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lower side free t4 but normal tsh
my daughter is 14 years old and she has a free T4 level of 10.7 (range is 10.00 - 18.70mmol/l) and her TSH level is 3.24 (range is 0.30-5.00) my daughter really struggles with her weight she exercises she does the slimming world diet she really tries hard to lose the weight, she is always tired and has mood swings as parents we are so supportive, we don't no what to do as they say its in normal range ( I have a family history of an under active thyroid) can anyone tell me if these ranges are normal for a 14 year old girl?
Glad to hear that you are making progress in getting the testing and treatment you need. Because of your experience I thought that by reading this link you would get some insight into why we hypothyroid patients have such difficulty.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
It is a tragedy that we continue to be diagnosed and treated by doctors following the "Immaculate TSH Doctrine' and Reference Range Endocrinology". First because the ranges are erroneously established and do not represent "normal" for healthy adults with no thyroid pathology, second because each patient may have different levels of thyroid hormone at which they feel best, and third because other factors that can affect how thyroid hormone is metabolized, such as levels of Vitamin D, ferritin, and cortisol are not always adequately considered when determining a patient's treatment.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
It is a tragedy that we continue to be diagnosed and treated by doctors following the "Immaculate TSH Doctrine' and Reference Range Endocrinology". First because the ranges are erroneously established and do not represent "normal" for healthy adults with no thyroid pathology, second because each patient may have different levels of thyroid hormone at which they feel best, and third because other factors that can affect how thyroid hormone is metabolized, such as levels of Vitamin D, ferritin, and cortisol are not always adequately considered when determining a patient's treatment.
I suffered for years with most of the symptoms for thyroid disease all blood tests were normal so always told nothing wrong with my thyroid. After 5 years I was so ill my GP said she felt she should try me on thyroxine although my tests were normal range but then said she would not because " if something happened to me and she had prescribed some thing that blood tests said I did not need my family could sue her and as she had just bought the practice she was not prepared to do but if I saw a private practitioner I would probably be given it ," which is exactly what I did !!! This doctor started me on Avery low dose upped over 3 months the result was amazing , I was at least 50 % better . I am still not 100% well by any means but not living the nightmare I was!!! As thyroxine is the treatment for autoimmune thyroiditis and I improved so much I am sure this is what I have!! It has taken me another 15 years for a doctor to say " I think. We need to have a look at your thyroid " an ultrasound was done and results were enough for me to be referred to an endocrinologist who I see in November , hopefully I get an answer !! For doctor skinner to have been told he was not fit to practice I think is disgusting . Surely we are not all the same what is normal for one is not always normal for another. Also i am led to understand blood tests are often normal long before hashimoto sis diagnosed! My doctor said he could not understand why no one had given me thyroxine , all symptoms pointed to hypo , it is not dangerous especially I low dose and very inexpensive to prescribe so no excuse!!! I am so grateful for this doctors care !
Sorry, the closest doctor that I can give you is in Edwinstowe Mansfield. You'll have to learn all about testing and treatment of hypothyroidism and use the approach I quoted above. Be knowledgeable and be aggressive, or else the NHS will ignore you.
Something else I recalled that you might like to read.
You might find this info useful in your discussions with your doctor.
IMPRESSIVE GOOD THYROID NEWS!
After a grueling week by the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council (GMC) , it was decided that the UK’s most renowned thyroid practitioner, Dr. Gordon P. Skinner, should have all his restrictions lifted and his Fitness to Practice restored!
On November 11th, 2007, the GMC had decided that the beloved Dr Gordon Skinner was not fit to practice, simply because in 2005, he dared to listen to and dose by a patient’s clinically-presented thyroid symptoms rather than her TSH labwork–the latter which fell in the erroneous normal range. Even more dastardly, felt the GMC, Skinner was going to treat the patient without a referral letter from her GP, and may have failed to contact the GP. Heaven Forbid!!
Says a recent statement from TPA-UK:
The GMC have agreed that Dr Skinner was not acting dangerously in initiating treatment with thyroid hormone replacement for those patients who had normal thyroid function tests but who suffered several symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism. They also agreed that for those patients who did not do well on levothyroxine-only therapy, the use of natural desiccated thyroid extract (i.e. Armour Thyroid) was a safe and effective thyroid hormone replacement that doctors could prescribe, even though it remains unlicensed. This is a precedent - and one that the British Thyroid Association are most definitely very unlikely to be happy with.
Something else I recalled that you might like to read.
You might find this info useful in your discussions with your doctor.
IMPRESSIVE GOOD THYROID NEWS!
After a grueling week by the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council (GMC) , it was decided that the UK’s most renowned thyroid practitioner, Dr. Gordon P. Skinner, should have all his restrictions lifted and his Fitness to Practice restored!
On November 11th, 2007, the GMC had decided that the beloved Dr Gordon Skinner was not fit to practice, simply because in 2005, he dared to listen to and dose by a patient’s clinically-presented thyroid symptoms rather than her TSH labwork–the latter which fell in the erroneous normal range. Even more dastardly, felt the GMC, Skinner was going to treat the patient without a referral letter from her GP, and may have failed to contact the GP. Heaven Forbid!!
