Help for my bro, High TSH yet perfect Ft3 and Ft3

[mlc2009]

He has periods of low mood, bad sleep etc so I booked him in a blood test, turns out he has exact same issue as me, raised TSH yet normal ft3 and ft4

THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE *7.98 mIU/L 0.27 -4.20

FREE THYROXINE 19.600 pmol/L 12.00 -22.00

FREE T3 5.25 pmol/L 3.10 -6.80

His vitamin D levels are low, so I told him to take some of my vitamin D. and his b12 is right at bottom of range, and no one wants bottom of range B12, so I shall give him my b12 pills later

I told him to go to doctors, but as we all know, NHS can't prescribe T3. It might be worth him trying t4 for a while though? any ideas?

I'm his brother and been testing my thyroid for years, my TSH also ranges from 3-6 and I have " subclinical hypo " I sourced some T3 myself, but since run out

[Angel_of_the_North]

I wouldn't recommend taking any more thyroid hormone - those results aren't hypo. I would try asking for an endo referral to see if he has a TSH-secreting tumour (and also just get antibodies tested in case it is a weird result from Hashis). If he was taking any supplement containing biotin that could invalidate the test results

[mlc2009 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

anymore? he has never took thyroid hormone

I thought high TSH and normal ft3/ft4 was subclinical hypo?

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mlc2009]

Any more than he is producing on his own. No, his free t4 and free T3 are euthyroid (good normal). The TSH is an anomaly and hints that the pituitary gland (or hypothalamus) is not behaving properly - not noticing that thyroid hormone levels are quite high. Subclinical hypo would be low end of normal thyroid hormones (eg FT4 12-14 and FT3 <4.5) and high TSH. But taking B vitamins or other biotin-containing supplements give false test readings, so eliminate that first.

Get the B12 and vit D up to a decent level, plus magnesium

[mlc2009 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

ACTIVE B12 45.100 pmol/L 25.10 -165.00

FOLATE (SERUM) 5.06 ug/L 2.91 -50.0025

OH VITAMIN D 52 nmol/L 50.00 -200.00

would it be worth him taking them supps with them levels and then rest thyroid with antibodies?

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mlc2009]

Yes, all poor results (if B12 is 45.1).

Yes.

[mlc2009 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

thanks for your help, on another note, these are my results

THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE 3.6 mIU/L 0.27 - 4.20

FREE THYROXINE 15.400 pmol/L 12.00 - 22.00

FREE T3 5.12 pmol/L 3.10 - 6.80

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY <10 IU/mL 0.00 - 115.00

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES <9.0 IU/mL 0.00 - 34.00

My vitamins are all good, I supp with 10,000IU of vitamin D, got b12 injections and folate is okay

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mlc2009]

No autoimmune, but high-ish TSH and relatively lower in range free t4 (34%) compared to free T3 (54.6%) suggests thyroid struggling.

[mlc2009 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Yep, been liek that for some years

will get some T3. Last time I tried t3, it gave me very bad indigestion, last I would eat then an hour later, vomit it up, like it was stuck in my throat

had a gastrocopy and everything was fine

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mlc2009]

If you are going to try anything, try NDT instead as free T4 is low.

[mlc2009 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

any good uk sources for NDT? We can forget going to my NHS GP for this

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mlc2009]

Need to buy from Thailand, Mexico or US. If you post a new request, people will private message you with reliable suppliers