random thyroid issues...nygirl....can you help?

[willows]

nygirl,

I have read in your posts about your thryoid issues and have a question.  What EXACTLY started happening that made a doc figure it was thyroid?  I just got back from seeing a specialist in Seattle, he won't put me on maintenance until I get my shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat from really minor exertion and weight gain diagnosed.  Thing is, my thyroid panel came back with TSH of .80, which is sooo close to hyper and T3 uptake came back low....18.75 and normal low range starts at 22.  My internist was very confused, but did not offer treatment.  Gonna find a new internist.  So, compared to your experiences, do I search out a thryoid doc or do I go to a heart guy or a lung guy or do I just start tearing out my hair?
Thanks.
Willow

[Califia]

Endocrinologist!

[NYgirl]

First off what you said here:
my shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat from really minor exertion and weight gain diagnosed.

Those symptoms are those of anemia AND also of hyperthyroidism so I'm not exactly sure what your doctor is talking about at all here.  

Why wouldn't it be your thyroid? Are you still on the riba?  When mine first went HYPER I had the same symptoms (and my hair was falling out in globs and other stuff that looked exactly like the sides from treatment) but...the doctor had been monitoring my thyroid numbers the entire time so he caught it.

My TSH came back 0.00 so he knew I was hyper LOL. Pretty obvious.

I have to tell you that I take Synthroid every day (it's just a synthetic thyroid med) and it's fixed me up just FINE.  Because it's very common for us to FIRST go HYPER and then turn HYPO really really quick - they'll probably want you to go for the radioactive imaging scan (no big deal you take two pills, go back the next day and then they take pictures of your thyroid).

I wish I had my test results here so I could compare them to yours. I might be able to bring them tomorrow.

GO TO AN ENDOCRONOLOGIST no intern no hemo no hep doc - GO TO AN ENDO!  This is what they DO and fix for us!

I'm pretty shocked that your other doctor hasn't saId like mine did RIGHT AWAY "you need to make an appt with the Endo before you leave here today".

Thyroid issues can be very dangerous (especially being hyper) and you need to have it checked as soon as you can.

I'll be on until 5pm EST today if I didn't answer what you are looking for.  It's so hard to tell sometimes once I start babbling where I have gone ;)

Feel better - it's not the end of the world (it's not the best thing but..at least they have a nice easy pill and we DONT have to do another SHOT! YAY!) :)

[willows]

Thanks, folks.  I have appointment with my family doc tomorrow and I will ask him for referral to ENDO, I live in small town so we may only have one, but it is a good place to start.  

You are so right, compared to tx sides, what is going on with me right now is not so bad, but is getting worse so I need it fixed quick.  I'm huffin and puffin like the old lady I almost am, will be glad when I can walk around the block again.  I did not clarify for you, but I am not on tx yet, have been off of it for two years now.  Time to try maintenance to keep liver halfway healthy til PI is available.  

My new specialist told me something quite interesting.  He says there is a new feeling that if someone fails like I did, had a 2 log drop at 12 weeks, went back up at 24 weeks, geno 1, doing Pegasys, this means I have an interferon resistant strain of Hep C and he did not think any good doc would have me try to tx again.  Is this the end of all of us trying tx 3 or 4 times?  

He wasn't even really keen on the idea of giving me maintenance, but my labs are showing lots of viral activity, so I pushed for maintenance.  I may not kill the dragon, but hell, I want to give the ole liver some healthy down time.  72 weeks of half dose peg is not my idea of a vacation, but is more attractive than cirhossis or someone else's liver inside me.  So, thanks again.  I will let you know what I find out.  I got a feeling I got a few tests in my future, I'm just praying I can find a good doc.  Where did they all go?  I can't find one!
Willow

[way]

My doc monitors my thyroid every month along with my blood count. I've read here that TX does sometimes screw up the thyroid. Guess it's not too soon to ask if my tests come back hyper or hypo if he will treat or refer.

[Califia]

Surprised that your internist did not test your T4 level as well, but at this point that's neither here nor there.   Your TSH is really not all that hyper--some people w/ hypothyroidism (such as this writer!)  would be happy to see such a nice low level.  When it comes down to it, we all do best at a different baseline, and that's something important to remember when dealing with an endocrinologist, as far too many of them go strictly by the numbers and don't listen enough to their patients' subjective take on their own symptoms.  What really matters is how you think you are feeling.  The physical symptoms yu report here could just as easily define you as HYPO, although this would be contradicted by your TSH level.  Difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, a feeling of heaviness in the chest, these symptoms can belong to either hypo- or hyper-thyroid symptoms.  Weight gain, however, points to hypothyroidism, as it is a product of a sluggish metabolism.  A good crash course in thyroid disorders can be found at <a href=http://thyroid.about.com>THYROID</a>

[DoubleDose]

I believe that if you do some research you will find that your TSH thyroid value of .80 is solidly within the NORMAL range.  In fact the newest AACE guidelines, issued in 2003 for TSH range are now placed at:  0.3 to 3.0.  I do not think a TSH of 0.8 is anything but completely in the normal range.  It just means your system is being forced to produce very little Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) to keep your system in balance.  In other words, the TSH at 0.8 signifies that your body is doing fine producing the various thyroid hormones, and is not in overdrive trying to produce the correct amounts.  My thyroid doctor has been treating me (hypothyroid) with the goal of getting my TSH down from 6.0 after tx, to about .75 to 1.0.  We have accomplished that over the past few years, and now I try to take enough synthroid to keep my TSH near or slightly under 1.0.  This is pretty much the IDEAL TSH range.  Check out the medical literature.  I think it will make you feel much better.  You can't have a much better score!

DoubleDose