What on earth do my results mean?

[yellowmanicmonkey]

borderline

ANTI TPO 8.0 iu/mL [0.0 - 30.0]

Sub-clinical hypothyroidism

Serum free T4 level 13.1 pmol/L [12.0 - 22.0]

Serum urea level 6.6 mmol/L [2.5 - 7.8]

Serum ferritin level 44 ug/L [30.0 - 400.0]

Borderline

Serum TSH level 4.28 mu/L [0.3 - 4.2]

Above high reference limit

Thyroid Function

I have been tested as I am constantly tired and yawning, dry eyes, gaining weight whilst exercising and eating very healthily, hair loss, heavy periods, general feeling of being unwell, always cold, always have a sore throat.

What do the above results mean please?

[Saggyuk]

Hi there

You have raised tsh and low t4 levels which would explain your symptoms but they have classed you as subclinical hypothyroid which basically means that you are not yet ill enough and unfortunately they may make you wait until your tsh is higher before they medicate. In other countries, they would medicate. Your thyroid antibodies do not indicate autoimmune thyroid disease hashimotos but there are other antibodies which they have not yet tested so cannot be totally ruled out.

Occasionally, people's thyroid levels can do this temporarily especially if they've been really ill etc but they will likely retest in a couple of months to see if changed.

You are also not optimal in iron but they wont medicate at that level but you can medicate yourself or try to eat some liver Might be worth having a better look at iron levels with blood count/iron panel and might be worth getting Vit D, B12 and folate looked at as your thyroid wont function well if you are low in any of these and will cause the above symptoms.

Apologies, not much more I can suggest without further info but I'm sure others will be along with other suggestions soon

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to Saggyuk]

Thankyou for your reply. I take a vitamin D supplement as mine was extremely low. Could that effect the TSH?

[Saggyuk in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

Sorry I edited before realised you had replied lol! How low was your vit D and what Vit D dose are you on?

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to Saggyuk]

I can't recall off top of my head but my rheumy said practically non existent!

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

It's well within normal now but drops as soon as I stop the supplement 😒

[Saggyuk in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

Oh okay, that will make you feel really unwell so I suppose you need to make sure that's resolved- what dose as many don't prescribe a high enough supplement to counteract a very low level?

[Saggyuk in reply to Saggyuk]

Oh and within range as classed by the doctors is generally far from optimal

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to Saggyuk]

I will check dose and update ASAP. Hypo is in my female relatives and my cholesterol is almost 8.0 but I'm a really healthy eater and exercise.

[Saggyuk in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

These are the NICE guidelines on dosing which the doctors are supposed to go by:

For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU]) given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenance treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000 IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders.

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to Saggyuk]

I also have psoriatic spondylo arthritis, depression and raynauds 😥

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

And rosacea

[Saggyuk in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

Oh dear I used to have everything too so know how you feel. I will often suggest it to any that have autoimmune and inflammatory issues as is often missed but you could consider ruling out coeliacs and even if you test negative, you could try a gluten free diet for three months as this causes inflammation for many including myself. I used to hurt everywhere and had inflammation everywhere but it has since gone after GF. Just a suggestion if you can't get to the bottom of it

[yellowmanicmonkey]

Well I got medicated today because of my autoimmune problems and previous TSH tests that show perfect levels (for years) with a sudden recent jump in conjunction with numerous recent symptoms. Very happy to say the least. ☺

[yellowmanicmonkey in reply to yellowmanicmonkey]

I also have a goiter starting.......