Sorry to re post this but I didn't get much of a response last week and I'm speaking to my gp again this week so need to understand this better to fight my case for treatment. Any advice appreciated. Thank you.
Ok so I had a BH test 7 weeks ago which showed my tsh was 6.54 and ft4 was 14.8. Others were all normal too. My gp acknowledged them and agreed I was subclinical as the bh gp also suggested.
Here are my results from today 7 weeks since the last test. My tsh has increased by 1 in only 7 weeks. My folate raised I'm not concerned about as stupidly realised I've been taking an overdose of it by mistake lol I take a multi vitamin with it in and it sin my liquid iron, how stupid of me. I will be stopping one of these from now on.
Ferritin has raised from 31. B12 is about the same.
Now I'm concerned. Why is my tsh raising so fast and my t4 which I'd have expected to have dropped is now rising? My gp said last time my gp at 14 was good and proved my body was producing thyroxine so he did want to trial me on it just yet. Now my t4 has raised to 15.8 I stand no chance do I.
The Blue Horizon gp has basically copied and pasted the exact same comment as last time. Saying repeat in 3 months, if this is your first elevated tsh repeat in 3 months or sooner if symptomatic.
That's it. No mention of what else can raise a tsh level. Can anyone shed some light? Is there any other condition that could be causing my high tsh?
Hypothyroidism is in my mum's side. My mum has it.
Hi Jingy I don't know the answer but just to say I am in a similar situation. My TSH has gone from 6 to 12 in 5 months while t4/3 has dropped about 1 ( not exact numbers not got my results in front of me) How do you feel? Surely that's what is important? Good luck with GP let me know how it goes, and if you get any other ideas about the TSH question x
I've been feeling ill with chronic fatigue and dizziness since last autumn. I was fatigued from may last year and my gp suspected my thyroid but he says I'm just subclinical!! It's so frustrating.
Your b12 could use improvement. It is wnl but should be higher. Try adding more b12, a sublingual would help. May add energy. Try a thyroid supp or add iodine and selenium to help.
Your ferritin is low but not terribly. Your go needs to check iron saturation, transferrin, etc not just ferritin. If you are taking iron pills, you can overdose. Eating iron rich foods is better for you.
B12 needs to be at least 500-1000.
Have you had your genes tested? If not, your gp should run the mthfr test and intrinsic factor to see if you have pernicious anemia and to see if you can handle methylfolate and methyl b12. may not be absorbing them as you cannot genetically.you may need adeno or hydroxy b12 instead. Your low ferritin can be due to pernicious anemia not loss of blood. Common in hashimotis.
Your fee t4 and freet3 look great! Your tsh is high though. Not sure why. dr kharrazzian may have the answer in his book or online but my book is in storage right now, sorry!
No I'm on no medication for thyroid. My gp won't treat it, he says I'm just subclinical.
My ferritin has been low for 10 years. Lowest was 8. Last summer it was 15 so I have got it up a little. B12 was 212 last autumn so I have got that up too with supplementing. My gp said 212 was fine as in nhs range.
My gp didn't suggest a test for pernicious anaemia. I did ask.
I am very confused by the high tsh yet t4 increasing too.
Thank you.
in reply to
Jingy, I would not worry much about the TSH as it tends to fluctuate for a variety of reasons.
It is also a very good sign that your T4 levels have increased and your T3 levels are not bad either so another good sign that you are converting.
Perhaps rather than rushing into thyroid replacement hormones is to try to adjust all the necessary vitamins and minerals that help your body and equally the thyroid. You'd certainly re-evaluate should not see any improvements by your next blood test.
Your tiredness could be due to low ferritin and low b12. Both deficiencies can cause anxiety and agoraphobia
If I may suggest that you start supplementing with 1000 mcg of methylcobalamin a day for 6 months and to add a good b- complex to this ( to balance and to top up all the B levels so to add the necessary co-factors for several enzymes in your body and to help the thyroid too).
Iron supplements in the form of iron bisglycinate 2 x 25 mg a day with vitamin C.
I personally recommend this form of iron supplements rather than the fumarate or gluconate etc for it is gentler on your stomach and guts and it is highly absorbed and in small doses.
