Insulin & Thyroxin

[She Davis4]

I have type 2 diabetes and taking insulin. I have now been diagnosed with a lazy thyroid. I have been on Thyroxin for a month now and my appetite has increased a lot. My blood sugar scores have also increased. I'm also very tired. Trying to keep my weight down is also difficult given the above.
Am I alone with this? Anyone got any advice?

 

[AndBreathe]

I have type 2 diabetes and taking insulin. I have now been diagnosed with a lazy thyroid. I have been on Thyroxin for a month now and my appetite has increased a lot. My blood sugar scores have also increased. I'm also very tired. Trying to keep my weight down is also difficult given the above.
Am I alone with this? Anyone got any advice?

Hi there She Davis - Have your blood sugar numbers been rising for a while, or have you just noticed it since you started on your thyroxin? I imagine you are on a standard starter dose of Levothyroxine, which is usually 25 or 50mcgr.

I have hypothyroidism, as well as having had a diagnosis of T2. I don't take any meds for my T2, but I do for the hypothyroidism. I didn't find any changes to my appetite, weight or blood sugars when I started, but I did have some ups and downs with fatigue along the way. I used to feel great for a week or so after an increase in my dosage, then I'd sort of crash and have heavy fatigue until the next increase.

Have you spoke to your GP about how things are going? If not beforehand, you should be expecting to have a blood test 6-8weeks after starting your thyroxine, to see what impact it is having. The starting dose it rarely the correct dose and it can take a while to get it right.

Do you know what your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) result was at diagnosis?

Don't be concerned it it takes several changes of dose to make much progress. It can be tiresomely frustrating, butt if the increases are done too quickly, you can end up with unpleasant palpitations.

When I was diagnosed, I found the Thyroid UK forum to be super-helpful, with so many very knowledgeable people on hand to help. It can be found here: https://healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk

Good luck with it. Once your levels start to come right, you should start to feel much better.

 

[mikeyB]

If you can resist the increased appetite, the first month or so of thyroxine treatment is just slowly resetting your metabolism. It takes a while to get the dose just right, so the tiredness should eventually disappear, along with some weight. It can take a few months getting the dose just right, so be guided by your Doc and the blood tests.

 

[She Davis4]

Thanks both of you for your reassuring words.
I am due a blood test at end Jan but as I'm under a Specialist there is little support from the docs.
The Specialist has scheduled a call early Feb to go through my results.
It was just a bit scary when I felt so 'out of sorts' and 'not me'.
I shall try the Thyroid Forum too.

 

[trophywench]

Neither my GP nor Endocrinologists have ever been secretive about my own TSH results - cos with T1 it's always been routinely tested with all the blood or urine tests on the diabetes 'menu' of tests.

It's currently something on my mind too cos I'm more lethargic than ever too, but I'm not due any more 'armful of blood' tests till next summer, by which point at this rate I'll have been rendered wholly horizontal - so I'll be making enquiries about this as soon as reasonable after Xmas myself. It DOES always take time to get the dose adjusted to suit each of our own bodies is all - and it looks very much to me like mine's decided to change a bit in the thyroid hormone dep't as well as the wrinkly bits.

 

[AndBreathe]

Neither my GP nor Endocrinologists have ever been secretive about my own TSH results - cos with T1 it's always been routinely tested with all the blood or urine tests on the diabetes 'menu' of tests.

It's currently something on my mind too cos I'm more lethargic than ever too, but I'm not due any more 'armful of blood' tests till next summer, by which point at this rate I'll have been rendered wholly horizontal - so I'll be making enquiries about this as soon as reasonable after Xmas myself. It DOES always take time to get the dose adjusted to suit each of our own bodies is all - and it looks very much to me like mine's decided to change a bit in the thyroid hormone dep't as well as the wrinkly bits.

