Im 52 ive got under active thyroid and been on Levothyroxin for about 16 years. I’m currently on 175mg per day and I have been for about the last 18mth. Over the past few years I’ve become a hermit and just stayed home not feeling great and piled the weight on with comfort eating etc
Im on week 7 of the Cambridge 1:1 diet and I’m really enjoying the journey. I’m on 4 replacement meals a day and I’m really loving it. There is 6 steps to the diet and I’m on step 1 at the moment. Step 1 can only be done for 12 weeks because weight lost can be fast because it’s only 800 calories a day. The meal replacements have all I need each meal in them. I have lost 3 stone in 6 weeks.
My GP sent for me to have a diabetes blood test because I was borderline I asked if I could also have a thyroid blood test and here are the results
Thyroid Test report abnormal:
Serum free T4 24.4 (11 - 22) This assay may be affected by patients taking Biotin supplements
Serum TSH 0.03 (0.2 - 4) Outside reference range
Diabetes result is attached in the photo also
Can anyone please explain the results thankyou
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AngelaC66
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For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also 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)
Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
Ask GP to test vitamins and antibodies
NHS refuses to test FT3, but it's essential test to see how well you are converting FT4 to FT3
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
On Levothyroxine many, many people need high FT4 and suppressed TsH in order to have high enough FT3
Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,
"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)."
You can obtain a copy of the articles from Thyroid UK email print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctort please email Dionne at
Thankyou for your reply. I’m seeing the GP next week. I will take no Levo that day and see if they will test for the things listed above. Although they may not
Well, you've only got half the picture, there, as they didn't test FT3. Your FT4 is a little over-range, but there could be several reasons for that. One of them could be that as you've been on such a low calorie diet, you've negatively affected your conversion. Therefore your FT4 raises - as less is being converted to T3 - and your FT3 drops. But, unless they test the FT3, we can't know that. So short-sighted.
However, how long did you leave between the last dose of levo and the blood draw? If it wasn't 24 hours, then you've got a false high FT4.
Or, do you have Hashi's. With so little information, it's difficult to say anything for sure.
Thankyou Greygoose. I had the Levothyroxine about 2 hours before the test. I’m seeing the Dr Tuesday I will ask for it redoing and go first thing in the morning for blood drawing. And I will have no Levothyroxine. My Drs only usually test TSH so I was surprised to even see FT4.
I have used medichecks before but to get everything checked plus vitamin levels and thyroid antibodies it’s not a cheap test
New NHS England Liothyronine guidelines November 2018 clearly state on pages 8 & 12 that TSH should aim to be between 0.4-1.5 when treated with just Levothyroxine
Note that it says test should be in morning BEFORE taking Levo thyroxine
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You should leave 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood draw. 
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