My name is Lisa and I have Hashimoto's Disease. In other words, an underactive thyroid. There are over 300 symptoms of this disease, and I still have 84 of these because of a high cortisol problem. (You can see the start of a thyroid goitre in my cover photo, taken just before I was diagnosed.)
Many people who have this disease are perfectly happy on a prescribed hormone called Levothyroxine. When I was diagnosed in 2012 I was prescribed this. I did not get better. My prescription amount was raised each time, in the hope that it would work. It didn't, in fact I felt worse. My GP sent me to an Endocrinologist to see what was wrong. They didn't know, some didn't care.
This is where I turned to Thyroid UK. I found out that part of my problem was that my body could not convert Levothyroxine (T4), into the usable hormone T3. I went back to the Endocrinologist to ask for a prescription, they refused, saying that it did not work, and that Levothyroxine was the only hormone that was available. I later found out that the only reason that they don't prescribe T3 (Liothyronine), is that it was ridiculously expensive.
https://thyroiduk.org/who-we-are/what-we-do/campaigns/
At this time I could still work. So I bought T3 from abroad. It was readily prescribed, and in some countries you could buy it over the counter. As I cut down Levothyroxine and upped the T3, I gradually started to feel better and better.
In 2015 I lost my job. I also started to feel unwell again. For 5 years I have had numerous tests and scans, and the only thing that came up was high cortisol (This is still ongoing).
I have constantly tried to get T3 prescribed, and they agree that I am better on it, but they still keep refusing, even when they know I can't afford to pay for it. But they are willing to monitor me on it.
(Paul Robinson explains everything so much better than I can!)
https://paulrobinsonthyroid.com/we-need-a-new-paradigm-of-thyroid-treatment-and-soon/
The initial target fund is £5,000. This is for Liothyronine (T3). There are also a lot of minerals and vitamins (that I need to buy) that the NHS won't prescribe, but which help my condition immensely, such as: Whole vitamin C, Vitamin D, & Betaine HCl (for low stomach acid). It will also pay for tests that the NHS don't do like: 4 point cortisol saliva tests. It will also cover travel costs & expenses too. I would also like to point out that the money will cover costs for a few years.
Thank you for reading my story.
Any contribution is very much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Lisa.❤