My results:
TSH 3.2 (range 0.3-4.2), one year ago it was 1.2.
T4 16.3 (range 11-22)
Cholesterol 6 (range 0-5)
LDL Cholesterol 3.94 (range 0.00-3.50)
I was sure that I had hypothyroidism due to all the symptoms I have had: tiredness, weight gain, depression, air hunger, throat and chest infections, memory fog - all during the past two years since my change in TSH.
The doctor told me today that it’s just stress.
Can anyone give some insight here 🙏
Have you missed a decimal point or is your TSH 16? Because if it is, you have hypothyroidism and a doctor who’s a sadist.
You do have hypothyroidism. You are hypo when you're TSH reaches 3. But, you'd never get an NHS doctor to admit that.
Your FT4 isn't so bad, but your FT3 is probably very low because your cholesterol is high. There is an inverse connection. And, it's low T3 that causes symptoms. So, you're right and your doctor is ignorant. But, I don't know what you can do about it.
Your comment means so much to me. Today I felt so deflated when the “specialist “ endocrinologist told me that it was just stress. My life has been crazy the past year and a half and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my TSH values, cholesterol and glucose rose. I’ve also run and swam mist of my life. Nowadays, sometimes, I lose my breath when running 10 m or just talking on the phone.
The problem is, endos are virtually all diabetes specialists who know next to nothing about thyroid. And, as they don't know much about it, they fob the patient off with something 'stress', 'menopause', 'your age', etc. They just don't know, they haven't had the education on thyroid that is necessary to understand how it all works, and interpret blood test results. Had your TSH been over 10 - the magic number for the TSH under the NHS - how would have been obliged to diagnose you. But, he wouldn't have had a clue why.
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
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
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)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
List of private testing options
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Medichecks Thyroid plus vitamins including folate (private blood draw required)
medichecks.com/products/thy...
Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test
Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test
bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...
If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3
£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off if go on thyroid uk for code
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
monitormyhealth.org.uk/thyr...
Medichecks - JUST vitamin testing including folate - DIY finger prick test
medichecks.com/products/nut...
Medichecks often have special offers, if order on Thursdays
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...
Link about Hashimoto’s
thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...
List of hypothyroid symptoms
thyroiduk.org/signs-symptom...
Thank you <3 I will get the above tests done and come back to you guys to see what steps to take next xx
“Just stress”: don’t these so-called experts make you want to scream sometimes? How dare they!
I had results (and symptoms) like yours some years ago and the doctors put me on statins to which I had a very bad reaction. “Go to A&E immediately,” they said, “you’re having a heart attack.” When I told them I was sure I wasn’t having a heart attack and it was the damn pills, they continued to bully me. In any case, I stopped the statins and my “heart attack” went away. I had a lovely gynaecologist at the time, told her about this and asked who I could speak to get another perspective. She referred me to an endocrinologist. He’s private so I’ve had to pay, and he’s good, not great - I’ve still had to have a few battles to get the right level of treatment - but hallelujah he did all the right blood testing, including the frees, and diagnosed hypothyroidism.
Do whatever you can to get the treatment you need. Even if that means doing your own blood tests and getting assertive with doctors.
Hi! Oh, God! I think professionals need to listen more to their patients as we know our bodies and when something is wrong. I will gather the correct information from bloodwork and then reach out here again to see how I can move forward. I will not giveup, despite being tired <3 xxx Hope all is going well for you now x
Change your doctor is the obvious first thing. Go to the new doctor with a chart of daily waking temperature and weight.
Show the doctor that your temperature is lower than it should be, present your TSH results and say you're convinced you are hypothyroid and want to be treated.
I will get the tests and log my weight and temperature. My temperature is usually around 36, but it has always been low, as has my blood pressure.
I am a little bit worried about getting treated as recently some Finnish doctors has been suspended from work for treating patients who are not with the out of date range for hypo. I will wait to see what my T3 is as I suspect it is low and will finally get what I need xx
Come back with new post once you get full results
Likely you have low vitamin levels
Testing vitamins is first step and testing for thyroid antibodies
Improving low vitamin levels frequently improves symptoms
High cholesterol is linked to being hypothyroid
nhs.uk/conditions/statins/c...
If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.
This really is an awsome insight. My doctor has already told me that we should start medication for my cholesterol but I told him that I wanted to work on my diet up until Christmas to see if I can bring it down myself. He said that because mine is most likely due to hereditory reasons, it will not lower, but he agreed that I can try. Now I understand that it could be due to a low T3, I will get that test done first xxx
Hi Samu1, as others have said here, you will also need to test your T3 and Vitamins. However, just looking at the results that you posted, it seems that you are hypothyroid. To feel well your TSH should be between 0.65 - 1.47. I know that the so called "normal" range used is far too wide to feel well as a hypothyroid. A final point, stress and anxiety are many times caused by not enough thyroid function. When our thyroid function is within "optimal" range (see above), we are able to cope much better with external stress factors, but sometimes even a bit of hypothyroidism, exacerbates stress and anxiety. So go ahead and do the other tests and speak with your doctor(s). Good luck. I hope that this helps.
When you have hypothyroidism what often happens is that your adrenal glands will release more cortisol just to keep you awake. This is no way as good as having good levels of t3 as cortisol makes you feel more stressy. Another problem is that excess cortisol will cause insulin resistance in the cells which causes weight gain.
So, in conclusion, you are more stressed, but the stress has a PHYSICAL root cause... a dodgy thyroid. Idiotic for the endocrinologist not to understand that!
Oh, that makes sense, even when things are ok, I almost feel the stress (cortisol) in the body. My glucose level has gone up, is that due to the cortisol also?
