BEVS

Thyroid problems run in my husbands family. His Mother, his uncles and he have thyroid probs.

My mother-in-law is 82 & had her thyroid removed well over a decade ago after developing a goitre. She is ....forgetful... & stubborn as a mule with a tendency to the grumps. She lives in the past somewhat but has always been that way really.

Husband is back in the UK right now checking out his Mom. He has discovered that she is simply not taking her meds. Yes. The meds arrive in one of those weekly day by day strips but she isn't taking them. No-one seems to be checking what tablets are gone from the strip. New strip arrives and she bins the old one. Husband has tried to chat with her about this but the result was mega grumps. She won't have help come in. We've tried that. She lives with her elderly brother , age 75, who has all his marbles but he hasn't been able to get her to take the meds daily either.

My question to all you who are very familiar with thyroid issues are what are the health risks here and what symptoms would present from not taking the meds long term when one has no thyroid.

I know I could google but really I feel you are the best people to know.

Husband knows that if his meds are off he gets a head fug, tired and irritable but this is more than that.

Cheetah7

I wonder why she won't take them? I have been tested for my thyroid, just waiting on the results but if it is that, it will be a relief to feel better. I don't know what's worse the exhaustion, dry gritty eyes, no appetite, or the 'flatness' I feel.

Hoping that as it doesn't run in my family then I won't have it, it costs enough for my asthma mess, can't afford to have anything else wrong.

Hope she is ok, old people can be so stubborn

BEVS

She forgets. Half the time she doesn't know what day it is. It's a vicious circle. I'm sure she never really understood just how important taking the pill was. We're very concerned. This has been going on a while.

Cheetah7

I wonder what happens when thyroid meds are not taken, I mean with insulin and diabetics its obvious but I wonder what happens when it comes to thyroid.

BEVS

Exactamonte.

Sally Simpson

Essentially, if you don't take thyroxine at all & you have no thyroid, you will eventually die!
It is very serious. In your mil's case, she is probably taking it intermittently & whilst her levels are sub-therapeutic, they are probably adequate to keep her ticking along.

If I were your husband (& speaking as an ex community matron), I would be approaching her GP to discuss it. If nothing else, her memory issues need looking into & she could be having some help & support with that. She may not want a carer but may accept a doctor or nurse to assess the situation.

Good luck.

Cheetah7

I'm waiting on my results, I had the test on wed morn. They said they would contact me if anything showed up. I'm having visions of bug eyes and goitres!!!

They would have called me by now as bloods only take 2 days to come back at our doctors although I don't know how long thyroid ones take.

Kooky.

There are thyroid tests, PP, and then there are thyroid tests. Make sure you have the full range as detailed on this thread and remember, bloods don't always tell the full story.

Cheetah7

All I know is that he said he wanted to check my thyroid, I know there were other tests he did like calcium, potassium and loads of others but that's all I know.

Im so tired all the time, my eyes feel as though they have dried out and I'm aching and feel weak, I haven't even been to the gym as I can't do the weights.

I'm thinking I'm run down what with college and work

BEVS

Ok. I think she is not taking it at all. The odd one here and there. She maybe took one tablet to show husband she was taking them. The weeks pill tab strip went in the bin with 6 tablets within it. I have no idea how long this has been going on but quite a while I suspect. Husband is not being pro-active but sluggish. They are rubbing off on each other which sounds madness I know.

Would you suggest social services or that approach to the GP if he can get to speak to someone.

BEVS

Oops. Just seen that you mention approaching the GP. I'll tell him.

Thanks so much for the help.

Sally Simpson

He needs to be proactive & raise his concerns with the GP. Her bloods should be being monitored & if the blister packs are not working, they need to come up with some other solution. I suggest that your husband makes an appt to see the GP & has a list of his concerns to take with him. GPs are very used to this kind of thing & the GP is definitely the place to start. If any other services need to be involved, the GP can refer or advise.
Lots of luck to your husband, it's not easy dealing with cranky rels who don't realise there is an issue. Her memory problems may well be related to low thyroxine levels btw.

BEVS

That's my feeling . I know how it effects husband when his levels are to cock. He himself says he feels a mind fug.

I'm rather hoping he'll get that done and get into see a GP

TiddlyPom

Hi Bevs.

Well, a few things. She's 82. Quite obviously if she hasn't been taking her meds for a long time, she's doing ok.
And when I say ok, she's 82 and had her op ten years ago. If she's not been taking her drugs regularly, she's a) still alive and b) a cranky ol' mule because she's not taking her drugs properly. However, she may just be a stubborn old girl anyway. It's hard to tell. Certainly lack of thyroid regulation can do that to you.

It's possible that also she may have had a partial thyroidectomy not a complete one, which would mean she still had a little bit of thyroid left... do check if it was total or partial.

Eventually, she will get worse and there's a kind of dementia which is linked to poor treatment of the thyroid. Well, it appears as dementia but it's not. My grandmother had it and the doctor was sure her illness was linked to her poor treatment..

If she's taking them intermittently then this isn't so bad. T4 (thyroxine) has a life in the body of about 7 weeks... but obviously not taking them at all will mean that her levels are low so she'll be feeling a bit crabby and forgetful.

Best time to take her T4 is at night, last thing with a glass of water on an empty stomach. This has been proven to raise the amount of T4 which is converted to T3 (the bit that enters the cells and makes her feel good) and it means she hasn't got anything to stress about during the day.

T4 can't be taken with cups of tea, calcium, iron etc because they all interfere with absorption, so my guess is that even if she takes them during the day, she won't be absorbing them all anyway as elderly folk will keep doing what they want in my experience. Usually they tell you to take your thyroxine in the morning first thing, before eating, wait an hour, then eat... don't take any vitamins or minerals with it or within 7 hours blah blah blah.
Quite frankly, I'm not surprised she's not taking them. Who doesn't want a cup of tea first thing in the AM when you're 82?

Quite often it's possible for thyroid to be present in both couples - research shows they attract each other, so please have her brother tested too. It's quite possible he's got the same thing. It's not a female only condition.

A talk from the GP may be the thing and encouragement to take meds at night. Easy then... just a glass of water on the bedside table and a pill to pop.


Hope that helps.

TiddlyPom

After a while you get a return to the old symptoms... backache, brain fog etc.

This sounds more adrenal to me PP. Thyroid failure is considered by many to be the end result of adrenal stress. Check out Dr Lam's adrenal site.