23 year old female with symptoms and "normal" results

Hormones
1

I assume the internet is a bit sick of questions like this, sorry.

I'll try and keep it short:

For a long time I've been suffering a large number of symptoms which I believed was hypothyriodism as I've been tested for almsot everything else; deficiencies, liver, kidney, etc. (I do have an iron deficiency but even though I've been taking supplements since January this year, it doesn't seem to be improving.)

My symptoms include: sleepyness, inability to stay awake, to stay focused or concentrate on anything, I cannot think clearly at all, rapid weight gain and inability to lose weight despite being very healthy and very active, dry skin that peels, feeling slow and sluggish, acid reflux, sluggish / poor digestion, exhaustion, cold, cold, and more cold. I have a huge problem with the cold - I am always painfully cold and I seem to have an inability to warm up again.

In addition. my periods are irregular and my hair (especially body hair) seems to be growing at a ridiculously slow rate.

After many months of going back and forth to see about 10 different GPs, I finally got some thyroid tests done, but the results came back normal and so I was sent home again.

25th Jan. 2016:

TSH: 2.66 (normal range 0.30 - 4.50)

22nd Feb. 2016

TSH: 1.67

Free T3: 4.5 (normal 3.10 - 6.80)

Free T4: 14.5 (normal 11.00 - 22.00)

So, these are the only tests I was able to get, and I have no idea what they actually mean? I understand there's a huge debate about what is normal and what isn't, but I don't understand it at all... I wonder if anyone can give me some advice?

Now, I have tried to get full thyroid testing, but it's not something they are willing to do because of how normal my results were. I did try and get private blood testing, but apparantly (and this makes no sense to me) you still require a referral from your GP? So I was turned down there too.

I live in a rural area of the Lake District in the UK if that makes any difference, so I don't have access to any other private or specialist services. (The two I did try still asked for a GP referal and denied me anyway).

2

Sorry I should mention, my GP (and to be honest, all the GPs I have seen so far is unwilling to re-test TSH, T3, T4, etc. as it would just be a wate of time.

I'm also being refused a referral to an endocrinologist, and as I have said in my post, I cannot see one privately without this.

She did suggest seeing a neurologist though, and I think I'm going to be referred for that, but I'm not ntirely sure?

3

Hi, I know exactly what your talking about! I had the same problem with the test results for over a 2year period. ..then finally I was diagnosed with are immune thyroiditis and went to an endocrinologist and he told me that there was nothing wrong with me okay so I go back to my regular doctor he referred me to a surgeon come to find out they did a scan on my throat that I had to take an iodine pill and it did ultrasound and a scan and that showed that it was hi then dropped a goal and really low and the ultrasound showed that I had several nodules and two other things wrong with my thyroid and they end up removing it June 16th of this year currently I've been on 5 different types of medication trying to get the balance right so my point of this is to not give up sooner or later the test results are going to show something. You can put yourself on it's an all natural thyroid medication till I can find out what's going on. Did they do an ultrasound or a thyroid scan what you have to take an iodine pill and then they do a scan of the throat and of your knee because that will tell a lot it'll show that there's something wrong or not better than the blood test. Did you have any other test done besides blood work?

4

Hard to understand refusal to refer to an endocrinologist. Here in Canada it's a no brainer. I would keep pushing anyway. The truth is, I am afraid, that medical science has no f***n clue about this stuff,

5

Have the gp fo an ultrasound and thyroid scan.

6

All of you results are normal...but normal results can be questioned.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormore, a hormone released by the pituary gland signaling the thyroid to react.

I am giving you the following as a learning tool...it is admittedly confusing, but that is the way thyroid is.

We are a society that wants everything at warp speed...thyroid is ploddingly slow.

If I make a change in thyroid medication today, my blood will not show the full results of that change for 6 weeks. It is preferred to gradually increase every 6 weeks because if you overshoot optimum, the symptoms of hyper are going to be just as troubling as those of hypo are. So once T4 and TSH were where my endocrinologist wanted them, she increased T3 only. Think radio station, you have reception... and static. So you fine tune the reception with T3 and lose the static.

Pertaining to those patients on Levothyroxine-Synthroid (T4), about half of those patients will feel great improvement if their T3 is about 75% of normal range, for me that level is about 3.7.

T4 (Thyroxine), named for it's 4 iodine atoms, maintains a relatively stable blood level and is therefore termed long acting.

T3 (Triiodothyronine), named for it's 3 iodine atoms, fluctuates and is therefore termed short acting.

Let us ingest T4 (Thyroxine, brand name Levothyroxine-Synthroid ) Through chemical reaction, our body takes in T4 and converts the T4 into T3 (Triiodothyronine) through chemical reaction. In other words, our body takes 4 iodine atoms and converts the 4 iodine atoms into a new compound with only 3 iodine atoms.

So from a strick biological & chemical viewpoint, many say if I can use one chemical compound (T4) to make the other chemical compound (T3) in the body, I only need to administer the T4.

BUT many studies have shown that about half of the patients on T4 feel better taking both T4 and T3.

NEWS FLASH

Armour's Thyroid versus Synthroid...the mystery revealed.

One grain of ARMOUR'S THYROID is 60 mg.

Each 60 mg of ARMOUR'S THYROID contains .038 mg (or 38 mcg) of T4

AND each 60 mg of ARMOUR'S THYROID contains 9 mcg of T3 , plus unmeasured amounts of T2, T1 and calcitonin.

SYNTHROID is all T4

which explains why the addition of CYTOMEL (which is all T3) makes fifty percent or so of SYNTHROID users feel so much better.

Remember T3 is a short half life which is why T4 is prescribed as the backbone of treatment...some of us do not effectively metabolize T4 into T3. For these individuals, supplemental T3 should be considered.

7

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking my symptoms are either something to do with my thyriod or a hormone imbalance perhaps, but something isn't quite right that's for sure.

Unfortunately no, my local surgary aren't willing do to more tests.

8

It's not that easy I'm afraid -  my local surgery is unwilling to do any more tests.

9

Thank you for all the information!

10

Hi, classic text read...most of us have an reaction to both...that being said the..the ? She asked was why is no doctor helping her with her symptoms her blood results show in range. ..I asked her if she has had any ultrasound and thyroid scan done...no answer from her. I had both done and found several nodules and two other abnormalities ....but blood work showed I was high then low then in range ! consequently in the end I end up having my whole thyroid removed on June 16th of this year. so that's why I was asking her if she had a thyroid scan done with the iodine and an ultrasound because like I explained earlier about the blood work where it went and what they found to the oldest son in the scan was totally different with the blood work showed

11

Type O at the end. Sorry. :-)

12

Are you across the pond ?

13

Are you losing weight or gaining weight ?

14

I gained a lot of weight in a short amount of time for absolutely no reason and I cannot lose it despite being a very healthy and active person.

Also I find that if I eat a normal healthy diet, I gain very quickly.

15

I live in a rural area of the Lake District in England, UK (In other words, the middle of nowhere).