A 17yr old great neice has these results ... she suffers badly with IBS ( a term much used by NHS for wide range of issues). And has done for many years. Given her FT3/4 results I’m wondering at her higher TSH level.? She is very slim with constant loose bowels. I’l’ve suggested g free diet and even have a coeliac test. But maybe even Chrohns investigation worthwhile although she has no bowel pain. There is also Hashimotos in family line. Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and coeliac to mention but 3 ! I would appreciate any suggestions for further investigation to try and get to bottom of her condition. Thankyou.
Forgot to mention, she often has anxiety feelings which along with bowels I might have thought feeling hyper but lack of nutrition would also affect nerves I think.
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Banjogirl
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Poor thing, I feel for her. Those thyroid levels certainly aren’t normal.
But the other thing is check next is B12 levels. I could almost lay money on it that her B12 and folate levels won’t be very good. And low B12 will leave you feeling dreadful.
Jazzw Banjogirl I hope you don’t mind me asking and interrupting this/your thread, but does it matter that in this case the FT3 level looks good and the FT4 doesn’t look to bad? My results have been similar (with a TSH at 4.52 (lab range similar 0.35 - 5.50) and I’m confused as to what you should do in this respect i.e. is it still subclinical hypothyroid and therefore, may require hormone treatment?
It means your thyroid is probably struggling. If you think of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) as Thyroid Shouting Hormone you’ll get the picture of what it does. Most people’s TSH (when healthy) falls between 1.0 and 2.0, and that’s enough to put that person’s FT4 and FT3 mid range or higher.
Where a TSH is higher, it means the pituitary gland (which is where TSH is made) is having to shout more loudly at the thyroid than normal to get the same effect (like getting a lazy teenager out of bed) - it’s having to pump out significantly more to get the thyroid hormones to the right place.
This works in the short term but over time, a failing thyroid can’t keep up no matter how loudly TSH shouts at it and at that point FT4 and FT3 levels will start to drop.
So a high TSH with decent looking FT4 and FT3 results is the first sign that summat’s up and that the thyroid might fail over the coming weeks and months.
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you’ll get the picture of what it does. Most people’s TSH (when healthy) falls between 1.0 and 2.0, and that’s enough to put that person’s FT4 and FT3 mid range or higher. 
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