i asked my consultant about this and also a connection with cholesterol but he said he wasnt aware of any actual evidence.
i had my bloods redone at the lipic clinci and they are all normal… well cholesterol is still borderline but has dropped for 9.6 to 5.6 on 6 weeks of simvastatin… thyroid is now 1.8 so also normal too.
totally chuffed at how well the statin has worked.
if i come across anything else ill let you kmow.
Lx
Hi All
Glad to hear the statins have worked so well for you Lulu.
Thought I’d update as I’ve had several appointments recently. The breast lump I was concerned about is due to implant and redundant tissue-u/s looked normal, so glad about that.
Saw GP who wasn’t aware of any link between bc and thyroid probs, but said that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. She couldn’t tell me which auto-immune thyroid disease I have, but said it doesn’t make much difference to what they do, and that there were no long term implications apart from being on thyroxine and checking bloods. For now I’m going with that, and am taking the thyroxine which I have to say has made a big difference already-I thought I’d just been exhausted for 18 months because of the after effects of chemotherapy!
Consultant onc nodded that hormonal disruption effects the thyroid, but was not being drawn on a causal link. She looked at the levels and said ‘no wonder you’ve been feeling so tired for so long!’, so I’m very pleased the team encouraged me to check out the thyroid in the first place.
Not much new or different I’m afraid, and still interested in the number of women who seem to have both bc and thyroid probs, but clearly not enough conclusive research to link them…
Hope everyone doing ok
C xx
Hi all - Very interesting thread, I too have underactive thyroid and for 12 years was on 100mg levothyroxine, which was reduced this time last year to 87mg (half of a 175 tablet). I think I had better ask for another blood test as this change was shortly before BC found. I had been very sluggish this time last year and leading up the THE mammo. Had no idea there could have been any link however tenuous!
I am guessing that a blood test now (last chemo 15 May, last radio 31 May) may be a bit unsettled just yet. Any ideas?
Can I ask you what symptoms you had for underactive thyroid?
I’m wondering whether to ask my GP for a blood test as my energy levels are so low although I finished treatment 6 months ago - I feel so sluggish all the time. I go for a walk every day, have a very healthy diet so I’m wondering why my energy isn’t picking up. I’m on tamoxifen and 46 yrs.
Elinda x
Hi Elinda
I felt very much as you describe-with periods of complete fatigue-just suddenly wiped out with no warning, rather than a build up of tiredness if that makes sense. That was it really.
I was having blood tests anyway because my white cells were low for long time after chemo, and had dizzy spells, but I don’t think these were related to thyroid, and onc wasn’t concerned because they righted themselves.
I saw the onc a year after Rads (17 months after chemo) he wasn’t surprised that I still felt this way-said it wasn’t unusual to have chemo effects for quite a long time, or have some long term changes as a result of the onslaught on the body from treatment.
He wasn’t concerned about the other symptoms, but suggested checking out thyroid just in case the continued tiredness was down to that instead of chemo after-effects.
Hope of some use, take care,
C x
Thanks very much. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel. It could still be the impact from all the treatment as I was very ill during the chemo but worth asking my GP when I see her tomorrow about thyroid.
Elinda x
Best of luck with it.
C x
Elinda I just checked all the symptoms of an under active thyroid - and they are very similar to chemo side effects - I think I have about 80% of them (tiredness, brittle nails, course hair, dry skin etc)! But would seem a good idea to get it checked - I am going to ask them to add it to the list at my next blood test.
Did not realise that there are possible after effects of treatment lasted as long as 17 months and more - that’s something to look forward to! as well as all those things that Finty listed I get dizzy spells when getting up sometimes. I do get very sore shoulders and neck.
XXX
Mammie
I really hope I haven’t given you further cause for concern. This site is great, but I find it much easier to be clear about what I’m saying face-to-face.I’m a bit awkward at timres online.
The trouble sometimes is in sharing our experiences we can cause alarm without intending to, which is why I don’t post on certain threads, and try only to look at the ones that relate to me.
I will just clarify-the onc did not say that most women feel that bad for a long time, just that it isn’t unusual (in all his years of experience) to come accross women who have some effects that take longer to go.
I had some specific side effects during chemo after reacting badly to the medication, and took me a long while to get stronger afterwards-that isn’t the case for everyone by any means- as lots of women on this site will tell you.
In the end his suggestion that the thyroid function be checked was spot on- probably the reason I’d felt so drained for so long was in part down to that, and thyroxine has made huge difference.
Hope that is less alarmist!
C x
I saw my GP today and she thought my tiredness was probably still my body trying to recover from all the treatment. She’s ordered a batch of blood tests including thyroid to check. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful GP. She spent 20 minutes with me talking through all my concerns.
take care all
elinda x
Elinder,
So good she spent the time and went through things with you. Very positive to hear of great GPs -the one I have now is too, makes a big difference doesn’t it. Hope the bloods ok, and you start to gain a bit more energy soon.
C xx
Thanks very much C, let’s hope so.
Elinda x
Hi cupoftea
I don’t take for gospel the aftereffect time span, just good to know that anything I may have could relate to the treatment. I live in France and do have a language problem with the medical people though both sides try. Also there is no such thing as a Breast Nurse so it is doc or nothing. Therefore it is very, very useful having this site. it has set my mind at ease with a lot of things. Probably go and see the doc next month and ask about wisdom of blood tests for thyroid etc. Until then ‘keep taking the pills’.
But do keep up the info! Love Pat xx
Pat
Thank-you-I was worried I’d not been clear enough about my earlier post, so appreciate your response! Not having a BCN must be quite tough at times, on top of the langiuage barrier.
All teh best
C xx
Hi just wanted to say it’s definately worth asking to be tested - it’s a simple blood test. I was diagnosed when my 9yr old daughter was 6-9 months old. I would be feeling really tired and worn out by 10.30am and hungry and would eat bananas to try and raise my energy- to no avail. A friend with underactive thyroid told me to ask my gp to test me for it. My gp agreed to test me although we both thought the tiredness was due to having a baby. She called me a day after the test to tell me to come and a prescription for thyroxine- my levels of TFT were 110 when they should be under 5 - she said no wonder I had been feeling so bad!!
Hi all
Had the results of my blood tests. Everything was normal. TSH level was 1.20 miu/L which I think means that this is functioning quite fast? Haven’t discussed with the doc yet but she’s put normal underneath.
I am menopausal though which has been shown in the hormone testing. That could be why I’m still have some days feeling so tired.
Have to say that overall my blood results are better than they were before I started all the treatment!
Elinda x
elinda i think that normal… i believe if it was below 0.5 its considered to be hyperthyroid but it does vary from place to place as others consider under 0.3 to hyperthyroid… so 1.2 would be considered the lower of the normal range.
glad the results were all normal… mine are much better now than what they were a few months ago too.
Lx
Thanks Lulu. I’ve had a look up on the internet and think my thyroid falls well into normal range. Glad your results are improving too.
take care
elinda x