Great decision that you have given up gluten. You'll feel all sort of benefits as time progresses. Even this will impact on the thyroid anti-bodies and reduce them.
Selenium has proven to help a great deal with this regard. 200 mcg of selemethionine /day for 6 months than a maintenance dose of 100 mcg.
Adding Vitamin D 2500 IU unit a day will help too.
I hope this helps for now!
in reply to
Thank you so much, very reassuring.
I have had crippling fatigue since OCtober (probably from theh traumatic 3 months with my son) but I had fatigue from last May which steadily got worse. My B12 was only 212 and Ferritin 15 last August. I have supplemented since. I take liquid iron as I can't stomach tablets from the GP having IBS. So I take feroglobin twice a day. I realised my multivitamin has folic acid 400ug and the Feroglobin has 300ug so I have been over dosing, hence the high folate. So I now need to find a new vitamin that has the B's in it that I need, but most also have folic acid. So I am confused as to what to do as I don't want to stop the liquid iron as it's the only one that's ever worked for me.
I take 1200ug of B12, the one you mentioned and got my levels up to 501 recently but they have dipped to 477 this month i see.
I didn't realise low B12 could cause anxiety and agoraphobia. That's interesting.
I also supplement D3 2000ug a day.
I am confused as to what to do about the multivitamin. I was taking Biocare multivitamin and minerals. I have stopped it as I need to take the feroglobin for my iron but as both have strong amounts of folic acid I thought I had to stop one. Any advice?
I have Engevita dried yeast flakes on my food to keep my B vitamins, especially B 12 high enough. As a vegan it's tricky and since this works for me I think it should work for you, allowing you to drop the multivitamins and only supplement those you need.
Many multivitamins short-change on the expensive vitamins too, which disrupts the vitamin balance.
Also, I seem to have raised my ferritin levels with vitamin C supplementation, not sure if that's also because I'm vegan though, but it might be worth trying.
Best of luck, fatigue is dreadful and you must be exhausted having a young son to care for, I hope you soon feel much better.
in reply to
Have you felt any worse since you started the supplementation with folate? Any better now that you have stopped?
if you have methylation problems the conversion pathways led by folate could trigger some kind of lethargic feeling, nausea, and an array of unexplained
symptoms.
Biocare B-Plex is a b-complex minus B12 and Folate. That should help + the addition of separate b12 should hopefully sort the issue of folate for you.
You can try increasing the B12 to 2000 mcg a day and switch to a different form of iron than feroglobin.
Options are: Pure Encapsulations: Iron-C 15 mg x 2 times or OptiFerin-C - once a day. or
Solgar gentle iron 25 mg once a day
and see how it goes
I hope this helps for now!
in reply to
I forgot to say my HB is 15.5 so not anaemic at all. Am i ok to supplement my iron if i have a good iron level and low iron stores? I am worried because 15.5 is quite high and i know high iron levels are bad, so will taking iron for low ferritin make my HB go too high? If that makes sense.
My GP has prescribed me ferrous fumerate for low ferritin with a good iron level so I think the answer is that yes it is okay but if I were you I'd definitely do it with your GP's support rather than alone.
Yes my GP knows i take my own iron. It's just a shop bought liquid iron and sometimes I take spatone if I run out of the liquid iron, my GP prescribes Spatone for me.
Thanks.
in reply to
Not to worry about the HB for it will not go up unless you have enough ferritin in store. You have an iron deficiency anaemia which should improve now that you have stopped gluten (it inhibits the iron absorption) and with this added boost with the gentle and small iron supplements hopefully it will make you feel better within the next 3 months until your next blood test is due.
in reply to
Thank you.
I will re test my thyroid and vitamin levels in June I think, again i will go with BH as then i can compare to the last results.
Julie
in reply to
if your circulating iron levels are high, then no need to supplement. This can be checked via a blood test. The other factor to take into consideration is % transferrin saturation which should not be higher than 30-32 for women.
in reply to
Sorry I'm not sure what any of that means lol.
