I’ve been reading through the posts and considering I was diagnosed with under active thyroid since 1997 and I’ve been on Thyroxine ever since. I’ve no idea what all the figures you talk about are. I get blood tests once a year and my thyroxin is normally amended from 175mg to 150mg or back to 175mg again. I’m always tired and cold and swollen and have so many ailments, I can’t tell if it’s Thyroid related or my age and all that brings. That’s why I’ve started the couch to 5k. To get me active and help my mind as well as my body, before it all gets too much or too late.
As for all the facts and figures and medical details I’ve seen, I’ve no idea about any of them. 🥺🤷♀️
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PMF_Essex
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You are legally entitled to printed copies of your previous blood test results and ranges.
The best way to get access to current and historic blood test results is to register for online access to your medical record and blood test results
UK GP practices are supposed to offer everyone online access for blood test results. Ring and ask if this is available and apply to do so if possible, if it is you may need "enhanced access" to see blood results.
In reality many GP surgeries do not have blood test results online yet
Alternatively ring receptionist and request printed copies of results. Allow couple of days and then go and pick up.
Important to see exactly what has been tested and equally important what hasn’t been tested yet
Far too often only TSH is tested. This is completely inadequate
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
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease. So it’s likely you have autoimmune thyroid disease
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)
If/when also on T3, make sure to take last third or quarter of daily dose 8-12 hours prior to test, even if this means adjusting time or splitting of dose day before test
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Thank you for all that info. I shall look into it more. I’m female and soon to be 53. I was diagnosed after I had a car accident. The same day and time Princess Diana had hers in Paris, I had mine over here. I got neck and back injuries and was sent to a Dr and it was then that he noticed my goit neck and swollen hands and ankles and got me tested! My sister always suspected but the Drs at the time wouldn’t test me and said I was just fat and needed to exercise.
First, may I suggest you get your historic blood results, so you can see exactly what these are, and, just as important, what has (and has not) been tested.
Second: quick general guide to your thyroid
The first blood test the GP will do is TSH. This is a message from the pituitary to the thyroid, telling it to work harder if it doesn't produce enough hormone (and vice versa) such that for someone not on thyroid meds a high TSH indicates an under-active thyroid and a low (suppressed) result indicates an over-active thyroid. As such it is a useful primary diagnostic tool, but doesn't tell you much. In particular, it doesn't say whether the message actually reaches the thyroid or, if it has got there, whether it has been correctly acted on. For that, you need blood tests of your actual thyroid hormones
Free T4 tells you how much inactive thyroid hormone you are producing. This is usually the second test your GP does. T4 converts into T3, the active thyroid hormone needed in every cell in your body. So you really also need to test free T3 to see what that is doing. In particular, this is really useful if (like me) you are a "poor converter" so a good level of free T4 doesn't correlate with a good level of free T3 .... So I'd say free T3 is the most useful blood test of all - but for various reasons it's the one done the least.
Your GP should also test your thyroid antibodies. High antibodies indicate that the reason your thyroid isn't working properly is an auto-immune disease - Hashimoto's (or Hashi's) This is the biggest single cause. It can't be cured but isn't really anything to be worried about. A lot of Hashi's people find it helpful to go gluten free and/or dairy-free. Note that once tested as high there is no reason to re-test. Your antibodies will go up and down as they see fit.
What your GP won't test for - because they don't over nutrition as part of their training - are key nutrients - ferritin, folate, vit D and B12. So you will see LOTS of posts here about private testing, If your GP is helpful it's worth asking for these to be tested - I have had some success with my GP by saying that testing these is recommended by Thyroid UK.
Once you are on thyroid meds, you are likely to feel best if TSH is low - less than 2 and prob less than 1; free T4 and free T3 are both nice and high in range (top third) and vit D is in 3 figures and other nutrients are half-way through range.
I'd also recommend you look through helvella 's excellent glossary (saved in "pinned posts") to get to grips with the terminology x
Thank you for this. I shall be looking more into all that’s been responded. I had no idea about any of this, I’ve never been told about it. Just if my meds needed upping or lowering. I’ve had them lowered for all of last year and all the time it’s been on 150mg I’ve been cold and tired no matter what I do. Trying to get an appointment has been ridiculous, so I gave up. I’ll look into a private test. Thanks
This is a familiar tale to SO many of us - our doctors are happy if things are "in range" - which really isn't good enough: you are aiming for "optimal" It's down to US to manage our health, get the blood tests we need and badger for dose increases as needed
But this is a kind, helpful forum, so ask anything you're not sure about, and post your blood test results (and the related lab range - these vary from lab to lab) and the lovely people here will help you to understand them
PS any doctor that doesn't bother with appropriate blood tests and says you are just fat needs a slap ...
It is a lot to get your head around but I found a way to educate myself more! My husband realised I had a thyroid issue and took me to see our GP. My now late husband was a thyroid researcher so I realised I was in good hands but also wanted to understand more as well. It was then we found my doctor had just been diagnosed as well so my husband helped both of us. But sadly my husband died young and my good doctor moved away so I realised I needed to help myself. I came across this group with ticked so many boxes, empathy, advice, were top of the list but I still wanted to understand more so everyday I read though all the posts and the answers, the answers being few and far between in my limited knowledge. So I looked on it as a tutorial. Every day I would read posts and made a mental note of what I thought the replies would be and in time I realised I was starting to have a handle on what it was all about, the answers to the questions! It gave me confidence as well not only to ask questions but to query some as well as I was now understanding more! So doing this gave me so much confidence in a relatively short time and greatly expanded my knowledge.
There's great advice on here already - get yourself tested privately as a priority then you'll get even more good advice. Make sure you get blood drawn first thing, before you take your meds. If you can afford it, I'd get the Advsnced Well Woman test by Medichecks to get a full picture of your health.
We recently saw that there is a survey looking at how women are treated by the NHS... your experience is a classic example - never being given any useful info for 24 years, never being given the chance to have an active say in your care... but it's not too late to take control and get yourself well!
I agree with the post about vitamins. Deficiency in B, folate, iron and D can mimic hypothyroid symptoms. I am currently going through folate deficiency and mistook it for a thyroid flare. Prior to living in the UK, I had a nutritionist in the US tell me to add zinc, selenium, which help with absorption of meds and tumeric to help with inflammation and achiness. On my own I have added ashwaganda. It is an herb widely used in aruveyda, Indian natural medicine. It helps with mood and blood pressure and aches and pains. All of my meds work better and I feel better when I take the supplements.
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