Hello I’m new here and I was hoping I can have some advice. I have had borderline under active thyroid with normal t3 and t4 ranges and TsH around 5 or 6 for years and then Gp put me on levothyroxine to help with fertility 6 years ago and I have been stuck on the meds since then.
I would really like to understand what is going on with my thyroid. Is it worth having a full thyroid antibody test done ? Shall I test for other vitamin deficiencies also? Any recommendations would be helpful. Thank you so much
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Ro8888
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I have had borderline under active thyroid with normal t3 and t4 ranges and TsH around 5 or 6 for years and then Gp put me on levothyroxine to help with fertility 6 years ago and I have been stuck on the meds since then.
Do you have regular thyroid function tests, they should be done annually when on Levo.
I would really like to understand what is going on with my thyroid. Is it worth having a full thyroid antibody test done
Testing antibodies will tell you if your hypothyroidism is autoimmune (the most common cause of hypothyroidism, known to patients as Hashimoto's). The treatment isn't any different but it's useful to know if that is the cause.
Shall I test for other vitamin deficiencies also?
Yes, always useful. I'd been diagnosed hypo and treated since 1975 and never, ever had any vitamin tests done. In 2015, being still unwell and getting nowhere with my GP, I did a raft of tests including vitamins. I discovered severe Vit D deficiency, very low in range folate and low ferritin.
Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test with just a few small differences:
Blue Horizon includes Total T4 (can be useful but not essential). Medichecks doesn't include this test.
B12 - Blue Horizon does Total B12 which measures bound and unbound (active) B12 but doesn't give a separate result for each. Medichecks does Active B12.
Total B12 shows the total B12 in the blood. Active B12 shows what's available to be taken up by the cells. You can have a reasonable level of Total B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)
Blue Horizon include magnesium but this is an unreliable test so don't let this sway your decision, it also tests cortisol but that's a random cortisol test and to make any sense of it you'd need to do it fasting before 9am I believe.
Both can be done by fingerprick or, for extra cost, you can arrange phlebotomy.
If you want to do a fingerprick test then I have some tips I can post so please ask if you'd like me to.
Don't bother getting their doctor's comments, they pretty much worthless. Post your results/reference ranges on here and you'll get a much better intepretation of them.
And, yes, it is worth getting it all done if you want the full picture.
Despite what doctors think, you are hypo with a TSH of 6. Forget the 'sub-clinical' claptrap, that's just and excuse to treat less people. You are technically hypo when your TSH reaches 3.
There's no such thing as 'norma' when it comes to thyroid testing. When a doctor says 'normal', all he means is 'in-range'. But, that's not the same thing as optimal, because the ranges are too wide. So, it's where the result falls within the range that is important.
Read my profile to get more info on ‘norm’ being a non term and about ranges to follow up on greygoose’s succinct and totally on point appraisal of the situation most of us find ourselves in.
Thank you very very much, you have all been so helpful.
greygoose thank you for the full list of what I should have tested, I will book a test in asap.
SeasideSusie I have my bloods tested every six months and my tsh ranges from 5-8 and am on levothyroxine. I was hoping to go off them as I was only put on them to get pregnant, but looking at the answers to my thread it seems thst my “borderline” numbers need treatment?!
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