suffering for years

[sue-p]

Hi I would like to say that I suffered horrendous symptoms for several years before my TSH level was deemed high enough to warrent a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. The symptoms I suffered where not taken into account on any occasion and I had to learn all I could through extreme brain fog in order to fight my corner, all the time being told I did not have a thyroid problem. This disease/condition (as I also have raised antibodies) nearly robbed me of my relationship with my son, my marriage, my job and my friends as I turned into a revolting creature with no tolerance and a very bad temper who cried a lot and had no energy to do anything other than be nasty to people I loved. It wasn't until the very last test that anyone bothered to do the antibody test!. Do you not think TPO/TgAB should be done along with the first investigative blood tests? and also fT3 and fT4 as the latter 2 with me where low in the range but never taken any notice of, even though I was suffering all those symptoms.

[Professor John Lazarus]

I agree that TPO antibody testing should be done almost as a routine. It is getting less expensive to perform. Labs will not do Tg antibodies because it doesn't add anything clinically significant . T3 test is not useful for hypothyroism as it tends to be normal

[sue-p]

Personally Professor Lazurus I think Endocrinology is in a very poor state the world over and with the help of the internet we patients are realising such and collectively getting very angree indeed about the suffering we are forced to endure. The time will definetly arrive one day when things will have to change and we will no longer have to sit in a consulting room being told that we are NORMAL!