Does anyone here have an underactive thyroid?

TomsMom

Hi Melbury, long time no speak! Are you still off the ciggies :rotfl:

Your results seem to be in a good place. TSH fab! If you feel good then your FT4 and FT3 are right for you. Personally I need to be right at top of range for FT4 and maybe even a little over the top to feel OK. Just goes to show there is no hard and fast rule and everyone has their "sweet spot". Yours would appear to be mid-range at 17. As long as you feel OK then no need to do anything but continue on your present dose. It's good to hear that you stabilised, told you to be patient didn't I . Not having a go Melbury, just so good to hear that you got there in the end :T

Boobie bit - I haven't heard of thyroxine causing hard/tender boobs. IIRC you are menopausal. It's probably more likely to be caused by your female hormones doing funny things at this time. Obviously if you feel any lumps get them checked, otherwise a quick question to your GP about what might be causing this hardness/tenderness may put your mind at rest.

OneBrightStar

A lot of people suffer from underactive thyroid but because in UK, reference range has been set 0.5 to 5 for TSH, so if someone has TSH within this range, GPs dont treat them .... they wouldnt listen to your symptoms at all.

http://www.thyroidhelp.org could be a nice place if you are looking for some supplements that can help restore thyroid level naturally.

deb68_2

Yes have this waas diagnosed very young 26 was shocked that would have to take the tabs for life when i didnt take them i was really depressed keep taing them it will help you
take care
x

melbury

TomsMom wrote: »

Hi Melbury, long time no speak! Are you still off the ciggies :rotfl:

Your results seem to be in a good place. TSH fab! If you feel good then your FT4 and FT3 are right for you. Personally I need to be right at top of range for FT4 and maybe even a little over the top to feel OK. Just goes to show there is no hard and fast rule and everyone has their "sweet spot". Yours would appear to be mid-range at 17. As long as you feel OK then no need to do anything but continue on your present dose. It's good to hear that you stabilised, told you to be patient didn't I . Not having a go Melbury, just so good to hear that you got there in the end :T

Boobie bit - I haven't heard of thyroxine causing hard/tender boobs. IIRC you are menopausal. It's probably more likely to be caused by your female hormones doing funny things at this time. Obviously if you feel any lumps get them checked, otherwise a quick question to your GP about what might be causing this hardness/tenderness may put your mind at rest.

Hi TomsMum,

Nice to hear from you. Yes, I am still off the ciggies, ten months now, but must admit I do still miss them terribly. Probably if I had one now it would make me feel quite ill and it is a case of just imagining how nice it would be!

I am pleased with my last test results, wouldn't say that I feel absolutely great, but then I don't think I have felt that for years. Only complaint I really have is that it is just so difficult to shift any weight, whatever I do it just seems to be stuck there and will not budge. I am sure that part of the weight thing is that I gave up smoking at the same time as my thyroid decided to pack up, which was a double whammy. However, consultant told me that when my results got back into a good range, the weight should start to shift.

As far as the boobie thing is concerned, perhaps you are right and it just a case of menopause kicking in as well - hormones all over the place. I did get terrible hot flushes every time they increased my dose of thyroxine, so don't really know whether it was menopause or too much thyroxine. Have thought about trying natural progesterone cream - have you heard anything about that particular product? Supposed to be wonderful for menopausal symptoms.

TomsMom

melbury wrote: »

Have thought about trying natural progesterone cream - have you heard anything about that particular product? Supposed to be wonderful for menopausal symptoms.

Hi Melbury

I have been using progesterone cream for quite a few years now. Dr Peatfield recommended it when I first went to see him when I became unwell again. However, I had very few menopausal symptoms so didn't use it because of that.

I still use it now (NatPro), mainly as an "insurance" against osteoporosis. Now whether it's making a difference there I can't say, nor do I really know which brand is best. I used to use Serenity but there was some controversy with two different companies claiming Serenity was their product originally - one in USA and one in Channel Islands - so because I didn't know one way or the other which the genuine Serenity was I gave it up.

I'm sure there are many people who find natural progesterone a big help with their menopausal symptoms, and I expect there are just as many who say it didn't help. The only thing I would say is you could give it a try and see if it helps you, give it maybe 3 or 4 months and if you feel no different then I wouldn't waste your money any further unless, like me, there is osteoporosis in the family and you want to do everything you can to try and prevent it.

