New and needing advice

[ladytibbie]

Hi - am new to this site and hoping to get some suggestions.I was diagnosed with hypo thyroidism 14 years ago,also treated for depression.taking 225 mg levothyroxine daily but still presenting symptoms.been to see endochrinologist who told me my blood reults coming back in range.am so frustrated trying to get someone to listen and meanwhile bouts of fatigue etc getting worse.desperate for information\advice please.

[Hidden]

Hi ladytibbie, welcome to the site. I think to really try and understand whats going on, you need to post here the results of your latest blood tests and the ranges the lab used. Do you have these? If not, you can request them from the endo or GP, they are yours.

225mg is not a bad dose of levothyroxine so maybe you have things going on that are preventing it from working fully, like low in crucial vitamins and minerals. Have you had vit D, ferritin, folates and B12 checked?

[ladytibbie in reply to Hidden]

Hi thanks for replying. Yeah after reading the posts on here I think I will go back to my doctor and ask for these tests to done.it is so much more complex than I initially realised.

[shaws Administrator in reply to ladytibbie]

Hypothyroidism, I believe, is much more complex than EVEN doctors know.

As Lala says, get the necessary blood tests because good Vit B12 and Vit D ranges can help, and post your results (also get a copy to keep for your own records too).

GP's are happy to keep your thyroid hormone level 'with the range' but we don't feel well unless if it below 1 or even suppressed.

[ladytibbie]

Can u explain wot the lase sentence mean please “below1. Or suppressed” defo goin back to docs I just don't feel well.feel like I'm just dragging my body about .my head feels woolly and my capacity to string together an intelligent conversation is a non starter.have put on weight too.

[PinkNinja in reply to ladytibbie]

Quite often people with hypothyroidism don't feel well until their TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is below 1 or even below the normal range. This is because TSH responds differently to external thyroid hormones (in the form of tablets etc) than it does to the thyroid hormones that our own thyroid produces. Many doctors don't realise this and seem quite happy to stop increasing the dose as soon as TSH is below 5 or 4.5 or whatever the maximum of the "normal" range is.

TSH is higher if you don't have enough thyroxine and other thyroid hormones, and goes very low if you have too much thyroid hormones. Doctors get scared if your TSH goes low because they think you must be getting too much thyroid hormone, but this is rarely the case, unless you are having symptoms of too much thyroid hormone.

I hope that makes sense. You may want to look at the main Thyroid UK website for more information on the thyroid.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

I hope that helps.

Carolyn x

[ladytibbie in reply to PinkNinja]

Thanks it does help, think, if I can concentrate, I need to gather information and go armed to my gp.its great to finally get some answers.

[genieg in reply to ladytibbie]

Hi ..I feel exactly the same as you and am having a similar reaction from my endo . It feels as if no one is listening or indeed taking me seriously! I feel bloody awful! !! I don't have any answers for you but thought it may help to know you're not alone in how you feel x

[ladytibbie in reply to genieg]

Thanks it is such a relief to know I'm not alone,its a horrible condition as it is very understated.even my close family don't understand why I'm so exhausted all the time and I suppose after 15 years I'm only truly realising the impact it is having on me. But I now have hope that is a minor miracle. Going back to gp-again. Round 4 . Sorry to hear you've been in similar predicament. X