underactive thyroid problems?

Oh dear Leanne what a rotten time you are having. I am sure there will be some clever people on here that can give you advice, i have had a lot of questions answered. I just wanted to say that alot of your symptoms do sound like you need a higher dose of levo but the worst thing to me after reading this is the lack of caring and support from your GP, I would seriously think about changing doctors its easy to do ( I am presuming you are in the uk), so many of our GPs just label us with depression and dont look any further it is easy for them to send you away with a prescription !. Have you got another adult that you can take with you to the doctors, I have found that if someone else is with you, the GPs often pay more attention, also take a list of questions and write notes down, the GPs can be intimidating and dismissive especially with younger people and also when you are feeling as you are you are more vulnerable and it is harder to stand up for yourself and get what you deserve. I dont mean to rant on but it makes me cross to hear things like this.

I do hope you get better treatment soon as you deserve to feel healthy and happy and after all that is the job of a GP although I do think some of them treat us as a nuisance and cant be bothered to listen or look at the whole thing, I guess as usual it all boils down to money but a human has got to be worth more than some bits of paper with numbers on !!!.

 Good luck Leanne x

 

Just one more thing, I dont know what time you take your levo but i used to take mine in the morning and fealt rotten in the day very lethargic and brain fog and i slept terribly, I now take my tablet a couple of hours before bedtime and things have improved quite a lot. x

Hello Leanne:

My name is Shelly and I am a nurse in the USA.  I have Hashimoto's Thyroid disease.  I am 54.

I can remember when I was 12 and 13 and I had constiaption and I was tired. Back in my day, teens were not tested.  I also can remember in my 20's getting diagnosed. 

I hear you loud and clear and  i will try and help.  Keep on your Levo 75mcg and take it without food.  If you want you can take it at bedtime, but no food as it blocks the medication from working.

I lost weight 32 pounds doing some normal walking.  Just 1/2 hour a day and it helps. If you prefer you can go to the gym, and exercise. All exercise helps.

No food after 8 p.m. and here is why, it lays in your body and won't burn  off.  Drink water and keep hydrated.  Also move a bigger meal like supper to lunch, please limit bad junk food and sweets.  It does not help!

Do try eating a well balanced meal.  Fish is good, lean foods,salads are good,  and avoid bad dairy items and bread.  Now you may want to speak to a nutritionist.  I know it sounds harsh but give it a try and you may find it works.

Once your Levo builds a proper level you will feel better in mood. This disease is not easy, and it will get better and in another few months your doctor will ask for blood and check your level.  So hang in there.

Regards,

Shelly

to add i have also had b12 deficiency, anemia and im on depo injection because my periods are to painful and heavy 

Hi.  I'm so sorry that you too have to go through this.  Fear not!  I was diagnosed 18 years ago and knew NOTHING about this disease.  I've learned sooooo much just in the last year and I will share what I know and what you can do.

At my highest weight I was 200 pounds.  I was tired.  I was depressed, crying, laying in bed, or on the couch.  I had two children and a husband.  I was in pain from a neck injury and being hypo made all pain and depression worse.  I just didn't know that me and my doctors were doing everything wrong for my thryoid. 

I am 52 and in surgical menopause with hashimoto's hypothyroid.  I should be miserable right??  I'm not.  Sure, I feel tired, I feel heat.  I have moments of anxiety and palpitations.  I don't always feel like walking, or eating right.  Since learning a few things about this disease, I've been able to make myself more comfortable and I wouldn't call myself even close to miserable now. 

First off:  have you had an ultrasound to look at your thyroid??  Have they determined that you have Hashimoto's?  97% of hypothyroid is Hashimoto's.  Have they tested your antibodies, TPO and Tgab??   Just know, that even if you are negative on these blood tests, your thyroid (by ultrasound) will tell you for sure that you have Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease.  Meaning it's always with you. 

Even if you didn't get this tested, or have the ultrasound - I know many can't afford it, or find a doctor that will even do it, grrrrrr!! - there are things you can do to make yourself feel better.

Secondly:  Your dose is TOO LOW.  If you are still at 14 stone (196 pounds), your dose should be at around 150 mcg.  Synthroid/Levo is dosed by weight, 1.7 mcg per kg of weight.  This is why you still feel like poo.  You need to have your blood work done AND tell the doctor (insist!!) that they read the literature for your drug.  It is dosed by WEIGHT and SYMPTOMS, not by blood work alone!

Third:  You HAVE TO stop eating gluten, sugar, dairy and soy. These irritate our immune system.  You will never heal, or feel better until you eat "clean".  Meats, veggies, fruits, little grains, if any (rice and corn cause reactions in some), drink only water, no fruit juices (tooooo much sugar!).  You have to at least start eliminating them one by one - this is easier.  Trust me, with a Levo dosage increase and cutting out (or way back - you can do it!!) inflammatory (the cause of your bloated feeling) will make you feel much better. 