My hb is 15.5 which is good but ferritin has always been low.
in reply to
The iron profile test usually has these 3 components which provide your doctor with the information needed to assess your anaemia:
– serum iron (iron present in the blood serum or circulating iron)
– serum transferrin or iron binding capacity
– serum ferritin (iron storage)
Transferrin is the main iron transporting protein in the circulation. Ferritin concentrations reflect the body's iron stores.
The range of transferrin saturation is 20%-50% - The optimal levels for women are, as said before, 30%-32%
Ferritin can show a false low in the presence of an acute or a chronic inflammation, or some damages in liver cell.
It is far better to look at the full iron profile, as above, to have a better and clearer picture to assess your iron status.
If your antibodies are normal, that lends support to the idea something funny is going on. Basically the only straightforward way you can become hypothyroid is Hashimotos, which means positive antibodies.
The other main way, Quite a bit less common, is central hypo, which means a problem with your pituitary where it doesn't produce TSH, which leads to the thyroid not producing, as TSH is what tells it to work. But your pattern looks more like the opposite of that.
If you can afford it another option is to go privately to a more functional doctor. If you have got anything but the most straightforward situation, Your GP or even Endo will be very little help.
When I am feeling rubbish. I go on a meat fish veg and water diet. If only for a few days it might show a change and then you can decide whether to continue from there. I would be in no hurry to get on thyroid drugs - none of them are an easy answer. It might be that you have some other long term ill defined GP has no idea issue such as mould or gut problems. The more i see the more i think it's all about the gut. Your thyroid results look ok - the TSH is not that high (96 is my record so far). I had dizziness after a gut infection years ago - after two years of being passed from hospital to hospital I cured it myself with good diet which I was then able to relax as time went on. It's slow progress though. I wouldn't rely on your GP - they're not good with gut issues - no drugs to cure it. Good luck.xx
If you see below where I replied to someone else about the traumatic time I just went through I do wonder if I have some kind of adrenal fatigue/chronic fatigue issue. I have had fatigue since last summer, it's what led me to my GP for tests. I had a TSH of 5.35 (0.35-5.5) T4 was 11 (7-17) Ferritin 15, B12 212... I was told I was all fine. I supplemented B12 and ferritin and have got both to increase myself. The fatigue continued then with it I became anxious, my anxiety disorder returned that I was doing well with. MY son then became very ill like i explained below and during those 3 months I had crippling fatigue, weakness, floor bouncing as I walked (i still have these symptoms now). My GP came to see me 3 times between November - Feb, as it made me so anxious I couldn't face the GP surgery. I had agoraphobia years ago and being so ill and anxious again my agoraphobia crept back in. I have been devastated about it but I know in time it will pass again as I feel well physically.
So the fatigue has continued, if I do too much, say I have a day of yoga or a workout then for 3 days I will be in bed ill with crippling fatigue and on those days the ground bounces more than usual when I walk. It causes me intense anxiety on those days too, as I worry what's wrong with me. My GP says it is all due to fatigue and anxiety due to the traumatic time I went through.
So I am a tad confused. My T4 has risen to 15.8 from 14.8. My TSH has risen from 6.54 -751 in just 7 weeks. I was worried sick when the person below suggested a thyroid tumour.
My mum is hypothyroid so my GP thinks I have subclinical hypothyroidism and they don't treat until TSH hits 10.
I had helicobacter pylori 6 years ago. I was treated, re tested and it had gone. Recently over the winter I went gluten free, I have been gluten free 3 months now and slowly my IBS symptoms and stomach cramps and acid have disappeared. I have been tested for coeliac and it was negative both times.
Thank you for your helpful reply, it reassured me alot.
I hope you don't mind me saying this, but a day of Yoga sounds much too much for you at the moment. I am a yoga teacher and think yoga is marvellous, but, having had ME/CFS I know yoga has a detrimental effect unless you have an exceptional teacher who understands both Yoga and the condition. You need a lot of the relaxing, softening poses and very few of the standing poses. True pranayama should help too, if your teacher has learnt from a Yogi from a revered lineage he/she may be able to teach you Kapalabhati, which affects the mitochondria in the cells and can help enormously.
I do yoga from home, I am pretty much self taught but have done classes in the past.
