Blood results I'm confused about TSH😕 - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

139,061 members163,210 posts

Blood results I'm confused about TSH😕

birkie profile image
17 Replies

Hi everyone ❤️

I've received blood results I requested for PTH, calcium, vitamin D.. Again the doctor sneaked in a full thyroid pannle (why do they do this and not inform you? 🤦‍♀️ As we know on here we stop our thyroid medication and make sure we have the earliest appointment, first this appointment was late afternoon I'd had food and drink, I'd also taken 20mg T3 medication split (10mg at 8am) ..(10mg at 2pm) 6...my results are as follows :

Aug 23th 2021)....TSH...15.12.. mU/L...range.. 0.30----4.50)

T3.. 6.6...pmol/L.....range.... 3.10-----6.80)

T4...2.8..pmol/L..range... 11.00...22.00)

The TSH is high would me taking my medication T3 make my TSH go this high?? My T3 is at the top end thought this would be OK, my T4 is 2.8 obviously being on T3 only will make the T4 low... It says on the blood report I am hypothyroid 😕 he did this again on June 15th 2021 sprung another full thyroid blood panel on me when I was there for, PTH, calcium, vitamin D... Those results were:

TSH.... 0.04...range... 0.30---4.50)

T3...11.3....range.. 3.10---6.80)

No T4..

I'm a bit worried about the TSH being 15.12...on Aug 23rd 2021 because it was different on June 15th 2021 at 0.04..the last time I spoke to my gp about my thyroid bloods was about a month ago probably around early Sept 2021 when he said my TSH was 0.80..so I'm confused 🤦‍♀️

Written by
birkie profile image
birkie
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
17 Replies
SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

birkie

Taking your T3 before a test wont affect TSH, it only affects the FT3 level.

Time of test and some foods/drink affect TSH.

Do you take biotin or B Complex and continued to take it rather than leaving it off for 3-7 days?

Could it be assay interference?

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to SeasideSusie

Hi seasideSusie ❤️I don't take bolting or B complex🤷‍♀️ the only medication I had was paracetamol for bone /joint pain and my 20mg of T3... The TSH is so different from my last blood done in June at 0.04, I've not changed my T3 amount I'm on 25mg split 3 ways 10,morning 10,afternoon, 5, 8pm..my thyroid bloods were great and in range, I really don't know if this parathyroid thing is having any affect on my body in regards to my thyroid meds, I've been very ill with symptoms, server thirst, passing water constantly, palpitations, sweating, headache, weakness in lower limbs, my calcium is at the top end, last one in Aug 2021 was 2.73 adjusted to 2.59..most are in the 2.41,..2.53..2.54.. 2.59)...ive had 2 PTH over at 8.1 and 9.5...the last one was in June 2021 at 5.3...just had some bloods done at Hexham by the endo there.. The calcium was 2.41(my resting calcium is 2.34/5) the PTH 3.6...vitamin D at 42...the endocrinologist says its probably secondary hyperparathyroidism, but I'm not sure he is correct, as he's not looking back on the previous blood results for calcium and parathyroid 🤷‍♀️

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to birkie

I've not changed my T3 amount I'm on 25mg split 3 ways 10,morning 10,afternoon, 5,

Do you mean you are only taking 25mcg T3 per day?

Which brand of T3

I thought it was Teva as you need to be strictly lactose free

Teva brand is 20mcg tablet

Suggest you get TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 tested via Monitor My Health

Test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last 5mcg dose T3 approx 8-12 hours before test

Vitamin D is very low, but if you have PTH issue then you shouldn’t be taking vitamin D

What’s parathyroid specialist say about low vitamin D

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to SlowDragon

Hi slowdragon ❤️My vit D is 41..my calcium are alway at the top end.. 2 over range pth.. One at the top end ionised calcium of 1.31...range.. 1.15..1.33..he said I have secondary and as put me on 3000iu vitamin D, as my calcium is near the top end I don't think its a great idea to put me on vitamin D as you say it can raise calcium, my T3 was OK on my last test TSH was 0.80... T4 2.5...but I didn't take any of my meds as it was a thyroid draw so did the no meds 12 hours before, had early appointment only drank water.. The test with TSH at.. 15.12..was the one where I'd take my meds as it was not a thyroid draw... Yes I take 25mg split... Per day... And they are teva brand.. Slowdragon 👍

pennyannie profile image
pennyannie

Hey there again :

The TSH was originally used as a diagnostic tool to help identify a person who was hypothyroid - it was never intended to be used once the patient was on any form of thyroid hormone replacement.

