New here, advice please

[Smeagle]

New here, this is my first post, I was told 2 years ago that I have thyroid antibodies, I've had my blood tested roughly every 6 months, but no one has gone into this in any more detail. I've just accepted that blood tests were ok & not really thought too much about it.

However, I've been feeling pretty rubbish recently, tired, lethargic, brain fog, muscle pain, I hurt from head to tow, etc & decided to search Dr Google for info on Hypothyroidism, to my surprise I can tick just about everything in the symptoms list, things like feeling the cold, that is something I've had problems with for years, but thought was just me.

I have a copy of my last blood test results but no idea what any of it means, so wondering if anyone could explain them for me please.

TPA is > 1300 iu/ml

Serum TSH level is 1.74 mU/L

Serum free T4 level is 13.1 pmol/L

My iron levels are low too, so I have been given iron tablets, back to Drs in 4 weeks time, referral to endocrinologist. Should I be pushing for this?

Is there any possibility that the thyroid issues are at the root of how I feel at the moment?

Many thanks

[shaws Administrator]

Many doctors only go by the TSH alone and in the UK it is deemed that it has to rise to 10 before getting a prescription. Unfortunately yours is ignoring the thyroid antibodies which means you have an Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases called Hashimoto's.

Going gluten-free can help reduce the attack on your gland and if you email [e-mail] and ask for a copy of the Pulse Online article by Dr Toft (ex President of the British Thyroid Association.

In it, highlight the para about thyroid antibodies and the advice to prescribe levothyroxine as you will eventually become hypo anyway. Show this to your GP and hope he starts you on 50mcg levo at least and a follow-up appointment every six weeks until you feel better.

When you have blood tests for thyroid hormones, it always has to be the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and if on hormone replacement you should allow a gap of 24 hours between the last dose and the test and take afterwards.

Ask also for B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate and we need all of them to be optimum.

Always get a print-out of results with the ranges. Ranges are most important to enable members to respond - the reason being labs differ in their machines so ranges can be different.

[Smeagle in reply to shaws]

Thank you, as you can probably tell im new to all this, im having numbers thrown at me with no real explanation as to what it all means, not that my brain seems to be retaining anything at the moment which isn't helping.

No one told me about the blood tests either, are levels lower in the morning, or do they reduce over the day?

Thank you for the advice re the ranges, & I will email Louise too

[shaws Administrator in reply to Smeagle]

Doctors only appear to take notice of the TSH alone and it is higher early a.m. and drops throughout the day which can mean the doctor will adjust the dose unnecessarily when you want it to be optimum. Adjusting doses isn't a good idea when it refers only to the TSH. Usual test is TSH and T4 but there are other more informative ones but I'd wait while you gradually get used to levothyroxine. The following is clinical symptoms. Of course we may not get all of them, thankfully

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...