Dont worry about the doc, they dont know, feel powerless in helping and probably refere you to a specialist which again will give you medication but again the root cause should be found.
good luck hope this helps, look up the causes and you will be able to order the test and then start to sort out your immune system. xx
Hi Merissa, I have very high thyroid antibodies-so possibly/probably have Hashimotos. I was supposed to be tested again but haven't been back to GP as I am very nervous about going on Thyroxine as so many people on here seem to find it hard going trying to establish a balance. So, what you say about needing to find the root cause is very interesting to me. I have been tested for Candida (negative), have had tests at docs for Vit D(normal), Iron (high but now OK) not sure about the rest. After reading about the connection with gluten I have cut it out of my diet and am wondering what you think about that as you seem pretty clued up Are you trying to sort yourself out rather than taking medication as well? Thanks a lot x (Apologies to Woody for hijacking the thread!!)
Hi again, yes thats correct, I really need to establish what causing this attack in the first instance, my antibodies are very high( thyroglobulin) but not TPO, however I have been investigating and it seems you only need one to be raised for a diagnoses of hashi, regardless of the TSH, These antibodies can make you ill adding to other health issues. Selium is nown to reduce these but not sure at the minute.
I did try thyroxine, but on a very small dose, but the problem is this, I was being treated for a thyroid issue, when I have Autommune D, therfore the meds arnt going to work, infact in my opinion nothing changed in my smptoms other than my test showing I am now hyperthyroid.
in terms of gluten, me too on a mission, just bought my cook books, the bread is yuc lol
yes I am trying to sort my self out rather than taking meds, however I dont like feeling crap though, I do feel my sytem is so messed up and half of it has been down to stress, bad eating habits and a chest injury.
I have days where I feel so desperate and my heart problems I ignore, I am not in denial but I am fed up with constantly trying to battle with my g.p.
Im back, lol, in terms of candida, before bed spit in a glass( sorry) and in morning see if the spit has grown legs lol, seriously see if spit dangles in strips. This will tell you whether you have Candida. jarrows B12 and magnesium oil or flakes for the bath.
be kind to yourself and stay positive, I to have days where I want to run and hide, my dear children give me strengh. xxx
I've actually had a proper stool test taken for Candida as I was convinced I had it but it came back negative. I feel like I should go back to my GP to have all the thyroid tests again just to see if anything has improved since September when I said bye-bye to gluten! It doesn't bother me too much but I'd hate to be depriving myself for nothing! x
Hi Make sure you are being tested for Free T3, you may well need T3 on a script. Also have your antibodies checked + all the normal tests associated with thyroid disease, Vit d, ( hormonal)Ferritin , B12 and Folic acid, Diabetes,( hormonal and auto immune) all bloods. If this does not help, I would try and have a referral to a good endo. Check them out first and do not rely on GP`s recommendation.There are a lot of auto immune diseases, once you have one you are likely to have more in times, I think my last count was 12. they are treated or not , depending what they are as they occur, but you need to watch out for them!I ftrouble getting Gp to do tests an endo should do them automatically on referral.
I went through exactly this and it got worse and worse over a period of years. I ended up with PMS 3/4 weeks per month and going/driving everyone crazy with anxious, unpredictable mood swings. I agree with the above - a full panel of blood tests including T3 is important to make sure you're converting T4 to active T3. You also need to know your auto-antibody status to be sure what's going on with your thyroid. BUT this wasn't my only problem.
There were 3 things wrong. Here is the order I tackled them in. My GP has been criminally useless so I did a bunch of reading, recruited Dr Barry Peatfield for medical advice
1. I was oestrogen dominant - too much oestrogen vs progesterone. NOTE: progesterone is a 'happy hormone' so that kind of explains a lot. This is what I think explained the PMS symptoms; although symptoms often overlap between hypo and oestrogen dominance.
I started taking 1000mg evening primrose oil (from Boots) daily in the morning + vittex agnus-castus equivalent to 180mg dry root the formulation is called Premular - not sure if you can get this formulation in the UK). The PMS symptoms vanished in less than a week. My husband claims he has a new wife - and he's not cheating!!! Also a mysterious red/dry rash that I'd had on my upper arms vanished too. Then I moved on because still exhuasted...
