Introducing myself

[Guest guest]

I am 57 and have always had to take replacement thyroid. When I was

young this was always the natural product, I can't recall when I was

moved to synthetic thyroxine.

I was sent a link yesterday to www.tpa-uk.org.uk and another site,

and I haven't got over the shock yet.

About 10 years ago, I was going through menopause and on HRT, but

felt increasingly ill and lethargic, and was also getting depressed.

In late 2001 I had a severe viral illness. Never actually diagnosed

as glandular fever or anything else. My whole face, scalp and neck

swelled up and I looked like the elephant man. This lasted 2 weeks

and took weeks to go totally back to normal. After that, things got

worse and worse. I was on 125mcg thyroxine then.

I got more and more depressed, and other life events like losing my

mum, my husband having a serious road accident and his work problems

compounded it all.

At the beginning of 2006, my husband walked out. It was a complete

shock and sent me plunging into even deeper depression. I was

prescribed Citalopram which after a week made me suicidal. I spent 24

hours in hospital after taking an overdose.

My doc sent me for a blood test and said that I wasn't on a high

enough dose - not nearly. Since then it has gone up and up, I've had

tests 6 monthly but as far as I recall, having seen the paperwork, it

is just the TSH test, not T4 and T3 separately or anything else.

I have hypertension and on Losartan as well.

It is a shock that I am going to have to fight my GP perhaps even to

get a trial on Armour.

What makes me think I should do that is that I am already on 250mgg

levothyroxine and it goes up again every blood test, as if the

increase is having no effect.

In that time I had to change doctor, as my previous one retired. The

new one is proving useless in a number of ways, and I think I am

going to have to consider a change.

I am being treated for depression, but not on medication at present.

I have a care team and they are phoning me every couple of days and I

go to see them.

I now don't know whether that depression is due to all the horrible

things life has hurled at me in the last few years, or the

hypothyroidism. I am not working, apart from little bits I earn

online (blogging and some online businesses) and by doing mystery

shopping. My perception is that some of the jobs I have been for, I

have been discriminated against because of my age. IT is a very bad

industry for that.

So that's it really. I am looking forward to reading everyone else's

stories and can see by the messages I have read so far that the

atmosphere in the forum is friendly and supportive.

Just thank heaven I found my way here.

Fletcher