RE: Re: Having blood test next week

[Guest guest]

It was Professor Weetman, ex President of the BTA and Head of

all Medical Schools in the UK who was acting as an Expert Witness for the GMC

at Dr Skinner's hearing in Manchester (which I attended) who was talking about

levothyroxine and blood tests and who said thyroid hormone replacement should

be stopped for at least 24 hours before blood was drawn for testing thyroid

function, otherwise the results could be flawed. It is in the transcripts

available on our web site http://www.tpa-uk.org.uk/skinner_hearing_transcripts.php

Think it was around Day 3, 4 or 5. Sorry, can't remember more than that and too

much for me to go through.

Luv - Sheila

Thanks for explaining in more detail, Sheila.

When it said " at least " 24 hours, I wondered whether more might be

better. But I can easily take medication the day before, then miss the morning

of the test.

Miriam

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[Guest guest]

Oh MY! Most definitely Miriam. How much are you taking

right now and for how long did you stop your thyroid hormone replacement before

you had your blood drawn? Your TSH is too high, which is expected with such low

T4 and T3 levels. You need to consider increasing your Thyroid-s by 60mgs (1

grain) with immediate effect.

Luv - Sheila

Here are my latest test results. It looks as

though I could try taking a little more Thyroid-S.

TOTAL THYROXINE(T4) *41 nmol/L (59 - 54)

TSH 2.32 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)

FREE THYROXINE *6.1 pmol/l (12.0 - 22.0)

FREE T3 *2.5 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8)

Thyroglobulin Antibody <10.0 IU/mL range 0-115(Negative)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies <5.0 IU/mL range <34 (Negative)

Miriam

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[Guest guest]

It all depends on each individual Miriam. What happens to one

might be different to what happens to somebody else. It takes up to 6 weeks for

T4 to get out of your system and the T3 has a half life of 2 days. Your TSH

could rise rapidly, or take several weeks/months, or then again, depending on

the cause of your hypothyroidism, it might never rise. Your TSH

only recognises when the thyroid gland is not secreting sufficient levels of T4

and T3, and this is when your pituitary gland starts to secrete TSH to tell the

thyroid to start pumping out more.

However, if your thyroid gland is producing sufficient levels of

T4 and T3 - then there is no need for the pituitary gland to secrete ANY TSH so

your TSH won't rise. It will stay low in the reference range. What might be the

cause of YOUR particular brand of hypothyroidism is that the thyroid hormone

your thyroid is secreting might not be getting into your cells. TSH doesn't

recognise that scenario.

Imagine what you would feel like if you were to stop your

Thyroid-s - and you waited 6 weeks to get your first thyroid function test and

your TSH remained exactly the same - but you started to get back all the

symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism again - and your GP told you that once

again, you do not have a thyroid problem and don't need thyroid hormone

replacement.

I have known some members to do this, and they have made

themselves quite poorly because there is not sufficient thyroid hormone being

absorbed at cellular level. Do you think it would be worth going down this road

as it might take you quite some time to regain your optimal health again after

having to start self-medicating again.

Luv - Sheila

Supposing I decided to stop taking the

Thyroid-S altogether in order to let the TSH go as high as it will and possibly

get a proper diagnosis, how long would I have to go without any tablets to make

sure it was clear of the system and wouldn't distort blood test results in any

way?

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[Guest guest]

Hi Miriam, you don't just need T3, you need T4 as well because

both of these levels are far too low. You need to increase your dose of Erfa

and if you can't, you need to eliminate any of the associated conditions that

go along with being hypothyroid as a way of finding what is stopping these

hormones from working. You need enough T4 to get through the brain barrier - so

T4 is important in its own special way.

You need to talk to Dr Peatfield.

Luv - Sheila

I have been thinking, I could switch from

Thyroid-s to T3 for the 6 weeks it takes Thyroid-s to get out of the system,

and then miss the T3 for just a few days before a blood test. That way I could

avoid having a big deficit of thyroid hormone for weeks. How's that for a plan?

Miriam

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