Young fit healthy with Hypothyroidism

Hormones
1

Hi,

I've recently had some blood tests done which revealed that I suffer from Hypothyroidism.

This is news to me as when my doctor asked me if I feel tired at all, or losing any hair, this is quite the opposite.

I feel like i'm in supreme health, I run 20 miles a week, I weigh 10 1/2 stone, I'm 5'11 (male) fine head of hair, and feel like I have boundless energy.

I've now been prescribed with 50mg Levothyroxine, which I have to take everyday for the rest of my life...

I'm hardly ever sick, The last time I had a cold was back in March and it lasted maybe 3 days. I don't suffer headaches or other aches and pains.

I'm not fond of taking any medication, tablets etc so this this is a bit of a shock to me.

If I'm not feeling any of the symptoms and feel ok why should I take this medicine.

I had a blood test 2 years ago and the tsh result showed 9.27, now it shows 7.34 which shows it decreasing back to the normal range.

My Thyroid Peroxidase antibody showed 342. I don't know what is considered normal so I don't know if this is abnormal.

I'm not too keen to start taking this medicine until I know a little bit more.

What are the consequences of not taking it?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and reply.

Metso

2

Hello metso,

If you are not happy with the diagnosis you have had you should go back and discuss it with your doctor.

It is very highly unlikely that you would be offered throxine if you didn't need it. You are also entitled to see an endocrinologist if you wish. You would then be able to discuss it further with a more senior specialist. Not every one these days automatically gets refferred with thyroid problems, as in the old days.

Both my husband and I take thyroxine for underactive thyroid. His was picked up in a routine blood test five years ago , he also had no symptoms at all at the time, other than perhaps a little weight gain we had put down to middle age spread. I take 100mcgm he takes 175mcgm.

Mine also started with no symptoms. I fainted at work one day 30 years ago when I was 29 and was carted off to hospital. I was found to have Graves disease, basically an overative thyroid with other problems I was unaware of at the time. I was given Radio Active Iodine and several months of medication. I then became underactive (Very common with this treatment). I was hospitalised for 10 days at the time and have never had to go back to the hospital since.

We have both done very well on the thyroxine and live normal lives. Our weight is just under 12 stone for my husband and just under 9 stone for me.

Think of the thyroxine just replacing a nutrient that the body is lacking. We take our pill each day and get on with our lives, hardly giving it a thought. Once a year we have a blood test and sometimes the dose is altered slightly to suit the results.

My understanding is that if we didn't take the thyroxine we would slowly become quite ill. Our metabolism would slow down, possible hair loss, great weight gain, heart problems would ensue and our brain function would become impared.

I'm sure you are aware there is a wealth of information out there for you to read up on.

There is also the bonus that people taking thyroxine can get free prescriptions for life. One of the few bonuses allowed us these days.

I hope that this reply reassures you a bit. My own doctor has told me he has patients that have taken thyroxine for nearly 60 years and are fit and well. My own Grandmother had her thyroid removed in her thirties and lived to 98.

Best wishes for whatever path you decide to take, hope you get some answers soon. Fanny Jane.

3

Hello Fanny Jane,

thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

It is reassuring to read your post and that this medicine has been helpful to you and your husband.

I still feel unsure about how to proceed.

Perhaps i'm in denial.

There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with me, I'm not showing any of the normal symptoms associated with Hypothyroidism and I'm therefore hesitant to start taking medicine which may invoke changes to my body which appears fine to me right now.

It feels like a tall order to one day be told that you have to take one of these tablets everyday for the rest of your life.... As it is I don't even take paracetamol or aspirin!

4

Hi metso, sorry you still are feeling down about it all and not yet made a decision what to do.

You don't have to take any medication that is prescribed for you. However it's rarely prescribed unnecessarily.

You could always not take the thyroxine for now, give it a few months and then have another test and see if your T levels are still falling and then make a final decision.

As mentioned in my previous post neither my husband or I had any idea about our thyroid problems until something else bought it to the docs attention. We were both fit and healthy at the time of our diagnosis.

However as time goes by and if your T levels continue to drop you will start to experience all sorts of small problems. Taking such a small dose of thyroxine, even if you were not very underactive would be highly unlikely to give you any problems. Most people take at least 100mcgm a day. I think that you have been picked up really early and that's why it is such a shock to you. Also it is obvious you are in denial. Very understandable in the circumstances.

At least go back and have a chat about with your gp.

Hope you find some peace over this soon. It is not a life sentance , honestly. It's just replacing a missing element that the body needs to function properly. Fanny Jane.

.

5

Hello metso

I am in pretty much the same boat as you, i have been diagnosed with hypo but not showing any symptoms, i too am reluctant to take anything. I have asked for a second blood test which i will take in a month. Also currently i am taking teberafine for a toe nail infection..... i asked my doc if this could have caused my results to indicate that i am hypo, she said in theory yes, so i am waiting to finish my course of teberafine and will wait a few weeks and then take a blood test for thyroxine.

6

yes wait and see take another test in a while. maybe a couple months. 3-6 months. get a secound opinion.

7

Hi Fanny Jane, I have just read your emails to metso. I have just been to the doctors for cholesterol and other bloods, I'm fit and healthy, I'm told cholesterol Is 6.5 and my thyroid is just over, what the!!!! I thought I'd be up for the high cholesterol as its familiar in our genes, dad and brother both had bypasses, both fit and healthy, Hello Lipitor, but now to be told thyroid. So on the computer I go, I read your email, and thank-u, you gave  me a better insight, not the death knoll I thought it was. Thank-you Fanny Jane for explaining it so well.

Regards Marina Kirwan