Latest Blood results can someone help decipher please?

[damehypo]

Last blood test results were (as given)

October: ft4 8 (range 11-27)

TSH 9 (range 03-05)

T3 1.3 (range 1.3-3.1)

Dec to Current -

ft4 12 - range 11-27

TSH 5.7 " 03-05

T3 2.0 " 1.3-3.1

I am still crashing around the 5 o'clock mark like I have been drugged up, and still have most of my symptoms. I am wondering, if apart from thyroid issues I also have other things going on. I take methylcobalamin 5000mcgs daily - doc says my B12 and D3 levels are 'fine' she does not believe I have an iron problem. Why oh why am I having painful swollen legs ankles and feet (especially legs from knees down which have a burning sensation inside) - on top of the sleep trouble and painful joints?

Any help/advice would truly be appreciated.

[cc120]

Hi damehypo, you ought to post vit and iron levels and ranges too, what GP considers as 'fine' may not be.

[damehypo in reply to cc120]

Hi there and thanks for your comment, however my gp does not and never has done ANY tests for vitamins to my knowledge and I have asked but, as per usual, get no-where.

[PinkNinja]

The problem is that you are still hypothyroid. No wonder you feel ill!

Are you on thyroxine? If not, it really ought to be started. Your TSH is above range and your t4 is near the bottom. You must feel awful! If you are already on thyroxine, your dose needs to be increased every 4-6 weeks until you start to feel well.

I hope you can convince your doctor to do something. Also please get a copy of your iron results etc with the reference ranges. The normal range is wide on many of these tests and low normal may be too low for you.

Carolyn x

[damehypo in reply to PinkNinja]

Hello CarolynB thank you for taking time to reply. I am really grateful

I thought I was still really hypothyroid. I feel rubbish.

I take 125 levothyroxine and 25 of T3. This is what the endocrinologist put me on last October. She said I am good to go now since adding in the 25 extra levothyroxine in December. But I am still no where near right. Despite the T3 trial I am on.

Groan.......

[PinkNinja in reply to damehypo]

You need to see your doctor again. Your results show that you are not on enough t4 and your t3 is also rather low in range. I hope they listen xxx

[Clutter in reply to damehypo]

Damehypo, TSH should be just above or below 1.0 and FT3 above half way in range for most people to feel well. FT4 is often lower when taking T3 directly as there is less need for T4 storage for conversion. Your 25mcg Dec increase should help a bit but you should book another thyroid test roughly 8 weeks after the increase to see whether another dose increase is required.

Read the comments of Dr. A. Toft in this link re dosing and thyroid levels thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... and email [e-mail] if you want a copy of the full article to show your GP or endo.

If your GP hasn't tested ferritin, vitamin D, B12 and folate she can't possibly know they are fine. Levels are often low/deficient in hypothyroid patients and although NHS won't prescribe if they are within range, this is not optimal and self supplementation can be beneficial.

[damehypo]

Thank you again Carolyn. I am going to try and make an appointment, usually takes two weeks to see anyone! But I guess I will just increase the stuff myself and then get a test done perhaps. Honest to god, I sit at the computer in the afternoon and if I am on it (i.e. can see, do not have a headache/migraine etc) then I will literally fall asleep on the keyboard. It is so not right. My head falling to the keyboard will wake my up and I realise what has happened.

Unbelievable what they make us go through.........all because of their indifference and lack of ed! Grr

[shaws Administrator]

She definitely isn't taking into account your clinical symptoms. If you are taking T4/T3 your dose isn't still high enough. Before the blood tests the dose (NDT) was between 200 and 400mcg. Dr Skinner, Dr P and Dr Lowe said that nowadays we are on too low a dose i.e. we should be on one which makes us feel well. If your Endo is telling you that you are fine because you are 'in range' she is doing you a dis-service by not listening or understanding how to treat patients.

Email [e-mail] for a copy of the Pulse online article by Dr Toft. Highlight question 6 and post to your Endo with a pertinent comment. 'Why is my TSH at this level'.

Also email [e-mail] for her list of doctors to see if there is another more sympathetic one near you.

I agree with Carolynb's comments. Both T4 and T3 are far too low and TSH far too high for someone on meds. Especially T3 which is the hormone we desperately need in our cells.

[damehypo]

Hello Shaw....how kind of you to reply. I do appreciate any help I receive. I am so out-of-sorts.

Thanks for the info. I will send emails tomorrow, right now I am just falling asleep here like Im drugged. I hurt and I gotta move around a bit to wake up.

But truly, thanks so much for your hjelp and advice.

[Hidden]

I'm sure someone else will chip in but looking at those current results you are still very hypothyroid. Your ft4 is at the bottom of the range. It needs to be in the top 1/3rd of the range as does your FT3. Your ft3 still has room for improvement and your TSH is way too high. 1 or below is what most people aim for.

Ask your GP for a dose increase in your Levo.

I'm sure this is why you feel so bad.

X