Yoga can be pretty hard going in the standing postures and any where I have to go upside down so at present I avoid them. I prefer to do some yin yoga or restorative poses which I find lovely.
I don't know about Kapalabhati but I shall look into it.
I just replied to a lady below about adrenal fatigue and it would fit in with how stressed I have been since October. The stress has subsided now, but during that traumatic time I did find my fatigue worsened. I did wonder whether it could be my adrenals exhausted from so much stress and fear on a daily basis for 3 months. My son was suicidal, it was a hellish time for us.
As I understand it the TSH reading can be affected by (a) the time of day the test is done, being higher in the morning then the afternoon and (b) any infection you may have. That's why they always do two tests before they start to treat you.
Your results are strange as reallyfedup says, however since you have symptoms (fatigue) I think your doctor should have offered you a trial of thyroid meds, or at least offered a referral to an endocrinologist. I think your doctor is waiting until your TSH is over 10. Next time you go for a test you should have it done first thing in the morning, fasting. That way you might get an even higher TSH result.
You do have the option of self treating with either Levothyroxine or NDT to see whether it helps your symptoms. You wouldn't want to be on too high a dose though because your FT3 and FT4 levels appear to be healthy.
It is odd. If money isn't an issue Louise Warvill, this forum's administrator, has a list of private doctors and endocrinologists, one of whom might be able to help you and be prepared to think outside the box.
I believe that high TSH with normal T3 and T4 are what's deemed to be subclinical hypothyroidism and indicate that your thyroid may be starting to fail as it's having to work harder and harder to keep producing the T4/T3. I'm sure one of the admins will confirm at some stage.
B12 should really be kept at 1000 to prevent any cognitive decline and your ferritin should ideally be above 70 for optimal health and to assist with the uptake of B12. You don't say what B12 you're using to supplement, but would suggest a sublingual 5000IU (a lot of folks here use Jarrow). Vitamin deficiencies and thyroid problems tend to go hand in hand. Have you had your vitamin D levels tested?
Thank you. I am taking Better You B12 Boost spray that has 1200ug methylcobalamin B12. I have got my levels from 212 to 501 recently using this but the recent test showed a slight drop at 477.
My Ferritin is low but it has been for 10 years. Lowest was 8, 3 years ago. Last summer it was 15. I can't stomach iron pills but I take Feroglobin liquid iron which has risen the levels to 34.
My folate is high I think due to me taking 700ug a day of Folic Acid by mistake. My multi vitamin has 400ug and the Feroglobin has 300ug, something I didnt' realise I was over dosing on. So now I am unsure which to drop as I really need the liquid iron, even if it is rising it slowly.
I asked for vitamin D last summer but my GP said they can't test it before doing a calcium and bone profile test (all normal) so he never ran the vitamin D test. I supplement 2000ug a day for 3 months now just incase.
Your GP can happily test your Vitamin D without doing calcium and bone profile but you can also get it done for yourself by way of a blood spot test by City Assays (I'll post the link below) at a cost of £28. A good supplement is Doctor's Best D3 as it has no fillers and is suspended in oil to make absorption easier. I would suggest 5000IU per day to bring your levels up and take with K2 to redirect the calcium.
I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2002 but recovered by mid 2004. When my symptoms started up again last summer the endo almost looked happy to say that my symptoms may be my chronic fatigue recurring, which I rejected vehemently. There are numerous studies that have been carried out which seem to suggest that a lot of CFS cases are in fact low B12, which is why I was keen to go down that route. I'm not saying it will work for everyone but, for the sake of taking a supplement I figured it was worth a try and it certainly worked for me.
Low B12 can cause horrible depressive symptoms and anxiety. My initial tests showed a level of 376 - my brain fog and mental capacity were so badly affected that there were days when I'd forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence.
If you're choosing between a multivitamin and your iron supplement - go for the iron. In my opinion multivits aren't worth the packaging they're bought in.
