Feeling low

Linda, don't worry what your GP might or might not think.  Write down your questions and go see him, if possible accompanied by a stalwart friend or relative.  You should be seeing him every few months anyway, because you should be getting followup blood tests to see whether you are on the right dose of medication.  This whole process can take a while and it's important not to get discouraged because you still don't feel great.   They key test is called the TSH  (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) test.  You can find out all about it on Wikipedia.  So hang in there and keep getting the tests to see if you are getting enough of the medication.  Write down the results and keep them. A simple question for your GP is am I on the right dosage and how do you know?  Good Luck!

Hi linda, I'd just like to add to Dave's advice by saying write down a list of symptoms and take it to the doctor's with you and show it to them. By the way, feeling stupid and finding things difficult to understand is one of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid! (Also known as Hypothyroidism). So it may be that you are not yet on a high enough dose of thyroxine.

Common symptoms include: tiredness; being sensitive to cold; weight gain; constipation; depression; slow movements and thoughts; muscle aches and weakness; muscle cramps.

I'd also go and see a different GP - they might explain things better. By the way try and see your GP for a check up every 3 months. Hang in there, it does get better as the dose gets nearer to what you need.

Hello Linda:

I am a Nurse and I live in the USA.  I suffer with Hashimoto's thyroid disease. It is a form of Hypothyroiism. Hypothyroidism hits during ages 20-40 and can happen in later life too.

Your thyroid is a very important gland.  It makes 4 hormones, called Thyroxine. We call it in short T1, T2 T3 & T4. The gland regulates a lot and work with other glands in your body.  The body does not grow a new thyroid, so that is why medication for it was invented.

For this conversation we are only concerned with T3 and T4.  In a person without a thyroid problem, our gland makes a hormone T4 and then converts it to a useable T3.  When the thyroid does not do that, we see symptoms like  feeling tired, moody, feeling blue or depressed, feeling COLD, and weight gain.  We also can have brain fog or a hard time concentrating on a task. 

The thyroid replacement med LEVO, has to be taken on an empty stomach and about the same time each day.  You also need blood work to see if the med is working.  It can take 6-8 weeks before you see it change the symptoms.

You will need to have some extra blood work done like a mineral panel, ferritin level, and T3 and T4 levels and Vit D level. Many thyroid patients have low Vitamin D.

Please ask any questions you have - many of us have the same problem and we know how it feels.  Stay well,  Shelly

Now that I have read the above responses, I would add that in addition to the TSH blood test, the most important tests are Free T3 and Free T4.  In particular, the FT3 test shows how much active T3 hormone is available in your body for use.  The FT3 and FT4 tests are more accurate than the T3 and T4 tests.  If your body can convert an adequate amount of synthetic T4 into body usable T3, then you may do just fine on the proper dose of Levothyroxine.  However, if your body cannot convert synthetic T4 into enough T3, then you will likely suffer from continuing hypothyroid symptoms, despite your TSH blood test being "normal".