Hi I paid for a private test just to avoid wasting doctors time. I’m a little confused by the results so any advice appreciated. From what I’ve read I think it means I have Hashimoto but the doctors don’t treat this, it’s a case of waiting for it to develop into hypothyroidism ? I have a strong family history of it. I feel a bit frustrated by the main symptom atm of muscle fatigue and weight gain. I work out regularly and generally always ache, having done no exercise for 2 weeks over Christmas and still aching I realise it’s not normal. Do I approach my doctor with the results or just get them repeated every 6m myself and wait for the thyroid to get affected? TIA
TSH 3.900 normal 0.35-5.5 optimal
FT4 15.00 normal 11.9-21.6 optimal
FT3 4.82 normal 3.1- 6.8 optimal
Anti-TPO 90.6 high <34 optimal
Anti-Tg 234 high <115.0 optimal
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GPs will not generally medicate for hypothyroidism until TSH rises further, usually in 2 consecutive tests. TSH should be under 2, so your reading confirms that your thyroid is struggling. Most members here report feeling best with TSH closer to 1. Was the test taken early morning (as TSH higher at this time)?
Have you tested ferritin, folate, B12 and Vit D? Having these optimal supports thyroid health. If you haven’t tested, you could ask your GP to test these in the first instance.
Have you ever trialled a gluten free diet? It may be worth eliminating gluten fully for a couple of months to see if this benefits you. Many members choose to have a coeliac test prior to a GF trial. I’m not coeliac, but like many others on the forum have benefited from eliminating gluten.
Thanks for that, that’s helpful. The test was around midday and after I had been to a gym class ( not sure if that is relevant !) . I’m a life long vegetarian so going on a celiac diet would be really restrictive 😫 but I guess I could give a go ! I know I’ve had extremely low iron stores while my iron levels being fine in the past. I guess my body is good at fighting hard to try and keep a balance with what it’s working with ! These results were actually from July last year so I might just pay and see where I’m at now. I HATE having to try and deal with doctors.
I would recommend you retest thyroid levels (TSH, FT3 and FT4), plus key thyroid vitamins (ferritin, folate, B12 and vit D). Many members, myself included, test privately for these for a better picture of our thyroid health.
Regarding Antibody tests:
Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism) needs to be confirmed via positive TRab or TSI:
Your TSH indicates your thyroid is struggling most people have TSH of around 1. My TSH is usually around 0.38 to 0.58 and this suits me. How are you feeling? I believe just having high antibodies can make you feel ill. My TPO antibodies have been 4000 for years but my GP isn’t interested it is the TSH they are interested in nothing else I’m afraid
Just to add it could take years for your TSH to rise if it ever does Levothyroxine is as cheap as chips and easy to purchase online this what a lot of us have had to do when doctors refuse to treat us The NHS should really treat you once TSH hits 3 but I think they like to see us suffer and won’t treat us until it is 10
My untreated results were similar; I was only able to get treatment started by a private thyroid specialist GP though I think sometimes NHS will treat if you have repeated high TPO antibodies? Not sure about that, sorry.
The other thing you could try is having a read of Izabella Wentz' Hashimoto's book, and/or website and newsletters. She recommends a lot of supplements but some people on here have found her methods useful and it seems she suggests some people find it useful even without treatment?
I do feel for you, it's a frustrating position to be in! As Buddy195 says, making sure your key vitamins etc are up to scratch will help.
Hi, I have Hashimotos and was extremely poorly by the time it finally showed up in the TSH test as "borderline". Please ask your GP to refer you to Endocrinology immediately.
TSH tests don't work for some cases of Hashimotos. I became so weak that I was anxious about simply going out to buy food as I feared I wouldn't have enough energy to get home again. My GP told me I had anxiety and depression. I'd had TSH tests done many times over the years which all looked normal.
I was offered antidepressants and a hysterectomy, by my GP, which I declined. I opted to up my exercise but this damaged my body as it wasn't rebuilding itself properly due to the undiagnosed Hashimotos. I now have several forms of arthritis and osteoporosis which I believe could have been avoided if I'd had treatment earlier. My Hashimotos only showed up in the antibodies test not the TSH test. When I finally had my thyroid scanned there was very little of it left.
I'm constantly battling with GPs as they don't understand that my TSH results are always anomalous. I have to ask the GP to contact endocrinology.
I had to keep asking for a higher Levothyroxine dose until I felt normal. My blood results only ever showed high antibodies.
Your case sounds like one for endocrinology to unravel. GPs don't always understand this condition. It's hard to fight for your health when you feel so tired and achy.
Don't wait for it to get worse, get referred to Endocrinology now. Good luck.
Thank you, I think I’m going to privately retest as these results were from July. The muscle fatigue is definitely worse, having time off exercising over Christmas made me realise it’s not from working out. It seems silly you have to wait for the damage to the thyroid to be done before they act. My Mum, Aunt, Nan and younger sister all have hypothyroidism so I’ve always thought it’s only a matter of time.
