Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thank you. Any help you can give would be very much appreciated!

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Sounds very much like you have an underactive thryoid, so your doc sounds like he's on the ball. :)

For a start, don't take any vitamins or minerals before you have finished having blood tests as you need to get a good measure of just how low your thyroid is. Taking vitamins can affect the results of the test.

On the results of the tests, your doc will probably put you on a thyroxine drug, or T4 as it's known.
This will probably have a pretty immediate effect on your general feelings of crappiness but it will take time so don't expect a miracle fix.
You'll start on a low amount and bring it up every few weeks until you should be symptom free.

There are alternatives to taking a synthesised (created in a lab) T4, which are discussed in this thread and the old one. You should sit down with a cuppa and read through both those threads as they contain information on all the things you can do to help yourself. I'm afraid I can't repeat all of them in a new post cos frankly, there's a lot of stuff. :D
But the old thread is here:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=515648

Once you're on your drugs, start with the vitamins which are mentioned there - B's, C's, and minerals - Magnesium etc.

Yes you should exercise as that will help stimulate your thyroid. Start with gentle walking ... don't do anything strenuous.

Amongst the tests you have, you should have an antibody test for thyroid. If you don't have it, you need to request it because this would point to you not just having a slow thyroid, but having an auto immune condition (your immune system attacks your thyroid, put simply).

You may want to come off wheat completely as there's quite an established theory that a thyroid malfunction is the 'end result' of years of wheat allergy. Some of us here are wheat sensitive or gluten sensitive (not the same things btw) so you need to check that out. If you come off it for 6 or so weeks and see if it makes a difference to you, then there's your answer.

Re exercise - With a malfunctioning thyroid, your body will have experienced some damage to your organs... it's not serious in the early stages, but this is partially why hypothyroidism can take so long to fix. You need to accept you've got a bit of a climb back to health, but that's ok cos everything you need to know is right here in the threads, so get reading!

Another thing I mention in the threads is adrenal fatigue which goes hand in hand with your thyroid, so you'll need to treat that too. I've posted links in the thread. :)

Any advice you might need or anything you want to clarify, just post your questions and we'll try to answer them. There's quite a bit to get your head round but I'm sure you'll be fine.

Let us know your test results... just post them up and we'll have a nosey.
And when you get your drugs from the doc, let us know what they are and how much you're on...

Good luck. Better brew a big pot of tea. :thumbup:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Well the fact that your doc didn't diagnose depression and offer you some happy pills is a good sign as far as I'm concerned! (Been there, sacked that doctor pretty quickly.)

Just remember that blood tests are an indication, but symptoms tell the full story. Hopefully your doc is open-minded about that, but listen to your body, read all you can read, and take control of your own health.

TP is spot on about making sure you get the antibodies test, which is often not on the list. My other tests return "normal" but my antibodies score was sky high when I was first diagnosed.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Thank you ever so much for the information. I tried to read through some of the other info in the part one and two thyroid threads yesterday, but my children seem to have taken a disliking to each other in the past couple of days, so I spent most of the day pulling them apart. They are two and four, goodness knows what they find to argue about! They are at pre-school/nursery Monday and Tuesday, so I will have some peace and quiet to do some reading!

I have been thinking about my symptoms since I went to the docs, and I would say that they have been present since I had our youngest in Feb 2008. I remember that a few weeks after the birth I had lost a load of weight and was manic with energy (I distinctly remember talking to hubby about it). In the almost three years since she was born, I have become slowly more tired and run down. Of course in this time we have completely redecorated the house (including a totally new kitchen), put the house on the market, came on a recci to Australia, sold the house, dealt with the visa stuff, moved to Sydney, hubby started a new business and was working long hours, then we bought a new house here and have decorated from top to bottom, we have had visitors for four months of the time we have been here and I have started a new business myself, which is keeping me busy. And of course I have two small children! So, I have been putting it down to being busy! I strongly suspect that there was more to it than that!

It is interesting that you mention wheat. I find that if I eat any bread, pasta etc, my tummy is horribly bloated (even more so than usual), so I had been cutting down and trying some gluten free things. That has been the case for a number of years, but it is only recently that I made the connection with wheat/gluten.

Symptoms I have include being cold, pale, I bruise fairly easily and they seem to take ages to heal, I lose lots of hair when I wash it and have mentioned to hubby that I feel it is thinner than it was (although it is very dark and long so easier to see when it falls out), constipation and bloating, problems with my periods, feeling so tired I can barely be bothered to move, things like holding my arms up (hair washing and putting up curtain poles) make my arms feel exhausted and like there just isn't any energy in them, I feel like it is hard to concentrate on things some times, and actually I feel less intelligent than I used to (sounds silly, but I am reasonably intelligent but feel that since I had our youngest I have 'brain fog'! Thought it was the constant repetition of nursery rhymes!), and I just generally feel rubbish! General aches and pains and tiredness. More than that I feel lazy and like I can't be bothered with things because I don't have the energy to do them. That is unusual for me, I was always one to bound out of bed at 6am to start the day!

Anyway, I am off to have the blood tests tomorrow and will book to see the doc after that. I won't let her fob me off with anti-depressants. I had a doctor do that once before, but I only took them for a couple of weeks before I decided that I wasn't depressed just grieving (my dad had died), stopped taking them and went to see a counsellor instead.

