Confused.com

[Sotonowl]

Evening all, I have quite a few symptoms all ticked accordingly from the Thyroid UK website. I've asked the Dr for a Thyroid Function test and she's agreed to do one for me but she said it would be a non fasting one. Is that correct? I thought i'd have to do a fasting blood test early morning or is that just the B12 test. Did cross my mind that a non fasting test would swing the balance away from a positive hypo test but they wouldn't do that would they.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Sotonowl

Always advised here is to have the earliest appointment of the day for blood draw. This is because when looking for a diagnosis (or if on replacement hormone and looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction) we need the highest possible TSH. TSH is highest in the early hours of the morning and lowers throughout the day. So we need the first appointment of the day for blood draw, no later than 9am.

TSH can also lower after eating (although not everyone agrees about that, but it can according to member Diogenes, who is Dr John Midgely, advisor to ThyroidUK and involved in many trials and author of many scientific papers about thyroid function, then I know whose advice I prefer to follow). So delaying breakfast until after the test is advised.

These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.

[Sotonowl in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks Susie, 08-00 fasting test it is then.

[greygoose]

Oh yes they would!!!

[Sotonowl in reply to greygoose]

LOL

[Sybilla14]

For what it's worth, Sotonowl, I got diagnosed after having a fasting blood test at 7am, following the advice given here. Maybe it was a coincidence but I believe fasting and early morning were instrumental to my getting diagnosed as I just scraped over the 5.5 top of range.