Fasting before testing?

[Matthew007]

I've been sick for 3 years, had every test done (imaging and blood) and only found white blood cells in the stool that would not culture out.  I've finally found out just recently i'm now intolerant to wheat/soy/lactose...nobody else in my family has food intolerances of any kind.  I had my TSH levels checked and they were normal but I suspect I was never tested for T3/T4...and some users on the boards have suggested I get retested since this was back in 2006.

I'm tired 24/7 can't concentrate at all..super bad anxiety..super bad insomnia...really bad constipation that I just can't shake with all the fiber/water/miralax...it's like my system is just turned off.

I know most of this can be caused by food intolerances but i've read articles online that food intolerances and thyroid problems can sometimes go together and eventually you can become celiac (i've been tested negative 3 times..)

So I'm debating weather to order the test myself for $88 (no insurance) or go to the doctor ($$$) and ask for the test..or just take the test and show up with the results if they're abnormal with a "look at this!"

I read online and not many other sites are saying this but I read that it's reccomended to fast 10 hours before the test but water/coffee is ok..

has anyone ever heard this?  I don't want a false negative and my sister had thyroid problems and i'm thinking mine could be causing all kinds of problems :S  

Thanks!
Matthew

[skeeterknitwit]

Since you have no insurance, check to see if you have a local health fair.  Our health fair does blood draws on Thursday mornings.  You can get a Chem 32 for $25.  It includes a TSH.  I know you should also get FT3 & FT4.  You'll need a Dr. for that.
But the health fair is a good affordable start.

For the digestion issues, you might try some fresh pineapple.  It contains an enzyme that helps digestion (bromelain?)  Canned or pasturized juice won't do.  It is destroyed by heat.

[gimel]

You might find this to be useful in finding out for yourself what your  thyroid status is.  There's an indicator for low metabolism/low thyroid that I've used often over the years.  The doctors don't want to acknowledge it, just as they ignore symptoms a lot also, but I've found it to be very worthwhile.  It's called a basal temperature test.  You check your temperature for ten minutes in the armpit, in the morning before getting out of bed.  Use a mercury thermometer  if you have one. If using a digital, turn it off when you place in the armpit and wait 10 minutes and then turn it on and let stabilize.  This give the best reading for a digital.  You can read about it in lots of sites.  The normal temp range is like is 97.6-98.2.  Lower temperatures indicate low metabolism and usually low thyroid.

[Matthew007]

Thanks for that advice Jen yeah I've been looking for snacks..that's the biggest problem is opening up the fridge and going "ok..yeah nothing..to eat..but salad.  This is pathetic.."

so thanks yeah those are good ideas, I have a wild oats/wholefoods fairly close i'll check them out!

well just to update you'll all love this..

Back in 2006 I had my thyroid checked, the doctor on the next visit said "your thyroid is fine so that can't be it" so we moved on and tested for a billion other things why I was so messed up anxiety/nausea/insomnia/constipation ect ect ect.....

so I went to the doctors office today and asked if I could have a record of the numbers of the thyroid being tested (labcorp did it)... well after thumbing through the computer/and folder and looking through all my notes and records going back to 2001 with a few nurses in person at the office..the test was either never done or they lost it :(.  Like i'm not mad because it's not the nurses (cute nurses I should say) fault..but wow.. what if the doctor never ordered it..?  You pay without insurance hundreds of dollars in office visits and tests just to come back to this test and they have no record of it?  So anyway I have nothing to base my history off of and i'll beg for some money and get it tested here real soon...talk about lame huh?  Just thought some of you would get a kick out of that.. no record of me ever getting it checked..*sigh* dumbdedumbdumbduuumb.

[JenB12]

Yeah there are gluten free dairy free soy free cookies that are pretty good, you can get them at wholefoods. and my GF friend had a great recipe for GF brownies. I bought at costco of all places a pretty kick-a** chocolate cake mix (it calls for butter but you can easily use substitutes) There are ways out there to eat the things you used to love, just in different ways.  Plus there is a good food allergy support forum here on medhelp!!!

[Matthew007]

yeah it's been lousy..especially since I stopped working that's the worst part, but I did everything the doctor's asked and only ended up poor :S soo...yeah... but at least with this food intolerance I finally have some evidence of what is wrong (or one of the things..) but yeah my life went upside down ever since oct. 2005..now approaching year 4.

but thanks yeah I'm doing a very blah gluten free/soy free/lactose free diet and it's hard but it's healthy so it works *shrugs* and if I do run into some soy/gluten free/lactose free cookies/cakes i'll be all over them in a new york min. MUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCH! ARGGMMMFFFCOOKIEMONSTER!

ok phew sorry..

least you're doing better! (I hope, judging by your picture) yeah i'll keep fighting for answers.. i'll have more info tomm. :) thanks!

