I have asked questions on here before and everyone has always been really helpful, so here goes.This is a bit of a long-winded read but please bear with me, and I have come to the right forum if you can put up with the background first.
My son is 20 years old and has been at university this year. He started with symptoms ( stomach cramps, diarrhoea, bloating etc...) about 2 1/2 years ago. It was put down to anxiety, bout of food poisoning anything other than what it now appears to be, coeliac disease,at the time we were told all his blood tests were normal, we saw a gastro consultant who said it would settle in its own time.
Last year he had to defer his place at uni because he was so ill, he was given anti depressants ( no surprise there!) and eventually went on a counselling course.
He returned to uni and his symptoms have gradually got worse so his uni doctor did blood tests and discovered he is almost certainly coeliac, he has just recently had a biopsy of the duodenum and we are awaiting confirmation of coeliac disease.
We requested all his medical notes from the time when he first started being ill and it appears he was never tested for coeliac disease previously even though we had been told he had, anyway we are where we are.
However looking through his notes from a recent blood test I came across his TFT's which have been flagged up as normal and this is what I'd like some advice on please.
TSH 3.1 (0.2-4.5)
Free T4 13 (9-21)
In my opinion these appear abnormal, no other TFT"s have been done but I would like to know if anyone thinks it would be advisable to have a private set of bloods done (BH), he has been completely gluten free since his biopsy two weeks ago and if he has Hashimoto's would the antibody tests be negative because he has had no gluten containing foods in the last two weeks. His bloods were done in a non-fasting state before.
He has gained weight and never has any energy but we put this down to the fact that he was almost housebound due to the debilitating gastro symptoms but now I'm beginning to wonder as I know Hashimoto's and coeliac disease are both auto immune conditions.
Any help advice etc would be welcomed as he would just like to get his life back on track after being told all his problems were in his head.
Many thanks in advance and apologies for the long post.
Written by
knitwitty
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If you suspect hypo/Hashi's, it's always worth getting private tests, because you can do so much more that way than your doctor will ever do. You'll get a much clearer picture.
That TSH is, of course, too high, and suggests that he is hypo. But, was it a one-off? Or did he have other tests with a TSH over 3? So many things can affect the TSH, that the protocol is to do at least a second test some months later, to verify.
The fact that he has been gluten-free for two weeks is unlikely to have any effect on antibodies. However, antibodies do fluctuate, so, one negative test does not completely rule out Hashi's.
The tests you need are :
TSH
FT4
FT3
TPOab
TgAB
vit D
vit B12
folate
ferritin
When he takes the blood, he should take it early in the morning, after having fasted over-night.
Being gluten free for a couple of weeks won't make any difference to thyroid antibody levels. If NHS tests only thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) will be checked. If positive it confirms Hashimoto's which causes 90% of hypothyroidism. If negative it may be worth ordering a private thyroid test including thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) as some people are negative for TPOab but positive for TgAb.
There is no treatment or cure for Hashimoto's so even if Hashimoto's is confirmed your son won't get treatment for hypothyroidism until his thyroid levels are abnormal. Your son's gluten-free diet may be helpful in eventually reducing thyroid antibodies if they are high.
TSH 3.1 indicates your sons thyroid gland is beginning to struggle to produce hormone but it is within normal range as is FT4 13 which is low in range. NHS won't usually diagnose hypothyroidism until TSH is >4.5 or FT4 <9.0. If your son was tested more than a year ago it is worth asking his GP to do another thyroid function test.
Many people don't gain weight but this will open your eyes and realise that nowadays symptoms (as used to be the criteria) are ignored in favour of blood tets whilst ignoring worsening clinical symptoms.
Thank you for replying I am sorry I didn't respond earlier, my other son needed taking somewhere.
I think the best course of action would be , as you have suggested, and get some private testing done, he is home for the easter break so I will organise it ASAP.
He has only been tested for a thyroid problem once whilst away at uni but his doctor seems to be much more clued up as to what might / might not be wrong.
I also think he would be receptive to blood tests obtained privately if it gives a better view of the overall problem.
My son has had a terrible two and a half years and was almost ready to give up on Uni even though he loves the subject he is studying he just thought that if everything was in his head and he didn't know how to make things better even with the anti depressants he might as well give up now .
Thanks so much for your opinions they are much appreciated.
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