Does Tonsillitis Cause Change In Thyroid Hormone Levels?

Posted on Tue, 1 Jul 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 1 Jul 2014 Answered on

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I am a 31 year old woman planning to conceive asap. I met a gynaecologist for any pre-conception advice and i was asked for a thyroid test as a routine check up. My T3 came around 1.04(lab range 0.64 to 2.15), T4 came around 6.91(lab range 4.4 to 11.8) and TSH came 15.89(lab range 0.25 to 5). Please note when i went for Thyroid panel testing, i had throat infection(tonsillitis).
My height is 157cms and i weigh around 43 Kgs now. i lost 3 kgs in the last 2 months without any particular reason thought it was due to stress.

Not sure if it was a lab error. 2 years ago in the routine check up TSH came around 4.6. I am thinking of waiting for another 3 weeks and re-test the TSH. Please Advise.

Answered by Dr. T Shobha Deepak (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Its Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Greetings
Welcome to Healthcare Magic

I went through your query above. Do note that Tonsillitis does not cause any change in Thyroid hormone levels.

Your T3 and T4 hormone levels are normal and there is definitive increase only in TSH. Such condition is called "Subclinical Hypothyroidism". In subclinical hypothyroidism there will be no symptoms. Like for example your weight is completely normal.

So I would advise you to repeat T3, T4 and TSH levels after 2 weeks. If its normal, do not worry. In case you get the same kind of report, I would advise you to visit an Endocrinologist or an Internal Medicine specialist for Thyroid replacement therapy.

Do keep me updated regarding the reports. Things are absolutely fine and there is no any cause to be concerned.

Take care.

Best regards,
Dr. T. Shobha Deepak
MBBS, MD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar