TSH level

[Danathediva1]

Hello lovely people ,

Please help me understand this blood results. I went to the GP in January as my 17 yr old daughter all of a sudden developed all sorts of symptoms such as heavy periods , fatigue , feeling cold all the time, increase appetite,weight gain and tingling and numbness in her legs. I suffer with thyroid issues and went through hell and back being diagnosed with Graves and TED so I was worried.

The GP was not concerned blaming all this on her increase school workload and did me a ‘favour’ by having some tests done ! Her TSH is rather high and I worry that she may have thyroid issues too!

I have huge respect for all the lovely members that know how to interpret blood results as I’m useless and I will be very grateful for any advise to move forward.

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Yes, high TSH shows her thyroid is struggling, are they going to retest and also test antibodies? Also her ferritin is woefully low so a full iron panel would be needed so that you can get her started on supplements if this also shows low serum iron.

Other tests required folate, Vit D and B12

I'm guessing they won't entertain doing a full thyroid panel so you might want to get on and order a private one

[Danathediva1 in reply to TiggerMe]

Thank you soo much ! I need to phone the GP for an appointment to discuss this results in more depth and push for more testing. Xx

[Justine_Case]

Hi Her MCV levels are on the high end of the range, which may indicate low B12 or Folate levels.

It seems it is not uncommon to have both Thyroid and B12/Pernicious Anemia problems.

[Danathediva1 in reply to Justine_Case]

Thank you so much . I didn’t realise she could have both ! Need to push the doctor to explain

[helvella in reply to Danathediva1]

Low B12 can be caused by thyroid issues.

So, whilst medicine may class her as having two disorders, the B12 issue might be a result of the thyroid disorder. But best not make any assumptions.

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

I agree with all the advice you have already, my addition is to test early morning only, don’t just accept the first blood test appointment that is free. TSH runs like a rollercoaster through the day, highest around 7-9am for me. Test then and you will get the highest numbers. Also test at different points in her cycle… makes such a difference.

Avoid supplements with biotin for at least 3 days before testing (affects the testing assay)

I would invest in either monitor my health or Medichecks thyroid panel use voucher code

Thyroiduk10

They are about £40-50 and I do them 6-12 weekly depending on my needs. Finger prick at home drip into a tiny test tube and post it off, sent my last one on Thursday morning and had results Saturday morning.

To really see what is what you need FT4 and FT3 but the NHS don’t do those.

But NHS will do is TPO antibodies which might be helpful to know. The private tests do TgAb too.

My daughter had similar results at 17, felt really unwell on Duke of Edinburgh and has definitely had a Hashi hyper skinny phase with trembles at 18, didn’t want to do anything about it, in denial and at Uni, and is now carrying a lot more weight, hungry and tired, and was very receptive to my suggestion we test again. So that’s a job for Easter hols 🙏🌱

[Danathediva1 in reply to Regenallotment]

Thank you so much ! My daughter is in complete denial and only listens to the doc. I am not qualified to diagnose apparently!! She has a DofE trip practice coming up before Easter and then she is off to Borneo in July for 3 weeks . I am getting increasingly concerned for her health and I cannot help but dread how exhausting those trips will be on her body . The GP won’t talk to me anymore and I struggle to direct her to ask the right questions. Thanks for the testing advise xx

[Regenallotment Ambassador in reply to Danathediva1]

Aha!so my denier was off to the Pyrenees, she did well but had vomiting upset stomach and nausea (heat stoke) from day 2 in extreme heat, spent the last day of the trek taking 1 step at a time holding onto her teacher, being pumped full of electrolytes and her mates carried her bag, she then spent 48 hours in a tent shivering while everyone had a great time in the pool etc. They were well prepared and exceptionally well taken care of, had medics in the team and staff are ex forces, she was VERY lucky to have this level of care, once home she spent a week in bed being fed chicken soup and adrenal cocktail and B Complex magnesium etc. Patched her up and she now knows the signs and does a bit of self care. I explained that if her teacher had known her B12/iron status they might have refused to take her and we perhaps should not have let her go, but we didn’t know how it would affect her at the time. Perhaps dangling the carrot of Borneo if she accepts those levels need to go up… good luck! 🌱

[Danathediva1 in reply to Regenallotment]

Thank you so much for sharing your daughter’s experience whilst away !! Gosh that must have been so scary !Our kids are so precious and are putting us in a such a difficult caring position . So glad your daughter is well now , it was probably hell for her to be away from home and so ill!

I will need to be more assertive with my daughter to get her well ! Xx

[FallingInReverse]

I’m going through the same with my 17 year old. At the very least she’s iron anemic (ie rock bottom ferritin with all the symptoms we’d expect), and she has suspicious TSH, but fine free Ts.

If helpful, here is the list of tests I’m getting done for her every 6 weeks or so as I get her iron/ferritin up and monitor her thyroid at the same time:

A compete picture of your thyroid health comes from these tests:

1) TSH

2) Free T3

3) Free T4

Plus these vitamins

4) ferritin

5) folate

6) B12

7)Vit D3

****Test all at the same time, around 9 am is best if you can. Fasting before. If any taken - No biotin the few days before, and no iron supplements about a few days to a week before, and no high iron food/meals the day before****

These should be tested once, they do help rule in autoimmune cause if positive results:

1) TRab

2) TSI

3) TPOab

4) TGab

IRON PANEL IS

-Iron

-Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC)

-Transferrin saturation

-Ferritin

-High Sensitivity CRP (CRP-hs)

Note ferritin is in the thyroid list too.

[Danathediva1 in reply to FallingInReverse]

Thank you very much ! Yes I am planing to test her more often to keep a eye on what’s exactly going on with her xx

[Danathediva1 in reply to FallingInReverse]

Are you using Medichecks? How much does it cost to test everything as you do with your daughter ? Please if you don’t mind sharing xx

[FallingInReverse in reply to Danathediva1]

I am in the US! So totally different.

But you can check other posts/search the forum/ or start a new post to get the attention of the UK folks here for medichecks guidance!