I was on Levothyroxine for sub clinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy. My son is now 4 months and I have been undergoing multiple blood tests to establish what the course of action should now be. My TSH and T3 are within range but my T4 is very low. I will attach results and my ranges to this message.
I am very tired, terribly dry hair and hair loss and struggle to lose weight- however also conscious I have got a baby which could account for these symptoms.
grateful for any advice based on these circumstances and the pros/cons of asking to recommence Levothyroxine.
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NW2nature
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What time of day have these tests been taken? Highest tSH is at 9am or earlier.
Recommended blood test protocol: Test at 9am (or as close as possible), fasting & no biotin containing supplements for 3-7 days (Biotin can interfere with thyroid blood results as it is used in the testing process).
Testing like this gives consistency in your results and will show stable blood levels of hormone and highest TSH which varies throughout the day.
The problem with the way the NHS think about hypothyroidism is they overly focus on TSH alone and rarely look at FT4. Your TSH at 1.92 is not going to cause any interest from a GP and possibly not from an Endo either.
Obviously your FT4 is too low at the bottom of the range so perhaps theres an element of central hypothyroidism here where the TSH doesnt respond properly to call for more hormone.
Another explanation is that you have low vitamin levels caused by low thyroid hormone levels causing gut absorption issues. Sometimes this can affect TSH.
Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...
Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.
While I'm here, dont be fobbed off by GPs telling you its natural to be exhausted with symptoms because you have a baby. Its absolutely not normal. They will use any excuse other than whats actually the issue.
Hi Jaydee and thanks for all the info. Yes all blood tests down first thing in the AM, I have had full counts recently and iron levels monitored post birth which I think showed normal ferritin and folate but haven’t tested B12 &D3 so will look into this.
Will check out the private blood tests you recommend too.
I agree I don’t want to conflate post partum issues with this when it seems clear there is a potential problem (my mum is on Levo too)
Have you had thyroid antibodies checked - TPO & Tg. NHS can test TPO but would have to do a private test to check Thyroglobulin type.
There is really no such thing as 'normal'. Exactly what were the results for ferritin & folate that you have. We need OPTIMAL results which is a completely different thing.
I will attach my test histories for TSH and T4. Have no history on T3 as this is the first time the endocrinologist requested it. Never tested for antibodies.
They put me on 50mcg initially and then upped to 75mcg throughout pregnancy. I was told to stop after delivery as it was seen as being prescribed for sub clinical as a fertility issue rather than standalone thyroid issue.
Baby born March 2024 so results post delivery are on no Levo.
Interested to hear the GP (and this communities!) thoughts on recommencing as I suppose many of the key symptoms are also post-partum “normality” but is the clearly very low T4 having a detrimental impact and should be addressed.
Not sure how to add two photos so will follow on a separate post!
Hmmm ..... did you feel otherwise ok before levo, no hypo symptoms ?
if you felt ok , and without any antibodies results ,and given your TSH/ T4 before levo were in range ( just) , then i think i'd be tempted to wait a little bit longer to see what your thyroid settles down to by itself . maybe do a retest of TSH/ fT4 / fT3 at 6 mths then decide ?
it would be a good idea to get TPOab tested too .
i think 4 mths after birth is maybe a little too early to know what thyroid will end up doing when everything is properly settled ... thyroid is known to wander around and go weird for several months after pregnancy/ birth. Sometimes it sorts itself out , sometimes we end up permanently hypo
it's not that going back on levo now will do you any harm, it may well make you feel better, BUT,,, if you start levo again now the chances are you'll be on it for life unless you are prepared to try coming off it later ..which can be pretty unsettling if you are managing ok .
once someone is taking levo it becomes very hard to know how well their thyroid can cope on it's own . so if you start levo before you are sure your hypothyroidism is permanent , then you can;t tell if you could be fine without it.
it's a balance to be struck between ~how long do you wait to see if it's permanent~ how bad you feel ~ and if you go on it at this point , do you try coming off it again next year, or just stay on it forever.
T3 is the one that works on your cells, and at the moment even though your T4 is low, your T3 isn't appalling
Really helpful , thank you. This is what I am weighing up. I was shattered , lethargic and weight gain pre Levo (but I have a toddler too - so again possibly conflated with child rearing!!!)
in that case i'd be more inclined to get TPOab tested and if positive, start levo now .
if negative then it's back to "Mmmm maybe wait a bit longer ...."
i already had one kid 6 yrs before going hypo somewhere during /shortly after the 2nd pregnancy ....so i can attest that having a toddler while i was healthy didn't make me feel shattered or lethargic.
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