Normal blood tests - what now?

[Sunny]

Hi

I'm 62 and for several years I've had various symptoms which have made me wonder whether I have an underactive thyroid. Amongst these symptoms are the loss of the outer third of my eyebrows and low body temperature as taken on waking and before getting up.

I've always been fit & active - mountain walking & climbing being my main hobbies - but it's becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain these hobbies due to increasing lack of energy, tiredness etc. I realise that at my age I will start to slow down but I do think I'm much worse that I should be - I have many mountaineering friends who are my age or older and they don't have these problems.

Two lots of blood tests for thyroid activity 1 year apart were normal. GP is clearly fed up of me and won't take it any further in absence of blood test evidence.

Help! Would appreciate advice as to whether my symptoms merit further investigation and if so how to go about it. I will tackle GP again if necessary but wondered if there were any other routes I could try.

Sorry this is such a long posting - am just getting desperate

[Yammie1973]

Dear Sunny

I am 37 years old and I experienced something similar with my GP. The option that I opted for was going to an independent lab and had bloods taken privately including TSH, Free T3 and T4 tests. This lab is called Lab21 and they send you a box with phial for the collected blood, you then send this off with a small fee and within two weeks they send you the results of the tests with a average range per test.

The problem with doing only a T4 test is that the T4 may come back within the 'normal range' as T4 is measured within the blood flow, BUT T3 is the one hormone which gives you the increased metabolism and extended energy in the body and is found at the body cell level. It is not regularly tested by GP's because they are frightened by the large pharamceutical companies pushing a synthetic T4 drug. If your body is not converting T4 into T3, you will still experience all the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

I do hoep that this will be of some help to you. Good Luck, you are at the beginning of a very long and protracted fight that we are all on. Welcome to the battle!!

Yammie3003

[trw99]

two things first ask for a printout

second ask to see a consultant

[Imogen]

Hi If you live in the Birmingham area, ask to be referred to Dr. Gordon Skinner, in Moseley.

0121 449 8895

You can check him out on line

Imogen