About Thyroids

[baratron]

So, anyone know how fucked my thyroid test results need to be before I actually get diagnosed as hypothyroid? I'd sorta like to know because I have all but one of the symptoms, and my hair is falling out at a ridiculous rate. I'd also like my brain back! I'm sure I used to have one!

TSH levels over the past few years:
August 2008 - 3.81 uIU/mL(reference range 0.4 - 4.0 uIU/mL)
January 2009 - 5.16 uIU/mL
February 2010 - 4.94 uIU/mL
February 2011 - 2.88 mU/L< (I assume they changed the unit, but the numbers in the reference ranges are the same, so, *shrug*).
February 2013 - 7.72 mU/L (reference range 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)

I'm sure there's another result that I'm missing, from February or March 2012, but I can't seem to find it. Hmm. I think it was around 5.something.

This time they finally did a T4 test as well, which came out as 11.7 pmol/L (reference range 12.0 - 22.0 pmol/L). But they still didn't bother with T3, even though the hospital consultant asked for all of them. Hmm.

While I'm recording things, I should also note that my vitamin D level is now 123 nmol/L, which is well within "normal". Finally. It's only taken 2 years of hardcore supplements.

Comments

[baratron.livejournal.com]

That's fine, it's a public post for a reason :)

[1ngi.livejournal.com]

Hi, that friend was me.

You need a new doctor STET. They are being negligent!!!!
I am hypothyroid but have had appalling difficulty due to being borderline and needing T4/T3 to start having discussions. Your b.tests absolutely are NOT borderline, they are quite obviously hypothyroid beyond any shadow of doubt as per the current NHS guidelines! Being untreated for a long time can also lead to being a cardiac risk so it's important you get treatment. May I direct you to thyroid.co.uk for support and advice, get their info pack (£12ish) and find the helpline person in your area. They will be able to give you guidance as to how to open up a constructive discussion.

I am so sorry you are going through this, the condition itself causes anxiety and makes confrontation even more difficult than usual but I can not for the life of me understand why they will not treat you. I'm very shocked.

Wishing you all the best.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Oh, I suppose my original post didn't actually say. I posted that on Wednesday because I was waiting for a doctor's appointment today. (My doctor doesn't work on Thursdays and is the emergency triage doctor on Fridays, so doesn't have regular appointments). I wanted to get the research under way so I could talk to my GP with some knowledge :)

My doctor friend (who I haven't spoken to in years, admittedly) told me a few years ago that the NHS wouldn't treat my TSH until it reached 10.0 mU/L. What I've realised is that that recommendation was making the assumption that my T4 level was normal. With high TSH and normal T4, that would be a reasonable thing to do - especially considering that I'm on a medication that can cause artificially raised TSH (carbamazepine). The problem is, this is the first time that Kingston Hospital has actually done a T4 level! They won't do it unless your TSH is above some threshold even when the doctor requests it. Argh! Even now, my T4 is decidedly borderline on some lab's scales.

I still don't have a T3 reading, but I guess they'll have to do it once I'm on thyroxine. Won't they? They try to save money and end up just having to repeat the tests because the doctor isn't happy to proceed without them...

[1ngi.livejournal.com]

Also - please demand tests for thyroid antibodies - which could explain the dramatic up down results you've had. It's impossible to diagnose hashimotos from this distance but at the very least they should be ruling it out.

Good luck.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Apparently I had a test for thyroid peroxidase (http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroid-antibodies/tab/test) in January, which I didn't know about (honestly, the chronic fatigue clinic wanted so many tests and I looked up everything I could, but there were still a few mysteries). The result was "33" on a scale where "0-59" is normal. (As a scientist, I really hate having random numbers without the unit!).

Assuming that the same units are used everywhere in the world (which I don't know, since I don't know what the units were), people can have values in the hundreds or even thousands. So... I dunno. I guess my thyroid probably isn't eating itself right now?