Considering you haven't a thyroid, your HPT axis - your Hypothalamus - Pituitary - Thyroid feedback loop doesn't work any longer, as your " T " in thyroid is not in there any longer, and this chain broken.

Just go with your T3 levels which I hope are seeing you in better health than you have been struggling with for the past couple of years.

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to pennyannie

Hi pennyannie❤️Right well I feel much better now that you have pointed the TSH thing out👍.. It says on the report in RED... see doctor within one month... I know why because of the TSH, he as Been trying to get me off T3 for some time now.. Even the endo ganged up on me saying T3 is not a good medication to take for thyroid problems 🤦‍♀️ I was doing great 👏got my T3 in line T4 will be off but I'm sure he said my last TSH was 0.80..when I spoke to him just before I saw the endo in Hexham about my parathyroid hormones and calcium, my symptoms are all related to primary hyperparathiyroidism, nothing to do with my thyroid as I'm drinking 3 liters of water per day and it's keeping the palpitations, sweats, headaches, weakness in lower limbs at bay..but I'm weeing loads, 😭I know it's doing something (getting rid of the calcium though the urine) I couldn't keep the water up when travelling to Hexham I had to take 2 trains there and back so couldn't drink to much and within 24 hours my symptoms came back, I got home and drank a bottle of water all night, hey presto symptoms diminished, only problem is endo has put me on 3000iu of vitamin D I know that can raise your calcium 🤦‍♀️mine is at the top end now!! And fluctuates 🤷‍♀️

pennyannie profile image
pennyannie in reply to birkie

Hey there :

I think the computer spews out all this information but is not preprogramme - yet - with the patients history or the fact you had an operation and your thyroid is in a bin.

Doctors need to interpret these blood tests as to the relevance of the information for the patient.

We don't fit in this TSH box anymore, as our HPT feedback loop is broken, and we need to monitored and dosed on our T3 and T4 blood test results, and since you are taking T3 only, that's the single test you need to be tracking.

humanbean profile image
humanbean

If you are constantly thirsty and constantly peeing a lot there is a chance that you could be washing your electrolytes out of your body in urine.

You could ask your doctor to give you a blood test including as many electrolytes as possible - there is a list of them in this link, but don't be surprised if all that is tested is potassium and sodium :

healthline.com/nutrition/el...

Read the whole article because the symptoms of electrolyte disorders do seem to match at least some of yours.

A condition that causes low potassium is diabetes insipidus :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabe...

Do some reading on the condition and see if it is a possible match for your symptoms.

Please remember I am not a doctor

...

It would be worth finding out the symptoms of low and high levels of each of the electrolytes - here's a few of them - most or all of them could be irrelevant to you and I could be leading you up the garden path :

Potassium :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypok...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

Sodium :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypon...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

Magnesium :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magne...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

Calcium :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoc...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

Chloride :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoc...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

Phosphate :

Low - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypop...

High - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper...

On the subject of potassium you might like this link :

drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/...

And on the subject of low-salt diets (I have no idea what kind of diet you eat) :

healthline.com/nutrition/6-...

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to humanbean

Hi humanbean ❤️And thanks for the links.. But potassium and sodium, phosphate magnesium all OK.. But calcium and parathyroid hormones are over range, then go back in to range then go back over they see saw indicative of primary hyperparathiyroidism, I was diagnosed last year with it but gp and endo are messing me around instead of getting me sorted, it's usually a tumor on one or more parathyroid glands making them go overactive, pretty similar to overactive thyroid in symptoms to much calcium can give you fast heartbeat, making you sweat, you get headaches, tremors, very thirsty, and pee a lot.. If you drink water 3 liters or their abouts you can flush the excess calcium out.. I feel much better drinking more water, but the tumor needs to come out its the only cure.. 👍

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to birkie

But potassium and sodium, phosphate magnesium all OK

A couple of comments...

