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Need help with labs!!

Posted , 4 users are following.

avidhunter3
avidhunter3

Hello! My name is Beth, 43 years old.  I have been having lots of symptoms lately of having a thyroid issue. I already have a nodule. But for weeks I have been struggling with severe lethargy, hair coming out, weight gain (ten pounds in 2 months!!), palpitations, hurting from head to toe (muscles).  My labs came today from my family DR.  He thinks everything is fine, I am not convinced. I was also tested for sed rate which was 20. 

Tsh: 1.17

Free t4:  1.3

Does this mean anything at all?

Thanks, Beth 

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • klm1213
    klm1213 avidhunter3

    Posted

    My thyroid levels were in the normal range but I tested as having high TPO antibodies which means I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I am having all the same symptoms you're having and fluctuating between hyper and hypo episodes. Did they check your TPO antibodies??

    • avidhunter3
      avidhunter3 klm1213

      Posted

       No this is just my family DR who thinks as long as everything looks ok on paper-your good.  I’m going to have to go to a thyroid DR.  My WBCs were slightly elevated at 11.9. And my lymphocytes were high at 4650. Even though I haven’t been ill with anything! 
  • Tammy_Jean
    Tammy_Jean avidhunter3

    Posted

    Hi Beth!  I'm so sorry you are going through this. I am in a similar situation, but my symptoms have gone on for 10 years and after the first 2 years my doctor said I had Fibromyalgia. It has progressed to the point now that I have episodes where I am disabled, which is where I am at now. I had asked about my thyroid in the past and the doctors would run basic TSH blood work (TSH Free T4 and Free T3) and they would always come back fine and the doctors would say my thyroid is fine and I would assume that was the case. It was only recently when I started suffering another terrible episode with the cold weather, that I was in a Fibromyalgia forum and someone mentioned that they were misdiagnosed with Fibro for 5 years and it was because the doctor had only did basic TSH blood work and didn't refer her to an endocrinologist for further thyroid testing. You see, just because your basic TSH tests come back normal, doesn't mean you don't have thyroid disease. She was finally tested and sure enough she was hypothyroid.  She went on the medication for it and ALL of her Fibro symptoms disappeared!  The following are all of the thyroid tests you can get to see if you have thyroid disease:

    TSH, Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, Reverse T3 (RT3), Reverse T4 (RT4), Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPOAb), Thyroid-stimulating Immunoglobulins (TSI), Thyroglobulin (Tg) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb).

    So you see, there are 11 different tests for thyroid and you were only given 2 of those.  The antibody tests will show if you have thyroid autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto's or Grave's Disease, which can cause hypothyroid or hyperthyroid.  I have done quite a bit of reading for the past 2 weeks. My doctor refuses to give me a referral for an endo and I am barely making through each day at this point.  The healthcare system is so messed up.  And we suffer!  Here is an article I found that has some interesting info. http://hypothyroidmom.com/top-5-reasons-doctors-fail-to-diagnose-hypothyroidism/   I hope this information helps you and I hope your doctor will give you an endocrinology referral without a fight.  Good luck and please let me know how you make out. smile

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