General Advice Required: Hi everyone, I... - Thyroid UK

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General Advice Required

Taffhamster profile image
13 Replies

Hi everyone,

I just need some general advice and hope you don't mind me asking.

I've been feeling out of sorts for some years and am wondering what would be the best (first) steps to take in order to get a diagnosis and treatment.

My history (thyroid-wise) is as follows. I went to see Dr Peatfield in May 2010 and his opinion was that I was exhibiting a lot of thryroid symptoms. Tests by Genova came back in the normal range – I can't recall if that was the full thyroid profile, and as I understand it, they may not be an indication of what's happening on a cellular level. Candida was high and Adrenals were fatigued. As I seem to recall, the tests were urine and saliva – I don't remember giving a blood sample, but I may be mistaken.

Adrenal Extra, Q10 and Vitamin C were initially prescribed, with the plan that I'd go on to Nutri Thyroid after a few weeks, although I wasn't sure whether to proceed with the Thyroid given the subsequent "normal" result of the Genova test. If I'm honest, my treatment "fell by the wayside". At the time (summer 2010) I was frantically busy with work, having problems with my flat and also dealing with a very stressful family situation. I tried to ring Dr Peatfield and had trouble getting hold of him. He did call back but didn't have my results to hand, so we didn't go through them and I think I just felt so preoccupied (and foggy-brained!) that I didn't chase the follow-up as diligently as I should have. (Please note, I'm not blaming Dr P or trying to make excuses for my own laxity, just trying to provide a bit of context.)

In the interim, acupuncture has kept me ticking over, but in recent months, I've felt like I'm nosediving. My periods have been erratic (absent for five months from last April then back with varying degrees of "normality" and now stopping again, despite my using Serenity progesterone cream). I'm 45 this May so if I'm menopausal it's happened fairly early (I've got Mary Shomon's book on the subject on order!) and I'm just feeling generally rough. I live alone and work from home so I feel like perhaps it's been easier to "roll with" my symptoms (lunchtime naps, etc) than to address them. It's also made it easier to hide them from others, but that's becoming increasingly difficult too.

For instance, it took me about a week to recover from a three-day minibreak that involved a lot (though not an excessive amount) of walking. An evening out with a friend last week (no late night, one cocktail, about 2hrs walking and standing around) left me feeling so achy all over I had to soak in a bath and take painkillers when I got home, and yesterday, a 2-mile walk in the morning left me so achy and exhausted it pretty much wiped me out for the rest of the day.

Weight-wise I'm in the obese range. I've always been big though my weight has been fairly stable for about 10 years. I try to eat well but will have crisps (a lifelong weakness) a couple of times a week. No major sweet tooth, but I do crave carbohydrates. Often, I have very little appetite and will "forget" to eat until late evening.

GP is not an option. Unsympathetic and arrogant.

I also feel low-grade stress may be a factor. My main source of freelance income has diminished and may dry up completely, and although I'm supplementing this with other work, it doesn't pay as well and is for a friend who I worry about letting down. My main fear is that if the main job dries up, I don't know if I'll be able to cope with searching for and/or settling into a new one.

Sorry this is so long-winded – I've been reading so much that I feel I can't see the wood for the trees. Should I get more tests or go back to Dr P? (Or another practitioner based in or near London?) Thanks for "listening" and thanks in advance for any advice – welcomed with gratitude.

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Taffhamster
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13 Replies
LouiseRoberts profile image
LouiseRoberts

Please post the latest thyroid bloods with the ranges. Thanks

Louise

x

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster

Thanks for the reply, Louise. I haven't had any bloods taken since 2010 so I'm not sure how relevant they'd be now, but I'll see if I have them on file if you think it would be useful. Should getting new ones done be my next move? If so, which should I request? Also, where should I get the blood drawn? I'm not convinced my GP's surgery will be helpful. x

LouiseRoberts profile image
LouiseRoberts in reply toTaffhamster

Then my advice would be to have some testing!

Either Genova or Blue Horizon or your GP.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/diagno...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Louise

xx

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster in reply toLouiseRoberts

Thanks, Louise xx

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster

Sorry, I'm not even sure I had bloods done at the time – I think I only did urine and saliva tests.

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator in reply toTaffhamster

Whatever the test results were then, they will not necessarily reflect where you are now.

I know you said GP is not an option, but you are at least entitled to get a thyroid blood test done on the NHS, most especially if this has not been done in the recent past. I understand the 'Unsympathetic and arrogant' bit. Many of us here have encountered this, but we need to stand up for ourselves. We deserve respect! Consider seeing a different GP at the practice, or even change practice if necessary.

So, my suggestion is that GP should be first port of call. The test may prove positive this time.... you nor your GP can know if you don't get tested.

If the result is deemed to be 'normal', then decide your next step accordingly. :)

And whilst you're with the GP requesting the thyroid blood test, say you want vitamin D, ferritin, folate and vitamin B12 done at the same time. These are all relevant to your situation because symptoms of deficiency in all of these cross over with, or can be mistaken for other illnesses such as thyroid.

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster in reply toRedApple

Sorry, I left a reply to Shaws (which either didn't print or has been deleted). I'll probably get the tests done privately as I've had too many bad experiences with my GP practice to want to go there. I used to have a great GP there but she moved to a different part of the country, and the ones there now act like the patients are an inconvenience. (Even getting an appointment is a lottery.) And changing GP is not an option as there's a lack of good surgeries in my catchment area. I had the bog-standard T4 and TSH done about 10 years ago, but of course that came up "normal".

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator in reply toTaffhamster

Please see my reply below re deletion of posts.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

Go to your GP and request a full thyroid gland blood test, plus B12, Vit D, ferritin, folate and iron. Tell him you feel quite ill and want to eliminate things that are causing them.

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster in reply toshaws

Thanks, Shaws, I did post a reply but it either didn't post or has been deleted.

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator in reply toTaffhamster

Just for the record, posts to this forum are not deleted unless the whole content is against the forum guidelines. In which case, you will have been notified of the deletion by an Admin, with the reason why the post was deleted.

So if you've not been notified, your posts have not been deleted by us. It may have been a 'browser error' where you hit send and it vanishes into the ether. I get that sometimes. Very frustrating indeed.

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster in reply toRedApple

Thanks for letting me know – much appreciated. I'm a relative newbie to the forum (I've been a member for a while but mostly reading, or posting the odd reply if my own experience allows). I know you have to be very careful with content on this kind of forum, so I just assumed I had overstepped a guideline. Blimmin' tech hiccups! :-)

Taffhamster profile image
Taffhamster

Got the full thyroid test done at Genova on Wednesday, so I'll share the results as soon as I receive them. May then venture to my GP to see if I can get the others done on the NHS. Thanks again for all the advice so far! x

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