Recently I hD a blood test , and my report shows TSH of 47.26
My doctor says I have thyroid, but I feel perfectly fine and fit, and I see no changes in my sleep pattern, menstrual cycle, and even my weight is controlled too, so should I go for another blood test or not??
Please help me with it
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Krisht13
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It is quite likely you will become hypothyroid in the near future. Normally you would start medication with this result. On medication you may find improvements in symptoms you didn't notice. You can hold off if you wish and have another blood test in a few months, it's up to you.
VERY IMPORTANT. If you are pregnant or planning pregnancy it is very important you start medication and they bring your TSH down below 2.5.
A couple of months would be fine. I would ask your GP to request TSH, fT3 and fT4 although the lab will probably not do the fT3. If it were me I'd start levothyroxine medication now but it won't be a disaster if you wait a couple of months. Once you put on weight with hypothyroidism it is very difficult to remove it. Watch out for dry skin as that is a very good marker for hypothyroidism.
Hie, as I mentioned before, I have no signs of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
No dry skin, no change in weight
No change in sleep pattern
I feel completely normal
This is was the reason I was sceptical about
So the other GP told me to do my freet3 and free t4
As I was on multivitamin from very long time- so according to the doctor it might change my level of tsh, so going for free t3 and free t4 will give me accurate result
Coz he sad 47.26 of tsh, can't ever be treated, so he said to have test again and then we can proceed further
Your doctor needs to do more than the TSH although it is high. It might well be that you don't feel any difference yet.
When our TSH is high it is the pituitary gland trying to get your thyroid gland working properly. Your doctor should also do the Free T4 and Free T3. If these are low in range you need levothyroxine.
Hypothyroidism is a lifelong disease and can cause other problems if not given given appropriate medication.
Sometimes we are unaware of gradual changes in our bodies.
When you have your next blood test, it should be the earliest possible and don't eat before it. You can drink water.
Always get a copy of your results with the ranges for your own records and you can post them for comments.
Also ask for Vitamin B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate to be checked as well as antibodies.
Hypothyroidism is a serious disease in that, if in the UK, you do not pay for any other prescription medications for any other medical conditions.
Hie, I showed it to another GP, and he told that the number is very high, so he asked me to do free t3 and t4, plus he also asked me to check that I was on any medication for longer run which I was, plus my iron is very low, as he suggested, sometimes being on another medicine might show increase in tsh, but nt on ft3 and t4
With that high TSH should should have been prescribed levothyroxine. It is important, for you, that your TSH is reduced.
Are you in the UK as you said "so he asked me to do free t3 and t4". Your GP should request those and he should also check B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate. If your iron is low they should be treating.
No , am not in the uk, recently I was on multi-vitamin, which is reason for high number of tsh, as doctor said, but freet3-freet4 would give me accurate results and after that I can start medicine.
He said to increase my iron I take first, and then we can do b12 after that
You are hypothyriod and should be on thyroid hormones usually it is levothyroxine. The dose should be 50mcg to start and every six weeks or thereabouts an increase of 25mcg of levo until you feel well and the TSH drops to 1 or lower.
If you got that correct that's a very high level. You should have your antibodies checked to see if you have Hashimotos Disease, or Autoimmune Thyroiditis, I would have thought that is pretty certain.
You might not have symptoms yet, but if you have Hashi's you will. Definitely you should accept any tests you are given, it is up to you whether you start medication, but you do need to know what is going on.
Hie, as you said my GP told me I have an autoimmune thyroid And with infection concern , I din had it recently, but last year in October I had viral fever, so GP says it might be the case of it, so can you please help me with autoimmune
The most common thyroid problem is primary hypothyroidism. In this case your TSH would be quite high and your fT4 would be low or even below the lower limit of the reference interval. It can get quite complicated so wait until we see your results. (Also ask the doctor what the numbers mean).
Acc to him coz my mother and aunt has it I might have it, and made me panic by saying you are hypothyroid , Inspite of no signs and symptoms , so not shure whether I should start medicine or not
My tsh is 41 Free t3 - 3.25. (2.0-4.4) Free t4- 0.77. (O.93-1.7)
This clearly indicates your thyroid is failing. As the output of the major hormone (fT4) falls the TSH rises in an attempt to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce more. The elevated TSH also promts the conversion of more T4 to T3. This is why your fT3 is normal at the moment and to a large extent why you feel OK. T3 is the active hormone, it has much more effect on our cells than T4.
You feel OK at the moment but as your fT4 falls a little more there simply won't be enough T4 to convert to T3. Then you will feel pretty awful. Also, it is likely your cholesterol levels will be rising because of your thyroid status. Obviously this only matters if it goes on for many years.
I guess you are not planning for a baby at the moment, but if you were or were already pregnant it would be imperative that you take thyroid hormone for the sake of the baby. Also these low hormone levels can cause menstural problems. Don't feel you need to reply on this paragraph, it's just for information for you and any other readers.
In your situation I would start taking levothyroxine. It is better to start now rather than wait until you have symptoms. Also once you beocome hypothyroid it can take up to a year to feel better. The symptoms come on very slowly such that many patients don't notice until they are quite bad. Given you feel well with a high TSH I think you would be fine on a moderate dose of levothyroxine that brough your TSH down to around 2.0.
You will have to take levothyroxine for the rest of your life but it really is no deal. You just pop a tablet each morning before breakfast. There's lots of advice about taking levothyroxine with lots of water an hour before breakfast but I find I can just pop it a few minutes before as I'm preparing my cereals. Levothyroxine is not a drug, it's just a supplement of a hormone your thyroid used to produce.
If it's any comfort I have noticed that patients like yourself who don't feel too bad with quite high TSH levels normally do very well on levothyroxine. Patients who have symptoms with more normal TSH levels usually need much more complicated treatment.
Patients in the UK who are hypothyroid receive free medication. Your blood test reference ranges are not the normal UK ones so I assume you are from another country. If you have to pay for levothyroxine don't worry, it is very cheap.
I think your doctor is pretty good in testing you because your close relatives have hypothyroidism, many of our doctors fail to do this. Also, it's possible your doctor sensed you might be hypothyroid, assuming you went to visit them.
Yes, if you have antibodies to your thyroid above range, you have Hashimotos Disease, or Chronic Lymphocytic Thyroiditis. Your Tsh is very high and you must be feeling awful.
• in reply to
Sorry, re read yr post, you don't feel awful ... yet. I think you should try treatment. Discuss it again with yr gp.
If you are taking levothyroxine other medications can interfere with the absorption. But you are not taking levothyroxine, your thyroxine is coming from your thyroid and so will not be affected by medication. I would see your doctor (who seems very good) and ask for levothyroxine. At the same time discuss any concerns you have with the doctor. It really is simple. If after a few weeks you don't like the levothyroxine you can always stop it and wait until your thyroid gets worse. I would suggest you start on a moderate dose such as 50 mcg rather than 25 mcg which is a very low dose. That way you will be able to see if it makes a difference.
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