Yes, my so called ME/CFS was sorted by taking high dose b12 . My levels were between 250 -430 prior to supplementing and I felt better in 3/4 days. All b12 deficiency symptoms I had were ignored (eg I'd been complaining of numb tingly hands for over 10yrs!) And brain fog gone, hooray
I started taking 1000mcg sublingual methylcobalamin form of b12. I use Solgar brand from Amazon but alot of people use Jarrows. I did up to 5000mcg for a while and you cant overdose as you wee the excess out (you'll know as wee goes v yellow!) You also need to take a B complex if you do this as all the B's need to balance. I only use tesco one as im on a budget so im seeing how that goes. I also take tesco folic acid (again as on budget others recommend better forms) as my folate test below range. I may need to up my ferritin but waiting on next bloods.
In addition i started eating couple brazil nuts a day for selenium, 2/3 walnuts for magnesium and drink one carton of OJ over the week. Also mixed berries for brekkie and trying to eat more veg n salad, generally trying all i can to feel better although the b12 made the most marked improvement of the lot.
Oh note i was already on calcium/d3 from before op so still taking that.
I hope you can get some help from this site, its really rotten for you being so poorly. x
Jarrow does a sublingual methylcobalamin at 5000IU which works well for some people. I use them when I need a top up and I've recommended it to numerous friends.
Hi, did you know it`s recommended that any vitamins should Not be taken for 2 hours either side of thyroid medication, as affects it , also there are foods that work against thyroid.
If you are not happy with what your Doc says why not see a different one ,??
I struggled for a number of years before they gave me medication so persevere.
If your mum has it , it`s perhaps likely you do too as is often inherited.
My daughters were both diagnosed after mine was finally confirmed
I am not on medication for my thyroid and I took no vitamins near to testing either. I tested at 7.30am as soon as I woke.
Yes my mum has hypothyroidism.
I have tried 3 GP's now and it's only the recent one that has shed some light by admitting I am subclinical. He says as my T4 is rising I am producing thyroxine therefore he can't treat me yet.
Hi dear,I am not an expert and can't advise anything but I saw high folate levels so thought I should tell you this that it is a also a sign of adrenal fatigue.
My doctor gave me iron+folic acid without testing my b12 levels and that increased my folate levels but my b12 was so low.I know you have been taking folate supplements but you can raised your b12 and this will lower folate levels.I am doing the same and my folate has decreased a bit now.
Adrenal imbalances can also effect your thyroid so maybe that could be the reason why your tsh is increasing.Because my doctor said adrenals and thyroid go hand in hand...so just thought I'd tell you this.Hope it helps xx
I have had adrenal fatigue mentioned to me and I did suspect it as in October last year I suffered a huge trauma. My 12 year old son told me he wanted to die. He was being bullied, had crippling anxiety and panic attacks and I had to take care of him daily. I have no family other than my husband and children, it was tough and I think I had some kind of breakdown as I suddenly had the worst crippling fatigue and floor moving feeling as I walked. I had fatigue all last year but it got much worse from October onwards. My GP said I had suffered a HUGE trauma. He had been supportive and referred my son to the childrens mental health team who did not take us seriously, and told me I'd be best to help him having had anxiety myself in the past. My GP was outraged. My son was suicidal, contemplating it, comfort eating, low self esteem, he couldn't go to school without constant panic attacks taking him out of lessons and the school calling me to pick him up as they couldn't cope with his problems. He is now well, happy and I worked hard with doing my own therapy with him to get him to where he is now. Sorry, bit of a ramble but my GP thinks all of that broke me and caused chronic fatigue. I did wonder if it could also be adrenal, as daily I was stressed, very high stress levels and it triggered my own panic attacks which I haven't had for years.
Recently I have been much more relaxed, and far less stressed yet in 7 weeks my TSH has risen from 6.54 to 7.51. So confusing. Last summer on the NHS test my TSH was 5.35.
I am worried now after the poster above mentioned thyroid cancer My GP doesn't seem concerned at all and I have no swelling or feelings in my throat that I have a tumour or growth.
I have thyroid nodules and my doctor is not concerned as he says that cancer is not common...So relax hun,don't worry that much.
Remember the more you worry about anything,the more your adrenals work hard.So you have to keep yourself calm.
You can do some relaxing exercises like yoga or just a walk somewhere out with your son or family.You are so lucky to have a husband and kids in your life dear.You are blessed!
