Okay so I'm looking for some advice, basically I got diagnosed with an underactive thyroid three weeks ago and now im having problems controlling my diabetes and having problems with the side effects of levothyroxine now I went to see a diabetic nurse yesterday because my doctor is too far for me to travel at the moment with my daughter who's disabled and I dont drive, now I was telling her I need another blood test of ts3 and ferritin etc just so I could know my hormone levels ans see what needed to be improved, now I'm no stranger to nasty comments over my weight, however this nurse doctor whatever you want to call her, turned around and said "you're fat because you eat too many carbs" To my face and my daughter and sister were there! It had nothing to do with my thyroid and so I walked our of the appointment and went to the front desk, to request my extra bloods be done, to which this nurse doctor, came our of her room and denied me the extra bloods because I dont need them, which I do I'm not sure what I can do now? I was just wanting help and it got shoved back in my face, so I need help from people with diabetes and thyroid problems thanks
Underactive thyroid and diabetes
- Thread starter Kmears97
- Start Date
I should also mention that before this came up she was talking about me going on metforin (sorry.not sure how you spell it) but because of the thyroid tablets they are screwing my bloods up I'm trying my hardest to lose weight and keep everything right but with a disabled child who likes to bake all the time it's a lot harder
- Messages
- 14,298
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hello there. That's a very nasty experience you had there. What an unpleasant and unkind thing to say?!!
Many of those diagnosed as hypothyroid are diagnosed, based on TSH alone, which blows my mind, bearing in mind it's a signalling hormone and tells us nothing about how the thyroid responds to the requests it makes, but it seems like you probably have done some reading into that already. Well done.
I'll spare you my story to diagnosis, but in my experience, it is common for NHS labs only Tom test TSH, and if in range, nothing else. If out of range also test FT4. You might be lucky to have FT3 tested if your FT4 is out of range, of if you GP is on-side and literally writes the instruction in big letters. I kid you not.
Unfortunately, al lot of people resort to private testing, with the likes of Medichecks, Blue Horizon or MonitorMyHealth. I have used Medichecks and Monitor my health, at different times, for different reasons.
As you already have one AI condition, have your thyroid antibodies been checked? They usually only need to be checked once or twice at max, but they do need to be done.
Starting Levothyroxine is an interesting time. Often our bodies get all excited about having some help a time last, and go into what I describe as being the puppy party phase. By that I mean, I had so much energy, but only for a short while, then it ran out again.
It takes about 6-8 weeks to see how we're doing on Levothyroxine and the same for each increase, so it can take a while to be the dosing right. Most hypothyroid adults end up on doses of 100-200mcgr a day, so starting at 25-50, you can see what I mean.
Some people lose weight when's they start on Levo, and some don't until they get close to their optimum dose, so don't be too discouraged if things don't start to improve straight away. I can't comment on that's personally, as I was quite slight at diagnosis, and not much has happened to me, weight wise.
Try asking your GP to order up the tests you need? They'd should have a report from whoever diagnosed you to corroborate the diagnosis. The tests are cheap to the NHS, but more costly to us, obviously.
I need terms of your blood glucose, not being T1, anything that happened to me, I need that regard, wouldn't stack up for you, as I still seem to have plenty of mŷ own insulin.
If your numbers have gone higher, which you're suggesting, Metformin might help you out a bit, even if over the shorter term. Metformin itself doesn't drive the blood sugars down, but it helps our bodies handle whatever insulin we have onboard (our own, or injected) a bit better, so it can help a bit. Many people have also found it does help them trim up a bit too.
I'm not sure if I've helped at all, but if I can help in any way, just let me know.
Do you know of the thyroid forum on HealthUnlocked? I learned oodles and oodles on there when initially diagnosed.
https://healthunlocked.com/ If not, it is definitely worth a look and signing up.
