My thyroid results were normal but I have think there may be a thyroid issue

[CuriousGuy1]

I wrote here earlier and probably will again as I’m new to this. I’m a 21 year old male. I’ve had symptoms of hypo for a while now. I’ve recently got my TSH and it was 0.93 mIU/L and the reference range was 0.3-5.00 mIU/L My Free T4 was 18.1 pmol/L and the reference range was 9.0-19.1 pmol/L. I know it’s in the normal range. I still have symptoms of hypo. Is there anyway i could have hypo with these test results?

[shaws Administrator]

You need to have a thyroid antibodies test. Some people develop antibodies which attack the thyroid gland until the person becomes hypothyroid. I shall give you two links which will explain about this dysfunction:-

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

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

Remember to get any thyroid tests at the earliest, fasting (you can drink water). If or when you take thyroid hormones allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test.

If you do have antibodies you should be prescribed levothyroxine regardless of your TSH.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to shaws]

I’ve had auto immune tests done and all came back normal. Do I have to specifically ask for thyroid antibodies test?

[shaws Administrator in reply to CuriousGuy1]

Yes it has to be a test for antibodies alone. If we have hypothyroidism the first sign is a TSH which gradually increases and we have symptoms. Unfortunately many doctors in the UK wait until TSH reaches 10.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to shaws]

I’ve had a Anti Gliadin Antibodies test done, would that get the result? My TSH was low. It was 0.93mIU/L

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to CuriousGuy1]

CuriousGuy1

Anti Gliadin Antibodies test for coeliac disease.

For autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) you need

Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies (TPO)

Thyroglobulin antibodies (TG)

The NHS rarely does TPO and almost never TG unless an endo requests it. You could do a private test with one of our recommended labs - Medichecks or Blue Horizon - but be aware that their test bundles are cheaper/better value than just testing one thing.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks very much for your reply. I will check them sites now and price them. Are they at home testing kits or what?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to CuriousGuy1]

CuriousGuy

Yes, home kits. You can do a fingerprick test or venous blood draw if you prefer.

If you've not had vitamins and minerals tested then I would suggest that you go for either Medichecks Thyroid UltraVit or Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus Eleven. That gives the full picture - a full thyroid panel and all the important vitamins and minerals.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

What specific tests should I do for thyroid ?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to CuriousGuy1]

The full thyroid tests are

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

TG antibodies

and Total T4 is included with Medichecks and BH bundles mentioned above.

With Medichecks:

Thyroid antibodies on their own - £69

Thyroid Check Plus - TSH/FT4/FT3/TPO/TG - £59

Thyroid UltraVit - all thyroid tests plus vitamins and minerals as mentioned previously - £99 (occasionally reduced to £79 on a Thursday)

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for all of that. I think I will go with Thyroid UltraVit as it’s slight more expensive but I will get all thyroid testing and minerals done.

[ShinyB]

It's possible to have something called Impaired Sensitivity to Thyroid Hormone, or Thyroid Hormone Resistance. From what I understand, this is where you have normal thyroid levels in your blood stream, but the thyroid hormones are unable to access the cells of the body to do their job. It's sometimes referred to as Type 2 Hypothyroidism.

This link gives a bit of an overview and also mentions a good book on the subject by Mark Starr - I'm reading it at the moment and it's quite an eye opener! - doctorshealthpress.com/gene...

What hypothyroid symptoms do you have?

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Thank you and I will read that. The symptoms I’m having is depression, tight chest and neck, lack of energy, sleep disturbances, temperature intolerant whether it is cold or hot. Very dry skin and lips I could go on

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

A good indicator to thyroid function is to take your basal (resting) temperature first thing in the morning before moving. If it's consistently below 36.5 this can point to hypothyroidism. It says a bit about it in the link I posted for you.

Heat intolerance can be a hypothyroid symptom, according to a book I read called 'Hypothyroidism, the Unsuspected Illness' by Broda Barnes (available cheaply via Amazon) although it's more usual to feel cold most of the time.

There's a list of possible symptoms here: thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

[ShinyB in reply to ShinyB]

I don't think the temperature range mentioned in the link I posted about type 2 hypothyroidism is accurate. Wondering if it's a typo.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Thank you I will have a look at that, I wil also take my temperature, I have other hormones issues such as very low testosterone, wondering are my hormones out of place.

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

I'm still trying to get my head around hormones and find the whole subject hard to grasp, especially with brain fog! But in general terms I think if you're hypothyroid it can affect your sex hormones production, and equally sex hormones can affect your absorption of thyroid hormone. But I am a bit fuzzy about it all!

