Hi all I've stumbled upon this forum as I've been posting on Reddit but it isn't very active and I would like more inputs. So far I've had a few people tell me I'm hypo on there.
I'm really struggling right now trying to figure out what's wrong with me. I am 26, was studying at Uni before dropping out in my final year. I eat healthy, do cardio and am on my feet for work, lift lots of weight at the gym, but its all falling apart. In late high school I started getting tired, that was in 2013 and the feeling never left, being tired is simply normal for me and I remember multiple times I would sleep over 16 hours straight. I now sleep in a blacked out, temperature controlled room with a strict bedtime.
My mental health is my worst symptom, literally everything in the world is too much effort, my memory is becoming appalling, no matter how much I sleep I am tired and it feels like that is the root cause of my issues, my mental health is declining because of my physical tiredness. I have also developed an anxiety disorder, there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it I just randomly get so anxious I hear noises in my apartment building and it sets me off.. I recently told a friend about this and he suggested looking at thyroid, turns out a few of the private blood tests I've had done over the years had some thyroid panels in there, here's all the results that had out of range/too high results:
What's going on here? I've read that most cases of Hypothyroidism is Hashimotos, which would result in high antibodies but that's not the case? I'm speaking to my doctor in 2 days and will be bringing all this up but I need more than my own perspective because doctors are too dismissive. What should I be asking my doctor? Thank you in advance, the help means a lot.
Written by
ELLJAMO
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I've just checked and actually had some vitamins tested in the Jan 22 test, I've supplemented vitamins very consistently for years now and I usually take a slightly higher than recommended dose, for example vit D I take between 10,000 - 16,000IU a day through winter. Here's the vitamin results:
Folate - 6.56 ug/L (ref 3.89-19.45)
Vit B12 - 150 pmol/L (ref 37.5-188)
Vit D - 61.3 nmol/L (ref 50-200)
I got that Vit D reading even while supplementing high strength which is why I upped to 16,000.
Hi, I have a similar situation with my daughter and now her partner, I've put them both on a supplement regime ready to retest in a couple of months.
Your results show low folate and maybe an issue absorbing Vit D perhaps time to try a different approach? You can get Vit D patches or sublingual... how are your iron and ferritin levels?
..... So the TSH is a bit high ~ it's more common for healthy people to have TSH sitting around 1 or 2 ish ..anything over 3 is a little bit suspect~ anything over range is definitely suspect .
But GP's can't consider prescribing replacement thyroid hormone treatment unless TSH is over range , and stays over range on the next test ....( or, until thyroid hormones are under range).
If thyroid antibodies are positive, then doctors are more confident to start giving replacement thyroid hormone when TSH is 'not much' over range .... but TSH does still need to be over range on 2 occasions before they can offer any thyroid hormone replacement.
TSH= thyroid stimulating hormone~ is message from the pituitary to the thyroid asking it to make more thyroid hormone (T4 /T3) .
So when TSH is consistently high ,this can indicate a thyroid problem, in that it's asking the thyroid to work harder to keep up the usual levels of T4/T3 .... but so far , your thyroid hormones T4/T3 are being kept at 'ok' levels .
and because your antibodies are negative, there is no evidence of any cause for your thyroid to be struggling, or any reason for expecting thyroid function to be getting worse over time (negative antibodies is not a 100% guarantee that you don't have autoimmune thyroid disease though, because in research a few people have been found with autoimmune thyroid damage to their thyroid without ever finding raised antibodies)
i would suggest you get another TSH / fT4 / fT3 in a few months , see if TSH is higher again or if its going back to lower levels .
Ideally always test TSH at 9 am . and without having breakfast first . just water ~ TSH is higher in the morning and falls to it's lowest around 1-3pm ,and breakfast can lower it too..... so having tests at same time of day ensures you can compare TSH results properly
Thanks so much for the explanation. On your note of blood draw timing, I've just looked through the timing that these bloods were taken, the 3.05 TSH reading was taken at 11:30am and the 4.12 TSH was at 3pm..
As an aside - what's your iron result/s from your GP? Is the B12 from the GP, too? If so it will be a Serum test, not the Active test you'd get from, say, Medichecks. Just because your B12 is high in range doesn't mean your body is using it. Where's the corresponding Folate result?
And that Vit-D result is very low, but having that enormous amount as supplements is asking for trouble if not tied to Vit-K2mk7 and a decent magnesium.
I've come to realise my body isn't taking enough nutrients from my food. With swollen nodules on my thyroid I am definitely Hashimoto's, but my TSH, T4, T3 have never been 'out of range', though my Vit-D was in the 40s. My best first step was eating 6 Brazil nuts a day, for the Selenium as I was/am a poor T4 to T3 converter.
There is no simple answer here, only people's experiences. My suggestion is to go onto the Medichecks.com site, not to buy but to *read* the information in drop-down menus under "Biomarkers" and see if any of your jigsaw puzzle pieces nudge into place. You need to be armed with questions for your GP because, alas, it is appalling how little they know.
I'm speaking to GP today and will be following up about having access to my test results as my more recent tests have been with them not Medichecks, I've already asked 3 times and written to them asking for access to results and no response yet. Although I'm sure they do the most basic blood panel possible so not entirely sure what's been tested.
I do supplement K2mk7 yes. I take Vit D, K2, magnesium, zinc, Vit B complex, fish oil and I've done many trial runs of different supplements over the years but nothing stood out helping my symptoms.
I'm currently being put through for ADHD assessment, as cognitively those are my symptoms, but with a 3-5 year waitlist I'm looking at every other possible cause. Maybe it is ADHD, but I don't know how else to say it other than I have a gut feeling something isn't right in my body physically.
I agree with you about that last point. Sounds to me like they're trying to off-load you onto a long waiting list under a label so they they have an excuse not to do anything.
Regards "nothing stood out", it's not often any one thing does. We are a complex mechanism and once out of balance it takes a great deal of reading up and trial & error, not helped by the fact that vitamins take around one month to kick in and minerals three months.
As to printed test results, I had to physically face down the Receptionist for mine to be printed; even then she had to "ask the Doctor" as they do. Do not leave until you get a time *the next day* you can collect them, or ensure your email is logged. Surgery staff have a lot of sh*t to put up with, but squared shoulders, a steely eye and a quiet but firm voice as you emphasise it is "my legal right", can work wonders.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
So confused what my body is doing.. So poorly
8 years undiagnosed - possible hypothyroidism?
Long Covid: doctors find ‘antibody signature’ for patients most at risk
Cryptic Thyroid profile (as yet undiagnosed)
Confused and Frustrated
