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[Penelope]

Thank you so much ShoppingQueen we are such a small country but we are trying for those who are suffering like ourselves!

I have one blood test where My Free T3 is low and my Free T4 is high and in the doctors comments she put NORMAL!

You have to check what they are testing for before you leave the doctors office.They ALWAYS  try to get away with only testing your TSH,

I hear your frustration honey.Its so hard to learn that doctors are not working for us!

We are all guilty of putting all our trust in them probably because our parents hung off every word the doctor said and never questioned the Doctor.

Treated them like Gods!

My Husband always says Doctors get away with it because they bury their mistakes!
Gosh he is so right with that statement.

And thanks again for signing🌹

[shoppingqueen]

I know Penelope and I think that there are some good ones out there, but some see themselves as god like and are arrogant in the extreme.
Fingers crossed your petition gets action!
Think we need to do something here. I have read BMJ guidelines/ reports and then the Endo organisation challenge their findings- lots of in fighting at the top it seems and we get lost in the middle. Sending 🤗 x

[Penelope]

Thank you every one for signing the petition for your support!xx


Went to see new nurse at the new doctors yesterday for my FREE half our appointment.
I burst into tears and told her my horrible 26 year battle with the medical profession.

She took my hand and told me I had no control what so ever over any panic attack or anxiety attack I have had in these 26 years.

My Hormones switch it on and off.OMG THANK YOU.
I was not going mad.

The thyroid is a very fine line that's why those who have normal blood tests can be suffering from terrible anxiety symptoms.Our endocrine systems are all different.
One blood test can not be used for so many individuals.

She kept apologising that I had not had my thyroid condition picked up.
I see the new doctor to day.
Can't wait!🌹

[shoppingqueen]

Some good ones out there, thank goodness 🙌
Let us know how you get on and I?ll keep my fingers crossed for you 🤞xx

[Countrygirl]

I'm really starting to wonder if there may be some connection with the thyroid for me as mine all kicked off after having my gallbladder removed. Has anyone on here experienced this connection or read about it, thank you (blood results are borderline, so retest in 6-12 months) x

[Penelope]

Oh Countrygirl there is a big connection!

https://www.naturalendocrinesolutions.com/articles/how-gallbladder-problems-can-affect-thyroid-health/

[Penelope]

Doctor has requested these blood tests.

CRP
FSH
free T3
Free T4
LH
Oestradiol
Thyroid Antibodies
Testosterone
Thyroid Stim Immunoglobulin

He looked at my records back to 2013 and said I have been hypothyroid for ever.
He also explained he would have also put me straight on HRT before any other medication and he said I should be taking it into my 90s.
Will post my test results on here next week.

Anyone else had tests results back?

[Penelope]

Mental health

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/are-you-going-crazy-or-is-it-just-your-thyroid/

[rolercoasterhell]

Hello Penelope,

I don't understand and would love you to explain (if possible) how HRT helps the thyroid. If you are hypothyroid shouldn't you be taking levothyroxine? I have never heard of being prescribed HRT for any thyroid condition...in fact I have only read scientific journals explaining that oestrogen is bad for the thyroid and that you sometimes have to up your thyroid medications when you take HRT.

I try to stay away from all oestrogen and supplements containing oestrogen because I worry that it will be bad for my thyroid (and my blood test do confirm that my TSH ramps up when I have oestrogen) but maybe I am wrong in doing this.

I cannot tolerate any thyroid meds (either natural or synthetic) so I am an unusual case. If I thought HRT helped I would be keen to take it (but have not had any luck with it so far).

I do think the thyroid and hormones are so intrinsically linked but I do not feel it is as clear cut as taking HRT...surely if it was, we'd all be prescribed it.

[Penelope]

Hi rollercoasterhell
I can't tell you either except to say three doctors and one being a specialist have all said HRT and I must say after three months all the mental health issues are gone and all the symptoms except my sore hands.But the ladies on the UK thyroid site have said to go gluten and dairy free and that should sort the hands out.

Everyone keeps saying on here I should be on Synthroid but no the doctors keep saying I should not.my last blood tests came back normal for the first time ever except my thyroid antibodies they are supposed to be below 10 and mine are 859 but they are down from over a thousand before I started HRT.

[Penelope]

StellaJane this has been my life for 26 years.



