Diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid and have been in thyroxine for over 7 years. My voice frequently is dropping very hoarse and my throat feels restricted inside but never sore For the past year I have regularly been waking to very puffed eyelids (Boxer style) my skin is very dry and in general do not feel as good as I'd like to be. I have just looked at my last blood test
T4 18.0 pmol/L (11 - 23)
TSH 0.22 mU/L (0.27 - 4.5)
I have messaged my GP and spoken of my problems. He sent me for an ultra sound. One of the receptionists at the GP surgery rang to say my scan was fine and would I like the GP to refer for an ear nose and throat appointment but I was to be aware that the waiting time for this was over a year. I said not to bother.
But I am still worried. Any advice please?
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A1Amber
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Although your results look good, it's not the full picture. To complete the picture we need to have FT3 tested at the same time as FT4 and TSH. This is because T3 is the active hormone that every cell in our bodies need. When T3 is low this is what causes symptoms.
Your FT4 is 58.33% through range.
Calculator to work out percentage through range although it's not needed for TSH:
T4 is a storage hormone and converts to T3. As your FT4 is only around the mid-range point then your FT3 isn't likely to be high when on Levo only. I would guess that your FT3 is probably low in range. When taking Levo only many hypo patients tend to feel best when TSH is 1 or below and FT4 and FT3 are fairly well balanced in the upper part of their ranges, probably around the 70% mark.
So as a first step you need the full thyroid panel testing, if GP can't get all three tests done (and many labs wont test FT3 unless TSH and FT4 are out of range) you may want to consider a private test, cheapest for this basic test is Monitor My Health at £26.10 when using code here:
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription?
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking?
All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
When were vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 last tested?
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
Have you had coeliac blood test done
Are you now on absolutely strictly gluten free diet?
Only 5% of Hashimoto’s patients are coeliac, but roughly further 80% find strictly gluten free diet helps or is essential
Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least annually
Many (most?) hashimoto’s patients need to supplement virtually continuously to maintain optimal vitamin levels
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