Help with results

[Henson1980]

Afternoon

I have just received my blood test results back from yesterday and have been told everything is normal. Is that correct when my TSH reading ie 3.17 miu?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Henson1980

No, it's not correct when taking Levo. When on Levo only, the aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their ranges if that is where you feel well. Your TSH is too high and your FT4 is way too low.

You need an increase of 25mcg immediately, retest in 6-8 weeks, repeat until your levels are where they need to be for you to feel well.

If necessary, refer to the article by Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, who states in Pulse Magazine (the magazine for doctors):

"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l. In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l. This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l).*"

*He recently confirmed, during a public meeting, that this applies to Free T3 as well as Total T3. You can obtain a copy of the article by emailing Dionne at

[e-mail]

print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctor.

You can also refer to NHS Leeds Teaching Hospitals who say

pathology.leedsth.nhs.uk/pa...

Scroll down to the box

Thyroxine Replacement Therapy in Primary Hypothyroidism

TSH Level .......... This Indicates

0.2 - 2.0 miu/L .......... Sufficient Replacement

> 2.0 miu/L ............ Likely under Replacement

[Henson1980 in reply to SeasideSusie]

😩 blimey! I thought my dose was to high as I was having palpitations and experiencing a little anxiety! I have been alternating 75mcg/100mcg as advised by the doc so I guess I’ll just have to increase to 100mcg every day instead! I have Hashi’s as well so I’m trying my best to go gluten free but I work in an office that seem to love cake which makes it terribly difficult to resist temptation 🐷! The fight goes on! 🙄 thank you for your detailed response!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Henson1980]

Palpitations and anxiety can be symptoms of hypothyroidism, so being undermedicated can cause them.

[Henson1980 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for the quick response and noted, I’ll try the higher dose thank you x

[SlowDragon Administrator]

With Hashimoto's it's very important to regularly retest vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

When were these last tested?

What vitamin supplements do you currently take?

[Henson1980 in reply to SlowDragon]

Vit B12 was tested yesterday came back as 213ng. Vit D was tested a month ago along with folate and ferris which came back normal x I supplement with vid d, vit b complex and selenium x

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Henson1980]

What's the range on B12 results

Can you add actual results and ranges on all four vitamins