Imagine having all the symptoms of a major mental illness such as manic depression, paranoid schizophrenia, psychotic depression, or even a bipolar disorder. One day you wake up with overflowing physical energy, even feeling severely anxious, with a rapid heartbeat, profuse sweating, trembling hands, and diarrhea, and you can't stop losing weight. Then soon enough, without warning, your energy plummets. You feel like a slug, are constipated, your hair starts falling out, you gain weight no matter how little you eat, and you are severely depressed. You may have difficulty swallowing, sound hoarse, and feel like you have swallowed something that wont go down. And then, suddenly, your old symptoms return, and you feel anxious, sweaty, trembling, and panicky. This cycle can repeat itself again and again.

While your symptoms resemble a mental health issue, they could be signs of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, one cause of hypothyroidism. Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as autoimmune thyroiditis or simply ?Hashimoto's, is caused by an autoimmune disorder. In this case, the body's immune system sees the thyroid gland as a foreign body and begins to attack, damaging and killing thyroid cells along the way. As the cells are damaged or destroyed, they release their stored thyroid hormone, causing classic hyperthyroid symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, shaking hands, sweating, and a racing heart.

Each autoimmune attack causes more and more damage to the thyroid gland until, ultimately, the gland is no longer able to produce adequate thyroid hormones. Every cell in the body needs thyroid hormones, so a deficiency can wreak havoc on the entire system, causing depression, weight gain, severe fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, and even overall body aches.

With such a dramatic swing in symptoms, it's easy to see how Hashimoto's disease could be misdiagnosed as a mental illness like manic depression or bipolar disorder. And it happens much too often. A 1987 study found that as many as 15% of patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital for depression actually were suffering from some level of hypothyroidism.

[Penelope]

That is so interesting Stellajane I use to beg them for it and was always refused.
I wonder if any of them really no what the heck they are doing.🌹

[rolercoasterhell]

I have raised antibodies and I also have a high TSH. Unfortunately I cannot tolerate any thyroid medication or supplements, and diets etc do nothing to change my results. It's a really worrying position to be in.

I wish I could take the medication as I am sure it would help with some symptoms but what I have realised is that my worst symptoms are definitely related to my cycle (or lack of). I am hoping that when it balances (if it ever does) my thyroid will be a lot more stable or I may be able to tolerate the medication. I do believe that the ups and downs of peri can make your TSH go up and down which can be really confusing.

Penelope, I would, however, be asking more questions. Perhaps you do not need thyroxine yet (I personally believe that the internet is awash with hysteria about TSH levels...that's another story) but it probably wouldn't hurt you to try it. Saying that, if you are feeling stable on HRT then perhaps best to not rock the boat.

Penelope, what is your TSH and T4? Apparently a lot of people who are completely well and functional have high antibodies and they can also go up and down a lot so you may have tested them on a day when you were recovering from a virus for example. Unfortunately though most people with high antibodies do go on to develop hypothyroidism or subclinical hypo; again though a substantial amount of people have no idea that they have hypo and feel absolutely fine- we just read about the worst/complicated cases online.

X

[rolercoasterhell]

I would try anything, and pretty much have done, Stella. Unfortunately the oestrogen made me hyper (even at a tiny tiny dose) and the progesterone was an absolute nightmare of epic proportions so I feel that I am best just trying to ride the rollercoaster.

I have had hormonal problems all my life so I see this as the 'climax' to a lifetime of troubles. I actually feel that low but balanced hormones might be preferable to what I have experienced, which is, I think, ultra sensitivities to my own fluctuations throughout the cycle.

Penelope, I have been up and down like a bloody yoyo all my life. Diagnosed with bipolar which is absolute nonsense. I think I have been responding to the variations in hormones. I either felt hyper with insomnia and energy or sluggish, sick, sleeping a lot and mildly depressed. I now know that these are due to the different hormones because it is much more pronounced now. I never have had the obvious thyroid problems like you: hair loss, weight changes etc.

I have always been agonisingly tired until the last year. My thyroid has been worse this year so that correlation does not make sense. I think my hormones have kept me in a perpetual fog for my whole life...maybe I suit low progesterone???

What a doctor told me was that if your symptoms cycle very quickly then it is not thyroid as you are usually in either hypo or hyper for a while (few months) before you swing to the other. With hormones it can happen hourly/daily but usually fortnightly. This seemed sensible to me.

I'm sorry for your suffering. I have been there.

X

[Penelope]

Thanks rolercoasterhell  it's been a challenge  to say the least with no help from any medical professionals in NZ to help makes it even harder.🌹