Under Active Thyroid - My Story

Hello

Thank you for all your comments yesterday re work clothes you have all really helped me and I am definitely going to get the Topshop tunic.

Anyway this is a bit of a different post for me today.

On This Morning yesterday they had a slot about Under Active Thyroid (UAT) something I have and I thought I would write a post about this and its something I feel needs more awareness.

Back in late 2005 I had been feeling unwell for ages, I just felt really tired and sluggish I had no energy and felt awful.  I know some people will think oh tiredness thats nothing but this was like exhaustion I cannot explain how tired I was.  I used to be in work and by the afternoon I could hardly lift my head from the desk I was totally exhausted.  I was slurring my words slightly and just seemed a bit vacant and not there. To be honest some days I felt my heart was just going to stop I felt so sluggish and slow...it was really horrible.
Luckily back then I worked with lovely people and they noticed that I was not well as I was always very chatty and the life and soul of the office before I felt ill. 

I went to see my doctor and I have to say she is a brilliant doctor who has time for you and listens to you, she immediately sent me for a blood test as she was concerned.  A few days later I went back to see the doctor and she advised that my thyroid was not working properly (Under Active Thyroid UAT) as I had low levels of TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) in my blood but the levels were not low enough to start medication.  Doctors cannot start treating you for UAT until the TSH level is at a certain point or below that point.  Therefore I had to wait a further 6 months before having a another blood test to see if the TSH level was worse and then I could start medication.

Six months later I went back and after a further blood test the TSH levels were a lot lower and I was diagnosed with UAT.

I started off on 50mcg of Levothyroxine (a synthetic form of thyroxine) but UAT is hard to control at the start because the TSH levels fluctuate so for the first couple of years I had to have blood tests every 4-6 months to check the levels.  Over the past 5 years my dosage of thyroxine has changed from 50mcg to 75 then up to 125 then down to 100mcg.

I was lucky I had caught it early and therefore I did not put on much weight and although I had felt really ill I would have felt much worse if it has been left undiagnosed for longer. 

The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in the neck and it regulates your heart, bowels, metabolism, regulates body temperature and assists many other organs.

These are the symptons of an Under Active Thyroid. 

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Thyroid-under-active/Pages/Introduction.aspx

A couple of years ago I noticed a lump in my throat and so I was sent off for a ultra sound scan as the doctor was worried I may have developed a goitre http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Goitre/Pages/Introduction.aspx which is a complication from UAT.  Luckily it was nothing but the scan had showed that my thyroid has shrunk so much that I have chronic UAT which basically means my thyroid hardly works.

Under Active Thyroid can never be cured but it can be controlled, therefore I will be on the medication for the rest of my life.

I am writing this post to warn others about UAT as a lot of people have these symptons but never get checked and it goes unnoticed.  Particularly if you are finding it hard to lose weight, even when you diet and if you feel tired/exhausted all the time and sluggish then definitely go to the doctors and ask for a blood test.

I have to be careful with what I eat because its easy for me to put on weight hence why I used to be a size 8-10 but now more of a 12.  I could get back to a size 10 if I worked extremely hard at it but I was told by a nurse, rightly or wrongly that its more or less impossible to lose weight with UAT,  although the medication is meant to help.

Luckily I have not put on too much and try to keep in under control.

I do worry about developing goitre's or other complications but taking that little tablet every day definitely makes me feel less tired and ill.

Under Active Thyroid is often confused with Over Active Thyroid.

 Over Active Thyroid is the opposite of under.  These are the symptons:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Thyroid-over-active/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Do you or anyone you know have UAT or OAT?


Sorry if I have not left comments on your blog I will be catching up later today xx