Thanks for that mine was diagnosed on tsh alone that's why I requested the other ones to be tested, my antibodies havent been tested either, I did ask my gp to order the tests I needed but they said no, just my FT4 and TSH are being retested, I think my concern is that when I first went three weeks ago about my diabetes they told me I have been on the wrong dosages for insulin for three years, it's taken a year to even get an appointment with someone because I moved and they couldnt find my records apparently, but now that I'm going to be doing three different things for medication I'm feeling really overwhelmed because this whole process is just getting me down, my bloods are starting to come down slightly but its because I'm back doing the school run (stopped due to my daughter burning her hand on the hob) so I'm constantly on my feet again and with my daughter having autism I hardly get a chance to stop, but I feel like they arent giving me the chance to show them that i can control it, I'm just not feeling up running around with them the same as before when I was at a different doctors
Thank you thought you have helped a lot, I know of the healthunlocked because people on there recommended I try here
Thanks
Thank you thought you have helped a lot, I know of the healthunlocked because people on there recommended I try here
Thanks
- Messages
- 14,298
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Kmears - when you say you're going to be doing 3 different things for medications, what do you mean? Are you having meds prescribed in different clinics, or is it the multiple meds?
To be honest, when I started on Levothyroxine it was the first time I'd had to take any medication longer than a course of antibiotics, and boy, did I resent it. I hated every single dose, and got in an irrationally bad mood when it came to doing my little pill pot reminder thing.
That only eased as I found some improvement in my symptoms. Since I have had some T3 added to the mix, meaning I take doses 3 times a day. Now, i. Know by comparison by T1 that's all a walk in the park, but it's all about adjustment?
Maybe once you start to feel some impact of your Levo things might ease a bit.
Without wanting to pry, would a round of private tests be feasible for you? For antibodies, it'd have to be Medichecks or Blue Horizon, as MonitorMyHealth doesn't do antibody testing. There are very often discounts at Medichecks, but as someone with one auto-immune condition, getting those antibodies checked is even more important.
Sorry I mean the multiple meds, insulin, levothyroxine and the metforin, its hard to do that stuff when your kid is poking into everything, in all honest my next move was private testing, is rather do that and pay whatever the amount is than get run around by my own doctors, I was having a look at those ones and I think I will purchase it so I can get it done and dusted, I'd rather get things sorted myself at this rate
- Messages
- 14,298
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Medichecks often have what they term as Thyroid Thursdays (I wonder how they thought of that, eh?), so worth watching for a couple of week to see what comes up?
If you have been started on Levothyroxine, it'd be incredibly unlikely anything would be changed for 6-8 weeks anyway. That's how long it takes for any changes to settle.
If you transpire to have autoimmune thyroid disease, as opposed to non-autoimmune, the treatment is pretty much the same except that the test levels for AI thyroid disease can be more variable and fluctuate a bit more than those without the AI element.
When are you due your next test, to see the impacts of the Levo you are taking now?
I know it's frustrating, but don't be disheartened.
I don't know what your morning routine is like, but I tend to wake up around 4am (zero idea why), so take my thyroid meds then, then drift back to sleep. Before I established that routine, I used to take my Levo as soon as I woke, then it'd be almost an hour before I was ready for tea or food anyway. If mornings don't suit you, then many folks take it just before bed.
In my detesting every moment of it head, I had to find a routine I could easily get my head round, and it not be a big part of my life.
Stick with it. It'll soon be a new routine. In our house, sometimes the snapping closed of my little pill pot rouses my OH. He now says I need some wys that makes him smile now, because he knows it's early and going back to sleep is almost like a little bit of luxury
- Messages
- 14,298
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
@Kmears97 - just to say, I note today is Thyroid Thursday, should you be thinking of buying some tests.
https://healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/posts/142613321/it’s-thyroidthursday-over-at-medichecks-today
Tests are valid for 6 months, from the date of purchase, s one can buy them (at a decent price), and do the test itself at a future date.
https://healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/posts/142613321/it’s-thyroidthursday-over-at-medichecks-today
Tests are valid for 6 months, from the date of purchase, s one can buy them (at a decent price), and do the test itself at a future date.
