QuestionIn February my family doctor ran blood work and called to tell me everything was fine. About 3 weeks later, I asked them to fax me the results as I just haven't felt good - no energy at all. When I got the results it showed the following:
TSH = 1.936 (range 0.300-5.000)
Free T4 = 0.67 L (range 0.80-1.80)
When I had blood tests done in May 2009, the results were:
TSH = 3.220 (range 0.300-5.000)
Free T4 = 0.86 (range 0.80 - 1.80)
when I called my doctor back and asked him about the 0.67, he said it was okay but he would check me in a month.
I am so exhausted along with other things. Does this sound like it is okay to you?
AnswerHi Judi,
Please be aware that the information provided is not a substitute for medical advice and should not be interpreted as medical advice. This information is being provided for informational purposes only. Your own physician is the best resource to interpret your specific laboratory results and should be consulted for medical advice regarding your own specific health condition.
You mention your doctor ran bloodwork, what specific lab tests did your doctor order?
You may want to ask your doctor if he or she ran a CBC and a CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel) since if something is wrong, it will generally show up in one of those 2 lab testing results.
What were the symptoms that you visited your doctor for initially?
Do you have any known medical conditions that were diagnosed previously that may account for the symptoms of fatigue such as iron deficiency anemia, etc?
Are you taking any medications or vitamin supplements? Stress and some medications and vitamins such as B vitamins can affect thyroid hormone levels, however your thyroid hormone levels appear to be within or close to normal reference range, so in that situation your doctor is the best judge of whether a specific out of range lab result is of significance, and it appears that your doctor does not believe it is of significance.
Since you mention fatigue as a symptom, have you mentioned this and your other symptoms to your doctor? As far as whether this is normal or not, this would depend on various factors such as when it started, how long it has been going on, whether it is normal for you, what other external factors or known medical conditions may account for your exhaustion; i.e. if you are experiencing insomnia, loss of sleep, or are working excessive hours, etc.
If you have not had a CBC or CMP, you may want to request that your doctor run these tests as they are usually run as part of an annual physical exam. If those tests were run, you may want to request a copy of your lab results, and if nothing is out of range, depending on whether you are experiencing any additional symptoms and whether or not any known medical conditions may account for your symptoms of fatigue, especially if it is of a sudden onset and there is no known logical reason for it, you may want to go back to your doctor and express your concern about the symptoms of excessive fatigue. Be sure to mention any other symptoms you may have along with the fatigue, and that may help your doctor determine what other testing may need to be done to isolate the cause.
Elizabeth
