UPDATE - went to GP and was told all in my head!!

[sharni07]

Update.

Went to dr this morning as was feeling so bad, saw another dr as mine was off and she was just as dismissive, said my TH of 2.5 is totally normal and said all the fatigue was in my head that I just needed to get on with it, I was so shocked at her attitude. She obviously thinks I am lazy? She has increased my citalipram for the depression from 20mg to 40mg hoping that will shut me up.

I have now seen 3 GP's at my surgery and can't move to another one as it's not allowed so I dunno what to do. it's hopless. ;(

I JUST WANT SOME ENERGY AND THE HEADACHES TO GO AWAY THAT''S ALL I NEED, PLEASE??



Previous post was..........

I was diagnosed hypothyroid in Spet 2008 with a TH of 5.2 and was put on 25mg of levothyroxine. I had all symptoms most cronic being extreme fatigue, headaches, nausea, cramps and depression.

I was also put on 20mg citalipram which is gr8 and lifted the depression within weeks, after a few months the cramps and headaches and other symptoms got better all except the fatigue that is. My last blood test was in December and my TH has gone down to 2.5 now but since January I have suddenly become much worse, the fatigue is unbearable, I am having dizzy spells and headaches daily, I just know something is not right, I feel like I am dying and I don't know what to do?

It was hard enough getting my GP to even diagnose my thyroid problems and when I explain how awful I feel I just get told to excercise more or it is implied I am lazy which is so not true, I would LOVE to be able to do more and am dying to go back to work but with no energy and the headaches there is no chance.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??

I am always falling asleep if not through tiredness but because it's the only way to eliviate the headaches which are dibilitating at times! I feel so alone and like there is something much bigger going on than just an underactive thyroid!
I have been ill 18months, on treatment 8 months but the last 8 weeks I feel worse than I have ever felt in my life.
Yet my TH level has gone down, I just don't get it, why have I no energy at all? Why the constant pain and  headaches?

Please if anyone can help or has any idea's I would be so so grateful for some advice please?
I am lost as to what else I can do.

Thanks in advance.

Sarah

[redheadaussie]

I wonder have you had any thyroid anti-bodies testing done? You sound very much like me when I was all over the place early on. I was undiagnosed for 15 years. I had undiagnosed Hashimoto's Disease.
  Depression is one of the major symptoms. Doctors usually miss the connection to thyroid disorder and pump you with anti-depressants.
  Your TSH is similar to mine when I was not diagnosed too. I was always around 2.75. I gained 30 kgs in a few months (around 66 pounds)
   I had my thyroid out in Dec 07 yet still have high antibodies (they are supposed to go away or at least go to a discernable level!) So, I , too, still get those symptoms you mentioned.
It would be worth asking for an anti-bodies test. Might do like I did an insist on it, my doctor finally relented and was stunned when it proved I had Hashimoto's like I had been saying all along! He now treats me with much greater empathy!
Cheers!

[sharni07]

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated.

my GP will not refer me to an endo, says there is no need, my lTSH evels have gone from 5.4 to 2.3, I am still shattered all the time, have little energy and seem to of put on 20lbs all of a sudden this past month with no change to my diet ;(  nothing I do will shift the weight.
I am feeling a little more perky though, not as bad as I was a few months back, my dosage of levothyroxine has been increased to 150mcg so am wondering if that is helping finally??

Not been on here for a while but would love to hear back from others with advice, opinions and stuff, the weight issue is really getting me down now, I had maintained my weight for 6 months which was hard but to suddenly gain 20lbs over 2 weeks or so is soul destroying and I just can't shift it, is this normal? I really didn't think things could get worse, but I guess I should not moan, at least I am starting to slowly feel better, it's a step forward eh lol .    x

[ChitChatNine]

AND please please beg them to ck. your Vitamin D levels and do a urinalysis to rule out any type of Kidney infection which can go without urinary tract symptoms.  I went to the Doc for similar reasons *but no headache* and had a full blown UTI going on for months as well as severely low Vit D levels of 9.4 vs. normals 32-100

My primary blew it off as lack of sun while my endo did full tests ... turns out to be good news .. lack of sun, but he didn't just assume so.

