After struggling health wise after hysterectomy in 2014, includes weight gain, tiredness, achy joints especially the legs. Puffy neck, bad skin I Finally got private test for thyroid, the doctor says border line results but said it explains my symptoms but no medication required.
So do I have to always feel like a 70 year old and should I challenge?
Any advise would be very grateful.
I was tested privately in Turkey as here for a couple of month working with an animal charity!
T3 (FT3) 3.23 range 2.02-4.43
T4 (FT4) 0.77 range 0.60-1.22
Total T4 (TT4) 9.32 range 6.00-12.2
TSH - 0.739 range 0.380-5.330
Written by
Denise40
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You can either type them out in a reply or add a picture to your first post in the thread by clicking on the down arrow V and choosing Edit. We just need the ranges for TSH, FT4 and FT3 so that will be easy enough to type out, unless you have a whole load of other tests too.
If you add a picture make sure it's legible, sometimes print is pale and difficult to read or there's too much so the writing is too small.
Not necessarily. I had weight gain, puffy neck and extreme tiredness before being treated for hyperthyroid. I have read that 5% of hyperthyroid suffer these atypical symptoms.
The typed results the member originally posted were all incorrect. She had got them all mixed up, reposted a couple of times with different results then deleted her posts after replies were given. Some time later she added the photo to show the correct results which are nothing like the original ones she posted (which I copied and pasted into my reply above). The replies commented on the results she originally gave not the ones showing now, consequently the thread doesn't make much sense now. The whole thread disappeared at one stage, not sure how come it's back again.
Denise40 OK, I've deleted my replies that referred to the incorrect results, it just confuses things more. With the results now showing -
Total T4 (TT4) - 9.32 range 6.00-12.2 - this shows that you are producing some T4 naturally but not particularly very much.
FT4 - 0.77 range 0.60-1.22 - your FT4 is 27% through it's range.
FT3 - 3.23 range 2.02-4.43 - your FT3 is 53% through it's range, which means that you are converting what T4 you have to T3 well.
TSH - 0.739 range 0.380-5.330 - nice and low in it's range which is where most people feel best.
I don't think that your results are borderline, they would need to be nearer the extreme ends of the ranges to be considered borderline in my opinion.
Bear in mind that I am not medically trained, my replies are based on my own experience and what I read and research.
I think your doctor should be considering Secondary Hypothyroidism (sometimes called Central Hypothyroidism). This is where the fault lies not with the thyroid but with possibly the pituitary or the hypothalamus. It produces a low TSH and a low FT4, both of which you have. See:
"How can blood tests be used to diagnose thyroid disorders?" and you will see:
"A low TSH with a low FT4 may be a result of a failure of the pituitary gland (secondary hypothyroidism caused by hypopituitarism) or a response to a significant non-thyroid illness"
Do you live in Turkey? You need to see a doctor who knows about other forms of Hypothyroidism not just Primary Hypothyroidism which is where the problem is with the thyroid gland itself.
If you are referred to an endocrinologist, make sure he specialises in thyroid disease and not diabetes.
I spend a lot of time in Turkey, had blood test in Uk last August but they only tested TSH, because how I feel I decided to get more tests, very confusing. You know something isn't right by the way you feel but getting to the bottom of it seems a long way to get there!
Specialist in Turkey is very far to go, im back in Uk next month so will see GP then and ask for a referral.
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