I d really appreciate help with my daughter's results. She' s 35 . She s 5 ft 8 tall. Five years ago she was really thin - a size 8. Over the past 3 years she's gone up to 15st. She' really tired all the time and no energy. Three or four years ago she developed urticaria and had to go to hospital with breathing problems due to swellings. She was diagnosed with auto immune. She was put on a drugs trial and now has monthly injections which stop the irritation. She's had no other treatment. Several doctors have tested her thyroid but it's always 'normal' . My brother and I are both hypo.
Her latest results are: TSH. 1.96. ( 0.34 - 5.6 )
FT4. 11.30. ( 7.5 - 21.1 ).
FT3 was not tested
A few other things were tested - blood related mostly
Ferritin was very low, near the bottom of range
She's now supplementing with gentle iron and also B12
She asked her doctor about possible thyroid problem. He said definitely not. Diet, join a gym and get a personal trainer!!!
She has gym equipment at home that she used to use but is now too tired. She s struggling with her job as a GCSE / A level English teacher because of the long hours.
She does not have a sweet tooth and doesn't seem to eat a lot.
Any help would be appreciated.
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dizzy864
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So, what are doctors doing about the low ferritin? They should be doing an iron panel to see if she's anaemic. And having low ferritin will make her very tired.
As for her thyroid, she needs complete testing:
TSH
FT4
FT3
TPO antibodies
Tg antibodies.
Just a TSH and FT4 won't tell you much. Her FT4 is low, but her TSH is more or less 'normal', and doesn't suggest a problem. And doctors only tend to look at the TSH because they don't know much about anything else. But, having an OK TSH doesn't mean you can't be hypo. Getting that FT3 tested could tell you more.
Hi, Thanks for your reply. Vit D was tested a year ago and she was deficient. She s been supplementing with 1000 IU per day since. She's not been retested. She was not tested for B12 or folate this time. I told her to take a B complex tablet but she got B12 by mistake and is taking that instead.
Her ferritin was 23, I think the range was 12 to 187. Doctor just marked it as normal. I told her it was far to low and to take gentle iron.
She s seen several doctors over the past 2 to 3 years. They come up with a few tests which they say are normal. None are interested in finding out what s wrong.
She s had quite a lot of sick days and now the school is on her back a lot
If she was deficient in vit D, she hasn't been taking a very big dose. It's possible her vit d is still low. She ought to get it retested.
If she's taking B12 she should be taking a B complex as well. All the Bs work together, and need to be kept balanced.
Her ferritin is far from normal, it's very low, and her doctor should be doing something about it. Sometimes, you have to insist - make a fuss, even. If you don't object when they tell you something is normal, they just won't bother. They're not interested, that is clear, but that's because they know nothing about nutrients. She is going to have to start putting her foot down about the ferritin, and getting retested for vit D. Those two need serious attention.
I am not medically qualified but would suggest that a FT4 result (about 4 points above the bottom of the range) would state that it is too low. I'd suggest a private test that includes FT3 - which is more important, in that it is T3 which is the 'powerhouse' of thyroid hormones. T4 has to convert to T3 and it is T3 which is the engine in which our body relies upon for our body to function normally.
Due to her TSH being low she'd definitely not be diagnosed as GPs are told not to diagnose until the TSH reaches 10.
TSH is from the pituitary gland and usually rises to flag up the thyroid gland to produce more hormones.
I shall give you a list of clinical symptoms and 'unexplained weight gain' is a clinical symptom.
Was blood drawn at the very earliest, fasting (she can drink water) and if on thyroid hormones you'd allow a gap of 24 hours betwee last dose and test and take afterwards.
Eating before a blood test would not give an accurate result. TSH drops throughout the day.
Being hypothyroid - even if on levothyroxine, many people complain of unexplained weight gain. Once upon a time, doctors diagnosed upon our clinical symptoms alone and we got a trial of NDT and if we felt an improvement or improved then we were hypo.
Blood tests for thyroid hormones are fasting one? (she can drink water) and if on thyroid hormone replacements a 24 hour gap between last dose and test gives a better result.
I shall give a link and also a list of clinical symptoms. Is her temperature and heart rate low?
She should also have a blood test which includes 'thyroid antibodies' and if present she'd have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease called hashimotos. If antibodies present she should be prescribed.
She did have a thyroid anti bodies test a few months ago. It was normal.
She would not have had the blood draw in the morning or fasting as no one told her to. I did not know she was having it. I ll make sure the next one is done properly.
I m reluctant to advise private testing because NHS won't recognise them.
She does have a lot of the hypo symptoms on the list.
I m reluctant to advise private testing because NHS won't recognise them.
Not necessarily - my Medichecks results were partly responsible for my Endo supporting my request to have my T3 reinstated; the other was my Regenerus DIO2 genetic test results. It's not an exaggeration to say he was positively joyous I had both, asked for copies of them, and immediately wrote supporting my case. However, even if her GP thinks they're Micky Mouse results, they may trigger him to order some further tests himself, if only to prove them wrong (not unknown), but even if he does nothing, the value will, absolutely, be in your daughter knowing much more accurately what might be going on with her health, and that information is power to take appropriate action if necessary. We shouldn't have to pay out, but having those results might possibly make all the difference to her health.
She did have a thyroid antibodies test a few months ago. It was normal.
Which antibodies were tested, and what was the exact result and reference range?
As private testing can include more than TSH and FT4, members can advise how best to try to recover if you post results with the ranges. Most doctors wouldn't have a clue other than to look at a TSH result.
I think many members 'go it alone' when doctors fail to respond to improve their health. It's not as quick as we'd like but when symptoms begin to be relieved its a great feeling. We may have to trial various thyroid hormone replacements to find the best that our body responds to.
Regardless of the NHS's attitude towards private test results it is a lot more important that YOU know what is going on. Publish them here and you will find out everything about your daughter's status. You will probably end up self medicating (as most of us here are) because it might be your best strategy. We all wish that our doctors knew about thyroid problems and how to treat them properly, but most of them don't. I have got through about 8 docs before I found one who is OK - not great, but doesn't make a fuss about the fact that I don't take the dose he recommends, I take the dose which has kept me well for years. It might be a bit expensive to start with but after about a year of messing around with dose and brand your daughter will be well and stable and will not need a lot of expensive tests probably for the rest of her life.
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