Hi, I haven't posted for a while but would like some help, I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis and Drs call it sub clinical. I have had previous blood tests with my GP but now they will only test TSH. I had one test around 12 months ago when my FT4 was below range so Dr trialed me on 25mcg Levo, two months later she took me off them as FT4 was back in range. I am also going through Menopause and have been on HRT for 8 years worked well until the recent shortages, hit swapped and changed but back on Evoril Conti Patches now. I still suffer hot flushes, sweats, nausea etc and am wondering if my symptoms could be thyroid related and not menopausal now.
I was looking at trying the Medichecks blood test for Thyroid and Hormones but reading it it says fir a true hormone picture I would need to be off HRT for 12 weeks, not prepared to do that so would I be wasting my money or would I still benefit from having it done. Also, would the home test be ok or should I have blood drawn at the clinic. Anyone have experience with Medichecks are they good.
Thank you
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Also, would the home test be ok or should I have blood drawn at the clinic. Anyone have experience with Medichecks are they good.
Al the private labs are good and accredited.
If you can manage a fingerprick test they are as accurate as a venous blood draw.
However, if you want the full thyroid/vitamin panel then Medichecks fingerprick test - Thyroid ULTRAVIT - does not include Folate. To include Folate you would need their Thyroid ULTRAVIT WITH FOLATE which can only be done by venous blood draw.
Blue Horizon do a full thyroid/vitamin panel including Folate which can be done by fingerprick - Thyroid PREMIUM GOLD and you can find a generous discount t code here :
Thanks SeasideSusie, I will have a look at Blue Hoirizon as well, do the have one that does Thyroid and Female Hormone test or would they be separate tests.
Just a thought but are the hot flushes triggered by sugar. I’m hypo and also use HRT. I have had hot flushes when between patches etc my trigger is definitely sugar mixed with low blood sugar which also means nausea, sweats etc. I find if the patches are ok the problem goes away.
Your hot flushes are triggered by lack of progesterone. They get hrt all wrong just like they do thyroid. I use medichecks hormone tests and they are very good. The best one to get is the estrogen, progesterone and prolactin if you are menopausal. It says it's for men but is excellent if you no longer have cycles. When you get the results post them on here because you need to check your P:E2 ratio. Then you will know if your hrt is all wrong. This is the problem doctors just hand out estrogen if you need it or not they don't check your hormone levels which can be very dangerous to the patient.
Thanks Starfish I will do that because I have no faith in Drs now I have been battling with either a Thyroid or Meno for 8 years not sure what’s causing what so going to figure it out now in a different way.
It is the wrong type of progesterone. It takes up the progesterone receptor sites but doesn't act like real progesterone. You are not menopausal then? Mirena is chemical progesterone. I just realised I'm talking to 2 different ladies here?
If you are menopausal ask for utrogestan as its natural progesterone. If you had heavy bleeding you were already estrogen dominant. I would recommend that you get proper hormone testing too. You probably don't need the estrogen, NHS never tests properly and never looks at P:E2 ratio.
I started bleeding again and was asked to stop the estrogen for a while, saw a gynaecologist, had a scan and hysterscope and biopsies. Didn’t stop bleeding until was told ok to restart estrogen, nothing since. I need the estrogen for another medication as it can’t be taken without.
Hi, would you know I am on Evoril Conti Patches Estrogen and Progesterone 25mg but use 2 patches twice weekly. They seem to be helping with the flushes etc but I am bleeding so not sure if that is too much Estrogen or not enough progesterone. I have Utrogestan tablets 100mg that I stopped to go on the Evoril as they were prescribed together with Femseven50 Estrogen only patch, wondering if I should take the additional progesterone tablet as well as the patches and see if that stops the bleeding or if I have to reduce the Evoril patch. This is all so confusing and all we want is to feel better.
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)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Medichecks often have special offers, if order on Thursdays
GP should have started you on 50mcg levothyroxine
guidelines on dose levothyroxine by weight
Even if we frequently don’t start on full replacement dose, most people need to increase levothyroxine dose slowly upwards in 25mcg steps (retesting 6-8 weeks after each increase) until on full replacement dose
Consider starting levothyroxine at a dosage of 1.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (rounded to the nearest 25 micrograms) for adults under 65 with primary hypothyroidism and no history of cardiovascular disease.
Traditionally we have tended to start patients on a low dose of levothyroxine and titrate it up over a period of months.
RCT evidence suggests that for the majority of patients this is not necessary and may waste resources.
For patients aged >60y or with ischaemic heart disease, start levothyroxine at 25–50μg daily and titrate up every 3 to 6 weeks as tolerated.
For ALL other patients start at full replacement dose. For most this will equate to 1.6 μg/kg/day (approximately 100μg for a 60kg woman and 125μg for a 75kg man).
If you are starting treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism, this article advises starting at a dose close to the full treatment dose on the basis that it is difficult to assess symptom response unless a therapeutic dose has been trialled.
A small Dutch double-blind cross-over study (ArchIntMed 2010;170:1996) demonstrated that night time rather than morning dosing improved TSH suppression and free T4 measurements, but made no difference to subjective wellbeing. It is reasonable to take levothyroxine at night rather than in the morning, especially for individuals who do not eat late at night.
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