I went to my doctors appointment today and found out the results of my first thyroid blood test. Attached is a print out of my results. My TSH is slightly high but my T4 is in the normal range. I have to have another blood test in 4-6 months time. Does this mean I could still develop a thyroid disorder?
Any advice appreciated
Naturegirl22, your GP wants to repeat the test in a few months in case you had a virus or infection which can cause TSH to rise. It's standard protocol after the first abnormal TSH. If you feel symptomatic go back after 3 months and ask to be tested. I don't think you can rule out thyroid dysfunction at this stage.
Thank you for your reply, I will just have to wait and see what my next blood test says
Naturegirl, make your next blood draw early in the morning and don't eat or drink (except water) before as TSH is highest early and before food.
I did have my blood test early in the morning before eating
Your TSH is just in range - but the FT4 is low. So I would suggest the thyroid is struggling to produce T4 in spite of the Pituitary Gland sending out stimulating hormone to get it going !
Wonder what the FT3 is ? Did you have other tests for Ferritin - Folate - Iron - B12 - VitD - they all play an important role in the workings of the thyroid and need to be OPTIMAL.
When I was diagnosed in 2005 - all the TFT's were in range but high anti-bodies decided the diagnosis - Hashimotos. Maybe have anti-bodies tested too.....
Hi, my TSH is slightly high and my T4 is normal, I don't know what my T3 levels are and next time I am there, I will ask them to test my Vitamin D and B12
7.23 within range? Or are my eyes losing it?
I mean my TSH is 7.23 which is slightly high and out of range and my T4 is 13.9 which is within range
drchristianson.com/diagnosi...
He mentions a TSH above 1.9 being suspicious....hope this article helps...
I had no idea Marz, thank you. Next to my TSH level on my print out, it gives what I presume is the normal range of 0.30-5.00
Sorry you are right - the range is there. I answer quite a few posts and do not always have time to go back to the beginning - apologies 
So well over range then....
That's okay and thanks
Yes Aspmama - your eyes are fine. Am reading too many posts where the TSH range goes up to 10 - madness.
I know, Marz. Thank God we don't live in Switzerland. i was reading a 2014 evidence summary - there they are doing a massive prospective study of the effects of Levo on "subclinical" hypo, funded by the EU at a cost of millions to us in the EU - (so why is it happening in Switzerland??!) - and paying the mortgages and skiing holidays of countless Swiss endos.
So, guess what, the rule the endos have put in place in Switzerland is that if the TSH is under 10 you are monitored - or offered treatment ONLY in this massive randomised trial, regardless of subjective symptoms, cholesterol, antibodies, hairloss, etc etc. So you might get the placebo - or not! And you wouldn't know. The trial is called "TRUST" which is obviously Orwellian naming, really meaning "DEEPLY IMMORAL, WATCH OUT".
"TRUST" is also happening in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, but I hope in Scotland they're not following the same policy of refusing treatment in order to corral people into the trial.
Wow that is a good read ! You should post it with links 
Dr Kendrick always comments on the names they give research projects - normally very misleading ones
OK, well i will, but meanwhile for anyone reading this thread: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/255...
I think the cost to us European Union citizens is six million euro for the study, but I can't find the original site.
Really it all makes those elderly gents in Fifa look quite moderately naughty.
Sounds interesting
How you feel is most important and at the moment it seems you are fine. Your blood test results suggest your thyroid is struggling just a little but this could be a one off result. Also the reference intervals (e.g. TSH 0.30 - 5.00) are the intervals 95% of the healthy population are within. You could be one of the five percent who naturally fall outside the interval, just like some people are short or tall. There's nothing to worry about unless you develop clear symptoms of hypothyroidism in which case you will need medication.
Yes, thank you. I will wait and see what my next blood test says as I have no idea yet what is normal for me as this is my first thyroid test. Hopefully everything will be fine as my T4 is well within range
Your FT4 needs to be in the upper quarter of the range and the TSH as low as possible. Healthy people are usually around 1.5 - 2 - I have read....
Really? on the print out of my results, next to where my TSH says 7.23, it gives what I presume is the normal range for TSH which reads 0.30-5.00. Also because this is my first thyroid test, I have no idea exactly how it should be for me. I will have to wait for my next blood test I guess. Can being slightly overweight impact the TSH level as well?
Being overweight is possibly an indicator that you are Hypo....so you are OVER the range they consider healthy - and you should receive treatment - especially if the next test produces the same result....
Any chance of you going privately ???
I cannot afford to go privately, I will wait for my next blood test and result but I do always feel tired and am always depressed
You are certainly high on the TSH range but it might be a blip if Clutter thinks so, Clutter is a very well informed person, her advice is sound. Go back to the GP for the next test as soon as is seemly. If it remains at 7.2 then something is definitely up. Have you had a big viral infection recently, by the way?
