Advice needed on what to ask gp to test for please

[Pepperpatty]

Hi, I’m new here and would really appreciate some advice.

I have many symptoms of thyroid disorder including disturbed sleep, muscle and joint pain, numbness and pins/needles in hands and feet, weight gain, low mood and anxiety. The worst though is the all consuming fatigue and exhaustion. I also have a family history of females with thyroid disorders inc graves disease, Hashimoto etc.

I’ve had my thyroid function tested before and apparently it was normal but I’m not sure which tests they actually ran...

I have an appointment to see my gp next week so what I’m wondering is which tests / levels specifiacally should i ask my go to test?

Many thanks for any advice you can give me!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

For full evaluation you ideally need TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4, TPO and TG antibodies, plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested

Impress on GP the family link with autoimmune thyroid disease. Essential to get antibodies and vitamins tested

See if you can get full thyroid and vitamin testing from GP. Unlikely to get FT3

Private tests are available

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results

Link about antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

Print this list of symptoms off, tick all that apply and take to GP

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

[Pepperpatty in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you so much for this, I feel better knowing what to tell them and what to ask for, much appreciated 🙂

[Herbal24 in reply to Pepperpatty]

Tell them you need to be tested for all the panel of blood work, CBC will/auto diff; comprehensive metabolic panel + E-GFR; lipid panel; Hypothyroidism/CO-10Eo3 and Tsh reflex to free T4 there might be more by this is what I can remember. Always remember you are the one that will say to the Dr. this what you want, I don’t know if your health insurance will cover, but don’t hesitate to mention it to your Dr. be very specific to your Dr. God Bless you and that all will go well with the results.

[Pepperpatty]

Thank you. Yes I’ve seen first hand, the difficulty family members have had with diagnosis and obtaining appropriate treatment. Hopefully going in this time I can request specific testing and get myself better 🙂

[Marz in reply to Pepperpatty]

The advantage of Private Testing is that you will get the correct and most important tests done like BOTH antibodies and FT3. Most GP's/labs test only the TSH which tells you very little about the thyroid ....

[silverfox7]

Also be aware that even if your doctor does request the Ines you want there is still no guarantee the lab will do them!

[Pepperpatty in reply to silverfox7]

That’s dreadful! ☹️

[Hidden]

You might want to ask for Rheumatoid Factor and ANA with full blood count and inflammatory markers.

Or, if your GP is good then they may suggest this themselves, without you having to come over as having “health anxiety” by specifying. Then, if they don’t suggest it, you could just get your thyroid panel run yourself and leave the much more expensive autoantibody panel and full blood count to your GP to suggest.

I have numbness and pins and needles everywhere as part of Sjögren’s Disease - which is particularly bad for fatigue. Sjögren’s is as autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks the secretory glands. I have it with Hypothyroidism. Other possibilities for your symptoms are Coeliacs and B12 deficiency (pernicious anaemia) and Vitamin D deficiency.

Thyroid diseases are often related to rarer systemic autoimmunity such as Lupus and Sjögren’s. These diseases can cause neuropathy, muscle and joint pain and very severe fatigue

[Ange2114]

I'm no expert but for me I've found the pins & needles in my hand and feet are bought on from stress and if I'm able to rest & destress after a few days it's less often & subsides eventually.

My joint pain got better when I got rid of gluten and muscle fatigue stopped when I got my ferratin levels up. I'm still struggling with sleep disturbances so I take magnesium & herbal sleep tablets buts it's an ongoing battle with stress for me I think.

Hope you are able to get some answers & start your journey to feeling better.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Ange2114]

Pins & needles is very often low B12, extremely common with Hashimoto's

Vitamin B complex and vitamin D may help with sleep issues

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

Low FT3 may be underlying problem

[Rmichelle]

I agree, i too had to ask what tests i needed and also once had a phone call from a doctor saying he is unsure if my thyroid bloods are back but would i come in and have a look at tbe computer as he did not know if they were thyroid results!!! Not good is it.😕