Asked GP to chase Endo am I right to?

[maplewood]

My Endo took me off medication and I am waiting a review. I have just had my bloods done through Medichecks as not been feeling great and am due to have a general/op in a couple of weeks. My bloods as follows TSH 8.29 (0.27 to 4.2) Free T3 4.7 (3.1 to 6.8) and Free Thyroxine 9.6 (12 to 22). Surely with these bloods there can be no doubt for the Endo that I need medication. Does the fact the Free T3 is within range mean i could be hanging on by a thread? Not too sure what the Free t3 is to be honest. Thanks x

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

maplewood

Surely with these bloods there can be no doubt for the Endo that I need medication.

Yes, absolutely, but the question is whether your private results will be acceptable, some doctors do accept them, some don't.

TSH 8.29 (0.27 to 4.2) Free T3 4.7 (3.1 to 6.8) and Free Thyroxine 9.6 (12 to 22).

Does the fact the Free T3 is within range mean i could be hanging on by a thread? Not too sure what the Free t3 is to be honest.

T4 is a pro-hormone, a storage hormone, that converts to T3 which is the active hormone that every cell in our body needs, T3 is the life giving hormone.

You are producing a very small amount of T4. Your body is prioritising production of T3 to keep you alive which is why you are showing a fairly reasonable amount of T3 at the moment.

I would arrange an urgent appointment with your GP to see if he can either chase up your endo or give you some Levo himself. You shouldn't have to wait.

[maplewood in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for your reply. I can not take levo as it does not agree with me. The Endo decided to make sure I needed treatment before giving me T3 to try. I don't agree with that as I was diagnosed 2013 and if I didn't need it then that would have meant a mis diagnosis years ago. Hey Ho ....

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to maplewood]

OK, then GP cannot initiate T3, that has to come from the endo, so maybe endo has to give go ahead to be reinstated, doesn't seem right that he's keeping you hanging on. Can you chase with the endo's secretary yourself, I think I'd make a nuisance of myself and emphasise how ill I am and desperately need my medication back.

[maplewood in reply to SeasideSusie]

I know its all made worse by the current situation with the NHS. My GP has said she has chased up. If it comes to it i will stage a protest in A and E ha, ha. Thanks for reply. x

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Did you get BOTH TPO and TG antibodies tested as well

Also need vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels tested…..likely vitamin levels have crashed with withdrawal of levothyroxine

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

As per previous post….get these tested

[maplewood in reply to SlowDragon]

I will point that out to the GP thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to maplewood]

You will have to test antibodies

NHS refuses to test TG antibodies as your TPO antibodies are negative

[maplewood in reply to SlowDragon]

Did not get chance to ask for anything as GP responded with a text message.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to maplewood]

What did GP say

You need starting on levothyroxine

Get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done privately

Come back with new post once you get results

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning

Not on Bank holiday and not in postal strike

[tattybogle]

there is a possibility that with those results , the anaesthetist may not be happy to proceed with operation until you are back on a stable dose of thyroid hormone. They test TFT's as part of the pre-op preparations. if patient is too hypo . or too hyper , there are added difficulties / risks for the anaesthetist to deal with.

I Don't know if TSH 8 and fT4 under range is bad enough to be considered a problem from an anaesthetic point of view . To some degree it depends if the anaesthetist .

i think you should discuss this with GP as a matter of urgency if your operation is scheduled for a couple of weeks time.

[maplewood in reply to tattybogle]

Hi, yes thanks that is my concern also. That is why I paid privately to have bloods done. I am going to ring the endos secretary today and leave a message. Good job I did bloods, thanks x