vitamin test request from my GP

[Guest guest]

Hello everybody,

I am a new member.I am 46 yrs old.

Since 2002 I have been told by a Consultant Endocrinologist that '

I have had possible transient or possible primary hypothyoidism ?

However all of the repeated antibody tests over the past 8yrs have always tested

negative?

I know that this still means that I could have an autoimmune condition but

Has anybody experienced this situation or know if there is a way of actually

finding out if it is in fact my thyroid that is the problem?

I was initially treated with Thyroxine but it did not work for me.

I lobbied my consultant for a long time to give me a combination T4 & T3

regime.This helped and for a while I felt a lot better.

However over the past year or so I have got some returning symptoms I have

continued weight problems (I am I would say about 4-5 stones overweight). I am

having serious difficulties getting down the stairs on a morning as I have

severe ligament stiffness in my ankles, stiff hands and joint pain (aching when

I lie down /go to bed).I have back pain.

Sugar craving, dry skin, water retention on my ankles at night, repeated

infections.

I have a couple of new symptoms.The ligaments in my neck (which feel as though

they are twanging when i sometimes move my head). I then get severe pain at the

various points on my skull where they attached on my skull.I have been getting

terrible headaches for the first time in my life.I never normally get them.

I have asked my GP about the neck muscle pains but she does not know what they

are?

Has anyone else experienced this?The pain is excruciating.

In response to all of my other aches and pains she did an ANA antibody test

which came back as 1:40 (however the Consultant Endocrinologist did the same

test and got the same result 7 yrs ago) and I have been told by my GP that

apparently people can have a low titre result and not have any symptoms.

My GP has suggested referring me to a consultant Rheumatologist even though the

inflammatory markers for rhuematism all came back negative.

I am sure it is all realted to my thyroid or some other endocrine problem.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I have read that is common for people

to find themselves in this position.

The main symptoms I currently now are very similar to what I had before

diagnosis and treatment in 2002.However at that time they subsided when I was

given Thyroxine.

i am frustrated with the fact hat it is always the symptoms that are being

treated and not the underlying causes.

I am concerned that I may have an uptake problem so I went to see my GP last

Thursday and asked her if she could test my vitamins as suggested following some

initial advice.I also asked her if she could do a cortisol level blood test.

Her response to my request about the vitamin/ mineral tests was to say that she

'would have to consult with somebody who knew more about Thyroid' before saying

she could do

them.As she wanted to check if it was in line with treatment protocols?

Is there any reliable research I can show her that supports the need for these

tests to be done / or that incorrect levels of these vitamins could interrupt

the uptake of Thyroid hormone?

I believe I could possibly have an uptake problem with T3?

I do not know what my problem is at the moment, why I have got returning

symptoms?

I believe I have adrenal stress (which can intefere with thyroid hormone uptake)

I have done a questionnaire for this and my score was high.

I could also have caused some problems in that I forgot to take all of the

T3 3 x pre day for a long time (since having my son in 2007).

However I have now resolved this problem as I have found an excellent gadget

called a Tabtime 5' it goes off three times a day every day.

I felt concerned when I talked with my GP recently as in the past she has

always been very supportive / helpful.

I am concerned as I have a two and a half yr old. I am a single parent with no

other family support at all.I do not want my son to have an invalid for a

mother.

I am intending to try and get an appointment with Dr Peatfield asap.I have asked

my Consultant for an appointment and have requested a T3 only treatment.

I am beginning to think that perhaps I should try and get some natural

dessicated thyroid hormones.

I am very grateful in advance for any advice or experiences anybody might be

able to cast upon my current situation.

Thanks

Best Regards

[Guest guest]

Hi - you do appear to have a lot of problems that need to

be sorted but you don't appear to have the most receptive GP who is interested

enough to help you, First, can you give us your last thyroid function

test results for TSH, free T4 and free T3 together with the reference range for

each of the tests done.

You can suffer with hypothyroidism without having

an autoimmune condition. What I would do is to get the 24 hour urine test to

see the levels of free T4 and free T3 that your body has actually used, as the

NHS blood test only shows the amount of thyroid hormone in your blood, which

really is not much help to anybody.

Thyroxine (T4) is a mainly INACTIVE thyroid hormone that has to

convert to the ACTIVE thyroid hormone T3. It is T3 that every cell in the body

and brain needs to make them function - NOT T4. If you are a good converter,

then T4 is fine, but many of us are not, and we need T3 thyroid hormone

replacement. However, there are many conditions that go along with the symptoms

of hypothyroidism that need to be eliminated before starting thyroid hormone

replacement. Please see the attached document.

The pains you describe can be caused through low thyroid

function, but I am not sure about the ligaments in y our next or the twanging

you sometimes feel when you move your head. I appreciate y our GP may not know

the cause, but she should be doing what she can to find out. Low back

pain can be caused through low adrenal reserve or from unused thyroxine

accumulating in the joints if it is not being used up. I would take up the GP

appointment to refer you to the rheumatologist as a process of elimination so

you can get on with then trying to find the true cause of your aches and pains.

You can get the 24 hour urine test and the 24 hour salivary

adrenal profile to see where your cortisol and DHEA levels lie at four specific

points during the day from Genova Diagnostics and you can get discounts for

these tests by being a TPA member. Just follow the details in the DISCOUNTS

file.

If your GP wants info. regarding the reasons for doing the

vitamin and mineral tests, go to our FILES section and copy out the information

about Ferritin and Haemachromatosis and the thyroid connection, the info. about

vitamin B12, vitamin D3, folate (very important) and magnesium. You will find

them all there . Does she ACTUALLY KNOW SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS ABOUT THYROID????

Sadly, she will find none of our recommendations inline with NHS diagnosis or

treatment protocols. They have no time to do the research, and certainly, the

professors do not teach about the connection between these and thyroid disease.

We do need some test results though, and if your GP refuses to

do the tests you request, I would write to her, sending a copy to the Head of

Practice asking her to set out the reason why she refuses the tests. She is

your doctor and she should be doing what she can to help you. If she is not

capable, then you really need to find a doctor who will care about your

health,.

Luv - Sheila

I am intending to try and get an appointment with Dr Peatfield asap.I have

asked my Consultant for an appointment and have requested a T3 only treatment.

I am beginning to think that perhaps I should try and get some natural

dessicated thyroid hormones.

I am very grateful in advance for any advice or experiences anybody might be

able to cast upon my current situation.

Thanks

Best Regards

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