I have waited months for a blood test after being told they are running out of plastic tubes to do them...has to be authorised by doctor!!!after two days of speaking /wrangling to 111 managed to get appoinment on Friday!!! Results came today and they only checked TSH and tell me I am euthyroid at TSH 1.2.even though No thyroid to stimulate!!RAI three years ago!I am boggled 1.2!!!the point if this test was I felt b...awful for months...no energy..shaky..temper like krakatoa!!! . Anything sets me off ..wobbly legs.weakness...feel generally undermedicated though new Endo says my levels are optimal!!( cant see how I can be and feel so bad) Last blood test in summer was -:
TSH ...1.5 ( 0.3 to 4.5)
T3...3.8 (3.1 to 6.8)
T4 ....16.3 (10 to 22)
Taking 87.2 levo per day as I was in summer.. still weigh 80 kilo's so where is the comparison of 1.6mic levo per kilo.!!! inclined to ditch doctors and dose myself until I feel Well...Tried T3 ( I have Thybon Henning stashed from then!!)during lockdown but did not notice any difference after 6 weeks so stopped...maybe I was not taking it long enough!!!or not enough of it..nobody told me what amount or when to take it...set up to fail I think...god knows ,.So frustrated...what do you all think.. should I up my levo and see if I feel better.. dont trust NHS any more after this little affair...they are sending me to An Elderly falls clinic to see if that can stop dizziness and weakness...I know it wont but I am going along with them for now!! HELP....your views most appreciated..
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Hurtlocker
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still weigh 80 kilo's so where is the comparison of 1.6mic levo per kilo.!!!
That is not set in stone as dose required by everyone. The guidelines suggest this as a starter dose in some people, with adjustment if necessary.
Tried T3 ( I have Thybon Henning stashed from then!!)during lockdown but did not notice any difference after 6 weeks so stopped...maybe I was not taking it long enough!!!or not enough of it.
You're probably right. When endos give a trial of T3 it's usually for either 3 or 6 months. 6 weeks is nowhere near enough to see how well you do on it.
what do you all think.. should I up my levo and see if I feel better..
I would do my own test to see what my FT4 and FT3 levels are then take it from there.
If you use MonitorMyHealth they are an NHS lab so you could show those results to your GP and he would have a hard time refusing to accept them. They only do the basic thyroid test.
If you want to check vitamins as well, which we should do annually (and twice a year for Vit D) then you'd need to do either the Medichecks Advanced Thyroid Function Test or Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold. Those labs, being private labs, may not be acceptable to GP but can be used to invite GP to do their own test if you find a dose adjustment based on FT4 and FT3 is shown.
It would really help forum members to see a full thyroid panel to include TSH, T3 and T4 plus the antibodies, inflammation, and ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D - and yes you may well need to get this done privately through one of the private companies listed on the Thyroid UK website.
Once we can actually have some facts and figures we will be better placed to work through your next best step back to better health.
It is imperative that you are monitored ,treated and dosed on your T3 and T4 blood test results and not a TSH reading though in primary care, generally, a TSH is the test actioned.
Since you have had RAI, I am presuming your own thyroid is now defunct, disabled, burnt out and now non productive,
If this is the case you have lost your own thyroid hormone production which is said to be trace elements of T1. T2 and calcitonin plus a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg plus a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg daily.
Logically it makes sense to replace like with like and you have tried a synthetic T3/T4 combo which doesn't seem to have solved your health issues.
There is another option, and that is Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same known hormones as that of the thyroid gland and is pig thyroid dried and ground down into tablets, referred to as grains.
NDT was used used successfully for over 100 years as the treatment for hypothyroidism and was and still is prescribed on the NHS if your doctor wishes to request funding, as it is more expensive than T4 - Levothyroxine, but then probably everything is more expensive than T4.
I failed in both my requests for NDT and T3 and as you may remember have DI Myself.
This is another option, you may like to consider but please be aware that I now feel outside the NHS system as I self medicate though I am fortunate ( ? ) in that all my health issues are related to my treatment for Graves Disease and the RAI and resultant hypothyroidism so at this point in time, I'm better off staying away from the doctors and sorting myself out.
It is imperative that your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D are maintained at optimal levels and not just somewhere in the NHS range
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