Help with lab results

[Serenitee]

Looking for some help with interpreting lab results please.

I’m not on any thyroid meds. I have very bad brain fog, fatigue and a myriad of other symptoms.

Do I need to be taking Levothyroxine even though the labs are in range?

I know the antibodies are very high indicating hashimotos and I’m working on implementing gluten free, but I’m more concerned with whether I should be taking any meds.

Thanks in advance

ENDOCRINOLOGYThyroid Function

TSH 1.06 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.20

FREE THYROXINE 13.3 pmol/L 12.00 - 22.00

TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) 81.6 nmol/L 59.00 -154.00

FREE T3 4.52 pmol/L 3.10 - 6.80

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY *252.000 IU/mL 0.00 - 115.00

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES *34.2 IU/mL 0.00 - 34.00

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Trouble is NHS only consider High TPO antibodies

Your FT4 is low so highly likely you need Levo.

But TSH is low

Have you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested. Post results if you have them

If these are too low they affect thyroid

There are people on here who have managed to get treatment even so

[Nanaedake]

I hope someone more knowledgeable about Hashimotos will reply but if they were my results I would retest in 3 months or if I started to feel unwell to see if the TSH has risen at all. Although FT3 is low, it's in range so I would want to restest to find out what was happening and whether FT3 dropped lower. In the meantime I would get all my vitamins tested and correct any deficiencies. I would supplement with up to 200mcg of selenium and go gluten free to see if I could stop the progress of Hashimotos and reduce antibodies. I would only take levothyroxine if my TSH rose and FT3 dropped after making all these adjustments. Others may have a different opinion though.

You don't say what your symptoms are so I can't say whether they are all thyroid related or not.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

With Hashimoto's, our gut can be badly affected. Low stomach acid can lead to poor absorption of vitamins. Low vitamin levels stop thyroid hormones working.

This is why it's important to test vitamin D, Folate, ferritin and B12

If these are too low they stop Thyroid hormones working

Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten

According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)

But don't be surprised that GP or endo never mention gut, gluten or low vitamins. Hashimoto's is very poorly understood

Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower antibodies. Your TPO antibodies are right at top of range. You may be able to nip it in the bud

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

amymyersmd.com/2017/02/3-im...

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

scdlifestyle.com/2014/08/th...

drknews.com/changing-your-d...

Selenium is good idea

Daily Vitamin C too