2. My adrenals (and stress levels) were shot. This is more complex. To get this right I saw Dr Barry Peatfield because my thyroid results looked wrong and my GP wouldn't help (as they were JUST in range T4 upper level, TSH too low). I take a glandular adrenal supplement now to support my adrenal system.
3. Probably the change that makes me most angry was that I was being overdosed with thyroxine. High T4 with a T3/T4 imbalance and low TSH - thyrotoxicosis. After see Dr Peatfield I'm on a combination of a MUCH LOWER dose of thyroxine (half what I was on) and a glandular thyroid support supplement.
Summary - It's taken a month to sort all 3. points out BUT I feel human again. You could try the evening primrose oil and chasteberry first (I'm not sure which worked - the chasteberry was prescribed by an Australian Functional Medic). To be honest, once the mood swings went away I had enough sanity left to deal with the thyroid issue (which makes me very angry btw). This may not work for you but it IS worth a try. Here's a simple reference that kind of explains things hormonal - it suggests it may be the chasteberry not the evening primrose oil that sorted out the hormones... ehow.co.uk/way_6175596_natu...
PLEASE let me know if this works OR your GP actually proves helpful.
Ok. would it be better to see a natural practioner rather than the gp who will only presecribe thyroxine in various doses? Im thinking if its a full vitamin and metabolic panel I need testing surely they will do that? I have tried to ask dr to test for various things but they have only given me a hormone test which was again, normal. I just dont have the strength to keep pleading with the drs to help when they simply do not know how to it seems.
I am still rather confused as to what it is that is the problem. It is an autoimmune disease, so therefore its my immune system that needs help. So surely an alternative practioner could help with that? I am going to try and book an appointment asap. Also, how do I get in touch with Dr Peatfield, and how does he help with things. Also cost etc would be helpful.
I would definitely go to Dr P if I was you. His approach is methodical and if you don't improve he goes on to look at what else might be causing your problems. These autoimmune conditions can be quite complex so it may be more than one thing that needs sorting out. x
Does anyone know how I would go about contacting this famous Dr P? I am desperate now for someone to help and will do just about anything to find out what is wrong. If anyone can give me details about him I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Ok thanks. Although Im not sure I will be able to get up there or afford it. Do you know what his prices are and do you have any information on him? Just that it needs to be doable as I am unemployed and live in south wales. I dont know what to do anymore as my depression is taking over and I am losing the battle here.
Well been to the Gp this morning. And predictably she says, as Ive been diagnosed with depression for several years that is what it is. She said that I am on thyroxine only because I had symptoms of tiredness etc NOT because my results were in the low range. Some of my symptoms are a side effect of duloxetine, dry mouth etc and that is just that.
She said it is not black and white and there is no test they can specifically do to see if there is another condition I may have, though can test my thyroid, iron levels, calcium again.
She said looking up the condition and text books is pointless, and so is on here, she explained that some people go the natural route but they can not prescribe it due to patients having cardiac arrests etc in past although some do on a personal license. She said an endriconologist will just look at the results and a rheumatologist may do further blood tests so that is an option.
I was assertive as I could be but it was getting me nowhere. I agree that it is not black and white and depression can give symptoms that are similar so it is hard to know what is physical and psychological. I came away feeling like a hypochondriac and quite hopeless. Didnt ask for my last bloods which was October as she already said they came back normal.
Maybe I am just depressed? I just dont know anymore. Blood test due 8th April.
Son hasnt been to school for two weeks now. He says he doesnt know what hes doing and is just gaming all day and night and says hes looking for a job. To say Im disappointed is an understatement. There is nothing round here and he is throwing his life away.
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Are you trying to sort yourself out rather than taking medication as well? Thanks a lot x (Apologies to Woody for hijacking the thread!!)
desperate for help - thyroxine making me very unwell 
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Need help with depression and Thyroid
