Thyroid test results - help!

[Jules99929]

Hi guys, I received the medichecks results and I have attached them. Could you please give me some advice for the docs on Thursday? They have also done a test and have called me in but I don’t know their results as yet.

[Lora7again]

You need treatment to rest your thyroid and bring down your high T3. I don't think my T3 was quite that high but my TSH was 0.002 so yours is very suppressed which will get your Doctor panicking. Don't be alarmed my TSH was surpressed for over 2 years and none of my Doctors spotted it. You need to start on carbimazole or PTU straight away and have regular blood tests to check your liver etc because they are powerful drugs.

[Marz]

Reading through your post/thread of three days ago could be helpful. Lots of Replies 🥰

[Hidden]

Can you get the GP results before seeing the doctor and post them here?

Your T3 and T4 are pretty high, and your antibodies are too. But do they indicate Grave's Disease? I think you may need a TRAb antibody test as well, unless you already had one at some stage?

This gives some helpful information as well as a way to analyse results

verywellhealth.com/thyrotro...

But I'm no expert, hopefully someone else will come along soon.

[Jules99929 in reply to Hidden]

Will call them in the morning and see if they will give them to me prior to seeing the doc on Thursday. I just feel so crap 😞

[greygoose]

With those levels, it looks like you're having a Hashi's 'hyper' swing. Do you and your doctor know how Hashi's works?

[Jules99929]

Apart from what’s been sent on the previous post and that’s it.. not sure about the doc?

[greygoose in reply to Jules99929]

I take it this is a reply to my comment above? I didn't see it before because you didn't click on the reply button to notify me.

OK, so Hashi's is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks and slowly destroys the thyroid.

After every attack, the dying cells release their stock of thyroid hormone into the blood stream, causing the levels of the Frees to shoot up - FT4 to around 30 something, FT3 around 11/12 - and the TSH therefore drops to suppressed.

There is no knowing how long these high levels will persist, but eventually, they will drop by themselves as the excess hormone is used up or excreted, and not only will you become hypo again, but slightly more hypo than before, because there is now less thyroid to make hormone.

(NB: A Hashi's 'hyper' swing is not true hyperthyroidism in that your thyroid is over-producing thyroid hormone. It's physically impossible to 'go hyper' if you are basically hypo. The thyroid cannot regenerate itself to the point of over production of hormones - or even normal production. Very few doctors appear to know that.)

Therefore, it's very important that your doctor does not reduce your prescription, because you’re going to need it again! If you start to feel over-medicated at that point - some do, some don't - the best thing is to stop levo for a few days, then, when you feel hypo again, start taking it again. It's very important to know one's body, and how it reacts.

There is no cure for Hashi's - which is probably one of the reasons that doctors ignore it - apart from the fact that they know nothing about it, of course!

However, between the 'hyper' swing, and the descent back into hypothyroidism, there can be a phase - quite a long one, sometimes - of normality, where the person is neither hypo nor 'hyper'. This is where people sometimes start talking of having 'cured' their Hashi's, by whatever means. But, it doesn't last. Eventually, you will go hypo again.

But, there are things the patient can do for him/herself to help them feel a bit better.

a) adopt a 100% gluten-free diet. Hashi's people are often sensitive to gluten, even if they don't have Coeliac disease, so stopping it can make them feel much better. Worth a try. Some say that going gluten-free will reduce antibodies – I’ve never seen conclusive proof of that, but, you should be aware that even if you get rid of the antibodies, you will still have Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease.

b) take selenium. This is not only reputed to reduce antibodies, but can also help with conversion of T4 to T3 - something that Hashi's people often find difficult.

c) the best way to even out the swings from hypo to 'hyper' (often called Hashi's Flares, but that doesn't really sum up the way it works) is to keep the TSH suppressed. This is difficult because doctors are terrified by a suppressed TSH, for various false reasons, and because they don't understand the workings of Hashi's. But, TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (a pituitary hormone) - tries to stimulate the thyroid to make more hormone, but it also stimulates the immune system to attack. So, the less gland activity there is, the less immune system activity there will be, meaning less attacks, gland destruction slowed down and less swinging from hypo to hyper and back.

Your FT4/3 don't look high enough to be Grave's, far more like a Hashi's swing. But, nothing can be for sure until those antibodies are tested:

TRAV or TSI for Grave's.

TPO antibodies and Tg antibodies for Hashi's.

If I were you, I would not accept a 'diagnosis' of Grave's, merely due to the suppressed TSH, but would insist on antibodies being tested.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Very high antibodies suggests Hashimoto's (hypothyroid) with hyperthyroid type swing ....very common in early stage Hashimoto's

Do not accept GP saying it's Graves' disease without getting TSI or TRab antibodies tested to definitely confirm Graves' disease

You also need vitamin D, folate, ferritin, B12 and cholesterol tested

High cholesterol is linked to being hypothyroid

Low vitamin levels are extremely common with both Hashimoto's and Graves

Low ferritin more common with Hashimoto's than Graves

Come back with new post once you have seen GP

[Jules99929 in reply to SlowDragon]

Perfect, thanks SlowDragon.