Hello. I'm new on here!
My doctor has recently told me that my blood test showed I am border line having an under active thyroid. To make sure this is the case and not just as a result of having a virus, I am having another blood test a month later. For around 3 months I've had a horrendous metallic, salty, bitter taste in my mouth.... could this be connected? It's driving me mad and I feel worn out! Thanks for reading x
Always try to obtain copies of ALL your results with ranges so you can give people here more information. It is possible that what your GP considers borderline is NOT 😊 Also it is important to have more than the TSH tested.
Sorry cannot help with the taste in your mouth.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I will definitely be asking for my results and will come back to the forum once I have further information. Do you happen to know what is actually classed as "borderline'?
Usual advice on ALL thyroid tests, is to do early in morning, ideally before 9am. No food or drink beforehand (other than water) This way your tests are always consistent, and it will show highest TSH, and as this is mainly all the medics decide dose on, best idea is to keep result as high as possible
Suggest you ask GP to check levels of vitamin d, b12, folate and ferratin. These all need to at good (not just average) levels for thyroid hormones (our own or replacement ones) to work in our cells
Also have you had thyroid antibodies checked? There are two sorts TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) Both need checking, if either, or both are high this means autoimmune thyroid - called Hashimoto's the most common cause in UK of being hypo.
NHS rarely checks TPO and almost never checks TG. NHS believes it is impossible to have negative TPO and raised TG. It's rare, but not impossible, there are a few members on here that have this. You can have "normal" TSH and high antibodies which can give lots of symptoms - this is autoimmune thyroid called Hashimoto's
See Thyroid Uk for more info
ALWAYS Make sure you get the actual figures from tests (including ranges - figures in brackets). You are entitled to copies of your own results. Some surgeries make nominal charge for printing out. Alternatively you can now ask for online access to your own medical records. Though not all surgeries can do this yet, or may not have blood test results available yet online.
When you get results suggest you make a new post on here and members can offer advice on any vitamin supplements needed
If you can not get GP to do these tests, then like many of us, you can get them done privately
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...
Blue Horizon - Thyroid plus eleven tests all these. £99
This is an easy to do fingerprick test you do at home, post back and they email results to you couple of days later.
Hi Dotty, I was 'sub-clinical/borderline' for years with a TSH of over 5 (my lab's range was to 5.5) despite classic symptoms, GPs don't usually prescribe 'til the TSH is over 10 - never mind if your actual thyroid hormone levels are low (T4 & T3).
Taste was also affected.. I gradually lost my sense of smell/taste. It's sometimes associated with Zinc.
As others have said, you need to ask for a full Thyroid hormone screen - TSH, FT4, FT3 and irons ferritin, folate & B12 and vitamin D - for starters (also try for antibodies etc. per SlowDragon's suggestions). Jane 
Yes , I had all sorts of mouth issues before and after diagnosis - funny tastes ,dry mouth ,difficulty swallowing , ulcers on tongue,back of mouth etc.
Hello, I'm back again!
Well, I went for my second blood test as the doctor had wanted to ensure I hadn't had a bad virus which had affected my thyroid results.
My TSH level on my first test was 6.6 (0.55-4.8)
My TSH level on my second test was 6.3. (0.55-4.8)
Both tests carried out at the same time, first thing in the morning.
My Serum Free T4 level on my second test was 15pmol (9-23)
Second test T4 15 again.
B12 test 437 (211-911)
Serum Ferritin 169 (20-291)
Urea and Electrolytes
Serum Sodium 137 (133-146)
Serum Potassium level 3.9 (3.5-5.3)
Sodium Urea 3.7 (2.5-7.8)
Serum Creatinine 75 (49-90)
Calcium
Calcium level 2.39 (2.2-2.6)
Serum adjusted calcium concentration 2.35 (2.2-.6)
Serum Albumin 44 (35-50)
Liver Function
Protein level 75 (60-80)
Alkaline phosphatase 72 (30-130)
Serum alanine aminotransferase 7 (0-34)
Serum C reactive protein 5 (0-5)
I had printed off the list of symptoms from this site to assist me, this was quite compelling for me and lots of things I'd just thought was 'me' i.e. IBS at times, constipation, dizziness, tinnitus, etc made sense. Disappointedly the Doctor who asked me if I had a family history of thyroid issues, stated my TSH levels were borderline. I really had to stress my overall symptoms and asked the question 'well if it isn't my thyroid... what is it'? I still have the horrendous taste in my mouth which gets worse dependent upon how tired I am. The doctor suggested it could be stress but I said my area of work is the same as it was 2 years ago and whilst it can be stressful, I didn't think it was stress that was causing this. Thankfully my husband came with me who had also carried out research and told the doctor he'd seen me getting more and more tired over recentl months.
The doctor initially was going to see how I felt in the next few months but I persisted and eventually got a prescription for LEVOTHYROXINE
I am prescribed 25 micrograms. In 8-9 weeks I've got to go for another blood test. This will also test -
TSH and FT4 TPO antibodies.
I have a major needle phobia and explained that the fact I know I'm going to have to undergo more blood tests should tell you how bad I feel at times.
Please can anyone
1. advise the best time to take my tablets? I was thinking of taking them 20 minutes before my breakfast each morning?
2. Provide comment on the above results?
I'm very new to this but gradually getting up to speed with things but tbh without this site I'd have been lost in knowing how to try and persuade my doctor.
Many thanks.
Dotty.
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