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Thanks for the replies. Is there anyway I can add you or anything if I have further inquiries as you seem to know your stuff. New to this site.

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

I've still got masses to learn and often feel quite muddled so please don't rely on just my input! You're welcome to visit my profile and have a read of some of my posts. I've posted quite a bit about thyroid hormone resistance. Just click on my name/picture. You can also 'tag' someone in your posts - so to tag me you'd type @ShinyB and then look at the names it brings up underneath and click on mine, then check that the name is highlighted in blue.

eg CuriousGuy1 Ta-dah!

If you can afford it, I'd definitely recommend paying for a private thyroid panel blood test via somewhere like medichecks.com. On Thursdays they usually have special offers on their thyroid tests. You want to get a free T3 reading, perhaps thyroid antibodies too, and nutrient levels of vit B12, Vit D, folate, ferritin are useful too as they all impact on the thyroid. CRP-hs can be useful too - this gives you an idea of how much inflammation is going on in your body.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Perfect thank you.

[ShinyB in reply to ShinyB]

PS the free T3 resuIt is important as it's T3 that is the active hormone in the body. T4 is a sort of 'storage' hormone and it then has to be converted to T3 by the body. There are people who are unable to convert T4 to T3 for various reasons (there is a genetic test called DIO2 which can give you info about whether you've inherited genes that stop you being able to convert very well. Also, there are things you can do that will help conversion, eg making sure the nutrients I mentioned are at optimal levels, plus taking things like zinc and selenium which help conversion.)

[ShinyB in reply to ShinyB]

Get your FT4 and FT3 tested at the same time - you can then look to see what your conversion ratio is

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Great advice

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

What is the difference beeenn Free T3 and T4 and total T3 and T4

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

I think Total figures are how much is in your body, but it needs to be Free T4 or T3 to be used by the body. Sorry, I can't recall quite how it works! But definitely the Frees are the most useful tests to have done

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

I see. Thank again.

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

You're welcome

Found this old post using the search facility - healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... in which a reply gives more info about your question.

The search facility isn't the best in the world but it does allow you to search on specific topics and read posts and replies to them.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

Great stuff. Thanks.

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

Do get it all checked out. I'm 50 now and only got to the root cause of my lifelong health problems when I did a private thyroid test last September. Like you my TSH was always 'normal' so I was always told that I didn't have a thyroid problem. Yet my private test showed I have very low fT3. It's definitely worth getting the private test done.

I wish you luck!

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to ShinyB]

That’s great that you got that done. Yeah I’ve read a lot about how people have been told it’s normal just because the TSH says so, however a lot more goes into the thyroid and needs further testing. I will get a private at home test in the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at from there. Do you mind me asking what your TSH was and what thyroid issue you have ? If not that is okay.

[ShinyB in reply to CuriousGuy1]

Have a read here healthunlocked.com/user/shinyb but the short answer is TSH has always been under 2, sometimes under 1. Main thyroid related symptoms: Fatigue, weight gain, constipation, infertility, dry skin, depression.

[greygoose in reply to CuriousGuy1]

There are two types of T4/T3 - bound and Free. The FT4/3 tests just the Free hormone. The Total is both Free and bound. The body can only use Free T4 and T3, so that's what we need to test.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to greygoose]

Okay I see, thanks.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to CuriousGuy1]

Total T4 and T3 is all the hormone floating around whether or not it is available for use. Much of it is BOUND to proteins and can't be used by the cells. The T3 and T4 that is not bound to proteins is FREE for use by the body (so Free T4, Free t3). The %age of bound and free is not set and depends on the individual so you can't work out Free t4 and free t3 from the total values.

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thank you.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

When doing private test

Make sure you are well hydrated day before and that morning

Ideally do blood test as early as possible in morning and fasting - this gives highest TSH

Only do test on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday- post off immediately

Definitely get vitamins tested too if you can afford it

Any gut symptoms? Do you have any possible food intolerances?

Negative test for coeliac doesn’t rule out gluten intolerance

Gluten intolerance and/or leaky gut are both extremely common with thyroid issues

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you. All noted. I do have food intolerances alright. After I eat certain foods I begin to get depressed and my body slows down. I’ve actually cut out lots of food because of the intolerances I had.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to CuriousGuy1]

Common food intolerances with thyroid are soya, gluten, dairy or casein in cows milk (not goat or sheep), nightshades - tomatoes, peppers, aubergine

[CuriousGuy1 in reply to SlowDragon]

I have an intolerance to two ingredients in milk.