Hello Again, I haven’t posted anything on here for 3 years when I was first diagnosed with an overactive/underacitve thyroid. I started taking my medication and started to feel better but was also on a strong antidepressant. I stopped taking Levothyroxine 25 mgs about a year ago.
Recenty have started to feel very down, tired and stiff muscles so got my Bloods checked again.
These are my results. My question is should I go to see an endocrinologist privately ( as don’t have a gp appointment till 21st March) to find out what medication I should be on including vitamins. And dies anyone know of a good endocrinologist in the Essex area? Also should I bring a copy of my Blood Test Results or will they do another BTest for me.
Many Thanks.
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Bright-eyes
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The photo image is very small and illegable as a result. Could you photograph half of the results at a time and post each as a comment under this post please?
Its a bit confusing perhaps if you're not used to how HealthUnlocked works. Just use reply and then the picture icon underneath where you type to upload a photo. Rinse, repeat.
So we can offer better advice, can you tell us more about your thyroid condition, eg blood test results (with ranges in brackets) for:
TSH
FT3
FT4
Plus any antibody and key vitamin tests (ferritin, folate, vitamins D and B12)
You may have to print out these as unfortunately I can’t read the information in your attached photo.
If your GP is unable to complete all the above (eg if TSH is within range, some surgeries may not be able to access FT4 and FT3 tests), you could look to do this privately, as many forum members do, for a better picture of your thyroid health:
I would definitely recommend you post all of the above & seek further guidance from forum members (in a new post) before considering seeing a specialist.
NOTE TO MEMBERS: any replies about a named endo need to be by private message only, due to forum guidelines
Further to my PM. rather than put your results in several new posts Bright-eyes, can you please post them in this post to avoid any confusion. Also include reference ranges (in brackets) as these can vary between laboratories.
Hit the reply button. Then click the image icon I have ringed in the attached photo. It should then let you upload one picture. You did it great the first time.
You did great when you did the first one, just need to repeat that. Perhaps try again in the morning or type them out but we do need thhe ranges for each test - numbers in brackets after your result number.
You could try using the blood result form I made and then copy the results from it into a reply here. There's a button to copy the results. thyroid.chingkerrs.online/
If your GP appointment is in 21st then that's only next Tuesday (less than a week now) - you'd not get a private appointment before then anyway.
The members on here will give you superb advice, so you can go prepared to your GP.
Three years ago you were put on Carbimazole and forum members suggested your results didn't look like typical overactive results and suggested yo return to ask the doctor further questions.
Was this query cleared up - did you stop this anti thyroid drug - and get a diagnosis of an underactive thyroid and prescribed T4 - Levothyroxine.
It reads as though you likely have Hashimoto's, a thyroid auto immune disease and you do need to stay of the Levothyroxine but it dose need regular dose increases until your symptoms are relieved, and this is generally treated in primary care.
Can you please type in from this long blood test result the reading and ranges for your :-
TSH - T3 - and T4 : or any of those you find and are you taking any other medication ?
I do have a prescription for leveothyroxine 25 mgs from last year ( which is still in date) and wondering if I should start taking taking this now or wait for my gp telephone appointment next week. Appreciate any feedback please.
So - your TSH is nearing the top of the range and the higher the TSH goes the more the need to start/increase T4 - Levothyroxine and to have been given a prescription presume this reading was a lot higher when prescribed Levothyroxine.
B12 - Folate and ferritin - presume the reading of 79.9 and range is for ferritin ?
The thyroid peroxidase concentration is over the range and this is usually sufficient proof that you are dealing with Hashimoto's - a thyroid auto immune disease.
You will have likely experienced erratic symptoms of both under and overactive thyroid as the gland comes under attack from your immune system but ultimately the gland becomes disabled and less effective and you will require thyroid hormone replacement.
Can I just confirm that you went back to the doctor to question your original diagnosis of hyperthyroid - as suggested on here on your first post - and the doctor agreed that you had been mistakenly prescribed Carbimazole and this drug was stopped and replaced with a prescription for T4 - Levothyroxine which left you unsure as to if you needed any medication at all - ?
I would think you should have been taking the Levothyroxine since being prescribed and slowly over a course of some months your dose would have been increased to attempt to restore/replace your thyroid hormone production to a level that relieves symptoms of hypothyroidism.
thyroidpharmacist.com - if you would like to read around Hashimoto's AI thyroid disease so to be better prepared when you next visit a medical professional.
Thanks again for you reply. These were my results from 3 years ago. I’m not sure if the Dr at that time made the right decision to put me on carbimozole but within a few months I was prescribed Levo. I haven’t spoken with a GP yet I just requested a blood test and these were the results ( I have an appointment on (21st March).
I had been taking Levo 3 years ago but was also going through a bereavement and needed antidepressants I got myself into a muddle and stopped taking the Levo thinking I didn’t need it as I was beginning to feel better.
But just recently haven’t been feeling great again and wondered if this was due to my underactive thyroid which why I requested a blood test and is how I’m back here again.
This blood test shows your TSH at 0.01 and your T4 at 21.70 in a range of 7.9-16.00 .
This is very important - what date is this blood test and were you taking the Levothyroxine around when this blood test was run ?
Anti depressants seem to be frequently prescribed when with thyroid health issues - there is no shame in taking these tablets - we all find help where we can but the underlaying issues could well be resolved with the appropriate thyroid hormone replacement treatment.
Hi, just to say the Blood Test above is from 3 years ago ( date June 2023) and I think I had just started on carbimozale after these results and within 6 weeks I was told I was underactive and put on Levo.
