Aa
in uk
hi, i have just been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, i know nothing about it, am seeing another dr. on tuesday, but i have been trying to learn what i can to help myself.
i keep reading peoples symptoms etc and dont find much in common with them, so i am very worried, i havent felt right for a few years now, i feel very lethargic, but not terribly tired, just lazy if that makes any sense, i have put on loads of weight,( 98pounds) i have given up smoking 8/9 months ago.my skin is dry and its got hard to put make up on properly. i am a bit achy, but not any head aches.i have this very painful hip area, and my upper torso (just under my bust) feels like i tight band is round it, i have been put on levothyroxine 100 micrograms per morning each day. i would really appreciate any advice/ help on how to cope or any view/opinions on anything to do with it,
thanyou.
i keep reading peoples symptoms etc and dont find much in common with them, so i am very worried, i havent felt right for a few years now, i feel very lethargic, but not terribly tired, just lazy if that makes any sense, i have put on loads of weight,( 98pounds) i have given up smoking 8/9 months ago.my skin is dry and its got hard to put make up on properly. i am a bit achy, but not any head aches.i have this very painful hip area, and my upper torso (just under my bust) feels like i tight band is round it, i have been put on levothyroxine 100 micrograms per morning each day. i would really appreciate any advice/ help on how to cope or any view/opinions on anything to do with it,
thanyou.
thankyou so much for your kindness in taking the time to add to my posts, yes you are so right , its like getting blood out of a stone here in the uk,
thay seem to go against all the good advice you get elsewhere, like Thyroid uk etc, it is really depressing. i am really pleased you have started to feel better, as i was saying to barb, its very overwhelming, and i dont feel quite so alone after hers and yours help and advice, especially since you are in the uk too, i was wondering , if its not a terrible cheek , would it bo ok to send the odd pm to you, it would be a huge help for me but maybe a pain in the neck for you! (forgive the pun), lol . take care and god bless . sue x
thay seem to go against all the good advice you get elsewhere, like Thyroid uk etc, it is really depressing. i am really pleased you have started to feel better, as i was saying to barb, its very overwhelming, and i dont feel quite so alone after hers and yours help and advice, especially since you are in the uk too, i was wondering , if its not a terrible cheek , would it bo ok to send the odd pm to you, it would be a huge help for me but maybe a pain in the neck for you! (forgive the pun), lol . take care and god bless . sue x
Hi I too am in the UK and I am afraid our GP's don't seem to be very good at dealing with this illness. I spent 2 years when first diagnosed being told my blood tests were normal whilst feeling awful, my main symptom being anxiety when my levels are wrong. I gained weight and was told by my gp that this wasn't a sympton just an excuse! With the help of this site, keeping a diary of my symptoms and results and a bit of self adjustment of my medication I finally feel well most of the time, stress affects me more than it ever did and I make sure I listen to my body. Please make sure you don't suffer in silence you have to keep on top of your gp and tests and call on us when you get frustrated. Good luck x
thanks Barb, your support has been invaluable, i will post again with my next lot of results , and keep everything crossed, lol god bless. Sue.
COMMUNITY LEADER
It often takes a while to start feeling better, even once your medication is adjusted. Hypothyroidism is an illness, just like any other and it takes a while for your body to actually heal and get well.
Actually, problems with the pituitary gland are not all that common; it takes time and patience to get the medication adjusted properly.
I don't know how much a private test would cost either. We've had members who have had to go private, or get a special letter from their doctor for approval to do the FT3 and/or get on T3 medication.
Actually, problems with the pituitary gland are not all that common; it takes time and patience to get the medication adjusted properly.
I don't know how much a private test would cost either. We've had members who have had to go private, or get a special letter from their doctor for approval to do the FT3 and/or get on T3 medication.
thankyou so much for replying, what you say all makes sense! and all adds up, its exactly right, i am feeling worse all the time , getting bigger, etc.
i have another blood test due in a weeks time , but they wouldnt do a T3. i did ask, they really dont seem to be very knowledgeable about all this. you are really right about the uk. i dont know how much a private test would be, everything i have read on line etc always ends up with the papituitary gland. so i dont know why the doctors here are so difficult.
i am on the 100 mc now and have been for 7 weeks. my symptoms havent improved any, (as you may tell through all my ramblings), lol
i really appreciate your help barb, and all your advice., i hope you are ok.
i have another blood test due in a weeks time , but they wouldnt do a T3. i did ask, they really dont seem to be very knowledgeable about all this. you are really right about the uk. i dont know how much a private test would be, everything i have read on line etc always ends up with the papituitary gland. so i dont know why the doctors here are so difficult.
i am on the 100 mc now and have been for 7 weeks. my symptoms havent improved any, (as you may tell through all my ramblings), lol
i really appreciate your help barb, and all your advice., i hope you are ok.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Wow - you must feel really crappy, with labs like that.........
