Thyroid Ranges

[Lavender-Blue]

Is there an official document that says that some / most people feel well when their TSH is below 1?

[tattybogle]

Nothing to say 'below 1 ' specifically , but several here all saying 'between 0.4 / 0.5 and 2/ 2.5'

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... my-list-of-references-recommending-gp-s-keep-tsh-lower-in-range-

one is from an NHS guideline (making sure levothyroxine therapy is optimal before endo's can consider trial of Liothyronine)

a couple are from GP update sources (written specifically for GP's)

[Essexmum]

My T4 & T3 are in range and my TSH is undetectable. I take T3 & Levo, been hypothyroid for 14 years. My NHS consultant recently insisted i reduce my dose until my TSH is detectable. I feel the best I have done, although I've never felt normal since becoming hypothyroid. I challenged the consultant as my T3 & T4 had dropped slightly since previous blood test. My consultant stated that they do not take into account the levels of T3 & T4 as they fluctuate & they only go by TSH and as it is suppressed I need to reduce my dose due to osteoporosis, atrial fibrillation etc etc. I refused as I prefer quality of life & my point is none of us are the same & drs need to go by how we actually feel, not by the ranges given. The NHS consultant said he would be happy if my TSH level was detectable, which would be anything below 1.

[Sneedle in reply to Essexmum]

Good for you for not budging, and very encouraging for others to read your words and formulate our own rebuttals to the unawareness doctors!Thanks 😊

[Sneedle in reply to Sneedle]

I wrote 'unawakened' but predictive text changed it😃

[humanbean in reply to Essexmum]

My consultant stated that they do not take into account the levels of T3 & T4 as they fluctuate & they only go by TSH

It's infuriating that doctors don't realise (or acknowledge ?) that TSH is more variable / fluctuates more than T3 and T4. See these links :

thyroidpatients.ca/2020/07/...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Essexmum in reply to humanbean]

Thank you Humanbean for sharing, i was not aware & that is really informative. So frustrating that the drs & consultants act like God & refuse to listen, at the end of the day, all of us only want to feel well.

[Lavender-Blue]

I am asking on behalf of my Dad. I have been asking him to get printouts of his results.

He says that when he phones Dr's for results they are normal!

I paid for MMH test for him, results are:

TSH: 3.35

T4: 21.6

T3: 4.0

This test was done following instructions on here.

I can see he needs an increase in meds.

He finally got a printout from his test he had done at the Dr's in April.

His TSH was: 5.19 (Range 0.38 - 5.5.) No T4 was even tested in the labs!

These are the results that Dr said are normal...unbelievable!

I encouraged him to ask for appointment and ask for an increase in meds. Dr said they were normal results but would send him for another blood test which he is having done tomorrow morning.

I am trying to gather information regarding my above named question in this post, as I feel we may have a battle trying to get an increase if TSH is high.

My Dad has a follow up appointment for blood results on 14/7/23 , which is a pretty bad offering considering he isn't well.

I will ask him to ring for results in the meantime so we can be armed, he's asked me to go to Dr's with him.

He had a heart bypass around 2003 which we think was brought on by an undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

Dr's have palmed him off with Statins telling him it's them that's keeping him alive!

I am trying to educate myself and him with Malcolm Kendrick's work and someone else mentioned on here earlier The Cholestrol Myth book that I have just ordered.

Hoping he can get an increase as no amount of Statins will help his heart if his TSH is this high .

Thank you for reading this. X

[DippyDame]

Science shows that TSH is not a reliable marker but most medics have yet to catch up!!

A resume of the current state of affairs.

It appears that what we are witnessing constitutes an unprecedented historic change in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease, driven by over-reliance on a single laboratory parameter TSH and supported by persuasive guidelines. This has resulted in a mass experiment in disease definition and a massive swing of the pendulum from a fear of drug-induced thyrotoxicosis to the new actuality of unresolved designation of hypothyroidism

taken from...

bmcendocrdisord.biomedcentr...

Time for a reassessment of the treatment of hypothyroidism

John E. M. Midgley, Anthony D. Toft, Rolf Larisch, Johannes W. Dietrich & Rudolf Hoermann

Also...

thyroidpatients.ca/2021/07/...

[Zephyrbear in reply to DippyDame]

”Science shows that TSH is not a reliable marker but most medics have yet to catch up”

I don’t think it’s a case of them having to catch up so much as them having to acknowledge the fact that they have been basing their “treatments” on erroneous information but being too embarrassed or conceited to do so…

[DippyDame in reply to Zephyrbear]

Agree.....and I've said that many times before in replies.

They don't want to fall off their high horses.....others just do not understand because they have been badly educated re thyroid disease.

But ...catching up on the facts rather than relying on erroneous opinion would be a start.

It's a monumental mess!

[Zephyrbear in reply to DippyDame]

It is and until they sort themselves out we, the patients, pay the price for their ignorance and arrogance.