Daughters latest test results

[scotkaz]

My daughter has been through the mill with her thyroid She has been under active, then over active. She was on meds for 18 months and now those have stopped and she is told her results are normal. She keeps gaining weight and my daughter has always been slim. ( until now that is) Are these results normal?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

For full Thyroid evaluation your daughter needs more than just TSH, FT4.

Her FT4 is right at bottom of range

She also needs FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies and also very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)

[Marz]

She probably has Hashimotos or auto-immune thyroid. So the thyroid can swing from being over to under active. Her results are NOT normal and her meds should not be stopped. Docs lack of knowledge is shocking. Please try to follow the advice given by slowdragon above about testing 😊

[rosserk in reply to Marz]

Marz this might seem like a stupid question but I’m new to this so apologies in advance but can I ask please? If someone with hashimoto’s can swing between over and under active, does that mean that their Hormone results would also go up and down? If that’s the case how does anyone know if they are on the right dose of Levo? I.e. they lower their dose of Levo because they believe their TSH is too low and could be making them hyper? If the low TSH was caused by the hashi swing does that mean when the swing is over their TSH rises because one they’ve dropped their dose and two the swing caused the drop? Should people wait out the swing and remain on the same dose or should they drop it until the swing is over and then increase again? Also does T3 rise during a hashi swing? Hope this makes sense and doesn’t come across as too stupid 💐

[Marz in reply to rosserk]

Not stupid at all. That is why ALL the tests should be done and not just the TSH & Ft4. FT 3 is the active thyroid hormone so if that is over range then it is possible to say the person is over- medicated rather than HYPER. Docs are trained to look at the TSH only which is a HUGE mistake as once on thyroid meds it becomes more meaningless. Your description of the swing reads well 😊

[rosserk in reply to Marz]

Thanks Marz I think it explains why I was able to increase my Levo even though my TSH was really low and get a significant improvement in my symptoms. A lot of my symptoms returned but I convinced myself it was because I must have been over medicated so I dropped my dose only to get even worse. I finally tried increasing my Levo and ignored my TSH and T4. I am feeling better than I’ve felt since the start of my diagnoses. If I’d dosed based purely on my blood tests and not how I felt I would still be bed ridden!

[Marz in reply to rosserk]

Good that you were able to help yourself so well

[greygoose]

Sounds very much like Hashi's - first under, then over-active, that's how Hash's presents. But, whatever the cause of her hypothyroidism, it's incurable. The fact that her levels are now in the 'normal' range (although far from normal - TSH too high, FT4 too low) doesn't mean she's cured and can stop her levo. Her results are in the normal range because she is taking levo. If she stops the levo, her TSH will rise again, and her FT4 decrease. Where on earth did this doctor get his diploma?

[scotkaz]

My girl was pretty ill with this. Doc told her he had never seen anyone swing up and down like this. Hashimotos was mentioned. She was sent to a specialist who said her thyroid was spongy. They told her the three choices she had were take a tablet for 18 months, removal of thyroid gland or some radioactive stuff but that would mean staying away from her children for 30 days. They told her 80 per cent of people are cured. They decided to try the 18 month tablet which was pretty vile. Every time she took a sore throat, which was often, they had to run emergency blood tests. After the 18 months were over they basically told her she was normal and needed no more medication. She feels ill and they told her she would lose weight if she walked more. She has never had a weight problem until they took her off the pills. I need to get a copy of my results again because the last time they told me my blood test was normal I put my levo up 25mcg Test still came back normal. so would like to see what numbers have reduced. God only knows what these doctors learn It is same with Pernicious anemia I have had b12 injections since 1999. Doc then told me to come for the injection every 6 to 8 weeks. Another told me to go whenever I need one. Now they have decided to follow "guidelines" which is every 12 weeks. They do not want to listen to patients. they follow the numbers they think are normal.