I turned 35 last month.I am still single and I struggle with relationships.I made a promise to myself that I will try to remain positive about everything as much as possible because if I keep thinking and worrying about everything then it will just make me more sick.
So just try to keep yourself happy dear and focus on your nutrition.You can goggle on adrenal fatigue or low cortisol,diet and lifestyle changes to help with AF,hopefully this will help.
I am sorry to hear about your son.But world is full of bullies and we have to be strong and learn to stand tough in front of people.People only bully you when they see you weak.Your son is very lucky to have a mom like you.You just need to build his confidence.Keep encouraging him and tell him that he is a strong boy.Give him some tasks so that when he completes them,he will get confidence in himself...I hope you got my point.I am hypoT so I sometimes struggle with words...Lol
2 weeks ago I noticed a little lump at the top of my windpipe, kind of just under the chin area, just at the very top of windpipe where it ends, pea size lump. Hubby checked it and said it's just a small gland, it's still there now but I thought if thyroid related it would be lower in the throat area.
You're right, right now any more health worries just make me panic and I can't take anymore worry. I have had so many health worries in recent months. My cholesterol is high, my thyroid out of wack..... It's been horrible and scary for me.
I do yoga daily, have for years, it's my passion. I eat very healthy too.
I am so blessed, my husband has been a star supporting me through this unhealthy time. I need to rest often and at weekends he lets me do that, he is lovely. My children are all a little older, 13, 12 & 10 and are a joy, they understand mum has been unwell and don't make me feel bad for it. I just worry I let them down as all of this stress with my son ill, myself unwell has triggered my anxiety again and when i started with the crippling fatigue and floor bouncing as I walked I became agoraphobic again. I was agoraphobic for a few months in 2013 when my anxiety disorder first began. I worry i let them down but I do get out, just right now I can't do appointments (my GP comes to me) and I can't do big shops. It's a pain but i know I will get back on track in time.
Awww, I am 36. I married young. You sound a lovely person, you stay positive and things will work out.
My son is well now, I did CBT with him myself and taught him all I learnt about anxiety and honestly now he is the h appiest boy I have ever seen. So confident, he goes out now with friends, sleep overs, restaurants, school clubs, he walks to school, never ever takes a day off, no panic attacks in 7 weeks. He is amazing, my hero. He said to me a few weeks ago 'Mum it's like i don't even have anxiety now, and that's because of you, thank you mum'. I cried. I have seen my son shaking every day, constant panic attacks and being sent home from school, he was terrified to leave the house, he couldn't go anywhere and he was vomitting daily due to panic. It was hell. He had dark thoughts and I was scared I would lose him. I never ever thought we would come through it. Now he is the happiest boy and I am so proud of him. I still cry if I think back to those 3 months, it's scarred me for sure, no mother should go through that. I have no family, my mum isn't one to support me so it's been hard on the 5 of us but we go through it together and are now happy. My GP says I should not underestimate the trauma I went through seeing my son like that. It's no wonder I have anxiety, health issues...
Thank you for your kind words, it means alot to me.
Was your first test sent to a different lab? The reference ranges are different. I wouldn't be thinking of nasty things like tumors, I think you're in the early stages of developing hypothyroidism.
Did you have both sets of antibodies checked and what were the results with ranges? Antibody tests do vary I believe from day to day (I'm quite new to researching all things thyroid related) , so it could be that you caught them on a good day, depending on exactly what the results were.
If you come back positive with antibodies then I think you can have a good argument for treatment, especially with your family history.
If both sets of antibodies are negative, I would go armed to the doctor with scientific studies specific to subclinical hypothyroidism and the situations where treatment was found to be beneficial.
