Ultrasound and hashimotos

[Louiseb17]

Had my ultrasound last week and the results show significant damage and one side has shrunk so small, they could hardly see it.

They suggested I get blood tests done twice a year instead of yearly but didn’t say why? Any ideas why I’d need to increase blood tests ?

[Kes8]

I would only understand (from their point of view) if you weren't diagnosed yet as hypothyroid and they wanted to know asap when you required medication.

[Louiseb17 in reply to Kes8]

Thanks 😃

[MaisieGray]

My thyroid was scanned 10 yrs ago with similar results, in fact the sonographer actually gasped when she saw it lol; and I've never been on 6 monthly testing as a result. The NICE guidelines advise annual testing once stabilised on your optimal dose.

[Louiseb17 in reply to MaisieGray]

Thanks I’m stabilized on Levo so will stick to my yearly bloods

[SlowDragon Administrator]

For full testing you ALWAYS need TSH, FT4, FT3 plus vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin tested

Just testing TSH and FT4 is completely inadequate

See from your other posts that Hashimoto's diagnosed soon after quitting smoking (like many of us)

verywellhealth.com/cigarett...

Hashimoto's continues to destroy Thyroid, so dose of Levothyroxine may need increasing in future

[Louiseb17 in reply to SlowDragon]

I get full bloods tested once a year and have other conditions so I’d rather not get more bloods done then necessary :-).. I’m doing good on Levo and happy with my dose I was just wondering why they would want me to increase the frequency?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Louiseb17]

Because eventually, Thyroid likely to fail completely and then dose of Levothyroxine will very likely need to change.

Low vitamin levels can mask how hypothyroid we actually are too.

If under medicated for any length of time, it's very common for vitamin levels to drop, then very often TSH drops too.