New to Hypothyroidism

[sos1965]

Can someone please clear something up for me. I went for my 3 monthly blood test and it came back 5.36 so its come down with the meds which is great, however looking on the net the level should be between 0.5 - 3.5 so with this in mind I asked the doctor to up my meds as I still feel soooo tired etc and she said that I was a normal level, after quoting what I had read on line she answered, well depending on which hospital we use depends on their own level value, surely this can't be right, surely there must be an independent level across the board, can you help please?

Thanks in advance.

[Treepie]

You need to have a print out of the result and the range shown in brackets and ask again.However ,most feel well on meds on or just below 1.0 .Have a look at Thyroid Uk and the TPA sites. What is correct is that different labs have different ranges as they use different machines this is why you need the range. Also, being in range does not necessarily mean you as an individual are at the optimum for you.

[sos1965 in reply to Treepie]

Hi

Thanks for the advise, I will look at other sites. I still feel a little puzzled by the ranges and what the correct level is. Thank you.

[Treepie in reply to sos1965]

Your current result would be untreated if you were not on levothyroxine. However ,once on treatment it needs to be around 1 . On the face of it you need more . Look for Dr Toft's comments on the Thyroid UK site .Better still join it!

[sos1965 in reply to Treepie]

Right that makes sense now, I thought that but my doctor does'nt so thanks for that.

[shaws Administrator in reply to sos1965]

You will find that few doctors realise that we usually feel much better with a TSH of around 1 or lower or suppressed. They are fearful of 'suppressed' but people who've had thyroid cancer must have it suppressed and they don't come to any harm.

We have to read and learn if we want to recover our health as best we can.

When you go for a blood test it should be as early as possible, fast (you can drink water) and allow approx 24 hours between your dose of levo and the test and take it afterwards.

We ask for the ranges as well as the results due to the fact that throughout the country labs use different machines so they usually have different ranges too.

If you've not had Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate tested ask for these. We are usually deficient

[sos1965]

Thank you for that its something to look in to.

[galathea]

amazon.co.uk/Thyroid-Disord... Here is a link to Dr Tofts book... He is an Endocrinologist who is recoginsed and liked by the nhs. ( except he has more or less retired)

It might give you more of an idea.

There is a. Lot of info on the website attached to this forum... thyroiduk.org.uk

Xx G