I have been diagnosed with subclinical for over a year now without much sympathy or treatment from my GP. My main concerns are increasingly weight gain and tiredness which is effecting my confidence and self esteem. I have had a personal trainer for last 3 months and stuck rigidly to a diet with no results. I feel at rock bottom. I have recently moved house and I'm due to see a new GP. I want to start off in the right way and go into the appointment with specific requests but need your help.
my results from my last bloods in October are as follows- I'm mindful I took these late afternoon and not first thing in the morning.
serum TSH 4.1
serum freeT4 13.3
Liver function - 64 ( should be less than 40
Vitamin D - 67 - below reference limit.
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Pidg1980
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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
Welcome to our forum and I hope you find a sympathetic doctor who listens and who is knowledgeable.
If in the UK, patients have a huge hurdle to overcome as it is stated that patients should not be diagnosed until the TSH is 10. They take no account of disabling symptoms whilst in other countries people are diagnosed when TSH is 3+.
You can tick off the symptoms you have and give to your new doctor.
Ask him if you can have a new blood test and a Full Thyroid Function Test - he may not (or lab may not) do all of them. Those that haven't been tested you can have privately or you can have a private test before you see your new GP. We have two private labs who do pin-prick home tests. If you decide on that course first, you have to be well-hydrated two days before and warm hands when you draw blood.
Blue Horizon and Medichecks are popular. Medichecks have special offers at times.
If GP is doing tests you have to have the very earliest possible test, fasting (you can drink water) and if you were taking thyroid hormones you'd allow a 24 hour gap between last dose and test and take afterwards.
You need TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies.
B12, Vit D iron, ferritin and folate. (GP should definitely do vits/minerals).
Get a print-out and always put the ranges. Labs differ and ranges make it easier for members to comment.
The following is from Thyroiduk.org.uk and it is a pity the medical profession don't follow the advice:-
Doctors usually only test TSH and T4 but that isn't informative enough. Ideally a Free T4 and Free T3 test tells what is actually circulating in our blood. FT3 being the most important as it is the only Active Thyroid Hormone.
Always get a print-out for your own results (we are entitled by Law), with the ranges, and post if you have a query.
Ask your GP to do a thyroid function test which is usually TSH and FT4. Arrange the blood test early in the morning when TSH is highest and fast (water only) as TSH drops after eating and drinking.
Be specific about the daily calories you consume and the daily or weekly exercise you undertake when you tell GP that weight is not budging ie I eat 1200 calories daily and swim 100 laps 3 x week, Zumba 1 hour x 1 week, run 10kg 3 x week, play tennis 1 x week etc.
Posting results without the lab ref ranges doesn't tell us anything. NHS will not usually diagnose hypothyroidism until TSH is over range or FT4 below range.
VitD 67 is sub optimal. 75 is replete but optimal is 100-150nmol/L. I would supplement 5,000iu D3 daily for 4-6 weeks to boost level then reduce to 5,000iu alternate days to maintain it and retest in March/April.
There is no single test that is called "Liver function".
A liver function test is actually made up of several tests. There would be a result for each separate test, not just a single test result. To read more about liver function tests, this link is helpful :
I've looked at my own blood test results and found that GGT is the only test that has a reference range which shows it should be < 40. It is probably the one you refer to.
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