I've got slightly raised TSH, slightly raised free T4, and also high antibodies - what does this mean?

[un_piacere]

I'm a 26 year old female who recently went to the doctor because my energy levels were low, my hair was falling out, my fingertips were very wrinkled, skin was dry, felt very depressed, and I felt more sensitive to cold than usual. I had also noticed weight gain, though all through my life I've always been underweight so this wasn't bothering me too much.

I was tested for various things, including hypothyroidism. My TSH came back as being 8.3, my free T4 was 14.2, and my anti-TPO was at 120. My doctor said I had subclinical hypothyroidism and that I should just leave it for another 6 months. I complained about this and he gave me a prescription of Thyroxine.

I haven't started taking the Thyroxine yet because I believe other tests should have been done - am I right in thinking my T3 should also be checked? Is it unusual for someone to have elevated levels of TSH, T4 and TPO - this seems quite conflicting to me.I don't want to start medicating only for it to send me hyper.

My doctor was very dismissive of me despite the fact that my symptoms are bad, and he doesn't seem to be that knowledgable about thyroid problems. I'm a bit unsure about the next step to take, and would appreciate any advice.

[PinkNinja]

Do you have the reference range for T4? It's just that the reference range at my local lab is 7.8 - 14.4, putting your T4 at the top end of the range. Many other labs have ranges in the region of 12 - 25, putting your T4 at the lower end of the range. If you could let us know the range we might be able to help better

I find it a little odd that both your TSH and T4 are elevated, which makes me wonder what your reference ranges are. If your T4 is indeed at the lower end of normal you will probably find that you benefit from the thyroxine. You will need to increase the dose after a couple of weeks if you are still experiencing symptoms but will then have to wait about 6 weeks before having a blood test. I can't know for sure because you haven't said what dose your doctor has prescribed.

If you can clear up these couple of points we can hopefully be a bit more help

Carolyn x

[un_piacere]

Thank you for your answer Carolyn. Ah ok, he did say something about range but I wasn't sure what it meant at the time. I think he said it was between 9 and 20, which I'm guessing would make me just short of being normal?

[Hidden in reply to un_piacere]

Hi

If you range is 9-20 then 14 is not a high T4!

How much levothyroxine did he give you?

If it was me, I think I would be inclined to start taking a small dose (25mcg or 50mcg) to see if it improved my symptoms.

We always advise people to keep a diary of symptoms vs dosage vs test results so they can keep a close eye on what is happening.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/diagno...

Just a pointer, if you want to reply to someone in particular, you need to make sure to click on 'reply to this', otherwise they will not get an email letting them know that you have responded.

Louise

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