I went to the GP with the results I've put below, and told him the following symptoms: have been very tired, have trouble with my weight, periods, dry skin, forgetfulness, slow thoughts, muscle cramps and get cold very.
He said that while I have all the symptoms and the t3 and t4 are off, that because my tsh is normal he won't treat me unless my tsh gets higher. He also said that they only test tsh and that if he started me on treatment it would give me cardiac problems. I also asked why my tsh was normal but the other hormones were low and he didn't have an answer... useless
I was thinking of trying myself with levo to see if I get any improvements because the doctor was really uninterested. Can anybody suggest places they trust? as I'm finding it really hard to find as I know it's prescription only in U.K.
Also do you think a private doctor would be better than an NHS gp in helping me?
Many thanks!
TSH: 2.31 (0.27-4.2) mIU/L
Free T4: 11.7 (12.0-22.0) pmol/L
Free T3: 3.9 (3.50-7.70) pmol/L
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Brook091397
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I think you should go back to your doctor and suggest central hypo. Central hypo is where the problem lies with the pituitary or the hypothalamus, rather than the thyroid gland itself. If the pituitary isn't working properly, it never secretes enough TSH to stimulate the thyroid to make more hormone. It's important that that is checked out, because the pituitary produces a lot more than just the TSH, and the other hormones could also be low.
Your GP is only considering and excluding a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism which manifests with high TSH. Low-normal TSH with low FT4 and FT3 indicates secondary or tertiary hypothyroidism (central hypothyroidism) which is due to pituitary or hypothalmic dysfunction. Ask your GP to refer you to endocrinology for investigation. In the meantime Levothyroxine should be prescribed to raise your FT4.
Secondary or central hypothyroidism is the result of insufficient production of bioactive TSH due to a pituitary or hypothalamic disorder.
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