What does a slightly low tsh mean

[davegrohll]

If t4 and t5 are normal ? Gp hasn't bothered to tell me the results of my blood test, I've been told this by reception, and that I will be tested again in 6 months. So I'm asking wise Mumsnet instead !

I've been suffering from joint pain in my hands and nightsweats (although becoming less now) just wondering if it could be linked and I also have hand eczema which has got really bad lately

Oh sorry I meant t3 I think

Just bumping

Do you have your test results with lab ranges?

And are you already on thyroid meds?
A low tsh could mean hyperthyroidism, low t3 or t4 could mean hypothyroidism, but unless you have your results it's grasping at straws.

No, no lab results because I had to ring up for them and it was just relayed by the receptionist, she just said I'll need retesting in 6 months by what the doctor had put on the report.

From looking online it says it's subclinical hyperthyroidism with normal t3 and t4 but low tsh, was wondering if anyone could tell me more

No I'm not on any thyroid meds. It was checked along with hormones and vitamin levels due to ongoing joint pain in my fingers and nightsweats too

From looking online it says it's subclinical hyperthyroidism with normal t3 and t4 but low tsh, was wondering if anyone could tell me more

That's exactly what it means. T3 and T4 are measurements of the two thyroid hormones in your system. They are normal, so there's nothing significantly wrong at this point.

TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone. As its name implies, it is the hormone responsible for telling your thyroid gland how much T4 to produce (T4 is turned into T3 in the body, by the liver). A high TSH means that your thyroid gland is having to work very very hard to produce enough T4, and at a clinical level may still not produce enough, so it has to be supplemented with tablets of levothyroxine, a synthetic form of T4. (This is hypOthyroidism)

A low TSH, where there is still a normal amount of T4 being produced, means that the thyroid gland is producing T4 with very little effort. However that can change in such a way that even the low TSH level stimulates the production of too much T4. This causes hypERthyroidism, and basically means that your body systems are too revved up. You can lose weight because your metabolism is too high, be edgy and hypersensitive, hyperactive, have palpitations, and as it is for you, temperature regulation is skewed. A person with hyperthyroidism is usually permanently hot.

There are treatments for hyperthyroidism if it becomes too severe, because untreated it can be life threatening.

I hop that helps you understand a little better.

Thank you so much that's really helpful.

Still confused about subclinical though - does this mean I've got it or rather that I'm at risk for developing it ?

This article is thorough. Yes, the low TSH means you had (mildly) the signs of hyperthyroidism at the time of the blood test. But as a one off the results were not serious enough to say whether that's a temporary blip or a longer term condition. Testing again in six months will allow them to look at the progress and make a judgement about what's going on.

@Gymnopedie thank you you've been so helpful. I will take a look at the link.

I've looked at signs of it and I do seem to tick all the boxes apart from weight loss, but I am 6 months pp so still have a baby belly to get rid of. I tend to have faint spells quite a lot aswell where I go hot, weak and shaky, but I put that down to blood sugar or blood pressure dropping

My was subclinical and now less than 0.01. I my t4 was very high though. When it was very low I had to badger them to repeat the tests and 2nd round of tests were alot worse. They're just treating with beta blockers. Try and get a heart monitor on your phone and if it consistently over 100 bpm resting then go back to doc. My symptoms were hair loss, irritability, rapid weight loss, shakes, very bad headaches and aching all over. There's nothing you can take for hyperthyroidism other than prescription medication. Some vitamins and supplements make it worse. Iodine for example.

I think you have postpartum thyroiditis. This is around the time it will affect you. 4 to 6 months postpartum. Don't wait 6 months. Ask to repeat bloods in 1 month and it will probably show very low TSh and high t4.

Oh that sounds awful you must've felt really poorly.
I feel shit most of the time to be honest ! It's the weakness that I don't like because it will come out of nowhere so it happens when I'm out and about.
I will definitely badger the gp about doing the testing sooner, I've had nothing but blood tests for the last 6 months but I know something isn't right with my body I just feel like I get fobbed off all the time

@davegrohll I have subclinical hypothyroidism which means I don't have it overtly but my TSH is still higher than the ideal normal range without taking thyroxine. It got to 4.98 when normal is ideally between 1-2 and overt hypothyroidism is anything over 10. So I was a ways off overt but it was high enough to warrant meds (especially as I was trying to conceive and TSH can effect that).

They may just suggest monitoring you with 6 months blood tests to make sure your TSH isn't dropping into clinical hyperthyroidism, worth asking the GP to do this as I only found my subclinical hypothyroidism because I requested the exact blood test results and saw it there, the receptionist on phone said all normal.

Yes I have requested all my blood tests from the last 6 months, prob wont get them until next week now though. But I'll be sure to post the thyroid ones here as I wont know what I'm looking at !

You need to be careful comparing lab results with other people. I was advised to always get tested at the same place to make sure it was the same lab as some use slightly different ranges. So look at the normal range listed on your results.

The bottom line with thyroid issues is that labs are useful, but how you feel is the real measurement. I mean that the normal TSH range may be 1-4 in my lab's range. So anywhere my results fall in there I'm technically a-ok. Except I know that if my tsh results are over 1.5 I will already not be feeling ok and by the time they're at 3, I'll be exhausted. I've discovered that through a few years of trial and error. Basically you need to monitor how you're feeling, other symptoms and compare that to blood test results so that you can start to figure out what is good for you.

Would be great if GP actually listened to how you're feeling instead of fobbing you off on the phone. I was feeling rough for ages and had to insist on blood to be redone. I also had a history of this. I knew that my lab had a very wide margin of normal compared to figures found online.

Dr only requested physical examination after bloods showed very high t4 and undetectable TSh. Before that she was suggesting arthritis (over the phone)

Hi my results are here in red, would appreciate if anyone can explain

T4 is 10.7 - ranges are 9.00 - 19.00pmol/L
T3 is 4.3 - ranges are 2.40 - 6.00pmol/L

I think that's what it means anyway

Just bumping

Hi everyone. Just popped back on here to say my tsh is still coming back low,
The ranges are 0.4-4.9 and my level is 0.3
GP has marked it as “only minor changes no action”

T4 is still okay at 13.3