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Underactive Thyroid
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
A while ago, I posted about having had a blood test, which was initially to test for diabetes, amongst other things. Turns out my thyroid was a bit of a cause for concern and I had to have another blood test a month after the first, for which I got the result yesterday.
Turns out I have an underactive thyroid! Everyone's (doc included) suprised because I have very few, if any, of the classic symptoms of an underactive thyroid, but that's what the results said. It's out by a pretty big way, apparently - won't go into detail (cos it'll confuse me!) but the hormone which should have a level of 4 (4 what's, I don't actually know!) in a normal person, is at a reading of 15 in me! Apparently, the receptionist should have called me last week, but she didn't - doctor did his nut when he realised!
Anyway, getting around to my question, has anyone else got this and did the thyroxine (tablets you have to take to replace the chemical your body isn't producing enough of naturally) make much of a difference to you? I know I felt generally crap, but I never thought it would be this! Somehow I "don't feel ill enough" if that makes any sense.. :crazyeyes
Turns out I have an underactive thyroid! Everyone's (doc included) suprised because I have very few, if any, of the classic symptoms of an underactive thyroid, but that's what the results said. It's out by a pretty big way, apparently - won't go into detail (cos it'll confuse me!) but the hormone which should have a level of 4 (4 what's, I don't actually know!) in a normal person, is at a reading of 15 in me! Apparently, the receptionist should have called me last week, but she didn't - doctor did his nut when he realised!
Anyway, getting around to my question, has anyone else got this and did the thyroxine (tablets you have to take to replace the chemical your body isn't producing enough of naturally) make much of a difference to you? I know I felt generally crap, but I never thought it would be this! Somehow I "don't feel ill enough" if that makes any sense.. :crazyeyes
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Perhaps someone (one of the above, or perhaps BumbleBee) could also tell me, why do I now get free prescriptions for life? I could understand if I just got the thyroxine for free, but I don't see why I should get hayfever stuff, for example, free too! I'd understand if it was something like diabetes or MS - something that was going to get worse and possible cause other problems as I got older or the condition got worse - but from what I've been reading (please correct me if I'm wrong!), as long as I take one tablet a day for the rest of my life, I'll be fine! Just don't get why the NHS are so keen to throw this benefit at me when there are many much more needy people out there! :crazyeyes
Psssst. People with MS don't get free prescriptions, unless they are so severely disabled they can't leave the house without help.
Anywho, the way I see it you get free prescriptions for thyroxine because it encourages you to continue with your medication (some people wouldn't take it if they had to shell out money every month), which reduces the need for further treatment on the NHS and keeps costs down in the longrun. You may also be susceptible to other illnesses and therefore need medication to combat those too. Thyroid problems are controlled with thyroxine, but unfortunately you may find in time that you need increased dosages or other intervention and yes, it can cause other problems. Most people have mild underactive thyroids whereas some people I know can barely leave the house some days... it's all relative.
Personally I agree with you that you shouldn't get all medications free. It encourages people to waste time and money asking their GP for free paracetamol and similar stuff that you can buy over the counter for 8p!
Having said all that, don't knock it. Hopefully you won't need to make use of the prescription exemption certificate too often!
rachie004, wouldn't you get gluten free foods free anyway? Providing you've got a medically confirmed gluten allergy, anyway. I've got IBS (I reckon anyway, tho my doctor is more concerned about sorting the thryoid problem first - didn't want to put me on two new treatments at once, etc) and recently had a VEGA food sensitivity test which showed I was sensitive (I know that's not the same as an allergy) to wheat. Am trying to lay off it a bit just to see if it makes a difference, but to be honest I don't think it's doing a lot!
BumbleBee, about MS, I didn't even know if that was the case for diabetics, let alone MS sufferers! It was just the first example I could think of of a condition which would get worse and lead to other things
Like I said, just seems silly to me that I get all that thrown at me when other people's needs are greater. Still, as you said, I won't knock it!
is there not a blood test you can have to confirm it/rule it out?
i'm sure they ruled it out for me on the basis of a blood test, cause i displayed about the same level of enthusiasm for an endoscopy as you do. i told them if they knocked me out, i'd have it, but given my phobia of chucking up/gag-spots/swallowing things, if they didn't, the idea of getting me even in the room was laughable.
anyway, back on topic, i thought the prescription exemption thing was geared towards people that are on medicines for life rather than people who are 'more ill' than others?
Don't get exactly what you mean by that..
I can see the point of getting the thyroxine free - like BumbleBee said, £6.50 a month for the next 50-60 years (I'm 21) is gonna prove rather expensive, so to make sure I keep taking it, and don't bring on anymore 'more expensive to treat' problems, can see the reasoning behind getting it for free.
But surely the NHS is missing out on money each time I need hayfever tablets etc. would be better collected and spent on more nurses, or whatever else the NHS is lacking money for.. :yeees:
Actually, after having a dig around, this whole free thing is very different than i thought it was.
I found this list of who is entitled to free prescriptions:
* A permanent fistula requiring dressing.
* Forms of hypoadrenalism, such as Addison's Disease.
* Diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism.
* Diabetes mellitus except where treatment is by diet alone.
* Hypoparathyroidism.
* Myasthenia gravis.
* Myxoedema (underactive thyroid) or other conditions where supplemental thyroid hormone is necessary.
* Epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy.
i would have thought it would be longer. why specifically those conditions, anyone who knows?
I always thought a coeliac was the name given to a person with a gluten allergy / intolerance, rather than the name of the condition itself.
The reason is timing more than severity of these conditions.
In the 50's when the prescription charges were introduced the conditions needing urgent , consistant or lifelong medication were exempt for charge, obviously it was so that the poor could have medication necessary for life. The list above is of these such conditions as known back then.
Since then many breakthroughs in pharmacy have enabled other, then unidentified or uninvestigated, conditions to be controlled by medication.
For some reason though the list hasnt changed, but having worked in pharmacy for a long time, Im not surprised, the pricing systems are pretty antiquated.
Crystaltips, I too have underactive thyroid, was diagnosed last year and the tablets have had an amazing effect on me, has taken best part of the year but Im getting back to normal now. My TSH was 59 T4 0.5 I had let it go so long not knowing what was wrong.
Its not just a matter of I feel rough so therefore I need a tablet to make me feel better..hypothyroidism can have severe effects on your health incl mental health, without treatment prolonged Hypothyroidism can be fatal.
So keep taking the tablet and I wish you all the best.
I do still get tired at times, its like if i really push myself too far, it can take me a little longer to feel ok again more than someone else would. On the whole though i lead a normal life.
The exemption is there because it affects your whole body & can lead to other problems.
As long as you don't take the pee with it don't worry. It saved me tons as i was also diagnosed with depression because of it & glandular fever at the same time which the depression can be part of it, i couldn't have afforded all the pills he gave me!
I hope you are feelign better soon. Feel free to pm me if you wanna know anything as i am not on here much.
What kind of thyroid problems are there aside from the underactive thyroid condition?