Again, thank you for the help. Once I get the results, I will let you know what they are and what the GP is going to do about it.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

It can quite often kick in after childbirth... it's fairly common. Bruising, hair loss, constipation, heavy periods, tiredness, yep, it all sounds familiar! :D

Anti depressants are often given in error. In fact, after childbirth it takes several months for the thyroid to recover and anti-D's are most commonly prescribed then. God forbid you should feel a little low after growing an entire human being by yourself for 9 months! :lol:

The doctor gave me anti d's too. They're fluoride based and can damage your thyroid ... great news eh? I remember my then husband and our marriage counsellor patting me on the back saying 'Ah, that explains it' as if my depression was the key to why our marriage was unhappy.
:rofl:
So funny the things you put up with at the time and then look back on and wonder what the hell you were thinking! :D I came off the anti d's too (much to everyone's concern :rolleyes:) and tried to get down to what the real problem was... and found it.

When I was diagnosed and got a script for thyroxine, my then husband said 'Well at least you can try these and when they do no good, you'll know it isn't your thyroid.'
It was like he didn't want to think it was my thyroid. Very odd behaviour. :blink: Your partner sound supportive so that's a good thing. You need one of those. I also have a supportive partner now. Comes to the doc with me if anything's wrong, checks up on me. Really, the difference when someone really cares for you is astonishing. Got through my illness without support of my then husband, so if you've got support, then you'll breeze it. :D

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Well, I had my test results yesterday and my liver, kidneys and thyroid all checked out normal! The diabetic check was also normal. The things that did show up were low iron, low vitamin D, low vitamin B12 and slightly raised cholesterol (my dad died from a heart attack, so there may be a familial tendency for raised cholesterol - something to keep an eye on).

So, had a long chat with GP about the results. She thinks that maybe I have been going overboard with dieting the wrong way (skipping meals and using meal replacements) which have firstly buggered my metabolism and secondly have meant that I am not eating a balanced diet (hence the deficiencies). She has given advice about getting those things back up to normal levels (actually, I got a bit of a telling off!). She then wants to see me again in three months to see how I am getting on and redo the blood tests to see if the changes I make have had any effect on how I feel. She did say that it could be possible that there is a sub-clinical problem with the thyroid that isn't showing up, but wants to try the obvious things first.

I am quite pleased that she is happy to see how I go for three months. There are a number of lifestyle changes that I want to make, and the doc has just given me a kick up the backside in to making them.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

What thyroid test did you have done? Was it just a TSH test or more in depth? You can still have 'normal' results which are 'within range' and still have a thyroid issue.
However, the other issues, esp the iron and B12 would account for the tiredness!

Yes I'm not surprised really.... you can also bugger your thyroid by very low calorie eating. Whilst meal replacements are ok here and there, for long sustained weight loss, you can't beat a nice bit of salmon and a heap of veggies!!! ;) If you've got kids, you've got to look after yourself... otherwise, who will?!

Sounds good and encouraging. See how you go then, and look after yourself. The last thing you want to give yourself is a thyroid problem to be honest. They're a sod. :lol:
Wise doctor ... so eat well, get some rest and see how the blood tests go next time. Let us know how you're getting on and good luck with it. x

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Did she check your haemoglobin levels? Your symptoms sound much like mine were (on reflection) and it turned out that I was severely, and I mean seriously severely anaemic. Still trying to get to the bottom of it but have had to have blood transfusions and iron infusion before I remembered what 'normal' felt like. We've kind of pinned it down to a massive fibroid which I've likely had since just after Tiddler was born in 1995 :eek:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Ouch Pen. You going to have that sucker removed then?

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Guess so. Don't see the Gynae until Feb but judging by the size, my doc doesn't think he'll want to leave it there. :blink:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

:( Should feel better once it's out. (Better out than in)

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Yet another visit to a hospital theatre - whoopy doo! It'll be the fifth time since Easter :blink: At least that should be the end of it. The mother suggested I should have the uterus out at the same time as I no longer need it! I don't think I replied to that one :blink:

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Hell no, only have stuff whipped out if it's causing you problems. I had the lot out at 35 (cervix included) and still have menopausal symptoms 13 years on, plus a whole lot of other shite to deal with that some doctors tell me is related.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

God she's a gem isn't she! :huh::huh::huh:

Exactly my philosophy too S. Keep it unless you don't have to.

Re: Thyroid Thread - Part Deux
 

Hey. I just came in here from another thread I'd started relating to my Elderly father in UK who has Graves Disease - a HYPERthyroid condition. Now I note that most folks are writing about HYPOthyroid - and I do understand the difference. But just a couple of questions if anyone can help....

As he is on the anti-thyroid (which BLOCKS the TSH totally) and is on Thyroxine - can I assume that he is technically treated as HYPO? The doc has been raising his Thyroxine slowly - and we are up to 100mg. BUT the last raise (about 4 weeks back) seems to have started a storm. he's having panic, anxiety, sweats, headaches, eye problems focusing - infact his metabolism has now gone through the roof.

So in desperation I sent a direct urgent email to the hospital consultant who treats him to request he see my Dad again. My Dads own GP is USELESS (what you call a numbers man - he even told dad to get an eyesight test! What a joke...)

The hospital Endo Consultants normally just phone Dad up every 6 weeks and assess him verbally, along with the tests. The tell the GP what to prescribe. It's all a bit round-the-houses. I suspected that the last raise was TOO MUCH. Does that sound like a fair assessment? He is going back next week - and I hope they can do something quick - his quack NHS local GP is appalling. He's put dad on Anti-depressants (which may have been justified) without any counselling or anything.

Do they have meds that will knock his level back down quickly? I've heard they use radio-active iodine. If any one can give me some advice I would be eternally grateful. Thanks

Mark.