This blood test just confirms you have over range TPO antibodies and dealing with a thyroid auto immune disease.
3 years ago would be 2020 ?
Ok so maybe seeing these results the knee jerk reaction was to say " hyperthyroid " and take an anti thyroid drug - Carbimazole - and then further testing of this blood test showed positive and over range antibodies and you then had a diagnosis of hypothyroid and the AT drug stopped and T4 - Levothyroxine prescribed.
I' sorry but this is all a guess as I can't see any consistent date sequenced results that are readable.
Your TSH is in the range as your TSH is around 3 in a range 0.27 - 4.20 :
Once on thyroid hormone replacement - T4 - Levothyroxine we generally feel better when our TSH comes in under 2, likely under 1, and down the bottom end of the range.
Your TPO antibodies are 30 and over the range which means you have an auto immune thyroid disease commonly referred to as Hashimoto's AI thyroid disease.
With Hashimoto's you can experience erratic swings in symptoms so could thnk you were hyper - but these phases are short lived and your T3 and T4 drop back down into range naturally and there is no need to medicate these phases of erratic thyroid hormone production.
I read of some people stopping their Levothyroxine when they sense a hyper swing - to try and offset the severity of the symptoms experienced - and wen the ' swing swings back ' restart their Levothyroxine and probably find they need a dose increase in T4-Levothyroxine as the thyroid gland has become further damaged and disabled by this AI thyroid disease.
Once you start taking T4 you need to find a dose that suits you and relieves your symptoms of hypothyroidism.
A further blood test should be arranged at 6-8 weeks into treatment with T4 and these blood tests compared to your originally blood tests.
We would hope to see your TSH becoming lower in its range and your T3 and T4 building higher in the ranges.
Quite where your T3 and T4 need to be in the ranges for you to feel well is any ones guess - but generally we tend to feel at our best when our T4 is up in or towards the top quadrant of it's range as this should convert to a decent level of T3 tracking at around a similar or slightly lower percentage through its range.
Also do you know where on the blood test to see my T3 & T4 level as I don’t seem to be able to see these letters/numbers (T3 &T4) on the actual blood test print out.
fT4 and fT3 have not been tested on your latest test , just the TSH .
when TSH is in range the lab often won't test the T4 ( and they hardly ever test T3 unless the patient is actually hyperthyroid eg if TSH result is very low and fT4 is very high .. then they may test T3.
Just a thought, if your gp appointment is for a telephone consultation, I’d try and get a copy of your latest results to the gp before the appointment if you haven’t already done so.
So I had my telephone appointment on Tuesday this week. The GP agreed that going by my last NHS Blood Test results that I am Hypothyroid (by looking at the serum peroxidase antibody result). Dr also seen that in the past my thyroid has swung from hyperthyroid to hypothyroidism
She asked if I had started Levothyroxide and I told her that I had at 25 mgs each morning.
I asked if I could have my T4 & T3 levels checked too and was told they will only check the T4 level on my next Blood Test in 6-8 weeks time.
So I have ordered a blood test from Blue horizon and will do this asap and share results when I get them back.
I just wondered if I should go up a dose on my Levothyroxine and if so what kind of increase in doses is best?
I have also made a start on my diet and going Gluten Free and am giving Dairy free a try too to see if this helps with symptoms. I’ve only been taking 25 mgs of Levo for 1 week and haven’t really noticed any improvement in symptoms. I’m just wondering if I should go up another dose of Levo or wait to see what my blood test results reveal when I do them through Blue Horizon.
you need to have been taking the same dose of Levo for at least 6 weeks before there is any point doing TSH / fT4 / fT3 blood tests.
(It takes that long for the TSH to respond to dose and settle, and the fT4 / fT3 levels will be changing during this time as the TSH changes will have an effect on them too)
Symptoms will also be changing over that time .
Don't expect to feel anything much from levo for the first approx 10 days of taking it ...then you might possibly feel a bit better for a couple of weeks , then a bit less good again , if this happens don't worry ~ this is normal and to be expected. ( everyone is different though) .
You need to be at least 6 weeks on a dose to know what it's effect will be when your body has had time to adjust itself to that dose.
Hence why GP said do TSH and fT4 bloods in 6 -8 weeks.
You need to stick with 25mcg dose for now ,and then you can get a dose increase if needed from GP after their blood test which will probably include TSH and fT4 .
See what happens at that next GP test / appointment and how you feel on 25mcg dose in 6 weeks time before deciding when to use your private TSH / fT4 / fT3 test kit
It's a slow process replacing thyroid hormones , you need to think in terms of weeks, not days, when looking for a response in your symptoms .
Just make a note of how you feel each week for the next 6 weeks till next GP blood test , but don't fiddle with your dose based on how you feel each week , the body needs stability.
Important ....When you do the next GP blood test .... get early morning appointment for the blood draw , 9am ish if poss ,and wait until AFTER the test to take that days levo (ie. the last dose should be taken about 24 hrs before the test )
There is not any benefit to you in getting fT3 test done at this early stage (when still on such a low dose of Levo ) , so hang on to your private test kit and don't use it yet , you'll just be wasting your money if you use it a the moment ... if dose needs increasing in 6/8 weeks they will usually be able to see that from just TSH / fT4 results at this stage .
The fT3 test becomes more useful if you have problems later on , eg .if you get up to a full dose of levo (TSH is under 1 / fT4 is up near the top of range) ~ but are still not feeling better.
ok. Thankyou so much for your response tattybogle, appreciate this advice as still trying to find my way with all the information I’m reading and trying to make sense of it.
So I’ll stay on this dose for another 6 weeks and hang onto the test until then too.
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