High prolactin, low progesterone, high testosterone, etc..

[rachelvmears]

hello, i’m looking for some advice from anyone who may have any idea what my blood results mean. i’m aware that this might not be the right group to be posting in but i thought somebody might have experienced something similar or if not, then hopefully you can point me towards a better group to post this in.

i haven’t felt great for a few years. my main symptoms are fatigue, dizziness, air hunger, brain fog, lack of concentration, confusion, heat intolerance, extreme mood swings & irritability/anger, anxiety/panic/feeling nervous for no reason (it often just comes out of nowhere), low mood, depression, generally feeling fairly cr*p on a daily basis. these symptoms stop me living my life how i used to/how i would like to and i just really need to get to the bottom of it all so i can live a normal life again.

i thought i had thyroid disease (my dad has Hashimoto’s) because my levels haven’t been ‘optimal’ in the past. my test results show i don’t have Hashimoto’s, however i do have:

- low progesterone

- high prolactin

- high testosterone

- low sex hormone binding globulin

- high free androgen index

- towards the bottom of the range oestradiol, LH & FSH

my prolactin is 754, however it has previously been as high as 1200. 2 years ago i had a cannulated prolactin test in hospital and that came back fine, was told there couldn’t be a tumour but i was never given a brain scan. i’m just not sure what to make of all these results & just looking for some advice.

i have also had an ultrasound on my womb/ovaries and an internal examination which both came back normal.

other results are (with ranges in brackets)

TSH: 4.01 (0.35 - 5.5)

FT4: 15.00 (11.9 - 21.6)

FT3: 4.81 (3.1 - 6.8)

Anti-TPO: <9 (<34 = optimal)

Anti-Tg: (<115 = optimal)

Female hormones:

Oestradiol: 191 (82 - 1251)

FSH: 2.5 (1.7 - 7.7)

LH: 4.4 (1 - 11.4)

Progesterone: 5.21 (13.1 - 46.3)

Prolactin: 754 (>496 = high)

Testosterone: 2.12 (>1.67 = high)

SHBG: 29.2 (<32.4 = low)

Free androgen index: 7.3 (>5.6 = high)

if anyone has any experience of something similar/know what could be causing all of this i would really appreciate it. thanks in advance Xxx

[greygoose]

TSH: 4.01 (0.35 - 5.5)

Actually, you do have a thyroid problem. Your TSH is too high. You are hypo when your TSH gets to 3. You may not have Hashi's - but even that isn't certain - but you are hypo. But, you'll never find a doctor that will tell you that because they've been taught that the TSH has to be at least over-range - preferably over 10! But, I'm not surprised you don't feel well with a TSH of 4.

[rachelvmears in reply to greygoose]

hi, thank you for your reply. yes, i thought my TSH wasn’t great. the having to get above 20 thing seems very silly do you think that the thyroid could be the cause of the other hormones that are out of range? or could there be something that’s causing the struggling thyroid & the other things? it’s a very complex system, as far as i can see 😅.

[greygoose in reply to rachelvmears]

It is complex, yes. And all hormones are inter-connected. So if one is out of kilter, the others are likely to be, too. But, I doubt that your prolactin, testosterone, etc. are causing your thyroid to struggle. More likely the other way round.

[rachelvmears in reply to greygoose]

hi, thank you for your reply. my dad said the same thing (he has Hashi’s). i’m gonna see if i can get a thyroid scan x

[greygoose in reply to rachelvmears]

Good idea.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

was thyroid test done as recommended

all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

TSH is higher than typical suggesting thyroid is struggling

High testosterone

You need assessment for PCOS

nhs.uk/conditions/polycysti...

High prolactin

Can be linked to PCOS

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

and Hashimoto’s

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Ask for ultrasound scan of thyroid

20% of Hashimoto's patients never have raised antibodies

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Paul Robson on atrophied thyroid - especially if no TPO antibodies

paulrobinsonthyroid.com/cou...

Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too.

Request coeliac blood test BEFORE considering trial on strictly gluten free diet

Request GP test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

[rachelvmears in reply to SlowDragon]

hi, yes test was done at 9 after fasting for 12 hours. i was assessed for PCOS before and my ultrasound and internal examination were both fine.

will ask for the thyroid scan. i’ve previously had low vitamin d but i have a normal level now. b12 and ferritin were fine last time i was tested. never had folate tested before though. i’ve recently been using magnesium spray & d-ribose as they both seem to be having a positive impact on my fatigue.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to rachelvmears]

Please add actual vitamin results and ranges

Retest vitamin levels every 6 months

[rachelvmears in reply to SlowDragon]

I haven’t had them tested recently, hence why I didn’t put them in my post. Will get onto testing them again.

[Charlie-Farley]

Hi Rachel

Are you taking any supplements for deficiencies in vitamins? Just flagging if you don’t already know that some multivitamins can and B vitamin complex does contain biotin- this in turn can interfere with the blood assay. It is actually on the blood test print out from the NHS - however I have found the people commissioning the test on our behalf (doctors) and the person taking the bloods (nurse/phlebotomist) actually doesn’t know this.

I’ve recently seen it as a thing that has been flagged for them- no doubt it will trickle down eventually.

But when you think how many times a doctor reads off a blood test printout it puts it into stark reality.

I always get printouts even though I have had patient access. If they think you are going to be a problem they block you from seeing stuff - I think they say it is to avoid distress - whose distress??? 😂

Keep meticulous records whatever comes out.

[rachelvmears in reply to Charlie-Farley]

hi, no i don’t take anything like that at the moment. i did know about the biotin, thank you for telling me though. 🤣🤣 this test was just one I’d bought myself as doctors haven’t done much to help me up to this point, however whenever I do have tests done by my GP i always ask for printouts so I can see everything myself cos they’ve been known to keep some things in the dark 🫠😂