just got back from doctors.

[nichola79]

Ive just had my doctor's visit and after explaining my poor walking, aching body and all over feeling heavy i have now been doagnosed with FIBROMYALGIA.

I brought up my blood levels and she said that with woman iron levels tend to be low because of there menstral period, hello i dont get my menstral due to the depot injection.

Anyway i think the best bit about it is she has ordered blood work to be done next tuesday, she thinks my body is fighting against my immune system so she is doing a autoimmune blood test on me

Is this what i needed?

Anyway with having this test would i still need to have the antibodies test done? cause im ordering that from bluehorizon friday and dont know if i need to now?

Ive been told by many thyroid sufferers that fibromyalgia is another diagnosis that we get even though its are thyroid is this true? x

[nichola79]

*diagnosed

[Marz]

Yes it's true ! - do check out the tags for Fibromyalgia on the right of this page - click onto ' See more tags ' and then F in the alphabet that will come up and off you go !....so much information. Look out for Shaws and her excellent links to Dr Lowe and his explanations of Low Metabolism and Fibromyalgia......

Good Luck. You could ring the surgery and ask if the Auto-immune test includes your Thyroid Anti-bodies just to make sure.....

[PoppyRose]

Absolutely!! Depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fybromyalgia and now Peri-menopausal! What next? He's offered me HRT or nothing!! I've refused the lot and with a battle succeeded yesterday. I have same story as yours. On 50mcg Gp refused to increase from day one high TSH and Low under T4, won't refer to Consultant either. Says I'm normal - well he's not because the nurse clinician disagreed and practice manager so she increased dose only to 75mcg to trail. Yippee!!

[nichola79 in reply to PoppyRose]

my tsh seems to increase everytime i have the test, i gave up smoking 8 weeks ago and my symptoms are worse :/ x

[PinkNinja]

It may be common for women to have low iron but it is certainly not normal! It should be addressed if you have low iron and it could account for some of your symptoms.

Another one is vitamin D. The trouble walking immediately made me think of vitamin D because I had that problem when I was deficient, along with fatigue, depression and joint pain (and others!) It might be worth getting this checked because many people in the UK are deficient and it can be quite debilitating for some people.

Yes, it most definitely could be your thyroid. Please get the results of your thyroid tests. You may be "borderline" or "sub-clinical" which basically means you are hypothyroid but have the unfortunate privilege of having "normal" blood test results

I hope you get the answers you need, but don't accept a diagnosis of fibromyalgia if this is not what you believe you have.

Take care

Carolyn x

[nichola79 in reply to PinkNinja]

my tsh was 1.73

serum t3 5.0

serum t4 11.0.

i have symptoms of both hyper and hypo, i am suffering with lead feelings in my legs and arms with tingling, also getting pains in my feet almost like feeling they are going to cramp, got diagnosed today as having fibro :/

I have a thyroid nodule also, i have posted on here on my questions my last august fbc results!

Doc isnt interested that my b12 is only at 245 (last august), im 33 and feel 100.

My body is a mass ache, im here crying i dont know what to do, i can hardly walk, my legs are killing! x

[PinkNinja in reply to nichola79]

Please look into getting a sublingual B12 supplement. I take the Jarrows 5000mcg methyl B12. You need a good high dose because your B12 is quite low. Some doctors (although not many) will treat you if your B12 is below 300.

It would definitely be worth asking about vitamin D too. If you are deficient in one vitamin you will likely be deficient in more. Pains in feet are very common with vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is becoming increasingly common in the UK. You might want to do a google search for vitamin D deficiency symptoms and see how many you tick. This could be part of the problem, along with the iron and B12 and perhaps thyroid too.

The aching could be thyroid, or it could be vitamin D or it could be both. It could also be iron. All these things are equally important and it is essential to get all of them sorted out. If you know these levels are low in the range, you can buy supplements to help you.

Your thyroid results are difficult to read without the reference range but your T3 and TSH look ok. That doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with your thyroid. Your thyroid function may well be fluctuating, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid condition. Also the tests only tell you how much hormone is in your blood and not how much is getting into the cells and being used. Iron, B12, folate and vitamin D are all important for your cells to be able to use thyroid hormones.

I hope that helps.

Carolyn x

[nichola79 in reply to PinkNinja]

a massive thank you, i have the b12 what you mentioned and folate, i started them a week ago, how long before i initially feel the benefit?

Also i stopped them today as im having more bloods done tuesday.

for t3 the range is 3.8-6.0

for t4 its 7.9-20.0

I feel so achy and shakey its unreal, i dont know if i should continue with the vitimins because of the tests?

Also im not sure what the autoimmune tests she is doing :/ x

[PinkNinja in reply to nichola79]

You could be heading towards hypothyroidism, or your thyroid function may be fluctuating. It is certainly worth keeping an eye on your thyroid function given that your T4 is low in range, despite your T3 being quite good.

It would be wise to not take any supplements of vitamins for which you are having blood tests. Your B12 will appear high in a blood test if you are taking high doses (which is absolutely fine but won't help with a diagnosis).

The autoimmune stuff could also be contributing and vitamin D. They seem to be related to each other too!

Hope you get answers

[nichola79 in reply to PinkNinja]

I have given up smoking since and feel worse

[PinkNinja in reply to nichola79]

quitting smoking has been known to trigger hypothyroidism. It doesn't cause it as such, just triggers it if there is an underlying predisposition, as far as I understand. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Another thing could be your adrenals. If you can get a cortisol test, please do. Low cortisol can have quite an effect on how you feel.

As well as looking up vitamin D deficiency, I recommend you look up adrenal fatigue or adrenal insufficiency. It is surprisingly common, although most UK doctors don't acknowledge its existence. However, the WHO do recognise is as a big problem.

[shaws]

Click on these links.

web.archive.org/web/2010122...

web.archive.org/web/2011041...

[nichola79]

do hypo cause all this aching? even my feet are bad x

[nichola79]

I take it this diagnosis is common then? x

[Duchy82]

If your doc has asked for an autoimmune bloodtest then you dont need to get antibodies done as that is what it will be testing for.

[nichola79 in reply to Duchy82]

Im not sure if she is doing the thyroid one :/ x

[Duchy82 in reply to nichola79]

Ahhh wel yes that is a bit of a problem it might be worth waiting with your private bloodtest until you got the results from the one your gp is doing if thats possible

[nichola79 in reply to Duchy82]

i wanted to have the thyroid antibodies checked x

[HappyH81]

Hi Nichola,

Ive been at my GP today also. I have not had a diagnosis yet but with much support from here i went in requesting tests. I have requested my B12 again as it was low, my folate was well below the level but because mt thyroid tests are within range they dont seem to be concerned about that even the fact they are well at the low end which suggests hashimotos disease. Ive asked for a thyroid ultrasound but have been told that this will probably be rejected. They have asked me to look at chronic fatigue syndrome and depression. I know im not depressed. Im really emotional and low but along with my other symptoms, extreme exhaustion being the most problematic i think it relates to my thyroid or b12 and folate deficiency.

I prepared for this appointment like i was going in for an exam.

Its so tiring having to fight for a GP to take you seriously.

Hope you get answers soon.