My 78yr old father moves better than me! Can someone please help with my latest bloods?

[Jubileeuk]

Hi, my first time posting, although i have been lurking for a couple of months now. I was diagnosed hypo in June of last year. I was severely hypo according to doc and i was started on 75mcg Levothyroxine. This has gone steadily up since then, and, although i feel better than i did at the beginning, i am still ill on a daily basis. I now take 175mcg Levo and have the intense muscle and joint pain, wheezing, breathless and massive weight gain which is still ongoing.Thats besides all the itching, fatigue and everything else. Had results today and doc just said, i'm now over treated but she wont change anything as she is referring me to a specialist because she thinks i need to hear from him that i am now treated.

My results are : free T4 - above range - 20.8 pmol/L (10.0 - 20.0)

and Serum TSH - below range 0.15 miu/L (0.2 - 4.0) I take all kinds of supplements too as well as painkillers. Any advice would be helpful and thankyou in advance

[Clarebear]

Hi JubileeUK - sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. Just wondering if you have had the "fab five" tested - ferritin, iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and folate? Some/all of these can cause symptoms which mimic hypothyroidism, and can affect the T3 getting into the actual cells, thus exacerbating symptoms.

The other thing which would be useful to see if FT3. The endo will hopefully test for this. I had results similar to yours 15 months ago and felt dreadful. I am feeling much better now that I am getting some direct T3 from the NDT that I take.

Dr Toft says in his book "Understanding Thyroid Disorders" that most people will feel better with the kind of results that you have, but that some don't and then a trial of T3 is warrented. If you don't have this book, then it would be worth investing £5 and getting hold of it - most chemists sell it I think. xx

[Jubileeuk]

Hi Clarebear, thanks for taking the time to answer.Doctor only requested TSH, but when nurse was taking blood i asked for T4 and T3 as well. She said "sure" so i was hopeful, but only TSH & T4 done. Had B12 tested a while ago which was ok, Vitamin D is slightly deficient, so I am taking D3 in high strength supplement with Magnesium to help absorption.None of the others tested though, I'm getting the same response that a lot of others are...."your bloods are in range so you are being treated properly". I was so upset earlier this week that i wrote all my symptoms down, followed by all my meds and included the passage youre talking about from Dr Tofts book, highlighted that particular bit, and delivered it to doctors receptionist with instructions it was for my particular doctor. She was reading it when i went into my appointment today, and I'm assuming thats mostly why she said she wouldnt change anything. I got the impression that I'm being sent to specialist just so that he can tell me its all in my head. Well, its not, but even if it was, I'd rather hear it from someone who specialises.

[Hidden in reply to Jubileeuk]

Just a pointer, if you want to reply to someone in particular, you have to make sure to click on 'reply to this' otherwise they will not get an email letting them know that you have responded.

Louise x

[Clarebear in reply to Jubileeuk]

Well hopefully the endo will be better, but no guarantees I'm afraid. Have you done any research on the endo you are seeing? It's often worth getting recommendations from others on here. My endo tests fT3 as standard and will prescribe T3. Xx

[Jubileeuk in reply to Clarebear]

sorry LouiseWarvillToo.....the amount of times i've read that, and i still didnt do it. Der!

Clarebear, the doc told me who i was being sent to see, and said it would be about 4 weeks. I've looked him up on internet, but not found anything specific. Nobody appears to have reviewed him, but at least he's not listed as a diabetic specialist like a lot are.

[Hidden in reply to Jubileeuk]

No probs! xx