Blood Results

[Readbecgar]

Today I had the print outs from when I was Diagnosed in March to most recent Bloods end of June. Shocked to see my T3 has never been tested and only once T4.

See below pics.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Unfortunately this is standard for the NHS and another reason why this forum is so busy.

Most people need to pay for private bloods to see their FT3 and a full thyroid panel of TSH, FT4 & FT3. Thyroid treatment is terrible as a result.

[Readbecgar in reply to Jaydee1507]

It’s terrible they should have to do it automatically.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Readbecgar]

I'm sure that everyone in this group would agree with you and Thyroid UK are working on it, but at the present this is how the system is and the NHS does not acknowledge that FT3 has any importance at all.

[greygoose]

They don't know what to do about low T3 even if they do test for it. Most of them think it's totally unimportant.

[Readbecgar]

would they not check these if it’s autoimmune?

[tattybogle in reply to Readbecgar]

most hypothyroidism is autoimmune .... they don't do anything different for autoimmune hypo than for any other cause of hypo.

They may sometimes test TPOab ( antibodies) when TSH is found to be consistently over range at diagnosis , (to see if autoimmune disease is an explanation for the high TSH and to let them know if they can expect it to get better or not) , but very often they don't bother to find out the reason for hypothyroidism at all .

They test TSH as routine... and fT4 as routine if you are lucky with your GP's surgery policy and NHS lab your tests go to ....... but at others fT4 is not routinely done unless the TSH result is out of range , then fT4 test is added on at the lab ..... but everywhere in UK , fT3 will only be tested very very occasionally by NHS, usually requiring a specific request to lab from named GP with specific wording used on the request .... and even then the lab can override the request and say it's not necessary .

Some surgeries / labs in Scotland seem to be doing 'Total T3' if they do it at all , (which is not as much use as 'Free T3' ) ......and when they do.... they usually decide to not do an fT4 .

The whole thing is extremely stupid and frustrating .. but NHS labs have been told to save money and reduce unnecessary testing ...and someone (a bunch of Endocrinologists) has told them T3 is an unnecessary test that varies over the day and therefore isn't useful .....and that's where we are for the time being .

[tattybogle in reply to tattybogle]

p.s assuming those results in the picture are your results at diagnosis .. do you have the latest ones on 100mcg ?

[tattybogle in reply to tattybogle]

oh just found them on new post

[Readbecgar in reply to tattybogle]

the latest one on 100mg is the last pic where only tested TSH level

[Readbecgar in reply to tattybogle]

yea I had a antibody test and it was autoimmune is this why they are not testing T3 or 4 anymore as its autoimmune

[tattybogle in reply to Readbecgar]

they didn't test fT4 because either:

GP only asked for TSH ,

or because TSH is not over range , it didn't trigger the lab to automatically test fT4.

( some labs have an automated protocol called 'TSH with reflex to fT4' , which means if TSH is over range >>>test fT4 )

They didn't test fT3 because they hardly ever do, even if the GP does ask for it .

Autoimmunity /or not , doesn't affect whether they test fT4 .