Hi, no I haven't had a viral infection to the best of my knowledge.
I am experiencing symptoms such as feeling cold a lot, always waking up in a cold sweat that i shiver, feel freezing and have to change my pyjamas sometimes twice a night, I am always tired and depressed but I have been diagnosed with asthma, IBS, am overweight and a mental health condition as well so these might play a part in these symptoms I am not sure.
I would have said 0.85 to 1.25. That sounds very high to me.
Okay, I am not sure, I have only just started learning about the thyroid and have no idea about normal levels. I am just going by the range mentioned on my print out and what the doctor described as slightly high. So if my TSH is high but my T4 levels are in normal range for the moment then what can this mean?
Yes, the ranges are totally unrealistic. And your TSH is high.
As to the T4, just being in range, isn't good enough, it's where it falls in the range that counts, and yours is a bit low.
BUT having said that, neither of those two tests mean much on their own. The really important test is the FT3 which - in it's infinate wisdom - the NHS has decided not to do! I think that maybe due to the fact that if it were done, a hell of a lot more people could be diagnosed hypo.
The fact that your TSH is so high suggests that your FT3 is much too low. But we can't know without the test. Which is a nonsense, I know, but that's the way it is. One imagines that on your next test, your TSH will still be as high, or higher, and you will get diagnosed. But, should it be lower, you should ask for antibodies testing (not sure you'll get it, but still) TPOab and Tgab.
Good luck!
Are my T4 levels low at 13.9? What level should they be then? I didn't realise my TSH was high as I am just going by what the doctor said to me. Yes, I will have to wait for my next blood test results in a few months time so I can compare them.
Yes it is a shame they don't test for T3 anymore.
But the think you have to realise is that doctors know nothing about thyroid! If my TSH were as high as yours I would be putting on weight visibly! That's always my worse symptom, I blow up like a balloon, and 7.23 would be really bad for me.
The FT4, as Marz said, the FT4 should be in the top quarter of the range. Yours is just Under mid-range, which is 15.00. So, that's too low. And if you have symptoms, and your levels Don't drop on the next test, your doctor really should offer you treatment - i.e. about 50 mcg Levo.
Okay yeah I will tell the the doctor this next time I go and depending on my next blood results.
I have put on weight and am always tired and depressed.
My tsh is 8.5 and I feel terrible, just shows one size does not fit all.
Hi Tellybelly, I am sorry to hear that. Have you been diagnosed as having a thyroid disorder or are you subclinical?
I do have symptoms such as constant tiredness, mood changes and depression but could be down to different factors, not sure.
Tellybelly, has it been that way for a while? I don't think anyone on this thread thinks 7.2 TSH is anything but very disturbing and important to recheck, and important to get antibody tests, and important to investigate and treat if it is still up on second test.
Yes I agree. Have you been back to your doctors TellyBelly or are you receiving treatment? My doctor told me that my TSH level of 7.23 was only slightly high and not to worry as my T4 level was normal. When I went to my doctors appointment, I was told I didn't need to bother to make an appointment in the first place and just told me to come back for a repeat blood test in 4-6 months
Yes, I am classed as subclinical have been for years now. I have reached the point of not being able to work or indeed walk very far. They have eventually relented and put me on 25mg of levo after she contacted An endo. I have been on the meds for two weeks now and no change but I know it can take a while for it to start working, however I have a private appointment (Thyroiduk recommended) with an endo and think he will put it up to 50. I know they have to follow NICE guidelines but I wish they would just realise one size does not fit all. I have suffered for years and declined slowly and painfully into what I am now, not bitter, much! Lol
Naturegirl, if s/he said 7.2 is "only slightly high" then s/he isn't up to date. Try to see someone different at the practice when you go back, and take the latest NICE guidelines with you. Explain that you are feeling very tired and very cold. Don't say that you think it might be down to other things - those symptoms fit with the reading.
Some of your other symptoms you are putting down to your mental condition could be down to the thyroid - for example, depression and anxiety are common, and an inability to organise and make choices and act.
If your TSH reading remains high, the GP should order antibody tests.
You will get there in the end.
Okay thank you so much Aspmama. This is extremely bad then that the practice is out of date and giving me wrong information. When I had my doctors appointment, she said she was surprised that reception had told me to make a doctors appointment for it as it really didn't need it.
I will definitely bring the NICE guidelines with me to my next appointment now I am aware of them. Thanks. I will also see a different doctor too. I will also tell them about my symptoms.
I will make another appointment for a blood test in September and see what it says then and then talk to the doctor.
I will keep you informed.
Should I be concerned? T4 is out of range FT3 near top of range.
Making sense of my results
Help with results print out / Update from yesterday ! 
My Medicheck thyroid test results
£10.00 for a copy of my blood test results
