I got blood tests done due to various symptoms, all of which could be expained by thyroid issues, of which I have a family history. My antibodies are raised but not through the roof, meanwhile my tsh is near the top of the normal range and my free t4 is near the bottom of the normal range. My doctor (who is lovely) said treating anything now would serve no purpose so we wait and see.... but then I googled (which I know is a bad idea) and it seems to suggest that this is a controversial issue and some people think it is better to treat sooner and it could be causing my symptoms even though tsh and t4 are technnically normal...... and, worse, that even if my thyroid function is ok these antibodies could cause all kinds of issues if I became pregnant? Has anyone had a similar situation? Other tests (full blood count, diabetes etc.) all came back normal.
Hello C28001:
My name is Shelly and I am a nurse in the USA. I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease since 1987.
I was 12 when I first had symptoms and nobody back in the 1970's was testing kids. Later it got worse and in 1987, and I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroid disease.
If you do a wait and see, you will get more symptoms and you could develop a Goiter. Normal TSH should be 0.45 to 4.50 and if you are at the top of it, you may starting to, feel sleepy, have weight gain, muscle aches, dry skin, hair loss, feeling cold, bruising, no period or infrequent ones, constipation. All of this is the thyroid.
Most doctors want the TSH between 1.0 and 3.5 and in the 2.0 range is ideal.
If you treat it now it helps to stop the antibodies from doing more damage. This happens over a long period of time. I was 12 when I felt cold and had symptoms by 27 I was so much worse. Because of me my sister got tested and they caught her having Hashimoto's and she is much better than I am now.
So I do not agree with waiting. It is up to you, some doctors do like to have 2 abnormal blood TSH and other blood work in a 6 month period of time before they treat. It depends how you feel and I assume you would not be on this forum if you felt good.
Ask for a trial of Levothyroxine 25mcg very low dose and see what happens. It will take 6 to 12 weeks to build a level. Blood TSH T4 and T3 should be done 3 months after.
Any questions just ask,
Regards,
Shelly
Thank you, Shelley. That is really helpful. My TSH is close to 4 and Free T4 right at the bottom of the normal range, and, as I say, antibodies well above normal range. They didn't test T3. I am definitely tired, gaining/struggle to lose weight, achy, irregular cycles, dry skin. This was the original reasons for the tests.
I wouldn't claim to be suffering as much as some of the horror stories on this forum, but there has definitely been a change in my health over the last few years that I noticed and prompted me to go to the doctor. Haven't had the joys of feeling cold all the time yet.... but people do comment my hands are always cold! I am also feeling quite down but had put it down to stress at work, but now I wonder.
I am in no way a medical professional but I guess, like you, I don't understand why we would wait for more damage to be caused / me to feel really bad before we start treating if we know it is going to get worse. It's very interesting to me that early treatment helped your sister. My mum has had goiter and had to have biopsies (but they have never even tested her for antibodies to determine if autoimmune was the cause). I would rather not develop that at all if I can avoid it! In fact, I already cough a lot so that makes me wonder too. Also, I would like to be stable and in ideal ranges before I want to have kids in a couple of years. It would be a great worry to me going into it not knowing it was controlled.
I think I will go back in a couple of months and ask them to retest, and, assuming results are similar or worse push to be referred to a specialist or trial the low doses you recommend. I assume there are no real health risks with a dosage that low?
Thank you for sharing your story and advice.
Hello C28001
If you have a family history of thyroid problems do not wait. My sister told her GP about me and what she was feeling and she was refered to an Endo very quickly.
TSH is one test, but T4 and The T3 give a better picture. Also symptoms must be taken into account. Log all the ones you know and hand the paper to the doctor and say I want this as part of my file! They have to act on stuff you bring into them.
So sadly, we must take charge of our health ourselves and you will need to request firmly to your IM or GP doctor that you WANT to see an Endocrinologist and have your thyroid looked at further. They can even do an Ultrasound to see the size and if nodules or cysts are in there.
It does take a period of time to get worse but why suffer? Ask for a trial of Levothyroxine 25mcg and remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
Keep me posted on how you do,
Shelly