Yes, it really felt like the Doctor did not have enough knowledge or just phobbed me off.
xxx
Yes, high glucose is due to stress (high cortisol). The process is called gluconeogenesis. This article explains it all in great detail!
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5...
Until you have t3 levels sorted, your adrenals will be getting overstimulated which is completely unsustainable. The 'fight or flight' response evolved in us to provide the energy to face short term dangers (cave bears etc) not long term stress, which is the hallmark of modern life.
P.S. If you feel your energy levels waning get hold of some soluble vitamin C, electrolytes and some D-Ribose. This combination is great after overdoing it. (I use it myself). It's like a sports drink without the additives.
As well as your T3 I would get your antibodies checked, if they are positive that’s a diagnosis of hashimotos and you could then use this to try and convince your doctor to prescribe you Levo. If He still doesn’t budge I would be tempted to look to buy my own Levo and go rouge. Untreated hypothyroidism causes long lasting damage to your body and needs treating. Good luck.
To add, if you do buy your own Levo you’ll have to monitor your own levels with private blood tests. There are people here much more knowledgable than me who’ll be able to advise you on how to do that and better than your GP as well!
Hi New Mummy x
First I will do my best to get treated and find an expert who knows what they are doing, but
it's really reassuring to know that if I cannot get the help I need and my blood tests clearly show I have a problem, then I can buy Levo and treat myself.
I agree best case scenario is that your doctor will help you, but sadly that doesn’t always happen. If you do get to the point of self treating post your most recent blood results here and you’ll get lots of advice on how to get started on what dose etc. You’ll need to be careful as being over medicated is awful, but if you do it slow and steady you should be fine.
Hello agian, before I reply to individual posts above, I want to appologize to all of your for not responding sooner. I have had some nights shifts followed by morning and evening shifts, alongside taking care of my two little ones and planning a new exterior for the house. To say the least, I have been exhausted and unable to do anything "extra". I'm sure that if anyone can understand, it would be you guys. I also wanted to wait to reply to the messages above properly, as I was really gratefull for such thoughtful and insightful comments. Sending out a lot of love to you all xx
Median TSH graph shows TSH 1-1.5
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
TSH daily variation ..highest in morning
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Plus very important when you test TSH ....
researchgate.net/publicatio...
“According to the current TSH reference interval, hypothyroidism was not diagnosed in about 50% of the cases in the afternoon.”
“Further analysis demonstrated inadequate compensation of hypothyroidism, which was defined in 45.5% of the morning samples and in 9% of the afternoon samples”
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/252...
TSH levels showed a statistically significant decline postprandially in comparison to fasting values. This may have clinical implications in the diagnosis and management of hypothyroidism, especially SCH.
Oh, I'm a little confused. Can you tell me what time would be best to have my T3 measured and other tyroid tests? Is it best as soon as I wake up?
Yes we strongly recommend getting all thyroid tests done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water
Important to test BOTH thyroid antibodies. TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 together
Plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 too
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking....if any?
Hi! Actually, I haven't taken any suppliments yet. I have dramatically changed my diet over the past three weeks. No red meat (I eat chicken or salmon), no junk, no white carbs - except potatoes, benecol spread, oils, nuts, ginger, grean leafy veg and lots of salad.
I will get the tests done as soon as I can after I wake.
Can I also ask you if my chronic sore throats and upper chest infections have anything to do with hypo? I also find that sometimes even walking a short distance (10m), I can become out of breath.
The doctor will call me today, so I want to have as much knowledge at hand as possible.
Thank you <3
Also, does the thyroid change size. For example, when I do night shifts, I feel like my thyroid gets bigger and it does it also when my throat is swollen.
Breathlessness is often low iron/ferritin
Recommend Getting vitamin levels tested
My Doctor will test my ferritin too
Hi again! I have some good news. My Doctor has agreed to do all of the necessary tests that were mentioned in an earlier message. However, he said that it's his professional opinion that I do not have any thyroid problems. Given that my TSH is 3.2 and I all of a sudden have a cholesterol issues, alongside most of the common symptoms, I am feeling doubtful about his opinion. I will do my tests early in the morning like you suggested. I was also wondering if I should fast longer than the 8 to 12 hours, as I believe I may be bordering the outdated current range.
No need to fast other than to do blood test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking
Eating as normal night before and make sure well hydrated too
Ok, great! Thank you
You may find lab doesn’t run all tests GP requested....but hopefully they will
Oh gosh, I hope they do!
Slow dragon, I posted my results below. Is there any chance you can let me know if I should be on medication 🙏
Hello everyone, I finally had more tests done and here are the results. I am very confused as to how my T4 and TSH has gone down. My period was due two days after the lab tests, does anyone know how they factor that into the calculations? Also, can anyone interperete these to know whether or not I should be on some form of thyroid medication or not? Thank you!
P-TSH .8 (range 0.3-4.2)
P-T4V 15.7 (range 11-22)
P-T3-V 4.7 (range 3.1 - 6.8)
S-TPOAb 5 (range -<25)
P-Mg 1.05 (range 0.7-1.1)
P-Ferrit 89 (13-150)
P-Korsol 246 (range 133-537)
fE.Folaat 1550 (range 1187-2854)
P-K 3.9 (range 3.3 -4.8)
P- Na 142 (range 137-144)
fP-Gluk 5.9 (range 4.0 -6.0)
<P-Kol 5.3 (range 0.0 - 5.0)
P.D-25 (D vit) 67 (range >50)
S-B12.TC2 153 (range >38)
S-TygIAb <40 (range <30)
Interpreting new results ahead of Dr's appointment.
Results 
Latest blood test results - now including vitamin checks!
blood test results 
So confused TSH results? help
