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"underactive thyroid" advice please?
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skulldiggerFree Member
Went to docs this week as -for a few months now- I’ve been having seizures(?right word?)like somebody’s walking over my grave 12 times a day, and feeling generally crap, not able to ride with any strength and so on.
Blood test came back showing an underactive thyroid, I now have to wait 3 months for a re-test. So Im a tad concerned now, can a thyroid fix itself or a could I be looking at hormone pills for life? If I do end up on hormone pills can I expect to feel a real difference, Im so used to feeling lousy it just feels like the norm these days. Would be nice to have a spring in my step again!
Thankscinnamon_girlFull MemberGood morning.
I’m afraid that you’ll be on medication for life. As a first step I would request a copy of your blood test results (you’re entitled to do this) as it will be really helpful to see what’s been tested.
Most people feel better on Thyroxine. However I’m one of the estimated 15% who don’t for a number of reasons and I’ve been very ill. Not that the NHS were concerned in the slightest.
I would strongly recommend reading up on hypothyroidism (I can recommend books) and take control of your health.
e-mail in profile and happy to answer any questions if I can.
compositeproFree Memberi have a slow thyroid…its no biggie chief …you just take a tablet a day and after a while the balance returns to normal ,as CG says some folks are better on a more natural regime than the synthetic thyroxine
however it might be a glitch in the system endocrinology is quite complex so wait and dont sweat it if it s still the same in three months then its fixable
only thing is it doesn’t happen overnight eg you wont magically wake up tomorrow with lead erupting out of your pencil its a careful balancing act and it takes a wee while to bring levels back into the range they should be
your thyroid affects pretty much most of your metabolic functions but be safe in the knowledge normal service resumes eventually
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...samcamsdadFull MemberOveractive thyroid here, sorry to here about your problem. I found lots of helpfull info on here: http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/support/resources.html
Quite a good forum on here somewhere that i used a lot in the early stages of diagnosis. Probably got more answers here, than i did at the gp’s.
Good luck, i hope you can get it sorted out.
cinnamon_girlFull Memberyour thyroid affects pretty much most of your metabolic functions but be safe in the knowledge normal service resumes eventually
After 4 years I still have rubbish health! Had to stop riding and spent a good part of the day sleeping. Even walking up the stairs wiped me out.
It’s a complex subject. 😐
compositeproFree Memberyou will also find you become the worlds foremost expert on thyroid disease
skulldiggerFree Memberwow, thanks for the info Cinnamon girl. Suppose I ought to wait and see what the next results show and take it from there? My iron levels were ok etc just the thyroid was a problem, I didn’t take it all that seriously to be honest until I got home and googled it!
I don’t want to pest anybody but I may email you if I have something bugging me. Thanks.p.s im a 40 year old male.
skulldiggerFree MemberThanks guys..
Even walking up the stairs wiped me out.
Stairs kill. Using the old hands on knees technique for a while now 😕
cinnamon_girlFull MemberWere you told what your TSH level was? NHS won’t prescribe unless it’s over 10 as per their guidelines. In the rest of the world it’s around 3.5 for treatment.
Second samcamsdad’s recommendation for thyroiduk forum, there’s loads of info there. Also thyroidpatientadvocacy which seems to be down at the moment.
Edit: blood tests don’t actually tell the whole story, it’s complicated!
thecaptainFree MemberA relative had a problem with thyroid, spent a some time playing around with dose hoping it might stabilise or improve. Eventually went for the kill (big dose of radioactive iodine to finish off the thyroid) and seems fine relying 100% on pills now. Seems to take time to sort out though, good luck!
thegreatpotatoFree MemberBoth my sisters and I all have hypothyroidism, and we’re an example of the variety of outcomes of diagnosis. One sister has it tough. Been on thyroxine for years, but she still regularly feels “off” and needs more blood tests and the prescription adjusted. My other sister takes the pills every day but swears blind that it doesn’t help her at all, she’s still constantly tired, etc. And me (41 year old male), I’ve had it easy by comparison. Been on the same level of thyroxine for years, a much higher dose than either my sisters. Yet it’s only now and again, very rarely, I can feel there is something not quite right. As if my energy level is not where it normally is, or the other way, that I’m fidgety and anxious and short-tempered and have too much energy. These only last a day or two max each time then I return to normal. No bother, really.
ratadogFull MemberOne of the previous threads is here
and the other one is here
If you had a low T4, that is a low level of thyroxine which is the main hormone actually produced by the thyroid, I would be expecting a fairly instant re check and treatment thereafter.
The recheck in 3 months route is usually taken if the levels of T4 and T3 are OK but the TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, is a bit high. TSH does exactly what it says on the tin and is released by the pituitary gland which is a tiny gland just below the brain or out the back of the nose depending on whether you are an anatomist or a surgeon. Trouble is that the TSH will go up and down for all sorts of reasons particulalry other co-existent illnesses, viral infections etc. etc. hence the practice of repeating the test a few months later if the TSH alone is just a bit off.
If you do need replacement it is life long but in the vast majority of cases your body doesn’t give a monkeys whether you get your thyroid hormone from Boots or make it yourself as long as the right amount is floating around. CG is right, there are some people where replacement is more difficult usually because of issues with absorption or in very rare cases because they don’t process T4 to T3 as efficiently as they should. In my experience, it is a lot lot less than 15% of those affected and my job means I collect such people in a manner of speaking.
