Results

[Pastelart]

My elderly friend’s results. Here goes again

[Pastelart]

And again

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Related post:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Does your friend have a diagnosed thyroid condition and is she on any thyroid medication?

[Pastelart in reply to SeasideSusie]

No she hasn’t been diagnosed, we just chose the fatigue test.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Pastelart]

Pastelart

So if she has no diagnosed thyroid condition then from what I can make out her thyroid results, although very blurry, are:

TSH: 1.?? (0.27-4.2)

FT4: 11 (12-22) ????

If I am right then with a low TSH and below range FT4 she may be looking at Central Hypothyroidism, which is suggested when TSH is either normal, low or minimally elevated with a below range FT4.

This is where the problem lies with the hypothalamus or the pituitary rather than a problem with the thyroid gland. With Central Hypothyroidism the TSH can be low, normal or slightly raised, and the FT4 will be low.

TSH is a pituitary hormone, the pituitary checks to see if there is enough thyroid hormone, if not it sends a message to the thyroid to produce some. That message is TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). In Primary Hypothyroidism the TSH will be high. If there is enough hormone then there's no need for the pituitary to send the message to the thyroid so TSH remains low.

However, with Central Hypothyroidism the signal isn't getting through for whatever reason. It could be due to a problem with the pituitary (Secondary Hypothyroidism) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary Hypothyroidism).

Your GP can look at BMJ Best Practice for information - here is something you can read without needing to be subscribed:

bestpractice.bmj.com/topics...

and another article which explains it:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

and another here:

endocrinologyadvisor.com/ho...

You could do some more research, print out anything that may help and show your GP.

As Central Hypothyroidism isn't as common as Primary Hypothyroidism it's likely that the GP hasn't come across it before. She may need to be referred to an endocrinologist. If so then she should make absolutely sure that it is a thyroid specialist that she sees. Most endos are diabetes specialists and know little about the thyroid gland (they like to think they do and very often end up making us much more unwell that we were before seeing them). You can email Dionne at

[e-mail]

for the list of thyroid friendly endos. Then ask on the forum for feedback on any that she can get to. Then if her GP refers her, make sure it is to one recommended here. It's no guarantee that they will understand Central Hypothyroidism but it's better than seeing a diabetes specialist. You could also ask on the forum if anyone has been successful in getting a diagnosis of Central Hypothyroidism, possibly in her area which you'll have to mention of course.

Does she take any supplements?

[Pastelart in reply to SeasideSusie]

She takes lots, I could get a list of them. She is now taking Vitamin D supplement and Folate (?) what does one take for low folate?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Pastelart]

Pastelart

Yes please, see if you can get a list of all her supplements and the doses she takes.

Can you type out the results for her Vit D, B12, Folate and Ferritin, plus the iron panel, it would be appreciated, it is extremely difficult to make them out.

[humanbean]

It's difficult to read the haemoglobin, and the red cell count. But both look much too low to me. Based on this and the other results I read on your other post I think your friend might be bleeding to death and she needs a blood transfusion then repair of whatever is causing her to vomit up blood.

[Pastelart in reply to humanbean]

Hi humanbean, I called an ambulance after the blood vomiting and she had a blood transfusion ( 1 litre) She was given an endoscopy which indicated hiatus hernia and erosion of the stomach mucosa. Since she’s been home, a few weeks now, she wasn’t receiving any treatment and is weak and tired etc. This is why we went the private tests route. She had a telephone appointment with GP today and he has prescribed iron. Her daughter has started her on vit.d. I have taken a better screen shot of he results and have a list of the supplements as per request from SeasideSusie. Will post all in reply to this.

[Pastelart]

Herewith legible copies of my friend’s results and supplements

[Pastelart]

Further results

Further results

[Pastelart]

Supplements she’s taking

[humanbean]

Your friend's results are appalling. I think her results should be shown to a doctor. And I think someone who cares for her and has her best interests at heart needs to be with her when she talks to a doctor.

She also needs her blood loss to be stopped because she'll have no hope of getting better until it is.

If your friend has erosion in the stomach lining and is taking ferrous sulfate twice a day this might even make the problem worse. And it could well cause her tremendous pain.