About 8 years ago I had my thyroid checked as I was feeling very unwell about 8 months after having my first child. It flagged up high antibodies but normal range for everything else.
Last week after feeling utterly exhausted and not right for some time I took a test for thyroid and got the following results (pic attached).
My dad has overactive, my mum underactive and my sibling has hashimotos.
I had total hysterectomy last year due to ovarian tumours and am in surgical menopause with oestrogen patches.
I just wondered if anyone could help me with my results and where to go from here?
I can't remember the last time I didn't feel tired even after a decent nights sleep.
My scalp seems dry, the corners of my mouth are cracking and I'm pale and can't seem to lose weight.
Thank you!
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Splurgle
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Your high antibodies mean that you are positive for autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's which is where antibodies attack the thyroid and gradually destroy it. The antibody attacks cause fluctuations in symptoms and test results.
Unfortunately, your TSH, FT4 and FT3 are in range and due to this it is unlikely you will get a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Generally doctors wait until TSH reaches 10, or FT4 goes below range.
You could print off and tick all symptoms that are relevant from this list
and speak to your GP. Say you have taken advice from NHS Choices recommended source of information for thyroid disorders (which is the charity Thyroid UK and this is their forum) and they have confirmed that you have autoimmune thyroid disease (their term, patients use Hashimoto's) and it would be a good idea to start Levothyroxine now. Don't mention the internet or forums, they don't like that.
Most doctors dismiss antibodies as being of no importance and know little or nothing about Hashi's and how it affects the patient, test results and symptoms. You need to read, learn, understand and help yourself where Hashi's is concerned.
You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
Hashi's and gut absorption problems tend to go hand in hand and can very often result in low nutrient levels or deficiencies. You need to have the following tested:
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
Ask your GP to do them, shame you didn't do the Medichecks Thyroid Check Ultravit which includes all those tests.
Come back with results, and reference ranges, for your vitamin and minerals and we can suggest what to do if there are any deficiencies or low levels.
Welcome to our forum and you have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease, also called Hashimoto's or hashi's. It is due to the antibodies you have and they attack your thyroid gland and wax and wane until you are hypothyroid.
Your TSH is low in range and in the UK we are not diagnosed until it reaches 10 but in other countries we are prescribed when it is 3+.
However, even though you have a low TSH, your doctor should prescribe levothyroxine due to you having thyroid antibodies which shows your thyroid gland is under attack.
Your FT4 and TT4 and T3 are nearer the bottom of the range when they should be in the upper part of the range.
Email Dionne - tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
which is the office of Thyroiduk.org.uk and ask for a copy of Dr Toft's online Pulse article. Highlight the part where he states that if antibodies are present we should be prescribed.
He is also the Physician to the Queen when in Scotland and this year he has blasted the whole of the endocrinology in the following link:
You can show it to your GP and there's no reason he/she cannot get the message.
All blood tests for thyroid hormones have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a 24 hour gap between last dose of levo and the test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as that's all they seem to notice. I doubt if any know clinical symptoms and that's how we used to be diagnosed by clinical symptoms alone.
Had a very unsatisfying appointment with my GP, she more or less said there was nothing wrong with me because of my TSH being in the normal range.
It was only because I pushed her with info you guys had advised that she is reluctantly doing another blood test (why?!) And depending on those results will maybe refer me to an endocrinologist.
Even though I explained how desperately tired I am and all my symptoms, it was like she wasn't interested.
I've had a hoarse voice and sore throat on and off for a while now and I'm sure I have a small lump on my thyroid area. I told her all this and she still wasn't in a hurry to refer me to anyone as I don't have a visible goitre.
Feel frustrated and fed up.
My husband has said we will use some money put aside to go to see an endocrinologist privately. Would this be a sensible next step?
I would say no. You'll probably end up just wasting the money. Doctors in the private sector are bound by the same guidelines and rules that doctors in the NHS have to use. And in fact the private doctors often work in the NHS as well. When working privately they may interpret rules more loosely than the NHS does, but that is because they assume money is not so much of an issue (you can afford to see them privately, so you must have money, seems to be the attitude).
But with your results I think you will be told your problems are "something else" and you won't be treated for hypothyroidism.
You are probably on the way to getting hypothyroidism - your Free T4 is below mid-range (35% of the way through the range) and so is your Free T3 (which is 26% of the way through the range). For people who are hypothyroid these numbers really need to be in the upper half of the range to feel at their best. And of course, you have positive antibodies of a type that the NHS only tests in hyperthyroidism, never hypothyroidism, so they won't be interested in those, even though they increase your risk of hypothyroidism.
One thing that is common in hypothyroid people is poor gut health. As a result low nutrients are extremely common, and this can occur many years before they are officially hypothyroid. If you could get your nutrient levels tested you might find that some or all of them are low. And you'll be amazed at how much better people feel once nutrient levels are optimised by supplementing. The ones that people recommend getting tested on this forum are :
vitamin D
vitamin B12
folate
iron and ferritin
Some people go further and test zinc, copper and selenium as well.
I am going to hold fire on the private consultation.
I've got a blood test tomorrow that my GP wanted me to have so that they have the results on record. She seemed reluctant to test for anything else apart from the very basics, even though I asked her to test for possible vitamin deficiencies.
Have decided pretty much to do what I can for myself, my parents have a surplus of thyroxine and offered a low dose to me if I wanted to try it and see if it helps but I'm unsure what to do really. Any thoughts?
Hi. It’s so difficult to break from our inbuilt want to trust the medical profession. There are fabulous ones out there (I worked in nhs for 18yrs). There are clearly deficiencies though. I’m in the same boat as you- needing to know if a treatment works to make you feel better. I would definitely get my vitamins checked and optimised and once those are sorted and you still feel under par I’d have to try levo for a trial period.
Try getting through to GP once bloods are back. if not I’d go it myself.
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Feeling Exhausted. Please look at test results.
New here - can someone look at my blood tests results please?
please can you look at my results?
Can some one look at my results...
