Struggling to get diagnosed

[mclellans10]

Hello,

I'm after a bit of help please. I have been struggling for a couple of years now with extreme tiredness which is getting worse and worse (so much so I sat down in my hotel room during a wedding in October during the day and have no recollection of falling asleep for two hours!). I've also struggled for years to lose weight and more recently, I have put on nearly two stone since the end of October despite not changing my diet and not eating anywhere close to the amount of calories I'm burning. I have constipation, sensitivity to the cold, stiff muscles, complete change in mood (easily irritated), and brittle nails.

I went to the GP back in August who took bloods and told me that everything was fine with my thyroid and put me on antidepressants stating that my mood could be making me tired. I have been going back every month for reviews and he is insisting it is "just depression". I'm at the point now where I am completely fed up and feel like I am being fobbed off and I have looked into private testing. I thought he had done all the testing so got a copy of my results from August from my GP to realise he has only tested TSH. It's making me feel like I'm a hypercondriact however I know in myself that there is something not right because I can feel myself getting progressively worse.

I am looking at two sets of tests, one being TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4, along with the two antibodies.

The other is all of the above as well as ferritin, folate, B12 and CRP. I have had all these done and just wondered the importance of these for diagnosis and whether they are worth having done?

My results in August were:

Ferritin: 53.4ug/L (13.0 - 300.0)

B12: 367ng/l (190 - 910)

Folate: 6.8ng/ml (3.3 - 99999.0)

CRP <4mg/L (0.0 - 10.0)

Would you recommend me having these tested again or shall I just be tested for the first lot?

Thank you for your help.

[Clutter]

Mclellans10,

If you can run to Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus 11 or Medichecks Ultravits its worth doing to have thyroid antibodies and vitD in addition to TSH, FT4, FT3 even though B12, folate and ferritin were recently tested.

[Clutter in reply to Clutter]

ps Medichecks offer #ThyroidThursday discounts.

[SlowDragon Ambassador]

Medichecks or Blue Horizon both offer vitamin and thyroid blood test at £99

Can often pick up on offer for £79

Essential to test TSH, FT4 and FT3, both TPO and TG antibodies and vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Make sure to get blood drawn as early as possible in morning and fasting . This gives highest TSH

If your antibodies are high this is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s

Ferritin is too low, eating liver once a week should help

Selenium supplements can also help

Your B12 is on low side but do not supplement if you want to know base level

List of hypo symptoms

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

Brilliant article on the over emphasis on blood test results at expense of patient

Just published by Prof Antony Toft (previously head of British Thyroid)

rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/fi...

[mclellans10]

Hi Clutter and SlowDragon

Thank you both for your reply. Medichecks was the website I have been looking at and it was either between:

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

It's great to know that there is discount on a Thursday thanks for the tip! I'll wait until then to purchase and go for the ultra one.

SlowDragon - will definitely give that article a read.

Thanks again to both for the advice!

[shaws in reply to mclellans10]

First thing to remember is to have/take the test at the earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water). Make sure you are well hydrated a couple of days before and your hands are warm on the morning of the test.

The problem is that doctor have been advised that a TSH and T4 is all that is required to confirm someone has hypothyroidism/or hashimoto's.

The problem in the UK as well is that the recommendations from the British Thyroid Association is that no-one is diagnosed until their TSH reaches 10, whereas in other countries it is 3+. I wonder if they try to save money but prescribe other medications instead for continuing symptoms when the person needs thyroid hormones.

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

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

Also TSH and T4 is insufficient for a diagnosis and many, like yourself, suffer for years due to ineffective training by students/doctors.

[mclellans10]

Thank you for the advice shaws - despite having these tests done at the GP Surgery (among many other I knew I would have to fast for), he never advised me of this.

I thought the GP may have done T4 as well - I knew they wouldnt have done all of them but was more shocked to find he just tested for TSH then dismissed me.

I completely agree with you - I feel like I was just dismissed with antidepressants thinking this may lift my mood and I would forget about it all however it has just made me worse. He has even put me on Mirtazipine and I certainly don't need help sleeping!

I have an appointment on Thursday with him and I'm praying that I finally get somewhere however I am not holding my breath considering I have now been visting once a month since August!

[SlowDragon Ambassador in reply to mclellans10]

Apparently GP's get financial "bonus" for depression diagnosis of £1600

You really need this Thyroid plus ultra vitamin test unless you have recently tested vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common k but especially when hypo

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

The four vitamins that profoundly affect thyroid are vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

See Box 1 in link

Some possible causes of persistent symptoms in euthyroid patients on L-T4

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...