Hi there I wander if someone could take a look at my blood test results. I have lots of symptoms, currently on sick leave not functioning. My TSH was 14.6 in November. I finally got my referral to Endo, I guess this will take some time. Any advice on how to make myself better? GP prescribed antidepressants and diazepam. I have 2 young children and have to be there for them. I asked the GP if she can test for Anti Thyroglobulin Anti Tg, she said they don't have this available.
Hi. Your results confirm Hashimoto’s and with a Tsh of 14.6 you should of been prescribed Levothyroxine immediately. I would go back to your Gp and demand a trial and explain that you can not keep feeling so bad and that your results clearly state Hashimoto/thyroid disease. There will be more experienced people along shortly who can offer you constructive advice. I just wanted you to know that I understand how you feel and I know how hard all this is. I hope you manage to persuade your gp x
Thank you for your reply, 3 GPs in my surgery told me Hashi was hyper not hypo. The last one I'd seen has given me the whole lecture of how they think I should try contraception. Should have told her to poke her pills up her backside.
The only reason she referred me was because I went to A&E on Monday with a severe anxiety attack thinking my heart was going to blow.
Please change your doctor. You have found that the medical profession know little about symptoms of one of the commonest autoimmune condtions i.e. hypothyroid or hashimoto's. Both dysfunctions of the thyroid gland.
Hypo is diagnosed in other countries if the TSH is above 3+. In UK they make you wait until it is 10 and in your case it has been over 10.
You have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease also called Hashimoto's and it is the commonest form of hypothyroidism and after the antibodies (if antibodies present you have hashi's) which attack your thyroid gland and you become hypothyroid - treatment is identical i.e. levothyroxine.
Your GP has prescribed anti-d's and in fact she should have tested both Free T4 and Free T3. She should have prescribed levothyroxine (T4) is an inactive hormone and has to convert to T3. T3 is the Active hormone and we have millions of T3 receptor cells and all need T3 and heart and brain need the most. T3 can be prescribed for 'depression' but it is most probably due to you not yet being diagnosed.
If your doctor did a FT4 and FT3 both of yours would probably be low.
It amazes me that doctors treat 'symptoms' as apart from hypothyroidism when it is a whole body experience and you can tick off your symptoms below.
You have to read, learn and ask questions to enable your recovery.
The aim is a TSH of 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the ranges.
Also B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate have to be optimal too.
Thank you shaws, I really appreciate your comment. My best friend has Hashimotos and she advised me to get my thyroid checked. GP should have done the tests in August, when I first complained about my HORMONAL IMBALANCE. All she wrote in my notes (I only just got the access to those on Monday) irregular periods and sent me for a scan. If it wasn't for my friend I probably would have been sectioned by now.
It is scandalous that doctors nor endocrinologists seem to have no clue at all about any of the clinical symptoms. Symptoms used to be the priority until blood tests were introduced and even the blood tests aren't that accurate as the UK must be the only country in the world that insists the person's TSH must reach 10 before being diagnosed. Some can be quite unwell before that. Some countries diagnose if TSH goes above 3.
What they do nowadays is prescribe another prescription for the symptom rather than diagnosing hypothyroidism. So we can end up with multiple prescriptions but don't improve as it is thyroid hormones we need.
If your TSH goes to 1 then they get nervous and try to adjust dose to increase it which is very wrong. The assumption is then that we are hyper. Some even stop increasing dose according to blood test whilst patient complains of symptoms.
Before I diagnosed myself, thanks to Thyroiduk.org.uk before this forum, I went on a round-about and couldn't get off as I was told I had 'this' 'that' and something else. If it was not for a first aider who helped me get onto a plane (I never thought I'd reach home) I went straight to A&E and discharged after an overnight stay as, 'probably viral with a high cholesterol'. I know now that a high cholesterol is a clinical symptoms. A few days before, a doctor who persuaded me not to get a private 'whole body scan (as I told him there's something seriously wong) he said I shall do a Full Test and phoned about three days later to tell me there was nothing wrong! Despite the fact that on that same blood test list my TSH was 95.5 but he obviously didn't see this. Luckily as I had already phoned the surgery from the airport for a thyroid test to be left out for me the day before, another doctor phoned to ask who had given me a blood test form. I said 'I did' and luckily as it was only one test - not the 23 the other doctor did' the TSH of 100 stuck out. No wonder we get angry.
How many, many people are so unwell with disabling symptoms, many may not be able to work and don't have a clue what is happening to them. Especially with disabling symptoms ignored and many must lose their jobs as they cannot think straight either.
I had: Laparoscopy, lots of inhalers, developed allergies to my cat, dust and pollen, 2 courses of antibiotics to clear 9 months on and off sinusitis, physio, internal scan of the womb, Hysterscopy, STI screening - went down well with my husband, Cognitive Behavioural therapy, A&E admission for severe anxiety attack and Psychiatric nurse assessment.
And if Endo doesn't diagnose me, well, I would say that's money very well spent.
It is so unbelievable what you've had to go through and that so many go through some form of torture - mental/physical and yet no-one comes to their aid.
What type of training do the professionals have? None it would appear in the case of the thyroid gland. Maybe they are experts on diabetes but to have such fixed minds when a undiagnosed hypo patient comes before them, they just haven't any expertise at all shown by their statements during/after the consultation. A waste of monies for the NHS and for patients who were relying upon an 'expert' to diagnose but instead they have unsatisfactory consultations and continue without relief of their clinical symptoms.
If they have no recourse to the internet well - !!!!
So your high TPO antibodies confirm you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's
Essential to test vitamin D, folate, and B12. Always get actual results and ranges. Post results when you have them, members can advise
Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
Ideally ask GP for coeliac blood test first or buy online for under £20
Ferritin is on low side, (needs to be over 70 for good thyroid function) but not low enough for GP to treat. Eating liver or liver pate once a week plus other iron rich foods plus vitamin C supplements to improve iron absorption recommended
Getting vitamin D, folate and B12 tested plus coeliac blood test are next steps. Then, assuming coeliac test is negative you can immediately try strictly gluten free diet
Either see GP or test all three privately via Medichecks or Blue Horizon
This is more information as it annoys me when people aren't diagnosed. This is the format for blood tests for thyroid hormones:-
The very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose of thyroid hormones and the test and take afterwards.
This method keeps the TSH at its highest as that seems to be the only result they take notice of.
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