When Did UK Thyroid Ranges Change

[Sparklingsunshine]

Along with many of us here I've long suspected my thyroid has been struugling for years. I'm lucky to have access to my online GP records and spent part of yesterday evening going back over some old stuff dating back to 2006. It was about this time I started to get Fibro symptoms. And when my B12 really tanked and I started needing injections.

MY TSH was also tested around this time and came back as 4.5 but I noticed the range was 0.4-5.5 back then. Its been lowered since but when was that? I'm sad that I've struggled on for years feeling rubbish when I could have possibly felt better if I'd been started on thyroid replacement back then.

Also saw historically very low ferritin, folate and B12 levels. At one point my B12 was 151 on a range of 210- 910.

[helvella]

There are no UK Thyroid Ranges.

Ranges (reference intervals) are specific to the lab used. They are potentially subject to continual review with changes made as and when seen to be needed.

Typically, they will change when a lab switches to a different analyser system.

That is why we have the "calculators" as pinned posts. Although far from perfect, if you are the middle of a range on a test done at one lab, you should also be at the middle of the range for the same test at another lab. And so on through top, bottom and any arbitrary point in-between.

Thyroid Blood Calculators - updated

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

New English version of the % Calculator for Thyroid Results

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[helvella in reply to helvella]

As a highly specific point, many TSH ranges were changed near the end of the twentieth century and in the earlier years of this century. (And this happened round the world.)

Two specific reasons:

Tests are now better protected against interference from antibodies to TSH itself (which ends up with inappropriately inflated numbers).

Many labs made greater efforts to ensure that they checked that the blood samples they used to set ranges came from people with no known thyroid disorders.

Both these factors saw TSH results which, across the population, were higher than they should have been. Hence, the top of the TSH ranges were set too high.

[tattybogle]

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu.... difference-in-reference-ranges-reading-matter-for-a-rainy-day-.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

historically very low ferritin, folate and B12 levels. At one point my B12 was 151 on a range of 210- 910.

obviously these low vitamin levels needed addressing

Low vitamin levels (frequently as result of being hypothyroid) tend to lower TSH …..and GP frequently only looks at TSH and not the patient

Essential to maintain GOOD vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin levels

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to SlowDragon]

Following the great advice on here I do supplement folate, vitamin D and B12, as well as get B12 jabs. Now I'm post menopause ferritin is no longer an issue. No more iron tablets, thankfully 😆