...best to read up on Hashimotos if you have anti-bodies. Often the TFT's can be in range and just the anti-bodies high. This happened with my hubby and myself. Have you started to deal with your B12 ? To help with the conversion of T4 into T3. Maybe you have to take things into your own hands and not expect your Doc to help. From reading this forum I am sure you must have come to the conclusion that many GP's are not fully up to speed with thyroid issues.
If you have auto-immune issues then you need to look to diet and healing the gut. Depression so often goes hand in hand with thyroid issues/Hashimotos - so increasing your dose of T4 may well help. Ask for a FT3 test to check that you are converting. T3 was once used as an anti-depressant and I think it still is occasionally. I also believe that AD's can skew your thyroid blood tests....
Good Luck - stay calm and take all the advice that has been given on this forum about communicating with your Doc.....
I do find it all very consfusing, my brain just doesn't understand. My TSH was 4.3 (that's 6 weeks after levo) dr said that's fine, my vitamin b12 is at the bottom scale of normal at 297, dr said that's fine. I only just found out about hashimoto being on this site my anti bodies where 229. I don't want to be on anti ds anymore as the don't help, thou scared to come off them as when I tried before I suffered insomnia
Your doctor is under the misaprehension that it is o.k. to have a TSH in the 'normal range'. That maybe o.k. for people who don't have a thyroid gland dysfunction but not for someone diagnosed with hypo.
Please email louise.warvill@thyroiduk.org and ask for a copy of the Pulse Online article by Dr Toft and in question 6 he states a recommended TSH level or the additon of T3 to a reduced T4. Send a copy of the whole article to your GP to read before your appointment highlighting any part which interests you.
This is a link re depression/T3. GP's don't appear to know this is a clinical symptom and could well be alleviated by adding the active hormone - T3. Instead of relying on T4 converting to enough T3 - some do not convert adequately.
Thank you, I need to get as much info about stuff before I go, I'm also taking my mum for support, I went a few weeks ago and they wouldn't re test my tyroid as they said it was fine in the last test
The situation parallels that of Gout treatment. If you never have had an attack you immune system is uncharged with the job of attacking the body. However, ONCE you have an autoimmune reaction the blood test guideline is totally inadequate to gauge health by.
If GPs go by the normal range then for detecting illness you will get worse and worse attacks. Once Gout is diagnosed by crystals ibn the synovial fluid [best check] the level of urate in the blood needs to be well below halfway of the full range- for ever!
Normal range no longer applies in the least way.
For thyroid illness the low target figure is even more critical-as the TSH is hyper reactive to changes sensed via the blood brain barrier breech, but little relation to the amount in [highly possible] resistant tissues- where it's needed for health.
We [our bodies] are the only current monitors for this gap in treatment -in how we feel and this is routinely and cruelly ignored by GPs and even supposedly knowledgeable Endos.
Hi everyone here. I am identifying with the problems on this strand. Asked Doctor to test more than the tsh as I seem to not respond to the thyroxin dose. He upped my thyroxin dose and I am starting to cheer up and feel more like getting off my backside. But I'm still not really happy about the information the dr works from. Given that the t3 is the active version of the hormone I feel that is what should be checked, ultimately.
Nice to read what others are thinking and doing re thyroid function levels. Cheers.
4.2 is still quite high for tsh you can always ask the doc for an increase on a trial basis as you still feel you have symptoms incidentally depression is a symptom of hypothyroidism proper thyroid treatment should negate the need for antidepressants. Supplement your b12 yourself i wouldnt rely on your doctor for that.
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