Newbie! Need advice

[Efinnie81]

Ok so I have been feeling dreadful and experiencing under active thyroid symptoms for about 4 months now. I am 7 months post partum from having my 3rd child. Bloods came back and my TSH is 6.5 and T4 is 6.35. From what I gather these levels are both out of range. My GP has responded with no further action and to repeat bloods in 6 months time. I can't accept this 1. My symptoms are too overwhelming and I can't imagine suffering like this or worsening for another 6 months 2. My levels surely warrant action to be taken now. Any thoughts on this? If this is post partum thyroiditis can my levels "correct themselves"given time? How can I engage with my GP over my concerns in this matter (am worrying about having to be firm and persistent in the event of me being "fobbed off.

[Hidden]

Hi Effinnie81, really sorry to hear that, yes your TSH seems quite high, even without knowing the ranges. T4 on it's own doesn't really say much, it's a storage hormone, it needs to be looked at in conjunction with FT4 (also need ref ranges here). It would be also good to check your full thyroid panel including FT3 (in case you need to benchmark against it in future) and ATPO (antibodies for autoimmune). 6 months is a long wait, I agree.

From what I read, most women recover from post partum thyroiditis, but it could take up to a year. If symptoms are unbearable and there might have been a damage to the gland, you would be prescribed a thyroid hormone, but you might not need to take it permanently, as everything could go back to normal after 12 months. There is a percentage of women that need hormone long-term after.

I think you need an endocrinologist to guide you, not a GP.

Just to say - I have no experience with post partum thyroiditis...just reading the Journal of clinical endocrinology: academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...

[Efinnie81 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much and I thought the same about getting t3 and antibodies checked. I will ask but worried about my doctor saying no or fobbing me off

[Hidden in reply to Efinnie81]

No problem - it's always good to check the full thyroid panel. Can you do it privately? I am based in Ireland and go to a private clinic, pay 50 euro and all tests are done and sent to me next day via email.

Still, I would recommend to go to an endocrinologist, someone on this forum has a list of recommended endos.

Like the article says, if you feel symptoms are unbearable and you suffer, you might need hormone replacement for the time being, until this all settles back to where it was. Of course, if symptoms are minimal, no need to be taking anything if this is indeed post partum thyroiditis, you don't want to be bumping up hormones unnecessarily. But again, this is where you need to be monitored by an endo, who should go over ALL thyroid lab results and perform an ultrasound to check if there is any damage to thyroid gland and confirm this is what it is, if that makes sense...

Hope this helps x

[Efinnie81 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much. Yes you have been a great help x