No, Free T3 is not the same as TSH. TSH is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the thyroid into producing more hormones, but apparently, your thyroid can't respond........ so your pituitary just keeps cranking out TSH.
Free T3 is the active thyroid hormone. This hormone, controls metabolism, heart rate, body temperature, as well as other processes.
Just to give you a bit of an idea -- your pituitary constantly checks to make sure there's enough Free T3 and Free T4 (thyroid hormones) in the blood, if there's not, the pituitary, then puts out more TSH; when everything works properly, the thyroid responds by producing T3 and T4 hormones, mostly T4, which must then be converted to T3 which is then used by the individual cells. When the thyroid can't respond to the pituitary, as I said above, it just keeps cranking out TSH.
Of the T3 and T4 that the thyroid produces, some of that will bound by proteins and will be unusable, therefore, it's necessary to test FREE T3 and FREE T4, in order to find out how much is available for use by the cells or for conversion.
I don't know how receptive your doctors will be to requests for Free T3 testing. As I said before, we see a lot of members from UK who have a very hard time getting proper testing/treatment because of NHS standards. Many have had to seek treatment privately, or get their doctor to make a special request....... not sure how that works.
You originally started out on 50 mcg levo; have you gone up to the 100 mcg yet? It takes approximately 6 weeks for the medication to reach full potential in the body, though some people start seeing slight improvement in symptoms after a couple weeks or so.......
When are you scheduled to go back for blood tests again? You should be getting tested at approximately 6 week intervals until your levels have stabilized and your symptoms alleviated.
No, Free T3 is not the same as TSH. TSH is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the thyroid into producing more hormones, but apparently, your thyroid can't respond........ so your pituitary just keeps cranking out TSH.
Free T3 is the active thyroid hormone. This hormone, controls metabolism, heart rate, body temperature, as well as other processes.
Just to give you a bit of an idea -- your pituitary constantly checks to make sure there's enough Free T3 and Free T4 (thyroid hormones) in the blood, if there's not, the pituitary, then puts out more TSH; when everything works properly, the thyroid responds by producing T3 and T4 hormones, mostly T4, which must then be converted to T3 which is then used by the individual cells. When the thyroid can't respond to the pituitary, as I said above, it just keeps cranking out TSH.
Of the T3 and T4 that the thyroid produces, some of that will bound by proteins and will be unusable, therefore, it's necessary to test FREE T3 and FREE T4, in order to find out how much is available for use by the cells or for conversion.
I don't know how receptive your doctors will be to requests for Free T3 testing. As I said before, we see a lot of members from UK who have a very hard time getting proper testing/treatment because of NHS standards. Many have had to seek treatment privately, or get their doctor to make a special request....... not sure how that works.
You originally started out on 50 mcg levo; have you gone up to the 100 mcg yet? It takes approximately 6 weeks for the medication to reach full potential in the body, though some people start seeing slight improvement in symptoms after a couple weeks or so.......
When are you scheduled to go back for blood tests again? You should be getting tested at approximately 6 week intervals until your levels have stabilized and your symptoms alleviated.
i hope you dont mind me bumping this up, only its taken so long to get the results, on the post above this. thanks
i hope its not too late to get back here, it takes so long to get hold of your own test results here in england, plus i havent been well at all,
i dont think they give in depth onfo but i will write what gave me,
it says....TSH level(XaELV)............>100.0mu/L (0.35-5.0) above range
.....T4 level(XaERr) ..........<3.2pmol/(7.0-20.0) below range.
this is all it says and i dont know what it means or anything, except i am taking 100 micrograms of levothyroxine for 8 weeks now. i did tell my doctor about the T3, you mentioned , but he said that was the TSH test. i am all over the place and suffering from accute depression, any help, advice or hope you can give me i will be so very grateful, thanks.
i dont think they give in depth onfo but i will write what gave me,
it says....TSH level(XaELV)............>100.0mu/L (0.35-5.0) above range
.....T4 level(XaERr) ..........<3.2pmol/(7.0-20.0) below range.