Fourth:  Get your B12, ferritin/iron, magnesium (rbc, not serum) and antibodies  checked.  High antibodies drive the destruction of your thyroid making you feel awful and lowering vitamins and minerals in your body.  Low iron causes fatigue.  Low magnesium causes anxiety and palpitations.  Low B12, low energy.  Until you can get these done, add some B12 (METHYLcobalamin), magnesium (NOT OXIDE) glycinate; citrate works WONDERFULLY for constipation (my problem too!) taken in divided doses. Everyone is different, but starting at 200mg twice a day (i do both glycinate and citrate) and add more slowly until your bowels are too relaxed, then back down - this is what you need to "relax" your bowels.   Citrate also calms you; relaxes the muscles.  Take it at bedtime for sleep.  Add extra C, E, D3 and fish oil daily.  It's seems like a lot, and most of this should (and can) be gotten from your diet.  If not, do supplements - good quality - until you get your diet right.   **First thing in the morning drink a cup of lemon/honey tea.  I squeeze 1/2 to whole lemon in hot water and mix with a couple teaspoons of honey.  This prepares your stomach for the day's digestion.  We hypo's/hashi's have stomach issues and makes absorption of nutrients difficult the more unhealthy we are. 

Are you taking your meds right??  If you take it first thing in the morning are you waiting at least 1 hour before eating?  If you are having coffee, or tea, directly after taking, make sure there is NO DAIRY.  Thyroid meds will not absorb properly with calcium, magnesium and iron taken up to 4 hours prior, or after.  Time your meds, food and supplements properly! 

Four years ago I was feeling really lousy.  My antibodies were in the 300's.  They increased my dose of Synthroid and I was "okay", but not great.  Not sure we ever will be - it's just a fact.  The problem with Levo and Synthroid is that these are T4 only drugs.  Some people do okay on them.  I did for a while...until I didn't anymore.  I switched to natural dessicated thyroid (NDT) just recently, so I'm still adjusting.  If you can't get it, or your doc won't prescribe (and if your test warrants it, lower end of range), then the doc can add T3 (cytomel).    Anyways, I've also changed my diet.  I have cut WAY back on bread, pasta and sugar.  I've lost 40# AND!!  my antibodies are negative!!   I still have Hashimoto's (always will) because I have nodules on my thyroid; proof of Hashimoto's.  The dietary changes and the addition of supplements I credit to this suppression of the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto's.  If I go back to eating the way I did (holidays!!!) I could inflame my thyroid again. I don't want that. 

YOU have more control over this than you think.  The doctors won't help you through this.  YOU have to be proactive and get those tests done.  Insist!  This is a disease as bad as diabetes, but the doctors are so casual about it's treatment.  It's infuriating!   There are pages on face/book that you should join.  They are private, and you can ask any question you like and they will help you.  These pages educated me more than my doctors, and have enabled me to suppress my condition...as long as I keep doing what I'm doing.  This is for life. 

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. 

Take care. 

 

Hi leanne sorry to hear you are feeling this way.

I find levothyroxine makes me feel depressed and like you cry a lot.

1. What happened when you were diagnosed? I.e. What are they saying is the cause of your hypothyroidism? I was told mine was iodine deficiency which is rare, most people have hashimotos. If you have hashimotos then you will need thyroid meds of some kind. But I didn't and after eight years of hell with levothyroxine they are now saying I may never have needed thyroxine in the first place!! It is possible to have slightly high Tsh and not need medication (or only a trial of a very low dose). I dont want you to go through what I did from the age of 19 I was very depressed and I'm now 27 and things are not great.

2. Not everyone does well on levothyroxine (not on its own anyway). It may be possible that you don't convert the levothyroxine t4 hormones to t3 hormones properly. Have you had your T3 levels tested? If not request this from you Gp (push hard for it if they resist!!- take some literature from the thyroid UK website to back you up if needed).

3. You may do better on a combo of t3 medication and levothyroxine. I tried liothyonine (t3 med) and it helped boost my metabolism and helped with the weight gain. It also perked me up and I felt less sluggish and tired and sad. However, I suffered with a pounding heart so it is important to start on low doses if you are offered this med and gradually introduce more if needed. Liothyonine is not offered or willingly given out in the UK but u have a feeling that patients may be entitled to a "trial" of this- so push for this too.

4. Ask to be referred to an endocrinologist. These are the experts and even the most knowledgeable GPs won't know much about thyroid conditions. I didn't even know this was an option until recently.

5. Doctors will often test Tsh and T4 levels which often come back as "normal", despite people still having nasty symptoms. Get t3 tested too.

6. Diet- you are correct in thinking that diet alone will not help if your thyroid is having issues. I suffered with a lot of IBS related symptoms too. Cut out gluten- lots of people with thyroid conditions are sensitive to gluten. I cut this out and it stopped a lot of the symptoms. Also check out the fodmap diet (some foods even healthy foods, make these symptoms worse) so check out which foods to avoid. Keep up the healthy eating (I know it's tough when you feel low) but fatty foods give you cravings and will make the mood worse. Also might be worth trying hypnosis for healthy eating/weight loss. I completed a hypnotherapy course and it worked wonders in boosting my mind set and actually wanting to eat better

I'm not medically trained but from personal experience some of the above suggestions may help so let us know how you get on!! Have a rest over Christmas abd make some plans with friends and family to try and take your mind off things. I find this forum isgreat when you need a bit of support x