Hi. I have been struggling with chronic fatigue and joint pain for almost 12 months. I have had Thyroid tested and all normal according to GP. I'm in surgical menopause and taking Testosterone, Oestrogen and Progesterone and all my levels are good for those so I'm wondering if it could be thyroid related? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TSH - 2.550
FT4 - 14.20
FT3 - 4.06
Anti TPO - 9.95
Anti TG - 14.8
Thank you 😊
Hi RedOne1, welcome to the forum. 
I'm afraid we're going to need the ranges to go with those results, because they vary from lab to lab. We also need to know the time of the blood draw to be able to interpret the results. Sorry.
Hi greygoose. Thank you! My apologies, the time of draw was 13:30
I have attached the results, does that help with the range?
Thank you for your response
OK, so your TSH was 2.55 at 1.30 pm. That is when it would be around its lowest point. Had you had the blood draw before 9 am it would have been higher. Impossible to guess how much higher, but we always recommend having a blood draw before 9 am to catch it at its highest, because the majority of doctors only look at the TSH. And if it's anywhere within the range, they will tell you it's normal. Actually, 2.55 isn't normal. 1 is normal (euthyroid). Over 2 means that your thyroid is struggling. But they don't know that.
FT4 is 14.2 (11.9-21.6) 23.71% through the range. That is very low, even though it's in-range. Euthyroid would be around 50%.
FT3 is 4.06 (2.8-6.5) 34.05% through the range. That is also very low, although higher than the FT4 - which is not normal. Normally, the FT3 percentage would be slightly lower than the FT4, around mid-range. The fact that it is higher is another indication that your thyroid is failing.
So, whilst according to those results you're not yet technically hypo, you're well on the way to being so. The problem would be convincing a doctor of that!
Your antibodies are negative but that's not proof that you don't have autoimmune thyroiditis. They could rise. So, my advice would be to keep testing until you reach numbers that a doctor would take seriously.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond in such detail. That's very helpful. I will arrange a test before 9am and keep a track of results. I knew there was something not right. I tick so many of the thyroid symptoms but a lot is dismissed with me as menopausal symptoms. Thanks again
Oh any excuse is good enough to dismiss hypo symptoms! If it weren't the menopause, if would be something else. They just hate to admit that it could be down to thyroid.
As women we get, stress, depression, anxiety, hypochondria, puberty, periods, lack of periods, pregnancy, post partum, peri menopause or menopause.
I'm sure that as soon as doctors realise we are women they have a mental tick box in their heads and 99 times out of 100, bingo! they hit the stereotype jackpot. Quite often we will fit into more than one catergory. That must be a field day for GP's 🤣
I just found another TSH only result from early November. This test was taken at 6.30pm so I now know this is not ideal:06-Nov-2023 Serum TSH level - (AM23) - Normal - no further action required 4.4 mu/L 0.35 - 5.50mu/L
I'm going to book private test with Randox in the New Year but the earliest they do in clinic is 10am, will that be OK? Or would it be better to do at home finger prick test before 9am?
I used discount code refer15 last time I ordered through Randox so this may still work for others 😊
Full thyroid test in clinic is £49 without discount
At home test is £29 without discount
This test was taken at 6.30pm so I now know this is not ideal
Well, the TSH would have been high at that time, but the only thing not ideal about it is that it would be difficult to reproduce with an NHS test - you don't get many labs open at that time! So, you wouldn't be able to compare it with other tests.
But at 4.4 it's far from 'normal'. Trouble is, they don't know what a 'normal' TSH is.
I'm going to book private test with Randox in the New Year but the earliest they do in clinic is 10am, will that be OK? Or would it be better to do at home finger prick test before 9am?
Depends on the reasons for the test. The TSH will be quite low at 10 am so, once again, you won't be able to compare it to other results done at different times. I think it would be better to do a finger-prick test at home and establish a reasonable time for the blood draw that you can stick to.
Thank you. I have a follow up appt with my GP soon as they increased my oestrogen to see if would help with my symptoms, it hasn't. I will see if I get anywhere questioning the 4.4 as high. Thanks for your help 😊
The TSH of a person without any thyroid problems - euthyroid - is around 1, never over 2 (that indicates that the thyroid is struggling) and when it reaches 3 you are technically hypo. The problem is the range - it's top number is much too high! But, doctors know as little about interpreting blood test results as they do treating hypo. They are just not trained to do it, and believe that any result that falls within the range has to be 'perfect'. They don't know/understand how the ranges are arrived at. So, you and your doctor might find this article of interest:
The normal range: it is not normal and it is not a range
Have you tested for B12 Folate - Ferritin - VitD ?
These are rarely routinely tested and must be requested...
Hope fully you will soon feel better 🌲
Hi,Thank you. I recently had full blood panel and B12 was at the bottom of the normal range (215 ng/l) so I asked to try B12 medication. Ferritin 57 ug/l and I have added iron to my supplements. They didn't test D2 this time as it was within range earlier in the year.
I take D3 and K2, Iron, Magnesium, B12, B6 supplements
Thank you for your reply 😊
B12 that low would cause fatigue along with a host of other symptoms - some serious. How much B12 in your supplement and which brand - some are better than others.
Keep iron at least 4 hours away from Levo and other supplements. Taking VitC aids absorption of iron. Test iron from time to time. Did they test the Full Iron Profile or just Ferritin ? (Stored iron)
VitD good around 100+. Do you know your level ?
Taking a GOOD B Complex along with a separate B12 is often suggested here on the Forum.
Good levels of nutrients are needed at all times for good thyroid hormone metabolism....
Thank you so much. I had to question the B12 as they said it was within range. I've been prescribed 50mcg cyanocobalamin but have been taken them only for 3 weeks. The supplement was nutravita b12, 1200.
I will look into adding B Complex. Thank you.
I cant recall what my Vit D was just that it was within range. I'll see if I can find my results.
Thank you
The problem always is that doctors don't understand ranges, what they are or what they mean, and treat them as if they are concrete barriers which mustn't be surpassed, and anything within has to be good. But, that's not how it works. They are, at best, just a rough guide - far too rough, in my opinion!
This is a link to a very good article in the British Medical Journal discussing what the 'normal range' really is. Very readable.
The normal range: it is not normal and it is not a range
If possible order Jarrow Methylcobalamin B12 5000 mcg on-line - under the tongue lozenges. Thorne Research B Complex also on-line containing folate not folic acid
With low levels of B12 etc I am betting VitD will also be low....
Fab, thank you Marz. I'll get them ordered 😊
Just want to add that some do not feel any difference between the different forms of b12 & some of us most definitely do. I feel.cuckoo for cocoa pops with any bit of methylcobalamin in sprays, pills and most definitely shots. Not telling you not to get methylcobalamin, many do wonderfully on it.
Just want you to not question it if you feel agitated, wired and have sleepless nights on it. We are a minority, but I am definitely not alone with how it adversely affects me.
Just a thought here, are you taking any cholesterol medications? They can give you muscle cramps. I have had that problem before, took me a few different trys to find one that didn't.
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