Advice needed please

[Heathersmum69]

Hello everyone,

My son who is 17 years old went to see the Dr just before Christmas as he was feeling unwell. He was having symptoms of losing a lot of weight ,dizziness,extreme tiredness,feeling cold. Anyway the Dr sent him for a fasting blood test .He had the results which came back as having Low white blood cell count,and some problems with his thyroid.

He now wants him to go back for more blood tests,but not until the end of January ?

My question is this why wait until the end of January when he his feeling so dreadful. What should I do ? Should I insist the blood tests are done sooner,or wait? Only thing is he is feeling so dreadful.

Is this normal to leave such along gap between blood tests?

Thanks.

Jane.

[Hidden]

Hello Jane,

If your doctor suspected a thyroid problem he would have measured your sons level of TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone). This is released by the pituitary gland and is variable so it is usual to test again several weeks later to ensure thyroid hormone replacement is actually needed.

If your sons TSH is just above 2.5 mIU/L, he may be considered to have borderline- to low-thyroid function that just requires monitoring (even if obviously symptomatic.)

TSH tells the thyroid gland to secrete T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone), generally kept in storage until it’s turned into T3, the active thyroid hormone.

Having T4 & T3 measured as well will give you a better picture. Also ensure your son is tested for thyroid antibodies TPOAb & TGAb that either (or both) will diagnose Hashimotos autoimmune disease.

If your doctor is uncooperative you can test using private lab. ( link below)

Post any recent test results ( with your sons permission) complete with ranges ( numbers in brackets) for members to comment.

I hope your son feels better soon

Flower

Private labs testing

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

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[Clutter]

Heathersmum69, Guidelines suggest that when the first thyroid test shows high TSH it should be retested in 3 months to rule out a virus, infection or non-thyroidal illness as a cause of hypothyroidism.

Retesting WBC end Jan will enable your son's GP to see whether WBC is improving or worsening.

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

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I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[gabkad in reply to Clutter]

Agreed. He could have a viral infection. Like Epstein Barr, (Infectious Mono or The Kissing Disease) for example. There are other viral infections that can also affect the thyroid gland.

[Hidden]

And white blood cell counts drop with a viral infection, so the GP is leaving a gap before retesting to see if that might have been transient.