Bloods

[Lissaok]

Hello, these are apparently all in range - would you agree please? I’m not on meds. Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

What symptoms do you have?

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)

Ask GP to test vitamin levels and thyroid antibodies

TSH, FT4 and FT3 look fine, but antibodies and low vitamins can cause symptoms

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

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

[Lissaok]

Hello there. I’m tired, very tired & cold. My hair falls out a lot and I’ve got very dry skin but I always have. So family history of anything other than colon cancer. I’ve attached my bloods from July last year. I really appreciate your help. Thank you.

[Lissaok in reply to Lissaok]

Sorry I don’t appear to be able to attach anything. Thyroglobulin Antibodies

Was 10 the range was 0-115 & Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies

was 9 range 0-34

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Lissaok]

No - you can't. One image per thread and only on the original post.

[HLAB35]

Hi.. given your below range FSH (which has been flagged - although during the luteal phase it should be low) and a low TSH I'm beginning to think you could have slight failure of the pituitary - you may also have symptoms a bit like polycystic ovary syndrome..?? You need to be as thorough as you can so you can present a good case to the GP.

healthyliving.azcentral.com...

pituitary.org.uk/informatio...

Maybe retake the test, but mid-cycle, when you should have a higher fsh and ensure you do thyroid tests as early in the morning as possible and fasting. If these readings remain low, I think you may need to explore the pituitary as a possibility and start a new post here on central hypothyroidism. People with central hypothyroid have as much right to hormone replacement as those with Hashi's, but many medics fail to recognise that it's low thyroid hormone levels that need to be corrected (not the TSH).

[Lissaok in reply to HLAB35]

Hello there, that is very interesting - thank you. I took this test mid cycle on the 22/03 the day of my last period was the 27/02, I also fast but it was taken at 3.30pm. I have a multi nodular goitre which they would like to remove, trying to get my head around it all and work out my next steps.

[HLAB35 in reply to Lissaok]

The 22/03 is beyond mid-cycle (ovulation) by my calculations if your last period was on 27/02. It is definitely the later - luteal phase. FSH is suppressed during luteal phase due to progesterone and estrogen being released by the corpus luteum.

If, however, you have irregular cycles and fail to ovulate properly the FSH may be low throughout your cycle, so best to test it right in the middle (days 12-14) when it should be high. You'd probably suspect PCOS due to other symptoms.

If you have a goitre it could be due to low iodine causing these symptoms and your low t4 (as an alternative to the pituitary gland). Iodine is often very low in vegan diets and you'd need to look for seaweed or Himalayan Salt as an alternative to dairy, fish and eggs and avoid goitrogenous veg eaten raw (broccoli sprouts and kale). Iodine is NOT recommended for those with Hashi's though!

btf-thyroid.org/projects/io...

Also, 3.30 pm is around the worst time (4pm-8pm) to test thyroid when TSH is at its very lowest. The readings can be out by as much as 2.0 mU/l compared to early morning for those taking Levothyroxine, possibly even more for those who don't.

If you decide to do as Slow dragon suggests and get a private test to cover all the bases for your thyroid and vitamin deficiencies, you can control when you do the test - date (for your FSH) and time of day (for your TSH).... in your position that is what I'd recommend. Good Luck

N.B. Low iodine can cause ovarian cysts which in turn would suppress your FSH.

[Lissaok in reply to HLAB35]

Thank you so much. I do have low iodine, I got that tested too. 64 I think it was