Thyroid advice on the internet is a perfect illustration of all that is good, bad and mad about the internet. The British Thyroid Foundation is a patient led registered charity that has a very informative website and strong connections with the British Thyroid Association which in turn serves the needs of boring people like me.
skulldiggerFree MemberWere you told what your TSH level was?
Erm no, my own fault really I called whilst out shopping with wife. Receptionist rattled off the results and told me to come back in January for blood test 2 as thyroid is underactive. At this point the word “thyroid” means nothing to me and the baby starts to cry and needs feeding so was too busy to be interested… Fast forward to this morning, I have a couple of hours alone and chance to research. Doh.
..Think I need to go back to my docs and go over that blood test result in more detail. My ignorance is almost as shocking as the complexity of thyroid problems! 🙄
ciderinsportFree MemberMine basically stopped working when I was 32. I’m 41 now! That caused me to have a stroke. Since then I’ve taken thyroxine every day and I’m fine (although, you may question that if you know me!)
Best of luck OP.
GJPFree MemberI have been on thyroxine for over a decade. For me it turned things completely around in couple of weeks, until I saw the CG thread a while back, I never realised it could be such a problem for so many people. Me, my sister and aunt all take the thyroxine, none of us had any problems. I was marginal at first and struggled on for a few months, but never looked back after starting the meds.
dannymite1981Free MemberI too have a underactive thyroid,was diagnosed around 10 years ago and been on thyroxine since im now 32.I too am unfortunately in the low percentage that do not feel any better on medication(synthetic thyroid hormone).I would’nt worry too much as it seems the vast majority(according to NHS)respond well to the meds and have no problems.Has anyone tried Armour thyroid?just wondered if that actually works.
cinnamon_girlFull Memberdannymite1981 – I self-medicate and buy from abroad. There are other meds besides Armour.
dannymite1981Free MemberHi cinnamon,do you feel any better self medicating and what meds is it you are buying?I have thought many times about self medicating also paying for a independant specialist but for one reason or another did’nt go through with it.
zippykonaFull MemberMrs Zip says you’ll be just dandy once you get your drugs. In the meantime take it easy.
cinnamon_girlFull MemberI should have said this earlier but self-medicating should not be done without specialist advice.
danny – e-mail in profile and happy to answer any questions that way. 🙂 Don’t want to upset the medics on here. 😉
Mrs Zip says you’ll be just dandy once you get your drugs
That is not guaranteed and the more people that realise that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work the better. We are all individuals!
samuriFree MemberAlso. You may find you put on a ton of weight.
Both my wife and her sister found they had underactive thyroids pretty much simultaneously. Both now on treatment. My wife’s weight has remained roughly constant due to her becoming extremely careful about what she eats but her sister has really put the pounds on.
compositeproFree MemberAlso. You may find you put on a ton of weight.
Both my wife and her sister found they had underactive thyroids pretty much simultaneously. Both now on treatment. My wife’s weight has remained roughly constant due to her becoming extremely careful about what she eats but her sister has really put the pounds on.
Some folks nibble more often like that ratadog bloke says its complex
as for se3lf medicating…see a medically qualified person
ebygommFree MemberI’d personally advise against reading too much about it on the internet at this stage. Like a lot of these things, people only tend to report worst case scenarios and I was pretty depressed after reading up.
As it is I take a tablet everyday and have a blood test once a year and that’s the only affect it has on my life.
GingerFree MemberI was diagnosed 15 years ago. I have been on the same (quite high) dose for over ten years now, including through a pregnancy so i am probably on full replacement. I was in quite a state by the time I was diagnosed and it took about three years before all the symptoms eased, but within two months there was a vast improvement in energy levels and feeling cold all the time. My actual results were not as bad as the myriad of symptoms I had would have suggested but my doctor also used my resting heart rate (which was very very low) as an indicator. Apparently they used this prior to some of the blood tests being available and it is very helpful as from your doctors perspective it is objective. As a fit person it might even be more extreme which gives more weight to you situation – given I was still experiencing a lot of symptoms my doctor accepted that a heart rate in the 30s was not normal when I wasn’t an Olympic athlete! We used a combination of blood tests and heart rate to manage how I felt but minimise the medication.
You should be careful of over medicating as it stresses your heart and other symptoms and in many ways is much worse for your health than being a bit under. Be wary of the Internet as it is a bit of catch all illness so folk blame everything on it. I am a bit overweight but that has been well earned from eating too much, it isn’t ‘my glands’! You will find research that suggests ten pound to a maximum of a stone additional weight can be related to the condition, not any more.
Now, I take tablets every day and have a blood test once a year. No actual impact on my life and its nothing to worry about.
jamesgarbettFree MemberHi, my underactive thyroid was diagnosed as part of a routine check-up about 5 years ago when I was 37. I’ve been on 100mcg of thyroxine since. To be honest I didn’t think I had symptoms before and I don’t feel any different now but apparently my TSH levels are back at normal levels.
dan1980Free MemberThat is not guaranteed and the more people that realise that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work the better. We are all individuals!
Indeed, and whilst it is evident you’ve had a bad time with your thyroid problems, it’s actually fairly rare that medication doesn’t help the symptoms, and it seems to me that when the OP is asking for reassurance, giving a “worst case” isn’t necessarily that helpful when a positive spin on things would make him feel happier.
To the OP, my father, in his 70s, was diagnosed with an under active thyroid, and whist it took a little while for the drs to get his medication right, he’s remarkably fit and healthy for a man of his age. He seems significantly better than immediatly after his diagnosis. Good luck with it all!
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