However, I was on some B vitamins at the time which can apparently skew results.
Four months later (this week) my GP retested my TSH only (not sure why only TSH, I'm following up) and it came back as 3.36.
I hadn't taken any B vitamins for at least a week before the test, had this one at the earliest time possible (8am) with no food or drink beforehand.
What would you make of this? I realise TSH alone isn't useful, is it worth getting the rest tested privately? For context, my mum is hypothyroid and I have a lot of symptoms including debilitating fatigue.
Thank you!
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Also very important what time of day test was done
Please add ranges (figures in brackets after each result)
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 and 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)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
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.
Can you add lab ranges, please to your first blood results? These vary from lab to lab - so we can't see where you sit in range without the ranges - although a TSH of more than 2 is always too high once you're on levo, and in many countries (not the UK sadly) you would be treated as hypo once TSH goes over 3. You can edit your post using the "more" button on the right x
I'm not sure to what extent the B vitamins will have skewed things, but your actual thyroid hormones are very low on that first test: free t4 is slightly below range and free T3 is only 13.5% through range. But your GP is very likely to tell you your TSH is "normal" and as such s/he can't help ...
Suggest you continue to get NHS testing of TSH - and thyroid antibodies. Raised antibodies suggest Hashis, the biggest single cause of hypothyroidism, and you may get treated if these are high once TSH goes over-range.
Also worth testing the nutrients SlowDragon mentions - I have had some success with my GP by saying these are the tests that Thyroid UK recommends, and it's worth getting them optimised anyway, as so many hypos have results which are too low.
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