Latest Test Results

[RachelMark]

Hi folks. I had a TT in 2016 due to severe Hyperthyroidism and an inconclusive biopsy etc. I have endured the ups and downs of getting medication levels right over the years (thanks mostly to gleaming advice from this group) and felt that eventually i seemed to be doing ok on 150mg of Levothyroxine. I had annual bloods done recently (T3 not done or any other vits) which are as follows;

Serum free T4 level 17.0 pmol/L [11.0 - 23.0]

Serum TSH level 8.6 mU/L [0.27 - 4.5]; Outside reference range

I'm asking for opinions please....should i be concerned at this high TSH level or is there anything further that i should pursue as the GP has simply said their fine and no further action necessary.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Sorry but your GP is an idiot. How can a TSH above range be alright?

Have you changed the way you take your Levo lately or started any new medications?

When you speak to your GP you could try and get them to run the usual vitamin levels - ferritin, folate, B12 & D3.

[RedApple Administrator]

RachelMark, That is certainly a high TSH for the dose you are taking, but the important question is, how do you feel?

[Regenallotment]

hey, do you take anything else? I heard iodine can raise TSH. Some functional health practitioners recommend it… just a thought.

Do you have hypothyroid symptoms? How do you feel? 🌱

[shaws Administrator]

I am sorry you have hyperthyroidism and also the fact that the majority of GPs have very little knowledge about either hypo or hyper thyroidism.

I hope symptoms will soon resolve and that you will feel better on a suitable dose.

I am hypothyroid but now feel well on my replacement T3 hormones. On T4 Ihad severe (middle of the night) palpitations).

The aim is to have a TSH around 1.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Just testing TSH and Ft4 is completely inadequate

all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test 

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

Was test done early morning and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

First step is get bloods retested to see if TSH is still high

You can get false high TSH results due to mouse 🐁 antibodies

(That’s not a joke)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

academic.oup.com/clinchem/a...

So request GP retest thyroid levels and include testing Ft3, plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

if GP is unhelpful

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options and money off codes

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

Monitor My Health also now offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65 

(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies) 

monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...

10% off code here 

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning. 

Watch out for postal strikes, probably want to pay for guaranteed 24 hours delivery 

come back with new post once you get results

[pennyannie]

Hello RachelMark and welcome to the forum :

Do I presume you have Graves Disease and are, were, your eyes affected ?

It is essential that you are dosed and monitored on your Free T3 and Free T4 readings and we need these two vital thyroid hormones balanced in their ranges at around a 1/4 ratio = T3/T4 :

The TSH seen in isolation is not a reliable measure of anything and was introduced as a diagnostic tool to help confirm a person was suffering from hypothyroidism and once the person became a patient and taking any form of thyroid hormone replacement then alongside the TSH, a Free T3 and a Free T4 need to be run.

In simply terms the doctor needs to adjust your medication in order to comply with the guidelines and get your TSH into range :

Your TSH needs to be in - it's range - not over or under - and the reason why we have this range - and an increase in medication should lower the TSH - just as dose decrease should higher the TSH.

Your dose of T4 - Levothyroxine is quite high by most standards and wonder if you are not absorbing it very well - are you taking it on an empty stomach and wait around an hour to eat of drink anything ?

How are you feeling, do you have any symptoms of hypothyroidism ?

There is a list of symptoms on the Thyroid UK website - who are the charity who support this forum and it can be very confusing having been over active and now under active to know exactly which symptoms are which. thyroiduk.org

Graves is a poorly understood and badly treated auto immune disease and I found the Elaine Moore raves Disease Foundation the most well rounded o all the research I undertook when I became more ill after RAI thyroid ablation back in 2005. elaine-moore.com

I too was being monitored and dosed on just a TSH reading and decided to arrange my own private blood test from the list of companies I found on the Thyroid UK website.

I put those results back up on here for considered opinion and started first to repair my vitamins and minerals which were all ' on the floor ' and slowly I improved and am now so much better and so grateful that I come back on to try and help others who find themselves a bit lost and unable to get help through the normal channels.