Help please

[Shattered1]

Hi! I have suffered for years with debilitating fatigue and other issues. I’ve been diagnosed recently with fibromyalgia because my thyroid tests are ‘normal’ my readings are tsh 1.5 and t4 13. I’m seeing conflicting‘normal’ ranges but one for T4 is 4.6 to 12 which would tell me mines high! Can anyone advise? I’m really hoping it’s a thyroid issue because at least something can be done. Thankyou.

[Treepie]

First you need to provide the ranges as labs differ .

[Shattered1 in reply to Treepie]

I don’t know what the ranges are

[Treepie in reply to Shattered1]

The GP should have them.You are entitled to the full details.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Shattered1]

Ask the receptionist at your surgery for a print out of your results, we have a legal right in the UK to have our results without question or charge. There's no way of interpreting your results without the reference range that comes with them. Just as an example, my GP uses a hospital with lab ranges of 7-17 for FT4, on the forum we also see 9-19, 11-23, 12-22 and others.

[greygoose]

You cannot just take any old range off the internet and try and apply it to your results. It doesn't work like that. Ranges vary from lab to lab according to the machine they use to analyse the blood. When your doctor is sent the results, they will have the ranges with them - usually in brackets after the result. But, a doctor will not consider it necessary to give them to you - he'd probably prefer you didn't know so that you can't contradict him! Ask the receptionist to print you out a copy, that way they will have the ranges. If you live in the UK, it is your legal right to have a print-out.

[Shattered1 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks everyone

[greygoose in reply to Shattered1]

You're welcome.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Fibromyalgia is often linked to low FT3 levels

Just testing TSH and FT4 is completely inadequate

Important to see exactly what has been tested and equally important what hasn't been tested yet

UK GP practices are supposed to offer online access for blood test results. Ring and ask if this is available and apply to do so if possible, if it is you may need "enhanced access" to see blood results.

In reality many GP surgeries do not have blood test results online yet

Alternatively ring receptionist and request printed copies of results. Allow couple of days and then go and pick up.

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 you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

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 thyroid antibodies and vitamins if not been done

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

Come back with new post once you get results

[Shattered1 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thankyou so much for that. Apparently‘normal’ levels are TSH 9-19 mine was 13 and T4 0.4-5 mine was 1.5 so both are well in the range. I will ask for the other tests though as I’m desperate for it to not be Fibro

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Shattered1]

I think you got those the wrong way round. Your free T4 is less than half way through the range, which is not "normal" for healthy people. You'd expect a higher TSH with that level, so you might possibly have central hypothyroid, which is not diagnosed by a GP, but needs an endocrinologist (and most of those think it is too rare to test for). But could equally be low iron/ferritin or low B12 (or even low vitamin D) as symptoms are similar. What time of day were the tests done?

[Shattered1 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

They are the results I was given

[Shattered1 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Oh and morning I think, they were done back in March, but my health is just getting worse and worse

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Shattered1]

Joint pain is frequently low vitamin D

FT4 is on the low side

Thyroid antibodies need testing