CBlood results

[Wayne39]

Just had my blood results back.

My legs felt heavy & tired lately. So I thought it may be due to my thyroid. Doctors having none of it saying my levels are within the normal range.

I don't understand my results can someone tell me if its normal?

Yours thankfully

Wayne

[Jazzw]

Sorry you didn't get an answer sooner Wayne.

Your results are within normal range - that part's right. But that TSH result in particular is not normal. And the very fact that you're hypothyroid means you are not normal either, so you shouldn't be compared to those who are!

You need an increase in Levothyroxine - ideally to get your TSH under 1.0 and your TSH in the top part of the range.

Your doctor doesn't seem to know this. I would push for an increase in your dose, and ask for his reasoning why not if he refuses!

.

[Wayne39 in reply to Jazzw]

Hi Jazzw

Thankyou So much for your reply. I went to my doctor & explained I still having pains in my calves ect.

He got the results back & said Yep everything is within normal range. I asked to be tried on a higher dose & he wouldn't do it. I explaoned that I was feeling similar to when I was first diagnosed & I know my own body.

His reply was well it's not to do with your thyroid because it's with ingle normal range.

I've been to see several doctors at the surgery & they all say the same thing your levels are in the middle fine.

I asked about the ferritin b12 & all the others.

I was poo pooed on that one as well. The reply was nah it's nothing to do with that at all.

How the hell can you get a doctor to listen to you?

I'm a runner & found out in the first place. Because my times had declined & I was having heavy legs. Which madee see a doctor in the first place. I'm convined my thyroid ain't right. I've never been the same runner. & my energy levels whilst out running have rapidly declined.

What should my TSH reading be instead of 4.23?

Wayne

[Clutter]

Wayne, yourTSH is too high which is why you are feeling hypothyroid. 4.23 is wihin normal range but so is 1.0 where most members on Levothyroxine feel better. If your GP won't increase your Levothyroxine see every other GP in the practice until it is increased or change practice. Read Dr. A. Toft's comments about dosing and levels in this link thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... Email [e-mail] if you want a full copy of the article to show your GP.

[Spareribs]

Can't remember normal... but 4.23 is too high - I do remember waking up feeling like I'd run a marathon.

Please also check Vit D, folate & B12 and irons especially ferritin (for starters, there's more....).

If deficient/low don't expect a miracle until after 3 months decent supplementation. J

[Jazzw]

The Toft article Clutter mentions is great in that Toft is a bigwig in the Thyroid world, and he wrote that some patients need to have a low TSH and high Free T4 to feel well - check out Clutter's link. It's hard for GPs to argue with.

Ask the GP whether it's a good thing you've done some reading about your condition, then when he replies "yes", hit him with the article. Literally, if necessary.

But if you really get stuck, there are a few other tricks to have up your sleeve. You could start taking more Levo, say another 25mcg, either by using up your prescription faster or buying some from one of the Internet pharmacies, and asking to have bloods taken a month later. If those results then stay in range, which they're likely to do, and you feel better, you then come clean to your GP and ask for the increased dose to be prescribed.

Or you could just get Levo from one of the Internet pharmacies and go it alone for a while.

Or you could do nothing, but make sure that the next time you have bloods done you take no Levo for a week beforehand (no, not a sensible suggestion - but I bet someone's done it in desperation).

Try the ideas at the top first!

[greygoose]

Well, your TSH is too high, but because the range is also too high, they won't take any notice of it. The ranges are a nonsense, but doctors think they are written in stone. The TSH of a 'normal' person, with absolutely no thyroid problems, is 0.8 to 1.25. You can see that yours is much higher. A lot of doctors won't treat until the TSH reaches 10! Which is cruel and unnecessary, but they are so ignorant in all things thyroid...

Your FT4 isn't too bad, but it's possible that you aren't converting very well so have a low FT3 - which doctors, in all their wisdom - don't think is necessary to test! But that would account for the level of the TSH.

So, unless you meet an incredible up-to-mark doctor who knows something about thyroid, there's not much you can do. The 'good' news is that with time, your TSH will probably get higher. But I suppose they didn't test the antibodies either!

Hugs, Grey