Hi everyone. I’m so glad I’ve found this site! I hope someone can help me with interpreting my blood tests.
I was living abroad until recently and went to see the Dr as was struggling to lose weight. He did bloods which all came back as normal except for my TSH which was reported as < 0.0083 (normal range 0.35-4.994)
He then requested further thyroid blood tests and also an US and nuclear medicine scan of my thyroid.
The scans came back as normal. The other blood tests show
ANTI TPO 329.54 (normal < 5.61)
FT3 6.67 (normal 2.63 - 5.69)
FT4 15.66 (normal 9- 19)
TSH Receptor Abs 2.980 (normal < 1.8)
TSH < 0.0083 (normal 0.35 - 4.994)
He told me I had Graves’ disease and started me on Carbimazole 5mg daily and told me to get my bloods checked once I came back to UK as this was just before I moved back
I’ve now been referred to an endocrinologist at my local hospital and am waiting for an appointment to see them.
I just wondered if anyone could tell me are my blood results normal for someone with Graves’ disease? I’m really struggling with my weight which is why I went to the doctor in the first place but everything I’ve read seems to indicate I should have lost weight but I am very obese and feel as if the carbimazole is making it worse! I’m wondering if I got the wrong diagnosis!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
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Jessica7878
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Well, I'm no expert, but from what I've seen on here, those don't look like Graves' results at all. Are those results from before you started carbi?
Your TPO antibodies are pretty high, so I suspect you have Hashi's, rather than Graves'.
With Graves', both FT4 and FT3 would be very much over-range. Your FT3 is only slightly over-range, and FT4 is nicely in-range.
With Graves' you are always hyper, but with Hashi's you can swing between hypo and false 'hyper'.
I expect that doctor was only looking at the TSH, which is suppressed, and jumped to the conclusion that it was Graves' - they don't really know the difference.
And, of course, you do have positive TRAB, but you can have that with Hashi's, too.
So, no, those results aren't typical for Graves', and yes, I do think you've been given the wrong diagnosis. It often happens.
Thank you so much for your reply. Yes all these results are from before I started on the carbimazole.
I will hopefully get appointment soon to see Endocrinologist so will show them all these bloods and see what they say. I think Hashimotos makes more sense but I am very new to all this and still learning a lot but definitely not feeling great on the carbimazole so didn’t think it was right.
Graves is confirmed with positive TRab. Yours are at a positive level. So yes you do have Graves. Your immune system over stimulates thyroid.
Low TSH & high FT4 & or FT3 it what you’d usually see &
It is typical levels go very high with Graves & yours are more elevated with FT4 still being in range & FT3 being fractional over range. This is why you been given a very low dose of carbimazole.
You do have very high TPO and that is often positive with Graves too but very high level might mean you have both Graves & Hashimoto’s (autoimmune thyroiditis) which causes damage to thyroid and lowers the ability to function.
The ultrasound & nuclear uptake scan is going to be much more accurate at confirming diagnosis as the uptake pattern is distinctive showing if function is consistent through thyroid.
You will need to closely monitor FT4 & FT3 as the dose may need to be altered. If you do have both autoimmune conditions you may experience greater fluctuations.
Obtain copies of scan report to share with new doctors.
Weight loss is common with very high thyroid level. 10 % are said to gain weight. With more mildly elevated levels, our appetite goes crazy & energy is poor & we don’t present seriously unwell with weightloss - so it can be missed for a prolonged time. I have a nodules & this cause elevated level missed for many years.
It’s all very confusing and the information we need to learn can be overwhelming. All the while feeling pretty terrible as a result of our sub-optimal hormones.
The one actionable thing I take away from the above is this:
You will need to closely monitor FT4 & FT3 as the dose may need to be altered. If you do have both autoimmune conditions you may experience greater fluctuations.
The other thing I will say is that doctors all over the world are likely to be under-educated on thyroid issues. There are exceptions but I say so just to give you a heads up that you shouldn’t let your head spin when you hear conflicting information as you start your journey.
For future reference, and if you need to test private, here is a good check list of the things to test for a view if your total thyroid health:
1) TSH
2) Free T3
3) Free T4
Plus these vitamins
4) ferritin
5) folate
6) B12
7)Vit D3
Given your confirmed autoimmune thyroid diagnosis (either/both Hashimotos (underactive) or graves (overactive)), but middling free Ts… and knowing it’s the Free Ts that are the most indicative/correlated to symptoms…
You may find yourself wanting to private blood test those before you are able to wrangle the NHS into doing it for you.
I wish I had your Free T results! So just like I says above, monitoring the impact of the carbi is probably going to serve you well.
Hello Jessica, I have Graves, have had it years , when I was first diagnosed I had lost a stupid amount of weight and like you went for help ,I don't understand blood test results even now ,but I also had a bulging eye ,(another symptom), I have not heard of the meds your on but was started on Thyroxine and am still , dosage go up and down depending on Thyroid ,I am now taking 150mg daily ,sorry can't be more helpful , but I'm sure you'll hear from others on here who know more , good luck
Thank you all so much for replying and all the information you have provided. I will definitely look into getting private testing before seeing the endocrinologist and will do some further reading. I really do appreciate all your help. 😃
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