I'm going to do a private test I think and I've seen that Blue horizon do a full set of thyroid bloods including antibodies so I will be going for the full panel.
My question is how much blood do they need because finger prick tests and me do not mix..they terrify me haha and I can never get much blood out.
I'm feeling awful today. I woke feeling so fatigued like I was sedated. I feel dizzy, weak and just generally foggy ano off balance. I've been resting all day. Yesterday the only thing I did was 50 minutes of yoga. Nothing at all strenuous as I can't do too much or I am fatigued for days. Today I woke feeling like this. I have a day like this every week. It makes me upset. I am only 36. Surely it's not normal to feel fatigued daily and then to have a day a week where I am floored. I get told it's just my anxiety or not enough sleep or the stress of my son being ill but I don't think it is.
This time last year I was running and doing cardio, now I can't do anything or I feel ill. I've recently started yoga again from home and I never do anything strenuous. For any of you that know Yoga with Adriene on YouTube I did her day 2 of her 30 day boot camp and although a long workout it was gentle.
I had my bloods done in August when I saw my gp complaining of awful fatigue and brain fog daily. He thought it was my thyroid as my mum is hypothyroid as are my aunties. My nan was hyperthyroid. My results came back... Taken at 9am after breakfast.
Tsh 5.35
Free T4 11
I had my bloods re tested 3 weeks ago and they were..
Taken at 1pm after breakfast and snack.
Tsh 2.92
Free T4 10.2
My.gp is not concerned as my recent results showed my b12 had increased to 500. My ferritin up from 15 to 31. Folate is fine. He doesn't want to check me for another year.
I feel tired every day but not severe other than on days like today where I cannot function.
All my bloods were normal 3 weeks ago as he tested everything. I just have high cholesterol which runs on mums side as my uncle has a hereditary condition tjat causes it.
Confused and lost. My gp.says my tsh is accurate and no need to have test early in morning or fasted.
) like you would be warming up before exercise. 
Have you got the reference ranges (normally in brackets after the test result) for your tests?
There's a big difference in your TSH tests. It's best to have tests done as early as possible in the morning before anything to eat, water only, and, if on thyroid meds to leave off your meds for 24 hours before the test. You can take your meds immediately after the test.
Your first test shows your TSH is too high (assuming the range is similar to mine) and your FT4 too low. Your second test shows an even lower FT4. This all points to being hypothyroid especially with the family history. Your B12 is still low, your ferritin is also low, again assuming the reference ranges are similar to mine. What was your folate result?
As for the Blue Horizon finger prick test. I've done this. You collect your blood in a mini vial, I'd say no more than a teaspoonful is needed. I found it difficult because me blood clotted very quickly and clogged up the little funnel that goes into the vial when collecting the blood.
Thank you.
Range here is
Tsh 0.35-5.5
T4 7-17
My ferritin has been low for many years. Between 8-15 but now it's up to 31 which is good for me.
I am supplementing my b12 and iron.
So it's just 1 small tube to full with blood?
Thand you for replying.
Julie
Your FT4 range is different from mine, you would be below range if the range was the same but in your case you are well within range bit could be higher. Your TSH is in range too althoigh your first test is very close to the top. If you had a fasting test first thing in the morning it might just take you over the range and your GP might investigate further.
Yes, the finger prick test only requires one very small tube.
Hi Julie - I woke up this morning with totally different thoughts about Thyroxine and how I take it. I'll make a different post about it.
However - 2 things have struck me about what you have been saying on here.
1. Taking your own blood sample. So prick your THUMB, in the Centre, NOT a finger! The thumb is bigger/fatter than a finger and easier to squeeze from each side using your thumb/forefinger on your other hand. Also less painful because you are not squeezing bone - just flesh! Less painful, more blood and quicker?
2. The inherited bit about your mum and uncle & high cholesterol! Sugars and starch come from carbohydrates.
looking at photos of me as a younger child standing with my cousin, 2 months younger than me, I was plump, she was slender (normal).
I was overweight at age 15 1/2 - I was 9 stone and had no known health conditions then - just weight and being plump, which with hindsight again, I think got worse after puberty started at age 14 and had my first foot (toes straightened) operation I also had a bad time and problems with periods. Prior to both. I'd always been active enough to be in school netball and rounders teams, and had been very good at gymnastics.
I Didn't research anything, but just decided to stop eating potatoes, bread, and not to have sugar in my tea. I never drank coffee In those days, '62. However, in hindsight now, I did start to metabolize properly and lost weight and inches. Went down to 8.5 stone and was slimmer certainly by the time I was 17. Don't know if that train of thought help or not.
Re food. As said, I was a tea drinker - I also drank milk and orange juice I had to dilute with water. I never could drink fizzy drinks, still can't, too much gas in them. These days I only drink bottled water. As do the French, We can buy 6 litres at a time here for just over €1 ! I think you pay the equivalent in Uk for 1 smaller bottle! Hope it's some food for thought for you! I am also looking into my genetic health history for different reasons.
Shirley.
Thank you Shirley
Thanks for the info. I am cutting down on carbs and sugar to see if it helps lower my cholesterol. I am only 8.5 stone at 5ft tall and 36 years of age. I don't smoke or drink. I eat pretty healthy so there is something underlying causing it.
I am just fed up every day of feeling so fatigued and weak. I just hoovered the house and folded the washing and I feel exhausted and felt weak doing it. I have seen my GP only last month, had tests done and bloods, all normal. FBC fine, thyroid he says is fine. Yet I still feel awful and useless to my family. I can do very little these days I feel so bad. I haven't bothered to call my GP again as I see no point, he says it's just my anxiety and stress I have been under. I sleep 7-8 hours and never feel better
It's getting me down and I cry alot just out of fear of what is wrong with me. It raises my anxiety a lot too.
Julie
I forgot to say my folate was 23.3 in August it's now 19.9.
Again, what is the range? I had my folate tested originally with Blue Horizon, blood drawn at a Spire hospital and the range was 4.6-18.7 and I came in at 6.9. When tested after supplementing for 3 months the range was different as I did a finger prick test and the range that time was 10.4-42.4 and that time I came in at 42.32, so you can see why reference ranges are so important when asking for comments on test results.
All it says beside my folate result is >3.0.
Thanks for your help.