Hi everyone. I have been on 50mcg Levothyroxine since June 2016. I lost a lot of weight then, but put it back on over the years. I was quite worried so had a private test through Medichecks done. These are my results - if anyone could interpret them I’d really appreciate it!
CRP - hs - 0.66
Ferritin - 71.3
Folate - serum : 10.6
Vitamin b12 active : 53.7 (May take a tablet for this just to boost this up)
Vitamin d : 77.3
TSH: 1.26
Free t3: 5.2
Free thyroxine : 14.5
Thyroglobulin antibodies: 10.1
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies : <9
Thank you in advance!
Clem
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Cepayne98
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Just a bit of background.... in the last year I’ve felt I put on a lot of weight, was very exhausted and depressed. In the last few weeks in lockdown I have had a very healthy diet and been very active (as much as possible) so I do feel a difference in myself... I think I’ve lost some weight (I feel slimmer anyway!)
Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg (unless over 65 years old).
The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many patients need TSH significantly under one) and most important is that FT4 is in top third of range and FT3 at least half way through range
NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.
Also note what foods to avoid (eg recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours from taking Levo)
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 .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
You can edit your post [using the "more" button on the right] to add ranges. These vary from lab to lab, and we nee to see where within the relevant range you lie to comment properly.
All your nutrient levels look low in range to me I woul be trying to get them all optimal high end , low nutrients when eating healthy is probably being caused by absorption issue which is common with hashimotos ,
It's not a guarantee that you don't have hashimotos as they can fluctuate my antibodies are in range now despite being in the 1000s when I was diagnosed
Use quality supplements and get you nutrients up towards high end of the range then review how you feel you B12 and Vit D certainly need improvement and to be maintained towards top end of the range x
Thank you very much. I’m still on Vitamin D medication so I assume this will go up in time. But definitely going to start taking b12! I’m 22 so all of this is quite worrying for me! Thanks again
free thyroxine [FT4] is a measure of how much available T4 is in your blood , made up of your own (from your thyroid gland) and the dose of levothyroxine you are taking , so if your dose of levo was increased you would expect your FT4 to go up , your TSH to go down and maybe FT3 would go up too. (bear in mind though, that some peoples thyroid/pituitary/hypothalamus gland's don't seem to have read that textbook, and do their own thing!)
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Do you think it’s worth speaking to my GP on the phone to ask if she will raise it? I’m not sure if she will as I’m still in the ‘normal range’ (!!)
They are supposed to take symptoms into account, not just blood tests........... but a lot of doctors don't seem to have read that textbook either ,even though it says nhs guidelines on the front ! .
There does seem to be room in the ranges for FT4 to go up and TSH to go lower. (FT3 wouldn't necessarily go up if you increased ).
So on these current results i don't think they have grounds to refuse an increase if you still have 'SYMPTOMS WHICH AFFECT YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE' . say it
LOUD !.....and last time i looked weight gain was a symptom of hypothyroidism!!!
I assume they would want an nhs test done , which stupidly is unlikely to have ft3 or even ft4 in some cases. (If they do , follow advice on here re. how to get highest tsh/lowest t4)
I'm not absolutely sure of the guidelines when someone doesn't have raised antibodies showing autoimmune thyroid disease though,( because i do , so i didn't read the rest so carefully) But i wouldn't let that stop you asking persistently anyway.
If you are not persistent over getting decent thyroid treatment on the nhs , you might turn round one day and find yourself as old as me!
Thank you so much for your advice. I have a phone appointment at 4:30 today to speak to a new GP at the surgery, I’m not hopeful but I am definitely going to say that I still have symptoms affecting my quality of life. I had to pay for a private test on Medichecks because even though I paid £500 for an appointment with a ‘top’ endocrinologist it didn’t work. She requested tests for me to have done and my gp only did 2 of them!!!! Couldn’t believe it. I’m hoping to get this sorted now so that I can go into my life healthier and stronger.
Again thank you for taking the time to speak to me.
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