As per my previous posts i've been banging my head against a wall for months trying to get tsh under control. 3 months ago i tried another doctor and he appeared pretty knowledgeable and sympathetic and actually increased my dose. Had my latest test results today and over a period of around 9 months my TSH has now reduced from over 6 to 1.88.
Should i be aiming to reduce that further and also is anyone else suffering from not being able or at least struggling to get a deep breath intermittently or has this got nothing to do with my thyroid problem.
Many thanks in advance.
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Charlyboy
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That's great - I'm guessing you are feeling better too other than the breathing issue you mention??
TSH on its own is only part of the story. A few months ago your free T4 was pretty low - so the dose increase should have made that better, and free T3 was actually not that bad (which is great as it shows you convert well).
I'd see if you can have another (early morning, fasting) blood test in 6 weeks, and get at least free T4 tested alongside TSH. It doesn't matter AT ALL if TSH goes down lower - it is still in range at well under 1 (and doesn't actually matter if it goes under-range although it may freak your GP if it does) - the key thing is to have free T4 and free T3 nice and high, key nutrients all good and - most important - to feel properly well x
Thank you so much for the reply. Yes I do feel better than I did and I've virtually just had a phone consultation with my new hero doctor and he's increased my dose from 100 to 125 to try to improve more. I've asked a number of times to get my T3 and T4 tested but unfortunately it appears policy that they won't test for it so I think I will again contact Thriva and get it done myself. Do you know if the intermittent lack of being able to get a satisfying deep breath is a Thyroid symptom ?
There are various reasons for struggling to take a breath, and which one(s) apply to you is something you will have to work out for yourself.
Thyroid --- If you are under-medicated for hypothyroidism, or you are a poor converter of T4 to T3, then it could be low T3 that is causing your diaphragm to work poorly. (T3 is the active thyroid hormone that every cell in the body needs to work effectively throughout it's life.) With low T3 the diaphragm almost "goes to sleep" - people breathe in a much more shallow way than they would do in good health. Sometimes they end up breathing less often than normal, so every so often they have to take a deep breath to keep their oxygen levels up. It's very tiring, and if the breathing problem gets worse then it is possible that people could develop hyperventilation, which is even more exhausting.
Nutrients --- Low levels of nutrients can lead to all sorts of symptoms. Haemoglobin levels can drop as a result meaning that less oxygen can be carried to all parts of the body. Red Blood Cell Count can drop. Individual red blood cells can become either too big or too small to be efficient carriers of oxygen. Good levels of nutrients are also required for the body to be able to convert T4 to T3 efficiently. Thyroid problems lead to poor absorption of nutrients from food, often because of low stomach acid.
Diet --- Lots of people eat poorly with thyroid problems, because they worry about gaining weight. Starvation is not a sensible, long-term plan for good health.
Thank you that's actually a small comfort to know it could be linked. For the 1st week or so following a dose increase I don't seem to suffer with it but it slowly creeps back. As I mentioned to fuchsia-pink I think I need to get my T3 and T4 tested privately and maybe that could offer a reason for it.
I have read your post with great interest. Thank you so much for your explanation! I have a stammer and I know that this is caused when the diaphragm doesn’t move how it should do. I know my speech is worse when I’m not properly medicated. I’ve recently had an increase in medication and I’m speaking much better!
You asked if you should aim to get your TSH lower than 1.88. Well, that level would be too high for many people on this forum to feel well. We suggest aiming for a level of 1 or less. And to reduce TSH you need higher levels of thyroid hormones.
The above link is well worth keeping. Many doctors have no idea what TSH levels are in "normal" people because they would usually only test someone who was already ill and showing signs of thyroid disease. And certain illnesses can mess up thyroid hormone levels even if the thyroid itself is completely normal. So, this results in doctors not knowing what a healthy TSH is.
That's great info luckily enough my doctor did mention this morning that the lower range is 0.3 so with my level being 1.88 we have scope for improvement and he increased my dose. The other 2 doctors I've dealt with would have definitely dismissed it telling me I'm well within range.
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking?
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 at least once year. Vitamin D twice year
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 .
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)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Hi again, I followed your original advice and I've been taking vitamin D and B12 for a few months now. I intend to get test kits from Thriva again for the things you mentioned over the next few weeks.
It's great to find a doctor that is helpful. My TSH was exactly 1.88 and I had the breathing issues. I would panic at times because I couldn't breathe deep and had shallow breathing. My symptoms were the worst at 1.88. I was a bit more normal with TSH around 1.3-ish but still had lingering symptoms like cold and hoarse voice. It was enough to keep me functional and sleeping normally. At that point my T4 levels were already over the reference range. A 0.2 difference in my T4 levels has dramatic results. Pushing the T4 levels higher and higher works to a certain point but it's a very fine line and if you step over it then you may feel poorly. I would have suggested 112mcg daily. Then after 6 weeks see how you feel.
It seems you had more of a problem with the deep breath issues, its good you've got that under control now. I think I must be more lucky than most as I've not had some of the symptoms most people get. I mainly suffered with brain fog and tiredness and more recently the deep breath problem. I've got another blood test in 6 weeks so hopefully I can get my TSH level well under 1
The symptoms slowly creep up on you, sometimes so subtle you don't realize it's thyroid related. It's a domino effect. Small changes in thyroid hormone affects the whole body. It took me three years to realize it was all thyroid.
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