Under active thyroid test results

[Hollie121]

Hi my daughter is 15 years old suffers with fibromyalgia the doctor thought it was a good idea to do a thyroid blood test for under active thyroid it came back 3.85 doctor said it was normal I'm not so sure any advice please

[Clutter]

Hollie121, TSH >2.0 indicates the thyroid is struggling. TSH 3.85 is usually within normal range which may be up to 5 or 6. However, TSH doesn't indicate what thyroid hormone levels are. If your GP won't test FT4 in addition to TSH I recommend you order a private thyroid test to check TSH, FT4, FT3 and thyroid antibodies which will give you a much better picture of your daughter's thyroid status. thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Blue Horizon's Comprehensive 10 panel also includes options for vitamin and mineral testing. I recommend ferritin, B12 and folate plus vitamin D from City Assays unless you can persuade your GP to test them.

Thyroid tests should be done early morning when TSH is highest and should be a fasting test (water only) as TSH drops post-prandially.

Post the results and ranges (figures in brackets after results) in a new post and members will advise.

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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.

[Hollie121 in reply to Clutter]

Thank you doctor said it's under 4.5 which is normal

[Clutter in reply to Hollie121]

Hollie121, it is in normal range but the range is too broad and many people can barely function with TSH that high.

[Hollie121 in reply to Clutter]

What would you do

[Clutter in reply to Hollie121]

Hollie121, TSH isn't sufficient information, it's merely an indication that thyroid is struggling. I would order the tests I recommended to get a better picture of thyroid and vitamin/mineral status.

[Hollie121 in reply to Clutter]

I will speak to my doctor thank you so much

[Hollie121]

I wonder if it's aggravating her fibromyalgia

[Clutter in reply to Hollie121]

Hollie121, low thyroid will certainly aggravate fibromyalgia as will low ferritin, vitD and possibly low B12. Fibro patients sometimes find improvement when thyroid replacement is started.

[CarolineC57]

Hi Hollie - the thing is, what the doctors class as "normal" isn't necessarily normal for each individual. On the NHS they solely go by blood test alone and don't take any notice of symptoms. Might I ask, is your daughter showing symptoms of thyroid problems? The symptoms of fibromyalgia are just about identical in many cases to the symptoms of hypothyroidism. For example, I was diagnosed with fibro - but thanks to my reading about it, and with help from the people here, I came to realise that I most likely had undiagnosed hypothyroidism. My TSH test is "normal" too - but a private doctor I consulted has still concluded I have hypothyroidism based on my symptoms.

The other thing is that the only test they do on the NHS, the TSH test, isn't really the only test you need. The tests Clutter mentions above are really important in order to see if thyroid might be causing a problem.

Please take a good look around the forum here, and also Thyroid UK's main website - you'll find a wealth of resources which will help you understand all this. There are a lot of people here who have been told their test is "normal" by the doctor but who have all kinds of thyroid-related symptoms. They can help you fight your corner with your doctor and get the best treatment for your daughter.

[Hollie121 in reply to CarolineC57]

Thank you so much

[shaws Administrator]

These links may also be helpful:

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

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[HLAB35]

This page may be interesting to you both:- drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Fibromy...

There appears to be some degree of overlap between CFS (championed by Dr Myhill) and Fibromyalgia and I'm finding her website intriguing. She talks about endocrine disorders that accompany both.

The thyroid problem may be just one small part of the jigsaw.