Thyroid levels

[tabbymagers]

Hi I'm new to the site and I think I'm having thyroid issues, but blood work shows normal.  I'm experiencing hair loss, fatigue, joint pain, low libido, and memory issues which all point to my thyroid.  I feel like i have a golf ball stuck in my throat that is pushing on my larnyx causing my voice to strain.  My ENT said he was confident I was textbook subacute tyroiditis and possibly Hashimoto's (which my dad has). He ordered bloodwork and the following results came back:

TSH 2.140 (.45 - 4.5 range)
Thyroxine (T4) 8.5 (4.5 - 12.0)
T3 uptake 31 (24 - 39)
Free Thyroxine index 2.6 (1.2 - 4.9)

Sedimentation rate - westergren 4 (0- 32)

All are within normal ranges.  He referred me to an endocrinologist and I go later in Feb.  Are there any other test I should ask the doc to do when I go in Feb?  I'm frustrated.  I really thought the results would show a problem.  

[tabbymagers]

Thanks for the info!  I will definitely ask the dr. to run the extra tests and ultrasound.  Hopefully I'll get some answers in Feb.  I'll keep ya posted with how things go.

[AmberK1980]

Hi Tabbymagers. I'd like to say I'm sorry you're experiencing all of those issues and hope you get a resolution soon. Or, at least some more information on what the issue is. I've always been fatigued and tired and had low energy levels. I found out last year that my thyroid is underactive along with finding out I'm going through early menopause. Talk about a double Whammy. So, i'm on Synthroid now for my thyroid. Well, a few months ago I took my 9 year old daughter to the dr for a check up and the dr noticed her throat was enlarged. They did bloodwork and called me back a week later saying her thryoid was abnormal and gave us a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist. Her dr was INCREDIBLE. She did more bloodworkd and called me back to confirm she has hashimoto's disease and started her on synthroid. I didn't ask for any certain levels of anything to be checked, but she checked everything, including the antibodies. So, i think if the dr is concerned with the patient's well being and truly knows what they're doing they will test everything possible. I agree with goolarra that if the dr looks at you funny when you ask about tests you should seek out another dr. Good luck and keep us updated :)

[goolarra]

You should ask the endo to test thyroid antibodies, especailly since your dad has Hashi's.  TPOab and TGab should both be tested as some of us with Hashi's are positive for one, some the other, and some both.  

Unfortunately, your doctor has ordered an impressive array of tests that are considered obsolete and of limited value.  Instead of total thyroxine (T4), he should be ordering FREE T4 (FT4).  Total T4 gives the total T4 level in your blood, but much of that is chemically bound by protein and unavailable to cells.  FT4 tells what's available.

Likewise, T3 uptake has been replaced by FREE T3 (FT3).

So, your endo should test FT3, FT4 and TSH, TPOab and TGab.  He should also order and ultrasound of your thyroid if your ENT hasn't already.  If he balks at any of those, you might not want to invest a lot of time into him.