1) Do you have actual results and ranges for these? If you do it might be helpful if you posted them.

2) The standard (i.e. cheapest) test for magnesium is not reliable. Less than 1% of the magnesium in the body is found in the blood. When it runs low in the blood the body steals it from other tissues. So magnesium will almost always appear to be okay in the vast majority of people in a blood test, but it tells you nothing reliable.

See the section entitled "Distribution in the human body" in this link :

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

As long as your kidneys are functioning it can be helpful to supplement potassium if you get muscle problems, including weakness.

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to birkie

If you drink water 3 liters or their abouts you can flush the excess calcium out..

But that is the point I was making earlier. You could be flushing out far more than just calcium.

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to humanbean

Hi humanbean ❤️ just had full blood pannle done at Hexham general hospital on 24th September everything normal with adrenal, renals, calcium came down from 2.59 to 2.41..but everything else is in range.. Ionised calcium on.. April 21st 2021 was 1.31...range is.. 1.15...1.33..so my ionised calcium is right at the top.. My calcium is mostly above my resting calcium of 2.34/5..so the PTH is probably overactive as 2 of my PTH were well over range and last one was top end.. 👍

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to birkie

Do you have results for sodium and potassium?

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to humanbean

Hi humanbean ❤️I'll do a post with my results 👍👍

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply to birkie

"so the PTH is probably overactive as 2 of my PTH were well over range and last one was top end.."

I don't think you can assume your PTH is overactive now , from your April post (below) your last two PTH's were in range.

And you calcium is in range again on this test, as it was on April and June tests.

( You did have some over range PTH in 2020 , but did you see DippyDame 's comment about high PTH returning to normal once VIt D supplements taken ? so it's possible your PTH will not be over range now you are taking the Vit D healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... . )

in April 2021 you wrote "I've received a letter from an endo in regards to my hyperparathyroidism, she's ... saying my calcium is OK... Calcium in March 2021 was 2.68...ranges.. 2.10...2.60)..it went back to 2.35 in April 2021) had a blood test in june 2021 it's now 2.53..)

pth went from 4.4 in March 2021...range1.60..6.90..to..5.3..in June 2021).. Pth.. Was 8.1 in June 2020...then 9.5 in Aug 2020). healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

birkie profile image
birkie in reply to tattybogle

Hi tattybogle ❤️Been taking vitamin D since sep last year, but my calcium on Aug 23rd this year is.. 2.73..adjusted to 2.59) unfortunately my surgery declined to do pth... 1st march this year calcium 2.79..adjusted to 2.68..actually did pth of 4.4...then did bloods again on 15th June 2021...calcium of 2. 53.... Pth of 5.3..even on vitamin D my pth has raised again,.. With primary hyperparathiyroidism, your calcium will fluctuate up and down as will your pth... So getting a normal pth or calcium does not mean your cured.. I have spoken to a parathyroid surgeon in Oxford Mr khan he has all my blood work scans and said I have primary hyperparathiyroidism, it's just getting a nhs endo to realise it... 🙄🙄

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply to birkie

yes i understand the difficulty with having fluctuating results that only occasionally go over range , however ,NHS endo's are very unlikely to treat as primary hyperparathyroidism when they have done an uptake scan and calcium and PTH are back in range.. and your PTH has tested in range 2x this year , and calcium has been in range since April (i think ?. it's hard to tell unless you write your results out in date order) perhaps you should edit out the surgeons name.

You may also like...

New blood results T3, T4, TSH

5....) range... 3.10...6.80...pmol/L T4..2.5...range...) 11.00...22.00 pmol/L TSH..0.1...range...)...

confused about my blood test results

my results were as follows: TSH - 1.15 miU/L (0.27-4.2) T3 - 3.15 pmol/L (3.1-6.8) T4 - 23.8 pmol/L...

Rundown of TSH, T3, T4

good range, it only showed over range when my gp sprung a thyroid blood test on me in June 2021..t3...

bloods results..confused

before free T3 10.2 (3.10-6.80) - gone high, was in range before thyroglobulin ab 241.000 (0-115) -...

Recent thyroid blood results

T3...5.4...range (3.10..6.80) T4...2.80..range (11.00..22.00) TSH..1.77..range..(0.30..4.50) Again...