Can someone help to interpret Thyroid test results?

[plingri]

Hi all,

I have had severe fatigue, hair loss, poor circulation etc for a long time and the doctor in the end thought i had ME/CFS. I wanted to take thorough thyroid tests because I suspected  I had issues with the thyroid, and because I had all the symptoms for it. My doctors said the results were normal and no sign for disease. But I have seen that the range for TSH vary and that the maximum range in some countries is 2.5(?)

The results were:

TSH: 3.9 (0.2-4.0)
FT4 (I assume free T4): 16.4 (11.0-23.0)
FT3: 5.3 ( 3.5-6.5)

I´d really appreciate your help.

Many thanks

[gimel]

Just to supplement the good info from Barb, since you have symptoms of fatigue and hair loss, I recommend that you also test for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, and supplement as needed to optimize.  D should be at least 50, B12 in the upper end of its range, and ferritin should be at least 70.

[Barb135]

Your TSH is on the high side, but it's still within range.  I don't know of any country that considers the maximum TSH at 2.5, though there are some doctors that realize one can have hypothyroidism with a lower TSH.  

That said, TSH is a pituitary hormone and is an indicator, only.  It should only be used along with the actual thyroid hormone levels, which are the Free T4 and Free T3.  Your Free T4 and Free T3 are actually quite good, though your FT4 is a bit on the low side.

It's recommended that FT4 be about mid range; yours is at 45% of its range.  It's also recommended that FT3 be in the upper half to upper third of its range; yours is at 60% of its range.  The fact that your FT4 is less than mid range could indicate that your thyroid output is beginning to decline.

You might ask your doctor to test for thyroid antibodies to determine if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune thyroid condition, which eventually causes the thyroid to stop producing hormones completely.  With Hashmoto's, it's not unusual for symptoms to appear long before labs actually go out of range.

The antibody tests to ask for are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyoglobulin Antibodies (TgAb).  You need them both, since both are indicative of Hashimoto's; some of us have one or the other; some have both.

[plingri]

Hi barb, Thank you so much for your response. Is it worrying that my TSH levels have increased (actually doubled) from 1.61 in October 2016 to 3.9 in December 2016?