Apologies if I have not followed the correct etiquette but I'm posting for the first time in the hopes that someone more knowledgeable than me could shed some light on my situation. I've been feeling really dreadful for around a year. Not lie my usual self at all. Have had tingling all over, am exhausted, weight gain, low mood etc. Hands going blotchy in the cold. Been back and forth to GP who did some basic blood tests, which came back normal, and have been sent on my way. So after some research, I came across thyroid symptoms and have had a private test with blue horizons. The results are:
TSH 1.6 (range 0.27-4.20)
T4 Total 83.7 (range 64-142)
Free T4 18.13 (range 12-22)
Free T3 3.76 (range 3.1-6.8)
I cannot make head nor tail of them. If anyone could help (even to tell me I'm barking up the wrong tree!) I'd be so grateful.
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Emza37
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Thanks reallyfedup. Fab advice, especially the NHS choices. Will have to be my own advocate etc. But this time I will change my tactics and be informed and have back up.
Right now GP is refusing to acknowledge that there is ANYTHING wrong and that all symptoms are from stress etc.
Anyway, thanks again, I appreciate your taking the time to help.
As really fed up indicates you need to know the test results for B12 etc before supplementing.Ask GP to test,if they refuse try private testing. Do not accept" normal" as you need to know where you are in the ranges.
Even then some people are bad at converting FT4 to FT3 . You can ask those folk for their advice if that turns out to be your problem.
Just to clarify, in your experience/to the best of your knowledge, could the discrepancy between my free T4 and T3 be causing my symptoms? do these sound like possible hypothyroid symptoms? I know you guys aren't doctors but I suppose what I'm asking is, is it worth me persevering and going back to my gp with looking into possible thyroid problems.
Absolutely! It's low T3 that causes symptoms. So, if your T3 is low, you are going to have symptoms, no matter what your FT4 and TSH are like. But, some of your symptoms do sound like low B12.
Say as an example ,Your lab test for B12 has a range of 220- 900 and you are 240 .You are "normal" but most on this forum will say it should be over 500.
Did you do the test early in morning and fasting? Do you take anything with biotin in?
Ft3 is low and would be a good idea to recheck in near future but first do get B12 Folate, Ferritin and vitamin d checked, some of your symptoms could be caused by low vitamins and/or minerals. In range is not enough you need to be optimum. Did you get antibodies checked?
Hi fibrolinda, no I didn't know to fast, think I will redo the tests with fasting. That one was about two months ago and am feeling steadily worse. I did get the antibodies checked, they were within normal ranges. So:
Antithyroidperixidase abs 11.6 <34
Antithyroidglobulin abs <10 <115. I'm guessing they're both fine.
Reallyfedup- I will look into the aluminium thing, thanks for the tip.
I just want to throw everything that I can at this. I can barely get through the day!
Hi - your results show normal thyroid function in that you are producing plenty of t4, the inactive storage form of thyroid hormone, as it is high in range. Your body is also reasonably happy with the levels it is receiving as your tsh is low. This is a hormone produced by the pituitarygland in the brain that acts as the instruction to your thyroid to work. If your body detected that it didn't have enough of the active hormone t3 (converted from the inactive t4 predominantly in the liver), then TSH would be higher as the pituitary effectively shouted at your thyroid.
So i I have probably confused the issue now lol! So you don't actually have an overt thyroid problem.
What it is possible you do have is the early stages of this which hasn't fully developed yet and may never do so. For most of us hypos, the trigger for the disease is an intolerance of certain foods, usually gluten but sometimes also dairy and soy, that damage the lining of the gut. This allows food particles into the bloodstream that shouldn't be there, annoying the immune system and setting off a chain response that ends in the gradual destruction of our thyroids. This damage also stops us absorbing nutrients from food, resulting in serious deficiencies.
Others have suggested you should check folate, ferritin, vit d and vit b12 levels. Lack of those will cause severe symptoms of their own and could demonstrate an underlying issue.
If you are going to do a diet overhaul, it might worth trying Roderick Lane's Thyroid Care Group on Facebook. He is a UK naturopath who specialises in Thyroid. He has a diet protocol that has helped quite a few people. It's for Hashis (which I don't think you have) but also to help with T4 to T3 conversion.
It's worth excluding foods one at a time. Start with gluten for (say) a month, then if it makes no difference to how you feel start gluten again and leave out something else. I have read posts on here from people who end up eating practically nothing because they leave out everything that they've ever heard might be bad for hypothyroidism. By the time they had finished they felt ill because they weren't eating anything!
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