Trophywench, you could consider a private test to set your mind at rest. The MonitorMyHealth service, out of the Exeter NHS labs is excellent, and is finger prick test. The little package goes back prepaid 1st class, with results next day

Monitor My Health

Monitor My Health. Easy, safe home blood testing service conducted in our own NHS laboratory - results online

monitormyhealth.org.uk

The beauty of MMH is they always do TSH, FT4 and FT3, irrespective of any single result.

I take T3 as well as thyroxine, and still the NHS arbitrarily decide if they will do the full panel - despite Endo instructions.

 

[trophywench]

Thanks - I'll certainly have a look at this - but not until I've had a chance to actually talk face to face with my hospital Diabetes clinic cos I'm over there on Jan 8th!

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks - I'll certainly have a look at this - but not until I've had a chance to actually talk face to face with my hospital Diabetes clinic cos I'm over there on Jan 8th!

Actually there?? There's posh.

Since all these shenanigans started I've had 5 consultant appointments - none of which were face to face, and 2 of which were the result of brand new referrals. For one of those I have a review in November 2022 (yes, 22). I'm hoping we might be out of Tier 3 by then. 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Yeah, honest injun! It's in an entirely separate building - well the top floor of a 2 storey one with its own entrance not used for anything else at all now, with the same staff who now work nowhere else and aren't now asked to help at UHCW Walsgrave either - it's at UHCW Rugby. Further from our house, but so much more friendly and relaxed, when you get there - I love it !

 

[AndBreathe]

Yeah, honest injun! It's in an entirely separate building - well the top floor of a 2 storey one with its own entrance not used for anything else at all now, with the same staff who now work nowhere else and aren't now asked to help at UHCW Walsgrave either - it's at UHCW Rugby. Further from our house, but so much more friendly and relaxed, when you get there - I love it !

The location of the Endo area at the LRI is similarly placed. The only other "stuff" appearing to go on there is a genetics clinic.

It's a big old building in part of the original hospital, so the consulting rooms are large, and corridors wide.

Of course, by the time your appointment comes, we might all be locked in again.

 

[trophywench]

Well yes we could or any one of us could be self isolating, which we've only this week stopped doing since we both tested positive the weekend before last, Pete started by losing his sense of taste the previous Sunday, I never had a symptom except fatigue, but there again I was never exactly a bouncing budgie all my life. All 'this lot', this year has not done my brain any favours whatever - lack of conversation, let alone stimulating conversation, generally - I'm forgetting words and names of things and people, like there's a colander inside my skull. Aaargh !!

 

[AndBreathe]

Well yes we could or any one of us could be self isolating, which we've only this week stopped doing since we both tested positive the weekend before last, Pete started by losing his sense of taste the previous Sunday, I never had a symptom except fatigue, but there again I was never exactly a bouncing budgie all my life. All 'this lot', this year has not done my brain any favours whatever - lack of conversation, let alone stimulating conversation, generally - I'm forgetting words and names of things and people, like there's a colander inside my skull. Aaargh !!

We are both exceptionally fortunate not to have had to shield or be particularly vulnerable (OH has his toes reluctantly in the Crumblie bracket), so have been able to do as much as the Roooolz allow, but I still find myself very inappropriately excited if I run into someone at the butcher's, Lidl or wherever.

A couple of weeks ago, I was waving both arms towards my (extremely vulnerable - post transplant etc.) friend, who was in the car with her husband as he went shopping. She had a bit of a change of scenery, half an hour in Tesco carpark.

It feels so pathetic, but it does demonstrate to me the real importance of the people in our lives.

 

[trophywench]

Yes well, much as your other half and mine plus me, may resent being Crumblies 99.99999r% of the time, but when all of us ancient dinosaurs have had our two vaccine jabs and will hopefully all be able to hug some of the people we want to give and received hugs to/from, even if it IS only amongst other crumblies to begin with and the great grandchildren will have to wait, which won't hurt em cos they have more time than us to do so - and the young uns are jealous of all us old uns instead of us envying them! What a good laugh for us, in our dotage, well I reckon we have earned that, frankly.