Hi, I posted my 18 year old daughter's blood test results from Feb 2021 on here a few days ago - many thanks to everyone who took the time to reply, it was much appreciated. To recap her results were:
TSH 2.17 (0.27-4.2)
FT3 3.4 (3.5 - 6.8)
FT4 13.7 (12-22)
No sign of antibodies
We've just received the results of her Medicheck tests which we did a couple of days ago and they are as follows;
TSH - 2.31 (0.27 - 4.2)
FT3 - 2.84 (3.1-6.8)
FT4 - 11.4 (12-22)
No sign of antibodies
We're still waiting for the results from the second set of blood tests she did with Medichecks (Ferritin, Vitamins D and B12 and Cholesterol).
Her health has worsened considerably over the last year, she's been too ill to go to college for the last few weeks and its doubtful she'll be able to do her A levels in the summer or start Uni in the Autumn, however in a strange way we are quite relieved to see that this has been reflected in these blood test results.
One thing however, which does surprise me are the doctors comments on the medical report from Medichecks which state "Your thyroid shows that your free thyroxine and Free T3 are slightly low however your thyroid stimulating hormone is normal which suggests a healthy thyroid function. The low thyroxine is likely to be a transient finding and not a cause for concern"!!!! I'm assuming that we should just discard these comments particularly in light of the fact her results have worsened since last year? My understanding is that her results are indicative of central hypothyoidism although whether our GP will agree remains to be seen!
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Your thyroid shows that your free thyroxine and Free T3 are slightly low however your thyroid stimulating hormone is normal which suggests a healthy thyroid function. The low thyroxine is likely to be a transient finding and not a cause for concern"!!!!
Suggest you email Medichecks and complain about these comments.
It’s not first time they have given erroneous opinion
FT4 and Ft3 both below range and numerous symptoms, suggests central hypothyroidism
At very least they should have recommended repeating tests in 6-8 weeks
Perhaps wait to see how bad vitamin levels are before sending email
Thanks SlowDragon - I am very tempted to complain particularly as my daughter listed her symptoms on her Medichecks account, so I think it was inexcusable to say that the results were not a cause for concern. If we do any more Medichecks tests, then I definitely won't bother requesting a drs report!
"Your thyroid shows that your free thyroxine and Free T3 are slightly low however your thyroid stimulating hormone is normal which suggests a healthy thyroid function. The low thyroxine is likely to be a transient finding and not a cause for concern"
In my opinion - balderdash!
My understanding is that her results are indicative of central hypothyoidism
I agree with this.
I am not medically trained, and I am not diagnosing, but this is the information I pass on when test results seem to indicate Central Hypothyroidism:
Central Hypothyroidism is where the problem lies with the hypothalamus or the pituitary rather than a problem with the thyroid gland. With Central Hypothyroidism the TSH can be low, normal or slightly raised, and the FT4 will be low. My note here - FT4 was low in range and FT3 below range in previous test, new test shows both FT4 and FT3 below range, couple this with "normal" TSH then this suggests Central Hypothyroidism. Now she has had 2 results suggesting this it should be investigated.
TSH is a pituitary hormone, the pituitary checks to see if there is enough thyroid hormone, if not it sends a message to the thyroid to produce some. That message is TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). If there is enough hormone then there's no need for the pituitary to send the message to the thyroid so TSH remains low.
In Primary Hypothyroidism, which is where the thyroid fails, the TSH will be high.
However, with Central Hypothyroidism the signal isn't getting through for whatever reason so the message isn't getting through to the thyroid to produce hormone, hence low FT4. It could be due to a problem with the pituitary (Secondary Hypothyroidism) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary Hypothyroidism).
As Central Hypothyroidism isn't as common as Primary Hypothyroidism it's likely that your GP hasn't come across it before.
Your GP can look at BMJ Best Practice for information - here is something you can read without needing to be subscribed:
You could do some more research, print out anything that may help and show your GP.
You may need to be referred to an endocrinologist. If so then please make absolutely sure that it is a thyroid specialist that you see. Most endos are diabetes specialists and know little about the thyroid gland (they like to think they do and very often end up making us much more unwell that we were before seeing them). You can email ThyroidUK at
tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
for the list of thyroid friendly endos. Then ask on the forum for feedback on any that you can get to. Then if your GP refers you, make sure it is to one recommended here. It's no guarantee that they will understand Central Hypothyroidism but it's better than seeing a diabetes specialist. You could also ask on the forum if anyone has been successful in getting a diagnosis of Central Hypothyroidism, possibly in your area which you'll have to mention of course.
My understanding is that her results are indicative of central hypothyoidism although whether our GP will agree remains to be seen!
Insist on a referral. Results are abnormal - below range FT4 and FT3. GP is not a thyroid specialist and wont be familiar with this, he needs to refer you. If it's at all possible it may be better to go private, again with a recommendation of a thyroid specialist who is familiar with Central Hypothyroidism.
Hi SeadsideSusie, thank you so much for all the info plus the links - we will certainly read up on them before we see our GP.
I don't have high expectations of what our GP will say when we see her for a review appt next week; my daughter has already been languishing on the waiting list for 15 months for an appt at our local hospital to investigate her chronic fatigue, so I've just taken the precaution of booking not 1 but 2 appts with private endos who both specialise in thyroid disorders! The first appt is with someone at our local Spire hospital in three weeks time; we're hoping that she'll provide some answers, however if she doesn't then we have another appt two weeks later with a highly rated endo in London whose details I found on the list provided by Thyroid UK. I don't think I'm allowed to name either of them but I have seen some positive reviews of them on this board, so hopefully one of them will be able to provide a diagnosis.
I believe that quite a number of GPs seem to have no knowledge of how to diagnose/treat someone who has hypothyroidism.
No doctor/specialist I consulted - even underwent anaesthetic for something I didn't have - none could put a name to the symptoms I had. They didn't return my money I paid them.
It was someone who was a First Aider who suggested to me 'hypothyroidism'.
I had never heard the word before (and I suspect many on the forum didn't) I then found Thyroiduk.org.uk before this forum began and from then on I slowly found my way to a symptom-free life.
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Same Dose- different results 
New results - grateful for any input
Blood test results 
Advice on Thyroid Results. 
Thyroid results
