I have been suffering from fatigue/muscle aches/chronic constipation/ brain fog have very poor memory..all the symptoms of low thyroid. I had my thyroid checked for all of tests and I’m just in the bracket of being in normal range.. So they are saying I should be fine!! I’ve been told that in other countries the bracket can be much wider than the uk thyroid test and would class me as hypothyroidism and would be offering support? I’ve attached my results if anyone can please please help me I just want to feel normal again.
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Adeleaidedams
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Did you do this test as early as possible in morning and fasting?
This gives highest TSH
Yes these FT3 and FT4 levels look low, but TSH is not high enough for most medics to consider it a problem, and especially with no high antibodies it would be difficult to find any medic who would consider treatment
Next step is to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
These are often too low and important to improve these. Then TSH often rises so that you can get thyroid treated
See if GP will test for you or test privately
Come back with new post once you get vitamin test results
Yes I did the blood test at 7am in the morning but no fasting..does that make a difference? I will get those other tests done on vitD Folate,firritin and b12 as I didn’t realise it can effect TSH!?
Low vit d, ferritin and b12 can all make you tired, achy, foggy and generally pretty crap. People with thyroid disorders often suffer with with these deficiencies too which just compounds the problem.
I had my results back for blood test you suggested to have but they have all come back in (normal range) apart from the VitD being boarder line. Im Soooooo gutted as I was really hoping something would be flagged up..I feel like giving up now and have to except that I will just have to feel like crap! As my Doctor won’t help me. I just don’t understand the chronic constipation...headaches..brain fog and days of complete sluggish and tiredness it’s making my life hell.
Here our my results please please tell me what you think and if there is anything else I can do or should get tested for to explain these symptoms?
Ferritin looks low, should be at least halfway in range, over 70. Eating liver or liver pate once a week, plus other iron rich foods plus daily vitamin C to improve iron absorption, can all be beneficial
Folate looks low.
Supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in not folic acid may be beneficial.
B vitamins best taken in the morning after breakfast
Recommended brands on here are Igennus Super B complex. (Often only need one tablet per day, not two). Or Jarrow B-right
If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results
Selenium supplements can help improve conversion of FT4 to FT3
You might consider testing selenium or zinc, before supplementing
Trying strictly gluten free diet is something to consider, but getting vitamins optimal is first step
Then retesting thyroid and vitamins in say 2-3 months after adding last vitamin supplement
Make sure to test as early as possible in morning and fasting to get highest TSH
Very common that TSH rises, once vitamin levels improve, so that your GP will agree that you have thyroid problem and start treatment with Levothyroxine
Well, drinking tea might have has a slight effect on your TSH, but, given how early in the morning you did the test, I don't think it would have made that much difference.
Your TSH is low compared to your FT4/3, which are right at the bottom of the range. Your TSH should be a lot higher. The fact that it isn't, suggests to me that what you have is not a thyroid problem, but a pituitary or hypothalamus problem - what we call Central Hypo.
Central Hypo is when there is a problem with the pituitary (Secondary Hypo) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary Hypo) rather than the thyroid itself (Primary Hypo). For some reason, not enough TSH is being produced to stimulate the thyroid to make thyroid hormone. So, your FT4/3 levels remain low. Too low for good health.
Doctors know very little about Central Hypo, so may need a nudge in the right direction - your GP has probably never even heard of it. So, you need to do your homework before going back to your GP and gently suggesting that that might be your problem, and further investigation is probably in order. You would need to be referred to an endo, because a GP can't do the necessary tests. Your Frees are very, very low - difficult to see, but isn't your FT3 under-range? That is in no way 'normal'!
As to getting diagnosed in another country. That's rather doubtful. I've never heard of a TSH range that stops lower than 3. So, you probably wouldn't get diagnosed anywhere with that TSH, if the doctor only looked at the TSH. And most doctors, in other countries, are just as ignorant as those in the UK, and only look at the TSH!
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