this is all it says and i dont know what it means or anything, except i am taking 100 micrograms of levothyroxine for 8 weeks now. i did tell my doctor about the T3, you mentioned , but he said that was the TSH test. i am all over the place and suffering from accute depression, any help, advice or hope you can give me i will be so very grateful, thanks.
i just replied but coz i hit best answer first, it all vanished, lol, perhaps this should be mentioned? or it could be me missing the obvious, not very good tech wise, lol, anyway will get test results, the notes left for me were just general ones regarding thyroids, nothing specific to me. the prescripton he left was for Levothyroxine 50 micro grams, take one a day for a fortnight then 2 a day for 2 months, then go see him again, dont know what you think about this, ? thanks so very much for taking the time to reply etc,
god bless.
god bless.
thankyou so much for your help, you are right regarding the nhs, i hope i can get my readings as i trust this site so much ,
anyway, i was told to lose weight about a month ago by one dr, after a blood test, but i couldnt walk properly and was in so much pain i went back to drs. and another one was on duty, he sent me back imediately for another blood test and the 2 days later i got a phone call , saying my count ? was only 3 much too low, so she left a prescription and some notes on thyroid stuff to be picked up from receptionist at drs.
i have had symptoms for approx 3/4 years but the diagnose was only made nearly 3 weeks ago. i cant walk with the terrible pain in my side ,is sharp and a terrible ache. sorry to have gone on. i hope you can reply, i feel so alone too.
anyway, i was told to lose weight about a month ago by one dr, after a blood test, but i couldnt walk properly and was in so much pain i went back to drs. and another one was on duty, he sent me back imediately for another blood test and the 2 days later i got a phone call , saying my count ? was only 3 much too low, so she left a prescription and some notes on thyroid stuff to be picked up from receptionist at drs.
i have had symptoms for approx 3/4 years but the diagnose was only made nearly 3 weeks ago. i cant walk with the terrible pain in my side ,is sharp and a terrible ache. sorry to have gone on. i hope you can reply, i feel so alone too.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Your symptoms are actually very typical of hypothyroidism.
I, too, had quit smoking just a few months prior to being dx'd hypo, so everyone put my sudden weight gain down to that, even though I'd started gaining before I stopped smoking. Dry skin and general aches and pains are also typical as is a bit of possible shortness of breath (? the feeling like a tight band is around your middle?).
How long has it been since you were diagnosed hypo? Do you have any recent labs you could post for us, so we can see what your thyroid levels are? Please make sure to post reference ranges from your lab report, since these vary from lab to lab, and particularly, from country to country.
We do find that a lot of our members in UK have a hard time getting proper testing and treatment for hypothyroidism, due to standards of the NHS, which only allows for TSH and Free T4 testing.
Do you know if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? This is an autoimmune condition, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and develops antibodies to attack and destroy it. As the destruction process progresses, the thyroid produces less and less hormones, so your dosage may have to be raised periodically.
You could also have a problem converting the T4 to T3, so you need to make sure you get tested for Free T3, along with the Free T4 and TSH, each time.
I, too, had quit smoking just a few months prior to being dx'd hypo, so everyone put my sudden weight gain down to that, even though I'd started gaining before I stopped smoking. Dry skin and general aches and pains are also typical as is a bit of possible shortness of breath (? the feeling like a tight band is around your middle?).
How long has it been since you were diagnosed hypo? Do you have any recent labs you could post for us, so we can see what your thyroid levels are? Please make sure to post reference ranges from your lab report, since these vary from lab to lab, and particularly, from country to country.
We do find that a lot of our members in UK have a hard time getting proper testing and treatment for hypothyroidism, due to standards of the NHS, which only allows for TSH and Free T4 testing.
Do you know if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? This is an autoimmune condition, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and develops antibodies to attack and destroy it. As the destruction process progresses, the thyroid produces less and less hormones, so your dosage may have to be raised periodically.
You could also have a problem converting the T4 to T3, so you need to make sure you get tested for Free T3, along with the Free T4 and TSH, each time.
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Do you know what count was only 3, and much too low?
What prescription was left for you? And what type of notes?
It often takes people years to get a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, because symptoms often show up long before the lab numbers indicate hypo.
If you can get the test results, and post them here, with reference ranges, we will try to help you as much as we can.