Mental Health

Mental health is a big part of living with a health condition, especially a chronic illness such as thyroid disease. Posts covering mental health look at anxiety, depression, body image, disordered eating/eating disorders and more.

World Suicide Prevention Day and Thyroid Disease

Originally published on 10th September 2018 Last updated on 10th September 2024 TW: Mental Health, Depression,…

Grieving For Who You Were Before You Had Hypothyroidism

Originally published on 28th March 2017 Last updated on 2nd August 2024 TW: Mental Health, Depression,…

How Thyroid Conditions Affect Your Mental Health

Originally published on 2nd April 2016 Last updated on 3rd July 2024 TW: Mental Health, Depression,…

Some Days You Just Have To Admit Defeat

Originally published on 12th March 2018 Last updated on 11th March 2024 Although I’m not one…

An Open Letter: “Dear Thyroid Patient”

Originally published on 4th May 2017 Last updated on 12th February 2024 TW: Mental Health, Depression…

What if Weight Loss Wasn’t Your New Year’s Resolution?

Originally published on 28th December 2018 Last updated on 31st December 2023 I’ve spoken at length…

World Mental Health Day and Thyroid Disease

Originally published on 10th October 2018 Last updated on 10th October 2023 TW: Mental Health, Depression,…

4 Tips for Avoiding Self-Advocacy Overwhelm

When I was first diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism in the summer of 2015, my head was…

Thyroid Patients Share Their Brain Fog Moments

Brain fog is often described as ‘feelings of mental confusion or lack of mental clarity’. The…

Why I Don’t Focus on Weight as a Thyroid Advocate

TW: Dieting, Disordered Eating, Weight. In the thyroid health world, you can’t go anywhere without someone…

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theinvisiblehypothyroidism

Reposting this popular video from last year!

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😣 Everything I ‘figured out myself’ and utilised to get myself better, and the Hashimoto’s in to remission with hypothyroidism under control and stable, is documented in the many articles on my website as well as my book “Be Your Own Thyroid Advocate”.

😣 If test results come back “normal”, we can ask 2 questions: is normal really optimal? And what does optimal look like? And what do we test / consider next?

😣 We can ask the question “ok, so what are we investigating next?”

😣 Many of us are told for years that tests come back normal and sent back out the door with no follow up on what happens next.

😣 How do we find out what is actually causing the issues then?

😣 Examples of this situation for me: I complained of fatigue for years. Iron came back normal. So I was told to just get more sleep.

When my thyroid function WAS finally checked, my TSH was deemed ‘normal’ as it was at 9, within “acceptable limits” but nowhere near optimal. A TSH this high isn’t optimal. When I did push for further testing, we confirmed I did indeed have hypothyroidism with Hashimoto’s, iron deficiency and Vitamin D deficiency.

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📖 If you’d like a link to my thyroid patient book, leave a comment saying “book” below and I’ll send it to you. 💙

- Rachel Hill, Thyroid Patient Advocate 🦋💙

💊 How are your thyroid meds working for you?

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💊 Did you know there are more options if your current ones aren’t really helping? Though getting them prescribed can be tricky. 😒

❗️I never responded well to the T4-only medication Levothyroxine. I unfortunately only felt worse on it.

❗️But when I switched to an NDT medication, everything changed. My dry skin, fatigue, muscle pains, acid reflux and more all greatly improved or disappeared altogether. Changing medication type was such a huge puzzle piece for me. 🧩💕

❗️A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2013 compared NDT to levothyroxine in the treatment of hypothyroidism. The results showed that almost half (48.6%) of patients preferred NDT, with 18.6% preferring T4-only, and 32.9% having no preference.

❗️However, the hardest part can be trying to convince your doctor or endocrinologist to prescribe anything other than T4-only medicine. The vast majority of doctors and endocrinologists have been trained to only prescribe T4 synthetic medications, so many patients these days are unfortunately having to go private to see a doctor who will prescribe other medication options or even self-source it online, which carries many risks, just to get the medication they need to function like a regular human being.

❗️In the US, trying different doctors covered by your insurance until you find one who is open to prescribing it is an option.

❗️In the U.K., NDT isn’t licensed, so you usually have to go private to obtain it. Synthetic T3 (Liothyronine) is more easily prescribed on the NHS but still not routinely. A very small number get NDT or Liothyronine prescribed on the NHS but it’s definitely not common practice.

❗️For those who don’t respond well to T4-only synthetic medications, T3 medications such as Liothyronine and NDT may drastically improve their quality of life. This is just one area of thyroid advocacy that we need to keep shouting about.

•••

👇 What are your thoughts on this?

(I am currently on Armour Thyroid NDT, and after the birth of my first child in 2020, require a small amount of Levothyroxine alongside it)

- Rachel Hill, Thyroid Patient Advocate🦋💙

😶‍🌫️ Thyroid brain fog has caused me to:

🤷🏼‍♀️ Have you left an appointment fee

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