RE: Re: Thyroid Hormone Urine Test

[Guest guest]

HI Ann -

First, I am positive that your GP will refuse to recognise the Genova

Diagnostics thyroid function tests - they will ONLY go by the NHS TSH, Free t4

and Free T3 (if they even test this when it gets to the laboratory). Getting

the Genova Diagnostics test is so that YOU get a PROPER test as the 24 hour

urine test is really the one that matters, but it is not being recognised yet -

even though there is much research to show this is the way thyroid hormone

function should be tested.

I am one

who cannot fathom figures on the whole, and cannot fathom ratio's though there

are many on this forum that can. Her Free T3 looks OK. I think you should

definitely take her to see your GP and take the Genova Diagnostic results with

you, because that way, if he says he doesn't recognise this laboratory results,

he will almost certainly suggest doing the serum TFT's himself.

Because he

has refused to test her blood before because he says she is too young to be

suffering hypothyroidism, I would do this by way of sending him a letter. What

age does he expect people to get hypothyroidism then???

Write

giving a little history of her thyroid tests when a baby, at one week old and

again at 6 years old and ask why these would be requested. Give him a list of

all her symptoms and signs (you can check these against the list in our web

site www.tpa-uk.org.uk - just click on

'Hypothyroidism' and then on 'Symptoms and Signs' and see how many of these

your daughter has and how many 'signs' she is showing. Take your daughter's

basal temperature for 4 to 5 days before she gets out of bed and write these

down in the letter also. Normal temperature is 98.6 - and if her temperatures

are lower than 97,8 (and they could be much lower) this is an indication she

has low metabolism and a sign she could be hypothyroid. Ask in the letter for a

full thyroid function blood test including thyroid antibodies and for her

ferritin and Vitamin D levels to be tested too. Lastly, tell your GP that

because of your great concern, you would like your daughter to be referred to a

thyroid specialist of your choice within the NHS as you are aware patients can

now 'Choose and Book' a specialist of their choice since April 2008. Lastly,

ask that the letter be placed into your daughter's medical records so there is

proof that you asked for a referral and thyroid function tests. Some doctors

just might accidentally lose such a letter, and that is why you must also send

a copy to your Practice Manager.

I'm not a

doctor, nor medically qualified, but I would love to know what a trial of

levothyroxine would do for her.

Ann, please

DO NOT blame yourself for this situation. This is NOT your fault and as you

knew nothing about hypothyroidism and what this meant when your daughter was

born, what COULD you have done? You have since learned about this disease and

you are taking any necessary action to help your daughter now and without the

knowledge you have gained over the years, you would not even have thought to

get her tested or to see Dr P or any other thyroid doctor - so please pat

yourself on the book, and know that you are doing everything you can to help

her - and believe me, she can be helped. She might have lost part of her

childhood to untreated hypothyroidism (if, indeed, this is the cause of her

symptoms) but she could now be on the road to regaining some normality at last

so she can enjoy the years ahead of her.

Did you get

any responses to the long letter you wrote to those various people?

Luv -

Sheila

> Hi Sheila,

Thank you so much for replying

Urine test gives results for T3, T4 & T3T4 ratio

Amy's results as follows: T3 = 1440 (800-2500)

T4 = 649 (550-3160)

T3T4 ratio = 2.22 (0.5-2.3) is this result O.K. or on the high side?

Do you think I should take her to the G.P. with these results? Does

she need to take thyroxine? Arguably, the T4 result is low but not

UNDER the range. Will this test result have any gravitas? I think

that the G.P. will refuse to treat her on the basis of this test

result and insist on a blood test. Recently (Sept. 08) he refused to

consider a blood test for her as he said that she was too young to be

suffering from an underactive thyroid. Can I insist on her seeing an

endo? If so, can I choose which one she sees? The last one I saw

laughed in my face and said I should see a psychiatrist. I would not

think that I would be able to prove that my daughter's learning

difficulties are due to a thyroid problem. If I had only known then

(when she was born) what I know now I could have done something to

prevent this awful situation. I am so upset about this that I feel I

can't live with myself knowing that I could have made her well and

she would not have gone through her formative years with such

a 'handicap'. I have not slept at all since I got the results. Even

now I keep bursting into tears. That blood test she had done when

she was a week old should have told me to dig deeper, but I was

satisfied when the results came back as 'normal'. Where do I turn?

Ann x