By the way, you can do it with the ciggies, I gave up about 30 years ago and I think it would just about finish me off if I had one now. Resist girl, resist, take up knitting or something to keep your hands busy :rotfl:

melbury

TomsMum, thanks for the speedy reply.

That is so interesting that you have been using natural progersterone cream for quite a while, do you actually feel any benefits?

I have read all of the bumf on it; about it stopping oestrogen dominance which can lead to breast cancer, stopping menopause symptoms, preventing osteoporosis, in fact basically keeping you feeling wonderful.

I was seriously thinking about ordering some, when I saw a remark by some doctor in US saying that it could cause cancer.:eek: This was completely refuted by the followers of that Dr. John Lee (I think that is his name) who said that is complete rubbish, but it did put me off a bit. I don't really see how a cream made from supposedly natural ingredients could really cause problems though.

Would love to hear what your thoughts are on this product.

Thanks.

P.S. Very little chance of me taking up the ciggies again, otherwise all of that suffering would have been for nothing! Also, got through a real crisis over the past couple of weeks without smoking, so having proved that I can cope without, I very much doubt if I will start again - but never say never...............

TomsMom

melbury wrote: »

That is so interesting that you have been using natural progersterone cream for quite a while, do you actually feel any benefits?

I have read all of the bumf on it; about it stopping oestrogen dominance which can lead to breast cancer, stopping menopause symptoms, preventing osteoporosis, in fact basically keeping you feeling wonderful.

I was seriously thinking about ordering some, when I saw a remark by some doctor in US saying that it could cause cancer.:eek: This was completely refuted by the followers of that Dr. John Lee (I think that is his name) who said that is complete rubbish, but it did put me off a bit. I don't really see how a cream made from supposedly natural ingredients could really cause problems though.

Would love to hear what your thoughts are on this product.

Hi Melbury

Do I feel any benefits? - No, can't say I do, but as I said I haven't been taking it to alleviate any menopausal symptoms as I didn't really have any so can't comment on whether it helps in that respect. I'm purely using it for it's reputed help regarding osteoporosis. Is it helping in that respect? I don't know and I can't get my GP to send me for a Dexascan. I have a feeling I heard something about there is a programme for ladies over a certain age to have these periodically (like smears and mammograms), must try to find out as I probably fit into that category now :rotfl:

Some people do say it makes them feel wonderful, I think it's like anything else, e.g. some people feel benefits of taking a certain vitamin but others don't. I'm of the opinion that if I think there may be "something in it" I'm willing to give it a trial as long as it doesn't break the bank and there's no positive proof that it's harmful.

Haven't heard or read about the cancer link. But that's said about a lot of things. On holiday in Australia there was a big news item about Tefal non-stick coating on cookware linked to cancer if you continued cooking with it once it was scratched or the coating was wearing off, and that the manufacturer would be phasing it out over the next so many years. Can't say that news filtered over to the UK or if it did I must have still been in Oz.

My thoughts are that if I was suffering menopausal symptoms that really bothered me then rather than go on HRT I would try all other alternatives, progesterone cream being one of them.

dazzle21

HI, I've just been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, and at 28 my main concern is when i get the right dose of the drugs, will the excess weight shift? (I already eat healthily!) I have gained about 3stone in the past 2years (including baby weight!) and until now haven't been able to understand the dramatic weight gain and inability to shift it! TIA x

lrr_2

dazzle21 wrote: »

HI, I've just been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, and at 28 my main concern is when i get the right dose of the drugs, will the excess weight shift? (I already eat healthily!) I have gained about 3stone in the past 2years (including baby weight!) and until now haven't been able to understand the dramatic weight gain and inability to shift it! TIA x

Hi there, I too have an underactive thyroid for a few years and hate to say it but im still at the same stage as you, even managed to put weight on, on the slimfast plan. Weight steadily going up and really effecting my health now. Got the doctor on Friday about it and will post any new info I can get on the weight gain issue.

AussieLass

I was diagnosed with an underactive thryroid early in the year. It took about 9 months to get the right dosage. I had to go back for blood tests every three months to determine this. I didn't put on a great deal of weight luckily (about 1/2 stone) but I must add I haven't lost what I gained either. I eat healthily too so know it was from the thryoid. My weight has stayed the same the last 9 months with no gains.

I thought once your thyroid was acting right there is no reason for weight gain? It's functioning just the same as it would normally. I hope you get it sorted.