Which things should i ask to be tested for my next blood test?

[Poshbird]

i have an appt with my doctor tomorrow and a blood test in January. Have been on 50mcg, then 100 then 75 and now 50mcg again after seeing an endo. Main sympton throughout being diagnosed as hypo is anxiety and panic. Having been a guinea pig for 9 months and not feeling any better, i am both at the end of my tether, very emotional and highly confused. My TSH has gone from 4.5 to a high. Of 7.2 then down to 4, then up again mainly due to meds i think - last test i. Sept on 75mcg was 1.18 - still felt rubbish.

Help me as i need to try and understand what needs to be tested in my bloods to check if maybe the anxiety is being caused by something else if its not the medication.

TSH, T3 and T4, ferritin, B12 are the only ones i can think of - is anything missing? Also is it possible that Levo is not for me and i should try something else?

Thanks so much.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Vitamin D and folates should be added to that list.

[PinkNinja]

Serum iron and folate would be useful. If you can get a random cortisol test that is better than nothing. It should be high in range if taken in the early morning and lower later in the day. I'm not sure of exact levels but these can be found on the internet.

You may also think about vitamin D. 50% of white skinned people are deficient and many of the rest are insufficient. If you have darker skin you have an even higher chance of being deficient. As many as 90% of darker skinned people are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can cause many symptoms similar to hypothyroidism. It is involved in over 300 metabolic processes, or so I've read.

You might want to get a full blood count too. This can be quite revealing if you know what to look for. I knew I needed B12 based on my MCV. It was always too high. Since taking B12 it has come down just into the normal range

I hope this helps

Carolyn x

[PinkNinja in reply to PinkNinja]

abnormalities in white blood cell counts can also indicate whether you might have an autoimmune condition. Low neutrophils and high esonophils can indicate an autoimmune disease may be a possibility.