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Free T4 9.4 result - is this normal?
I have recently had my thyroid function tested due to inability to lose the weight I gained whilst pregnant despite following a low calorie diet and doing lots of exercise. The results were Free T4 9.4 and TSH 1.90. These results were considered "normal" but I'm not so sure - could anybody help me? I have very few other symptoms and feel v healthy apart from the weight gain and feeling tired in the mornings!
HI there
My wife certainly has a thyroid issue but as usual the initial tests are not concurring with our suspicions. After going back to the GP they now seem dis-interested and reluctant to persevere with us. We don't even mind going private as this would certainly help her standard of life. (Her mum was mis-diagnosed for years with the same condition). If you could share with me the name of someone who actually has an interest in helping people and knows what there doing that would be really appreciated. I live in Sale, which is close to Manchester!
My wife certainly has a thyroid issue but as usual the initial tests are not concurring with our suspicions. After going back to the GP they now seem dis-interested and reluctant to persevere with us. We don't even mind going private as this would certainly help her standard of life. (Her mum was mis-diagnosed for years with the same condition). If you could share with me the name of someone who actually has an interest in helping people and knows what there doing that would be really appreciated. I live in Sale, which is close to Manchester!
You really don't need to control TSH. TSH doesn't cause hypothyroid symptoms. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is totally inadequate as the sole diagnostic for thyroid issues. At best it is only an indicator, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, and also levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4 (not the same as Total T3 and T4). Of these, Free T3 is the most important to know because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies have shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.
So please tell us about your symptoms.
Also, in the future I suggest that you should always request to be tested for Free T3 and Free T4 each time you go in for testing. Also, since hypothyroid patients are also frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, I suggest testing those as well. Further, since a high TSH is often associated with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, the main cause for diagnosed hypothyroidism, I suggest testing for the antibodies of Hashi's. Those tests are Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies, and Thyroglobulin antibodies (TPO ab and TG ab).
So please tell us about your symptoms.
Also, in the future I suggest that you should always request to be tested for Free T3 and Free T4 each time you go in for testing. Also, since hypothyroid patients are also frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, I suggest testing those as well. Further, since a high TSH is often associated with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, the main cause for diagnosed hypothyroidism, I suggest testing for the antibodies of Hashi's. Those tests are Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies, and Thyroglobulin antibodies (TPO ab and TG ab).
Thyroid stimulating hormone- 9.4 is there any way i can control with out medic an pls let know
Sorry, but I don't have a member recommended doctor in your area. The best I can do is a Manchester doctor that might be a prospect for you. Is that even a possibility for you to consider? If so, I will forward the name.
thanks for the reply - difficult to know what to do. I am really fed up of carrying the extra weight when I am very moderate in my eating and am very active- I do some form of exercise every day, run a business, have 3 kids and a dog! My body doesn't reflect my life! I don't think a low dose of meds would do any harm on a trial?
Your FT4 is actually quite LOW in the range. It's in the bottom quarter of the range, we consider midrange the target for FT4. FT4 ranges are severely flawed because the original population that made them up contained a lot of people who were actually hypo. So, the whole bottom half of the range is a very gray area.
Your doctor didn't test FT3, the more important thyroid hormone, but that's not at all unusual in UK.
Your FT4 is low enough that you might feel better on a low dose of meds. Do you think your doctor would be willing to prescribe a low trial dose to see if it helps you to lose weight and be less tired in the morning? There's no harm in trying. You can always discontinue if it doesn't help.
Your doctor didn't test FT3, the more important thyroid hormone, but that's not at all unusual in UK.
Your FT4 is low enough that you might feel better on a low dose of meds. Do you think your doctor would be willing to prescribe a low trial dose to see if it helps you to lose weight and be less tired in the morning? There's no harm in trying. You can always discontinue if it doesn't help.
The range is 7.86 - 14.41 for FT4 and 0.35 - 5.50 for TSH - this puts me right in the middle. Still the FT4 range and my results seem v high. Am in the UK.
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I know it is very difficult for hypothyroid patients in the UK to get the right testing and treatment. One of our members from the UK that has been successful, in getting adequately tested and treated previously described her experience in this year old post.
"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?"
Also thought it would be beneficial for you to know about this previous occurrence in the UK.
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.
Where are you located within the UK?