Thyroid results interpretation

[itsthesoundofthepolice]

I've had independent blood test for thyroid function and got the results today, they're within the "normal" range I think but on the lower side. Is it worth pushing for any other interpretation

TSH 1.65

FT4 12.7

FT3 4.4

*investigations not interpretations

These are bang on. No further investigations necessary.

Normal

Thank you. I have no idea of the right levels and only had the "results" information to go by. At least that's one thing ticked off the list to check

You can't possibly tell whether they are "bang on" without the reference ranges. Please can you post the ranges.

Also need to know if you are medicated (ie on thyroid hormone replacement or not) as the optimal levels differ.

@itsthesoundofthepolice

Did you have your thyroid antibodies checked?

They are absolutely normal.

WHat are the ranges ? FT3 and 4 look on the low side.

Apologies @TooManyPJs for not referencing.

Reference range:
TSH: 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L, OP LEVEL: 1,65
Free T4 12 - 22 pmol/L, OP: 12.7
Free T3: 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L. OP: 4.4

(source: www.nbt.nhs.uk/severn-pathology/requesting/test-information/thyroid-function-tests)

TSH measures your thyroid stimulating hormone. So if your thyroid is producing too, this will be low - if not enough this will be a high number.

FT4 and FT3 measures the amount of thyroid hormones your thyroid produces (it produces two types).

So, I am not a medical doctor but as someone who has lived with a thyroid condition for 25 years and has been very involved in my care, the results look very healthy to me.

@TooManyPJs unfortunately the info I got back had the results with no comparative information only normal and a green tick.

I had the test done on the advice of my GP (due to a number of symptoms of under active thyroid) they recommended a test but wouldn't arrange the blood test because of covid backlogs and no face to face appointments 🙄
The results posted were the only information I got back so I don't know if antibodies were checked and unfortunately I'm not particularly clued up on thyroid conditions so reading things a bit blind.

Pleased to know the numbers back are normal to people in the know though.

If you want to check your thyroid antibody levels, try Medichecks

If you are symptomatic those levels dont mean necessarily that your thyroid isnt abnormal. You could be a person whose normal TSH level is 0.35 like me, or someone whose normal TSH level is 1.9 like my sister. That is the diffculty with normal ranges, they cover an entire population of individuals. If you have ruled out every other possibility and are still symptomatic, having a two month trial of supplemental thyroxine can be a good way to see if it resolves your symptoms

Sorry OP, not 'normal' at all, other than that they are within the reference ranges.

TSH 1.65 (0.27-4.2) This looks all right, nice and low, but it doesn't go anywhere towards telling the full story. TSH is a pituitary hormone.

FT4 12.7 (12-22) This is very, very low. If your thyroid was medicated, you'd expect this figure to be in the top 25% of the reference range. Instead, it's sitting at only 7% and this is the storage hormone you need to convert to the active hormone.

FT3 4.4 (3.1-6.8) This is the active hormone. Again, if your thyroid was medicated, you would expect that to relieve your symptoms you would need this to be in the top 25% of the reference range. Your current result is sitting at 35% and the reason this is so much higher in percentage terms than your FT4 result is that your body is already flogging itself to get your FT3 levels up.

A TSH that looks good, but with low in range thyroid hormones indicates that your pituitary gland is not sending the correct signals to your thyroid to produce more hormones. This is called secondary hypothyroidism and is easily treated with thyroxine, same as the other types of hypothyroidism.

Your GP however, may never have heard of it, so you may have to educate him. The good people on the Thyroid UK forum will be able to help you if you post your results there.

Good luck!

OP, prompted by your post, I have gone back now and looked at my past test results. In 2012 I was basically in the same position biochemically as you are now. I had been diagnosed with CFS, was permanently exhausted and fatigued, in all over pain, weight was piling on and I could not sit without support.

Twelve months later I was on 125mcg Levothyroxine and pretty much back to normal.