[JenB12]

wow yeah that sounds really rough!!!!! I don't know what was the deal with what happened to you after you got back from Europe but dang that sounds miserable! Sometimes auto immune issues (if that is what this is) just crop up after a trauma or stress or randomly in life.... But what you had sounds rough!

Yeah what you are going though sounds exactly what my my brother went though before he was diagnosed with celiac and his thyroid problem. Though with my brother rather then having really bad constipation, he was having really bad diarrhea. But he had/has terrible anxiety which came at the same time as his illness and vomiting and fatigue and over all he just felt really really bad! His began in his early 20's he is now 28, and he's just now starting to get it under control!

Goodluck and let us know how your thyroid tests go and hopefully you'll start making SOME imrovement with the diet.

By the way.... i know how hard it is to avoid glutens almost everything that is delish is laced with glutens!!! it's sooo tough the first few weeks and months, and it's a life style change but if it makes you feel better then it's totally worth it!!!!! And yes i miss cookies and cakes and breads and such but there are good gluten free substitutes.

[Matthew007]

thanks gimel for that info,

Yeah just cruising the boards on this site..it seems like a bunch of people just get misdiagnosed or not even diagnosed..I don't think I can trust my primary care doctor just saying "eh you're fine it's IBS"... so i'll get my record and see if they ever did test for that.  I *think* it's been years ago but I think it was a simple TSH test but i'll double check that.

And thanks for the advice on looking for a good one, I have no insurance so I don't need a refferal but i'll investigate who's the best out there if it gets to that point (i'll let you all know..cheap entertainment for you all lol)  Thanks gimel

[gimel]

It's good that you're going to get a copy of your prior blood test results.  That way you know what the actual numbers and reference ranges are and you can evaluate just how normal they are, and you can keep for future reference.  I can't even guess how many times we've heard from a member that thyroid tests were "normal", only to find out that the old TSH range was being used, or the free T3 and free T4 levels were right at the low end of their range.  

With all your symptoms, you really need a thorough check of your thyroid , so insist that the doctor check your free T3 and free T4 levels.  The thing to keep in mind is that TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, so that it has only a fair correlation with T4 and T3 levels in the blood, and  a very poor correlation with thyroid symptoms.  Much of the biological activity in the body is dependent on free T3 and free T4 (free meaning not bound up by protein).  Free T3 is the most important because it is four times as potent as free T4, and correlates best with hypo symptoms.

If you suffer from hypo symptoms, I would try to get the doctor to treat you by testing and adjusting free T3 and free T4 levels as required to alleviate symptoms and get you into what I call the "sweet spot", by which I mean neither hypo nor hyper symptoms.  Since TSH does not correlate realy well, sometimes this will mean that the TSH is suppressed to the  low end of the reference range or even below, even though  free T3 and free T4 are still well within their ranges.  A suppressed TSH doesn't affect your body functions.  Free T3 and free T4 are the active thyroid hormones.  In my opinion, a patient's hyper or hypo status should be defined and treated by symptoms and the "Frees",  not by TSH level.  

By the way, I would not go to just any Endo.  Being an Endo does not guarantee a good thyroid doctor.  I would try to get a personal recommendation for a good thyroid doctor from a happy forum member in your area.  From our experience the chances of finding a good one by just using the " yellow pages" are very slim, and at the very least it is very time consuming.

Please let us know how things progress.  

[Matthew007]

So if they were above a 3 just.. forget the doctor and make an appointment with a endocrinologist?  I'll do that.

Oh yeah JenB12..me and oreos and milk (YYYUM!)..cookies.. cereals, ice cream?? *drools* chocolate mint ice cream....UGH loved milk growing up..drank it by the ton....me and milk got together really well..went to europe in 2005, came back with some weird infection (drank bad water I guess) was given a antibiotic that I had a bad reaction to..about died in the ER room and since then...sick....so sick I couldn't leave the house until going on this diet a few weeks ago..  haven't flown at ALL (trying to be an airline pilot..now stuck on the ground)

So yeah i'll keep at the diet, I still suspect something is up since i'm so tired and anxiety ridden...and i'll look at the numbers again but I'll give it another couple of weeks.  2 more weeks will be a month and hopefully i'll see some major improvement because I feel super non-social-hermit-with-no-life and it s u c k s.  If no improvement i'll retest *unless I was never tested for T3/T4 then I'll just bite the bullet and give it a shot..I need to get healthy soon for my sanity*

anyway thanks for the info!