Says a recent statement from TPA-UK:
The GMC have agreed that Dr Skinner was not acting dangerously in initiating treatment with thyroid hormone replacement for those patients who had normal thyroid function tests but who suffered several symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism. They also agreed that for those patients who did not do well on levothyroxine-only therapy, the use of natural desiccated thyroid extract (i.e. Armour Thyroid) was a safe and effective thyroid hormone replacement that doctors could prescribe, even though it remains unlicensed. This is a precedent - and one that the British Thyroid Association are most definitely very unlikely to be happy with.
I agree with RedStar and Barb. In addition I wanted to give you this quote from a fellow UK member who, for years, had encountered great difficulty in getting adequate testing and treatment. This is her description of what it took to eventually be successful in getting what she needed..
"What I have learned from my experience is that you have to go to the Dr's office and TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT and to go backed up with knowledge. You have to tell them that you have done your reading and looked into your condition and care about the long-term treatment of your health and thyroid. If you fight for what you want, you will eventually find someone that is happy to go along with your wishes. But we all have to take charge of our own health, right?"
So for your reading and better understanding, so that you can be your daughter's best advocate for getting what she needs, this link will give you some good insight into clinical treatment. A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and FreeT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. Symptom relief has to be all important, not just test results, and especially not just TSH results.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
One last thing is that if her current doctors are remain totally unwilling to do the necessary testing and treatment, then you may have to find a good thyroid doctor, or resort to going private. I have collected names of a few good thyroid doctors in the UK. If you will tell us your location, I might have a doctor for you to consider.
"What I have learned from my experience is that you have to go to the Dr's office and TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT and to go backed up with knowledge. You have to tell them that you have done your reading and looked into your condition and care about the long-term treatment of your health and thyroid. If you fight for what you want, you will eventually find someone that is happy to go along with your wishes. But we all have to take charge of our own health, right?"
So for your reading and better understanding, so that you can be your daughter's best advocate for getting what she needs, this link will give you some good insight into clinical treatment. A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and FreeT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels. Symptom relief has to be all important, not just test results, and especially not just TSH results.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
One last thing is that if her current doctors are remain totally unwilling to do the necessary testing and treatment, then you may have to find a good thyroid doctor, or resort to going private. I have collected names of a few good thyroid doctors in the UK. If you will tell us your location, I might have a doctor for you to consider.
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Over 11 yrs ago, the AACE recommended that the reference range for TSH be changed from 0.4-4.50 to 0.3-3.0. Labs, therefore, doctors have been very reluctant to make this change, so a lot of people are being left ill.
Additionally, your daughter's Free T4 is barely in range and there's no Free T3 test. Symptoms correlate best with Free T3, not with Free T4 or TSH. It does appear that your daughter may benefit from thyroid replacement medication.
I'd certainly ask to have her tested for the antibodies mentioned by Red_Star: Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb) to determine if she has Hashimoto's. That can sometimes prompt doctors to begin treatment with borderline labs.
I see that you're in U.K. and we do find that many of our members from U.K have a very hard time obtaining adequate thyroid diagnosis and treatment due to NHS guidelines. Many find that they have to go private in order to get proper testing, diagnosis and treatment.
Additionally, your daughter's Free T4 is barely in range and there's no Free T3 test. Symptoms correlate best with Free T3, not with Free T4 or TSH. It does appear that your daughter may benefit from thyroid replacement medication.
I'd certainly ask to have her tested for the antibodies mentioned by Red_Star: Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb) to determine if she has Hashimoto's. That can sometimes prompt doctors to begin treatment with borderline labs.
I see that you're in U.K. and we do find that many of our members from U.K have a very hard time obtaining adequate thyroid diagnosis and treatment due to NHS guidelines. Many find that they have to go private in order to get proper testing, diagnosis and treatment.
Excerpt from Hypothyroid Mom - Is Your Thyroid Doctor Using the Old TSH Lab...
"One of the largest studies of thyroid problems in a population is the Whickham Survey, which studied the thyroid levels of 2,779 randomly selected adults living in the town of Wickham in England from 1972-1973 and subsequently followed for 20 years. Data from the twenty-year follow-up published in 1995 demonstrated an increased risk for the development of hypothyroidism once TSH exceeds 2.0 mIU/L.
The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) screened 17,353 subjects from 1988 to 1994 and excluded those with diseases or factors known to affect thyroid function. In the resultant ‘normal’ population of 13,344 subjects, 95% had TSH levels that fell between 0.3 and 2.5 mIU/L."
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease and the most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries. Thyroid antibodies to request are thyroid peroxidase antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies.
"One of the largest studies of thyroid problems in a population is the Whickham Survey, which studied the thyroid levels of 2,779 randomly selected adults living in the town of Wickham in England from 1972-1973 and subsequently followed for 20 years. Data from the twenty-year follow-up published in 1995 demonstrated an increased risk for the development of hypothyroidism once TSH exceeds 2.0 mIU/L.
The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) screened 17,353 subjects from 1988 to 1994 and excluded those with diseases or factors known to affect thyroid function. In the resultant ‘normal’ population of 13,344 subjects, 95% had TSH levels that fell between 0.3 and 2.5 mIU/L."
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease and the most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries. Thyroid antibodies to request are thyroid peroxidase antibodies and thyroglobulin antibodies.
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