Thyroid test results I'm told are normal.

[jca123]

Hi I hope someone can help please. I am suffering with chronic fatigue, pain and have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I asked for a more detailed Thyroid test and these are the results that I'm told are normal. TSH - 0.86, T4 - 11 and T3 - 4.1. I'm looking for answers as the fatigue is stopping me working or doing anything. Thank yoiu

[perks]

Hi Jca123, From what you've posted your TSH is good as they say we need to be near to zero as we can get. I would have said that your T4 could be a bit higher but that would depend on the range that it was measured against at the lab and I'm not sure about the T3.. The Chronic Fatigue / ME / Fibromyalgia are not something I have personal experience of but I was reading an article by Ester Ranzen ( dailymail online in the health section) about her Daughter who suffers with ME badly for 14 years and she is much improved on a Colaeic disease ( Sorry 4 spelling but is Gluten Free) diet so you might ask about having a blood test done for that as it's being diagnosed more and more. It might just be worth investigating.. Hope you find the answers, keep smiling E

[jca123 in reply to perks]

Thank you - I have had the gluten test but all came back ok. Trying to work out how to approach my doctor about the possibility of my fatigue being caused by a thyroid problem.

[fennel in reply to perks]

I also had a negative result for gluten but the diet has been very helpful, I feel a lot better and the swollen belly has gone down. I don't know how reliable the test is, maybe it is not infallible.

[smudgerthepainter]

What are your iron levels like? ferritin levels less than 50 require supplementation. Iron is vital in the convesion of t4 into t3. Insufficient iron my cause impared convesion of t4 into non useable reverse t3. My values are similar and I always feel better with my t4 nearer 20. apparently the "average" ME sufferer (not on t4 replacement) has a free t4 value of 13, so lower than that and no wonder you dont feel so good! Nb low iron symptoms mimic those of low thyroid. hope this helps.

[jca123 in reply to smudgerthepainter]

Thank you - I have been looking for answers since I developed fatigue. The doctors say all is normal with my thyroid but I'm not convinced. They have done a full blood count but nothing has been mentioned about iron. I want my life back. Not sure how to approach my doctor on ths one.

[smudgerthepainter in reply to smudgerthepainter]

Don't accept "normal" ask for a print out of the test results for later comparison. Request a full blood test PLUS Ferritin (alternatively just tick the ferritin box on your next blood req form!) Normally they just do a haemoglobin test which records the iron sloshing about in your blood. The ferritin is a protein that binds to iron and is found in the liver, spleen,skeletal muscles and bone marrow with a small amount in the blood.The amount in the blood shows how much is stored in the organs. The lower the ferritin level (even within the normal range 28-150) the more likely it is that you dont have enough iron.(below 12 indicates depleted bone marow stores)

Low ferritin levels (less than 50) affect how the organs work. low levels can lead to a reduction in the productin of haemoglobin (which carries oxygen from the lungs to all the organs including the skin) and affects the first 2 of 3 steps in thyroid hormone synthesis. It alters thyroid metabolism by reducing conversion of T4 into T3 aswell as modifying the T3 binding creating useless RT3. And as if that's not enough low iron levels can increase circulating concentrations of TSH! Good luck, I too want my life back but every time it seems to come within my grasp some one meddles with my meds!!! GRRRRR

[RedApple Administrator]

Unfortunately, with those thyroid test results it's highly unlikely you will get anyone in the NHS to entertain any notion of thyroid being the cause of your problems.

However, you can tell your doctor that you are not prepared to accept a diagnosis of CFS, fibro etc until all other possibilities have been investigated. Low ferritin, low vitamin D and low vitamin B12 are all possible causes of fatigue etc., so ask for these tests if they haven't already been done.

Another route for you to investigate (rather than your doctor at this stage) might be food intolerances, in particular salicylate sensitivity which can also affect thyroid hormone levels.

[jugemvicsar]

You may also need to have your Adrenal levels checked, something the GP's seem to forget about.

good luck and hope you get somewhere soon.