I was really struggling during perimenopause. I was convinced that there was something very wrong. I asked for blood tests to check hormones but the GP laughed and would only recommend an antidepressant (which I refused) and only 2 years or so later when I was experiencing increased pain in my hands (I'd had this for some years) blood tests with another GP. It was discovered that I had hyperparathyroidism. I was also diagnosed with autoimmune issues.
Thank you so much for this information! I have auto immune thyroid & the NHS treatment hasn’t been that great. I think people are just left to do their own research & unless it’s really bad are just left to get on with it. After a 10 minute consultation I was told that my immune system was attacking my thyroid & nothing could be done until it completely stopped working then they could give me medication. I have definitely felt better after going on HRT but I still have lots of symptoms.
The only way to get a proper treatment or the proper attention is to go privately. The NHS is struggling to do the minimum, and there is a lot of bad attitude around women's health. Even when you have a long list of previous episodes of something, for example, kidney stones, you start from 0 in every appointment. It's tiring.
Thank you so much for talking about the Thyroid , it is very mis understood and so much conflicting information. I have Hashimotos thyroiditis and have been started on Armour tablet .I am titrating it at the moment to see if it suits me . I also have HRT but I haven't started it yet . I really do want to feel better . Lots of body aches and pain and fatigue etc. The 2 seem to have similar symptoms.
Thank you Dr. Newson! I was diagnosed with Hashimotos at the age of 59. It seems so many women have thyroid issues and autoimmune diseases. I went on hormones at the age of 57 for sleep, but unfortunately you can never truly get rid of an autoimmune disease. It can only go into remission.
I've got a underactive thyroid, since the and of 27, I've been always suffering and having fluctuations that minics menopause, having cold flushes bad heavy period s , tired ,no sex dry , brain fog , which is all similar to the menopause, now at the age of 54 I'm still in perimenopause and I find I'm suffering a double whammy of my menopause, my dr dosent seem to care😮❤
Sadly many GPs don't care about thyroid or menopause much. They are so stuck on TSH being somewhere in range and never consider symptoms. They even think it's OK to give you a thyroid blood test in the middle of the afternoon, when you probably took your meds that morning and your TSH is naturally at a low point moving towards evening. It's ridiculous how little doctors know about thyroid. I include the specialists here. They are mostly diabetes specialists and cause a lot of damage to thyroid patients. You really have to read up and learn about your condition and take over treatment plans if you can. They are not proactive enough. You have to advocate for yourself and often have to pay for blood tests yourself to get TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested at the same time. For future book your thyroid blood tests first thing in the morning, before 9am if you can. Take your meds for the day after the test and don't drink anything but water and don't eat before the test. Caffeine and food can bind to hormones. Always get a printout of your test results and keep them in a folder. Compare them, check them. This is why booking a test pre 9am is so good. You have a like for like set of ongoing tests to refer to. It's hard. Thyroid is hard and nobody cares. But add in menopause and it gets seriously hard for some of us.
I started with night sweats at the age of 37and terrible periods. At the age of 40 I started with underactive thyroid. I am now 61 and no one has ever told me that my hormones are connected to my thyroid. I am now having a nightmare with vaginal atrophy, persistant UTI'S and no sex drive... after complaining about my symptoms for 5 years my gp has finally put me on HRT.. i think this is too much, too little, too late?
Thank you - this has come at the right time for me! Have an under active thyroid and have just made a gp appointment to discuss perimenopause. I am now much more informed going into that appointment 😊
Excellent video, very clear with some interesting connections explained that shed some light! I have Hashimoto's (under active thyroid) perimenopause AND possible coeliac disease! I was curious as to why my TSH has gone up and I've been advised to increase dosage. I'm also on HRT. Thank you!
Hi, one in 4 people with Hashimotos have Celiacs also … I was diagnosed 20yrs ago with Celiacs disease so haven’t eaten gluten since then (except for accidents!) went through menopause without hormone help - a very challenging 8 years … and then started taking oral estrogen and was getting worse and worse all symptoms after 6 months so switched to transdermal estrogen and had thyroid level checked … then figured out there was hashimotos in my family history - mum, aunty, grandfather and cousin … so I didn’t realize how staying fit and not eating gluten was keeping my thyroid as healthy as possible for the last 20 years. Then the oral estrogen highlighted the thyroid problem … Now 6 months into being on estrogen gel and lowest dose thyroxine and starting to feel better than I have in YEARS!!! I can lift weights again and not feel like my joints are going to separate for upto 10 days after light workout… I can walk up hills. I don’t have to have naps (collapses in the afternoon). I’m thinking about life again instead of managing my energy and tasks to make it through the day …. I didn’t even realize how much I was doing that until I caught myself NOT having to do it! I’ve gone back to work again (had to stop massages as I just didn’t have energy to work on/with people. Long story short - if you have celiacs or hashimotos take transdermal Hrt! And if you have hashimotos eat gluten free! 😀 (I don’t usually write comments - but it’s taken me years so figure all this out so I hope it helps you to figure it out quickly! 😀
@@pennysyoga thanks, yes I'm on transdermal oestrogen, it's working brilliantly. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's post pregnancy after our first, so have been on thyroxine since then, GP was great to discover that, not so knowledgeable for perimenopause tho which started early and hit me hard. I'm now with a good consultant endocrinologist. I suspect Coeliac but it was over ten years ago I was advised to cut out gluten, before I knew I had to be on it to take the test 🤦🏼♀️😫 so I can't be diagnosed now unless I make myself very sick for two weeks, which I REALLY don't want to do. Three small kids. Can't do it to myself. I'm delighted you've rediscovered your energy! Thank you for sharing. Stay well ❤️❤️
