Hi. Been trying to work out what's wrong with me as GP has been very dismissive for years.
Have morning temp in the low 35 area. Morning pulse in the mid to high 40s.
Getting breathless and don't sleep much or well. Breathless worse at night ..often wake breathless around 3 to 6 am then cannot get back to sleep.
I can cycle up and down hills off road, swim and gym and if anything excercise seems to help my breathing.
Had lung function texts, chest xray, heart echo cardiogram and ecg. All normal.
The only "blip" was my thyroid test which was minor.
Serum free throxine free T4 (FT4) test was 12.1 ..test range 12 to 24 so I thought this was borderline.
Serum tsh XaELV 3.14...range 0.35 to 4.94
Doc said this FT4 was fine and suggested breathing issues anxiety related.
Any thoughts and experiences that might provide insight would be greatly appreciated and if thyroid is suspected. Any recommendation on who to see in London and south east area would be appreciated..GP very dismissive so not going to get help there...will need to pay but breathing issues and lack of sleep driving me insane so going to credit card whatever to try and sort this out!
Written by
jivemonkey1
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood 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, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins
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 special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's.
Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten. So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .
10-20% of Hashimoto's patients never have raised antibodies, so negative antibodies doesn't definitely rule Hashimoto's out.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.