[JenB12]

also i wanted to add... if your TSH levels are above 3..... I would go see an endocrinologist...


It is tricky with food intolerances and thyroid symptoms because they are often very similar (Like constipation for example) Did you have a lot of milk and dairy before in the past? the casein in milk can totally cause constipation especially those who have sensitivities to lactose. ???

You've only been on your special diet for a short time. If it is the food causing the problems and not your thyroid you should see a big difference in a few weeks !

[Matthew007]

Thanks Jen yeah i'm starting to learn that lots of people are complaining that doctors do not diagnose thyroid issues very well..frustrating.  I'll find out my numbers and what they tested for because if this was all caused by a thyroid issue..holy smokes..matthew will be happy/bummed/mad at the same time lol..thanks u2

[Matthew007]

Jen:  Thanks Jen :) yeah i've been tested like 3 times for celiac and did 2 endoscopes (course they weren't looking specifically for celiac) but I went 2 weeks gluten/wheat/soy free and decided yesterday for kicks and giggles to see if I was on to something... well sure enough I spent all day yesterday feeling like total yucky..brain fog severe nausea...

I'm too broke to keep pushing for celiac tests so i'm just going to assume at the very least i'm wheat/soy/lactose intolerant for the moment and just avoid them.  But I like your advice..i'll keep along with the diet, wish it would heal faster..but then again that's why i'm wondering if i'm having other problems especially with my severe anxiety/panick attacks... just super hard I was a high school teacher and had to stop because of the nausea and symptoms of the food intolerance but now 2 weeks later i'm still feeling like junk...I suspect thyroid problems (esp. since my sister has had thyroid issues) but thanks!  I'll investigate more but for sure i'll stay on the gluten free diet! :)


Gimel:  Yeah actually I never got to see my test results, my doctor said "your thyroid is ok so that's not it" back in 2006, so I haven't actually gotten to see any numbers and never thought about it again..

but now i'm curious after doing research on thyroid and food intolerance symptoms is lots of times when you have a thyroid problem it can cause food intolerance problems as well (which got me to thinking... I wonder if we missed it because I never tested for free T3/T4..or if my doctor ignored my low numbers or what... I guess tomm. i'll stop by the doctors office and ask for a copy of the record and find out what exactly they did test for...but probably not a bad idea to recheck.  I swear i'm walking around like a total zombie...just feel awful.  Insominia galor)  Thanks for the response!

[JenB12]

no no sorry i was tested for gluten intolerance and it came back negative.... same with my brother but later he had the biopsy and it came back positive for celiac.

my TSH was a LITTLE off and i was diagnosed with Hashimotos.

My TSH on diagnosis was 5.62 in a range of (.03-3.0)

.03-3.0 is the new range!!!

[gimel]

You mentioned that you had your TSH level checked and it was normal.  What was the actual number and the reference range used by the lab/doctor?

[JenB12]

Hey Matt,

My brother is confirmed celiac and has hashimoto's thyroidits.... and i have thyroid problems too and an unconfirmed diagnosis of celiacs  (my blood result that i took for celiac came back negative)..... I've been gluten free for a little under 2 months now and i believe it helps me all around a little bit. And yes, SOMETIMES there is a correlation between autoimmune celiac and autoimmune thyroid problems.

The thing is that many many people who ARE celiac test negative with the blood tests (which is what happened with my brother) and the only positive test is the biopsy of the small intestine... PROBLEM IS, that if you've been gluten free for a while, your test will come back negative no matter what. In order for your biopsy to come back positive there must be damage to the intestine villi.... if you are celiac and gluten free, the intestine will be healed and look normal.

To test to see if you have a thyroid problems you will need to get a test of your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and T4 (thyroxine)... if those results are off it could be a pretty good indicator of a thyroid problem.

A lot of the symptoms that you have could be due from celiac, but those should disappear with in 3 months of a gluten free diet. A gluten free diet should not alter your thyroid blood tests should you decide to get them.

My recommendation (though i'm not a doctor) is to go gluten free for a few months and see if you feel better! If not, then it's probably not celiac! :)

[Matthew007]

c r a p

[Matthew007]

also mention i've got nausea.. it's much lower now after 2 weeks of eliminating my diet but still I feel like total ****..

[Matthew007]

basically i'm wondering if there's any special instructions before doing this test (doing it at labcorp) I don't want a false negative or sit and wonder if I did it right...money is super tight and i'm trying to find work while totally sick (not fun)

If I had the $$ I'd just go to the doctor again for the billionth time.