Thank you, That's interesting that while technically in the normal parameters it may still be an issue. I will try discussing with a gp but will do a bit more investigating myself so I'm better equipped for any discussions

Completely agree with @DeedIDo , your results are within range but this doesn't mean they are "normal".

My daughter had similar results, although with a FT3 of around 3.5, and had many debilitating hypothyroid symptoms. She's now under the care of an endocrinologist and is being investigated for possible secondary hypothyroidism. Her endocrinologist is pretty certain she has some type of thyroid problem so she's now trialing a small dose of Levothyroxine.

I would really recommend that you post your results, or search for secondary hypothyroidism, in the Thyroid Board on the Health Unlocked website. There are some really knowledgeable posters on this board and we've received some very valuable advice from them. Good luck!

@MasalaDosaMum2 thank you for all that information that's really helpful. I hope your daughter is feeling a benefit taking the medication. I'll check out that website so I can go as informed as possible x

I didn’t ask you to reference anything. Ranges differ from lab to lab so unless you know what lab the OP has used you can’t be sure of those ranges (albeit the ranges you’ve quoted are widely used but I have seen test results (including some of my own) which use different ranges.

I have lived with a rare thyroid condition for over 6 years and have done a huge amount of research and have had to strongly advocate for myself during that period. And I am afraid you are wrong to declare that those results are “bang on” and “no further investigation necessary”.

If my bloods looked like OPs I would feel very unwell. If the OP was already on thyroid medication they would indicate an increase was needed. The OP could possibly have secondary hypothyroidism as her FT4 and FT3 are very low in range but her TSH is still normal. Her FT4 is proportionally lower through its range than her FT3 which is a pattern seen when the thyroid is starting to struggle. She could also have autoimmune hypothyroidism which can make people feel very unwell even before their TSH/FT4/FT3 show any abnormality. I felt extremely unwell for almost a year for example before were my bloods were where they needed to be for me to get a diagnosis. When my bloods were first tested my FT4 and FT3 weren’t far off the OPs. She could of course have something else completely different going on causing her symptoms. We don’t know yet as we simply don’t have enough information.

Please don’t go onto threads declaring “no further investigation necessary” when you really do not have enough information to declare that.

I can see that PPs have now given the OP advice to go to the Thyroid U.K. forum on Health Unlocked which is great as she’ll get much better advice there than that on this thread.

Good luck OP I hope you find the answers you need soon. I know how it feels to be unwell and not know what is causing it.

Hi,
I'm sorry to jump on this thread, but I'm new here and not quite sure how to navigate my way around.
Could anyone possibly interpret my thyroid results?

TSH 4.02
Free T4 11.0

I have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, which my mum and aunt have, but my GP seems to think the reading is fine.

Over the past few years, my TSH has gone from 2.8 then 3.2 and now 4.02. My free T4 has gradually dropped too.

I would appreciate any advice.

Best wishes

I'm 33, if that information helps.

Can I suggest you start your own thread so that it will be seen by more people and add your results with the reference ranges, so that people can look at them properly for you. The reference ranges change according to which lab equipment is being used and it is very difficult to interpret results without them.

Sorry OP but your results may be in the 'normal' range they are very far from optimal, and it's no wonder you have hypo symptoms. I'm a hypothyroid patient and have done more than my fair share of reading up about the thyroid and talking to others with the conditions. Your FT4 needs to be higher in the range to be optimal, it's very low and I'm not surprised you are feeling ropey. Similarly the FT3 is on the low side. You may have an iodine and/or selenium deficiency (very common as our soils are depleted) and this will not be helping.

Even though your TSH is normal bear in mind it doesn't always rise much when people become hypo. For some it does, others not so much. It's a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone. As a PP said, secondary or 'central' hypothyroidism can occur, that means the TSH doesn't rise but you are still hypo.

@itsthesoundofthepolice I came across your post- I have near identical results as the ones you shared. Wondered if you made any progress with it a year on? I've been back and forth to GP for over two years with no luck. TIA