Newly diagnosed underactive

[Maggie May]

I have been on thyroixine now for some years and my Doctor has several times altered the dose after my blood tests. Last summer he reduced the dose and since then I have been experiencing pain in my legs (upper thighs) and hip which is quite painful when walking. My legs feel very heavy - can you please advise me could this possibly be to the reduced thyroxine tablets. Thank You. Maggie May

[heidizg]

I have just had a phone call from my gp to say my thyroid test has come back showing underactive. I'm going back to gp tomorrow pm to discuss starting medication.

What questions should I ask to make sure I get the correct treatment I need? I'm also due to have a contraceptive implant inserted tomorrow am so I'm wondering whether that can still go ahead and not cause any problems?

[poohbear182]

I am really hoping that you can help me. I have so many symptoms of an underactive thyroid but as my blood tests fell into the 'normal' range my doctor will not even consider looking into it further. My basal temperature ranges from 36.2 to 36.4, I am so cold and tired, my lack of libido has caused my husband to have an affair, I have pins and needles in my hands and feet, my periods are heavy and i suffer from bad headaches at my time of the month, 2 of my toenails have come off, my half moons on my nails have gone, I bruise really easily, I have been treated for quite bad depression and I am so frustrated. Please could you let me know if there is anything I can do before I go completely mad!!

[Nomes]

I was diagnosed in November with an under active thyroid. As I am new to this my knowledge of what it is and how it all works is very limited so please forgive me I don't make sense! My leves were greater then 100 and now in Jan I had another blood test which was 7.4. I read that if you have it when your pregnant it can effect the baby's brain development, is this true also that it can cause pre eclampsia which I had. What would the best/optimum levels for me to be? Is there anything I can do besides just taking the meds? I am currently on 125 mgs. What questions should I be asking my GP? To be honest I am feeling very lost with this whole thing....

[Professor John Lazarus]

You should ask whether the TSH is above normal limits and whether the T4 is low. You should ask what the cause of the underactive thyroid is. It is usually autoimmune thyroiditis., so have thyroid antibodies been measured?
The correct treatment is with levothyroxine tablets.
I think you could go ahead with the implant. While hypothyrpoidism is a cause of failure to conceive this is corrected when you are euthyroid (normal) so be careful.

If, in the future, you do decide to get pregnant while taking thyroxine you should increase the dose as soon as you find you are pregnant.

[Dr Petros Perros]

An underactive thyroid in the mother, in the early stages of pregnancy can affect the baby's brain development, though not every baby is affected. There is an association between preeclampsia and an underactive thyroid, but it is not certain that teh thyroid underactivity causes pre-eclampsia. The dose of thyroxine is adjusted so tehta your thyroid blood tests become normal. You can read more about hypothyroidism and pregnancy on teh BTF website (http://www.btf-thyroid.org/).

[Steve-H]

You should ask whether the TSH is above normal limits and whether the T4 is low. You should ask what the cause of the underactive thyroid is. It is usually autoimmune thyroiditis., so have thyroid antibodies been measured?
The correct treatment is with levothyroxine tablets.
I think you could go ahead with the implant. While hypothyrpoidism is a cause of failure to conceive this is corrected when you are euthyroid (normal) so be careful.

If, in the future, you do decide to get pregnant while taking thyroxine you should increase the dose as soon as you find you are pregnant.

Why would you not ask for the FT3 levels to give a better overall picture? Maybe we have part of the problem right here in this forum as to why so many of us have struggled unnecessary.

Steve

[Professor John Lazarus]

Underactive thyroid after childbirth may be due to postpartum thyroiditis. This occurs in 5% of women and it usually presents as hypothyroidism and is oftentransient, that is it will recover The treatment is thyroxine for 1 year, then stopping the drug and having a thyroid blood test. Sometimes this condition is not transient and may prgress to permanent hypothyroidism when you would need to take thyroxine for life.
See also reply for Dr perros

[Nurse Dianne Wright]

Make sure you ask for a 'medical exemption form' so you can obtain free prescriptions for all medication in the future as treatment for an underactive thyroid is usually lifelong.
There is no problem at all getting the implant and I think you should go ahead with this treatment.

Dianne Wright
Specialist Nurse in Endocrinology