Yes, go to a thyroid endo for certain.

C~
synthorid 75mcgs 1.3 tsh

[medicmommy]

Hello!
This may be a long-shot, but have you ever had your blood calcium levels checked or your PTH (parathyroid hormones)? Check out Parathyroid.com...See if the symptoms match what you're going through...Ever had kidney or gall stones? Frequent heartburn? Unexplained joint and muscle pains? Frequent headaches, especially in the morning? Trouble concentrating or remembering things? Frequent abdominal pain or constipation? These four tiny glands have nothing to do with your thyroid, and are often overlooked as troublemakers when you have another problem...Hope this helps! ~MM

[bhoysbabe]

Sorry I meant to also ask what is the antibodies test for?

[bhoysbabe]

I am just back from my doctors after being told the same thing, he did take test
for antibodies but when I asked if could have free T3 tested as advised on here,
he looked at me as if I was stupid, shook his head and said my thyroid test
results are not that abnormal and it was depression causing my aches and pains,
fatigue etc.
I asked if I could have a copy of last 3 results, he said his printer wasn`t working
so could not but that my TSH levels were low???

I was in tears saying how ill I felt, he said "yes you are depressed" he wasn`t
even going to do blood test until I told him THAT was what my appointment was for!
When I asked about the chronic constipation he did have a look at my stomach
and prescribed lactulose but also said prob due to my weight gain and lack of
exercise. I then told him I was eating hardly anything to which he replied
" I hear that from women putting on weight at least 5 times a day" though he did
concede that  I had been tested for thyroid about 3yrs ago and was underactive
then ( I didn`t even know this had been done) but as I was losing weight then they
said it was a result of my Crohns being active at that time.
So I am now more confused than ever, I am gaining weight but thyroid overactive.???

[Smilerdeb]

I fired my Endo after the 2nd visit as she overdosed me on anti-thyroid meds knowing full well that I went into anaphalactic shock with Carbimazole. When asked for her to call me back...I never ever did get that phonecall.
So after she arranged RAI, she got the boot.
I have since stayed with my local Doctor, educated myself (most would say obsessed with it) on FT3, FT4, TSH and everything that goes on with the thyroid or lack of it and researched day & night until I knew my symptoms inside out.

Today (nearly 8 months post RAI, 5 months post TT0 I have normal levels and doing great. I have gone back to work fulltime where I wasnt able to work for 3 years and am also studying an online 12 month course.
There is light at the end of the tunnel...you just have to work at it and never give up.
Good luck.

[stella5349]

Make sure if you get that referral that you check out the endo. He may not be practice thyroid much at all and concentrates more on diabeties.

Many thyroid patients seem to think just because they see an endo - that they will get to the bottom of their thyroid problems and that sometimes - is not true.

..... and starting over sometimes is not good either.

[sharni07]

I will try that. I am going to ask to be refered to an endocrinologist and see how that goes too, maybe they will refer me just to shut me up. ;)

Thank you for your advice. x

[stella5349]

It sounds like the doctors have you medicated based on just a TSH labs and not you as a person. Thye have got you just slightly below the subclinical line of hypothyroidism

Many fall ill with a TSH over 1.5 and find when they are around a .8 to a 1.0 they feel much better.

Ask them what they are basing your "normal" on? If it is just based on a TSH lab then you can urge them a reminder that your "not a lab or number - Your a person with symptoms."

If you don't get slighty irratated with them at this point - they will not look at anything else but depression as a Dx for you.

Be careful - on how you address them with your attitude though - They will and can treat you worse if you come off too strong.

Try to focus on educating yourself on "symptoms" and labs and learn how to tweek the meds in your favor to feel better. If you learn some of that research available you may convience this office to look at your HYpo situation better.