Thanks for your reply. Apologies for the following burden but here are some things that I hope will help you get treated and back to normal:-I was taking a lot of supplements before I was diagnosed and wondered if this skewed my results. Because I felt so low I took B6, B12 and Iron as historic blood tests (years before my diagnosis) had shown I was deficient in these. As it turns out, being deficient might have been an indication that my thyroid was malfunctioning.-Before I was diagnosed, My GP referred me to a physiotherapist. This helped to show that I couldn't gain strength but this was too little too late and too much of my thyroid tissue had been destroyed.
-In my case I now realise that I had a mildly overactive thyroid all my life, undiagnosed, which steadily crashed and became underactive/Hashimotos in my 30s and 40s. If it's the same in your case, you might have had some mild overactive symptoms you never registered. I used to faint easily during puberty, I had very heavy periods and bad mood swings. My toenails lifted a little from the nail bed. I had a mild tremor - my hands always shook if I tried to hold them steady.
I had pains in my forearms and shins which were put down to "growing pains" or simply the cold weather. I was very skinny growing up and only briefly put on a bit of weight at puberty. Also dry skin, contact allergies and moisture membrane problems and gut problems.
-As I became increasingly ill with Hashimotos I had a massive list of symptoms. I put on weight, my back hurt so much I had to roll out of bed in the morning. Really dry throat and eyes, sudden headaches, brittle hair and nails. Everything ached, I couldn't get warm, I was no longer in work - I was at the GPs surgery wearing 3 pairs of socks, several jumpers and coats, two woolly hats and I was in tears. On this occasion the blood test only showed as borderline - no treatment necessary!
It's an uphill struggle to get treated but please keep trying. My bones and joints are not in a good way and I blame late diagnosis and treatment. I think my thyroid tissue could have been saved by earlier treatment. My GP has apologised for telling me it was anxiety and depression.
Write down any and many symptoms you have, a good GP won't dismiss you as a hypochondriac or gaslight you into thinking it's your mental health. Get referred to Endocrinology.
A good GP or endocrinologist should ask you many questions about your medical history that would cover the above symptoms. Blood test results are variable from one person to another. The important thing is that you need to feel back to yourself again.
I have a similar high anti tg. Had it over a year now but it hasn't affected gym, muscles, weight gain etc. Those have improved actually. Regarding achey muscles I did read statins can do that. Whether you are in them or not there maybe other mechanisms at play having a similar affect. Anything that might lower cholesterol for example. Regarding muscle recovery I found creatine was a game changer for me.
I’m not on any medication. I have gained muscle but can’t progress as my muscles feel constantly fatigued. I’ve tried upping protein and iron as I’m vegetarian but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I’ll take a look at creatine, there are so many supplements like turmeric etc that all say they help, it’s hard to know where to start. But if if more medical I would rather get that sorted as well.
Yeah it can take some experimenting. I tried many things and now just about got a nice balance. I couldn't have whey protein because the abundant sucralose sweeteners gave me headaches. hemp tasted nasty. I found a non sweetener whey and take that twice a day and it really helps energy and muscle recovery too. Slimfast meal bars are good too. All the b vitamins I think. I tried loads of supplements but a lot of them are sedative so best not taken early. Fish oil for example makes me tired. Zinc is good but also not early. magnesium good but not early. Its all experimentation. You'll get there.
Thank you, I’m going to pay and books the the other tests as well as repeating this one as it was from July. I’ve just looked at some old results on the NHS app my ferritin levels were 4.9 in 2018 which was low but raised to 18.2 with me taking iron supplements for 6 months. I don’t take them regularly due to side effects.
those are very similar to my numbers. My doctor told me it proves I have Hashimotos. But he also told me he treats my T4, t4,t3 & (just as important is) how am I feeling & doing. I already am on t4&t3. My dosages has barely changed since the mid 1990’. I hope this helps
I ordered a test from monitor my health and did that this morning. It was slightly traumatic, I now have 2 very bruised fingertips 😅. Next time I’ll pay the extra for someone to take my blood the normal way. Hopefully not too long for the results.
Ok new results in, opinions please do I contact the doctors yet or not as the results page say subclinical-hypothyroidism. Would the doctor bother with these numbers ?
TSH 9.2 high
FT4 15.2 normal
FT3 4.4 normal
TPO 106 high
I don’t have my ferritin levels etc as the test haemolysis so I need to repeat it 😢
I would start a new post with these results to alert more members to reply. Please add reference ranges in brackets after results as these can vary between laboratories
Others with knowledge of sub clinical hypothyroidism will then be able to offer further advice.
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Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
High prolactin, low progesterone, high testosterone, etc..
High anti tpo normal tsh
Anti thyroglobulin Antibody High 
anti-tpo how high is high?
High Anti-Thyroidperoxidase / Thyroglobulin & TSH