I also found this: "The natural history of subclinical hypothyroidism depends upon the underlying cause and the population studied. One large follow-up study has shown that in those with modest elevation of serum TSH (5·5–10·0 mU/l), the TSH measurement returns spontaneously to the reference range in more than 60% of cases during 5 years of follow-up.[7] Our own study of the over 60 s in the community revealed that the finding of a raised serum TSH identified on screening disappeared in 5·5% after 12 months, while the biochemical abnormality remained stable in 76·7% and relatively few (17·8%) progressed to overt hypothyroidism (defined as raised TSH with serum free T4 below the reference range).[8] Twenty-year follow-up of the Whickham cohort in the north-east of England revealed an annual rate of progression of subclinical to overt hypothyroidism of 2·6% if thyroid antibodies were negative, but 4·3% if antibodies to thyroid peroxidase were present"
yes the first test was NHS and the last 2 are Blue Horizon, I went private. I had antibodies tested both times (they are shown on the photo on this post). Both were fine.
Thank you for the info and links I will take a look. I am praying I recover from this without needing treatment.
I think in terms of getting some treatment, it's a judgement call by your GP. Some people here have been treated with much lower TSH. This means probably your only serious way to up your chances of getting treated is to do the rounds of GPs that are available to you. Their guidelines say they should be treating the person and symptoms, Not just the numbers. As far as I'm concerned that TSH is high.
Was it you who was talking about maybe self-treating? If I were you I'd be tempted to go that way. You could easily be suffering for another year or more waiting for your TSH to get to 10 if that's what your GP insists on.
Altho if I were you I'd be concerned about that negative anti body test, as if you don't have Hashimoto's it's got to be something else. Make sure you've been tested for all the types of antibodies, there are at least 2, but I'm not sure as I don't have it.
Above you were worried about having a tumour, but that's not something to really worry about. Most tumours are benign, even if it's cancerous (which his what I had), you really don't work out any worse off than people with other thyroid problems. The risk of it spreading or other complications is vanishingly tiny.
The thought of having a tumour just terrifies me I guess. I have no symptoms so that's reassuring.
No I don't want to self treat, it's not something I'd ever consider.
I am speaking to my GP this week about the latest results so we will see what he says but he admits it's over range and high but not high enough to treat if my T4 isn't failing.
I understand that its terrifying. But honestly I think it's much easier if you take time to work on anxiety and come to terms with being ill. A lot of the pain comes from worrying about it, or blowing things up as something terrible, Even if they aren't that bad.
I can say I've been happier overall since I've been disabled, because I went into it determined I wouldn't be destroyed by it.
I suffer from an anxiety disorder so find health issues and thought of being away from home in hospital very anxiety provoking.
Why has the GP not prescribed you thyroid meds because your TSH is above the normal range? Not sure how it works maybe the comments above help more. Mine was 2.82 and I kept having early miscarriages , I also have thyroid antibodies. The GP would not prescribe me anything so I went to a private endo was not that expensive, he prescribed me the meds on the trial basis for 2 months and then review hopefully this will help me not miscarry if thyroid antibodies are to blame.
I assumed anything above 4.20 TSH you are considered hypothyroid and given meds...
in reply to
I am in the UK and here the NHS range is 5.5 max but they won't treat until you hit the magic 10 for TSH. He also says as my T4 is rising then I am fine.
Julie,my gp changed me to Levo over a year ago, changing me from Armour Thyroid. It has been the worst year of my life. I'm only telling you this because I purchased a book called "Thyroid Healthy" by Susie Cohen. I am only on chapter 4, but so far it is the most informative and educational book on Thyroid. I would highly recommend it for everyone, just to be educated on what we didn't know about how our Thyroid is one of the most important glands in the body. Susie is a renowned Pharmacist who believes we are very uneducated in how misled we are about treating thyroid. I highly recommend the book. Hope this helps. Take care, Debbie
Apparently you do not have ordinary/primary hypothyroidism. That is, even though your FT3/FT4 are pretty normal, your pituitary and/or hypothalamus are not reacting in the normal way, to lower TSH. Have you tried searching on "secondary hypothyroidism" or "central hypothyroidism" to see what turns up?
No I haven't. I wasn't sure what a high TSH only can mean. I have searched high TSH and normal T4 and nothing seems to come up to shed any more light on what it could be.
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My GP doesn't seem concerned at all and I have no swelling or feelings in my throat that I have a tumour or growth.
Please can someone comment on my results need to be prepared for endocrinologist on Tuesday. 
Blue Horizon results are back
Could you comment on my results please x
Please could anyone comment on my Test Results
