Thyroid Check Plus results interpretation

[Annele88]

Hello! So I did Thyroid tests with Medicheks and my results are as follows:

TSH 7.18 (0.27-4.20) also tested TSH as part of a general health check 6 months ago and it was 3.9 but somehow i didn`t pay attention to that. So it has risen from 3.9 to 7.18.

Free Thyroxine 13.9 (12-22)

T4 87.5 (59-154)

Free T3 4.61 (3.10-6.80)

Thyroglobulin Antibody <10 (0-115)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies 11.8 (0-34)

I have been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for the last 9 months. Never knew about thyroid issues before and only started to check stuff in the context of ttc. Now that I have read about subclinical hypothyroidism I realise that perhaps my

fatigue,

mood swings,

constant sleepiness,

joint pain and

cold hands/feet are quite possibly the result of hypothyroidism. What should i do? I have a GP appointment but to be honest they haven`t been much help before since I am a fairly healthy looking young women. I`ve been told before that since I`m slim and all that nothing can be wrong with me. I am a bit dreading the appointment.

I know that for a conception and a healthy pregnancy TSH needs to be below 2, ideally 1. How do i persuade the doctor to actually do smth rather than observe me?

Thank you! HealthUnlocked has helped me so much to understand the thyroid issues.

[shaws]

Both your 'Frees' are too low as well, being near the bottom of the range rather than towards the top. I shall give you a list of clinical symptoms and you don't have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (Hashimoto's) as your antibodies are too low, so you have to ask GP to prescribe levothyroxine.

You are correct that for pregnancy a TSH around 2 is preferred. Miscarriages can be caused with undiagnosed hypo or insufficient medication.

If you are in the UK, the stupid decision that no-one should be diagnosed until the TSH is 10 when, in other parts of the world, we'd be diagnosed if it goes above 3.

If your GP wont prescribe you can source your own thyroid hormones privately. You may be able to persuade your GP saying that your TSH is higher than the top of the TSH range which is 4.20.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Request that they test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Very common for these to be too low when hypo

Clutter has links to show GP that if TTC TSH should be 2.5

[lisabax]

If your TSH is over the reference range, you are having symptoms and you are trying to conceive, I would have thought these are very good reasons to urge your GP to prescribe levothyroxine. I wish you luck. You’ve clearly done your research.

[eeng]

Your doctor is under the misconception that all people with underactive thyroids are fat. (ie have trouble keeping their weight down). In fact although this is the common situation there are some people for whom being hypothyroid means the can't keep the weight ON. Being underweight can produce fertility issues, as can being overweight, so you do need to get the thyroid issue sorted. Now that your TSH is at 7 your doctor should be more interested than when it was 3.9 (high but within range).

[Clutter]

Annele88,

Your TSH has been steadily rising over 6 months and FT4 is low in range so your GP should prescribe Levothyroxine. Good news is that thyroid antibodies are negative for autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto's).

Tell your GP you are trying to conceive and ask for Levothyroxine to be prescribed. You could show GP the information below from NICE CKS, The BTA and ATA:

The TSH of women planning conception should be in the low-normal range 0.4 - 2.5. When pregnancy is confirmed dose is usually increased by 25-50mcg to ensure good foetal development. NICE also recommends that hypothyroid women planning pregnancy should be referred to en-docrinology. cks.nice.org.uk/hypothyroid...

Management of primary hypothyroidism: statement by the British Thyroid Association Executive Committee

13. The serum TSH reference range in pregnancy is 0·4–2·5 mU/l in the first trimester and 0·4–3·0 mU/l in the second and third trimesters or should be based on the trimester-specific reference range for the population if available. These reference ranges should be achieved where possible with appropriate doses of L-T4 preconception and most importantly in the first trimester (1/++0). L-T4/L-T3 combination therapy is not recommended in pregnancy (1/+00).

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

According to the ATA First Trimester TSH levels between 2.5 and 5.0 are associated with in-creased pregnancy loss

thyroid.org/patient-thyroid...

[Annele88]

Thank you so much for all the replies! Really thank you. I feel that I`ll be going better prepared to my appointment.