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Thyroid TSH level 148
I found out on June 2nd after going in for a thyroid test that my level was 148. I am hypothyroid I had no idea what that meant. The doctor called me herself and was shocked that I was even standing. I now have done research and know a little more about all of this. I have been fatigued for years and have just learn to live like I have been. I have suffered from migraines, heavy menstrual cycles, and just plain exhaustion. I am also anemic to make matters worse. I told the doc I thought this was normal and I learned to live this way. I started on 50mg of Levothyroxine, then a week later started on 100mg. 3 weeks after starting medicine, got blood work done and level was down to 9.7. The last 3 weeks I have only felt good 3 days. I have started working out again in hopes of feeling better. I will see an endo for the 1st time on July 24 3 weeks away and get more blood work done. I have been somewhat depressed which is not normal for me. I just want to wake up and feel good with energy. Do you know how long it will take for this to start working?? Also, I almost feel worse 4 weeks after starting medicine than in the beginning......Am I on to much medicine?? Have you ever heard of anyone having levels this high?? I am working and carrying on my busy lifestyle but doing it with everything that I have just to get through to the next day. I may need to just take some time off and get some rest but will that really help. If anyone has any advice and more knowledge on the subject can you shed some light on this situation. Thanks so much! I really appreciate it...
A related discussion, Hypothyroid was started.
A related discussion, scared...unsure...what can i expect??? was started.
Is your hypothyroid related to pregnancy (i.e. thyroiditis)? The TSH can certainly go up after giving birth, i.e. post-partum thyroiditis or just a change in your thyroid levels if your are hypothyroid are all possibilities relating to pregnancy. My understanding is that your Doc should monitor your TSH and put you on thyroid med, if you are not already on it. I am assuming that you are on thryoid meds currently as you mentioned having a high TSH before. Perhaps the dose is not enough due to the changes taking place in your body. Did your doc bring you back in the normal range after your previous test or has your TSH remained high and is now increasing? You should be seeing your doc ASAP for treatment....an increase in dose, further tests etc. should all be involved. Don't wait. You need treatment to feel better.
Hello...just found out today my tsh level was 400. Can someone please tell me what to expect the highest mine has been ever was 97.33 and I thought I was dying then. I am lactating and haveing heavy periods and just plain worn out. I am afraid to sleep to be honest. Please someone help me!
My blood test as of two weeks ago showed a TSH of 115 so I'm in the >100 TSH club! My T4 is only 6. I've never heard of levels over 300 or 800 though! WOW. Could the measurement be different for that test over-seas?? Perhaps they use a different measuring system as they do with other blood tests. Can't explain the 880 results in the States....double WOW.
My situation is a little different as I was hyperthyroid (reoccuring thyroiditis episodes and elevated t-antibodies). I bounced up and down from "normal" t-levels and then hyper-t levels during a thyroiditis episode. This reaked a lot of havoc on my heart...it seemed as though my heart took the brunt of it and I had to take beta-blockers (even when my thyroid levels returned to normal) as my heart never really reset. I think the constant destruction of my thyroid by my antibodies put it in a constant state of imbalance/fluctuation. Also, I write "normal" b/c I question the normal range. I wish doc's listened to our symptoms and not just the range. When my blood levels returned to normal, they were always on the high end of normal and for whatever reason, my uptake scans were high.....which would normally mean hyperthyroid. I was in a state of constant confusion. Finally, to stop the fluctuations, my cardiologist requested that my endo ablate my thyroid with RAI. Within a couple of weeks, I went even more hyper than before (T4 51, TSH <0.01) and stayed elevated for 4 months after ablation...again, not "normal". Once I finally turned hypo (with a TSH of 115), I felt better than I've felt in 5 years being hyper-t. My heart was relaxed, I was able to sleep/rest, and my digestion improved over-night. Of course, I now have to take synthroid. My endo started me on 50 mcg 8 days ago, which I feel is a high starting dose for someone who was only recently hyperthyroid and had such a difficult time with the heart disturbance. I'm starting to feel reved up and the heart palps, digestion problems, and diarrhea are creeping back.
My question to all of you is around your starting dose and whether or not you guys were ever hyperthyroid before starting the meds. What dose did you start at, how did you feel on the meds when you started or increased your dose?
My situation is a little different as I was hyperthyroid (reoccuring thyroiditis episodes and elevated t-antibodies). I bounced up and down from "normal" t-levels and then hyper-t levels during a thyroiditis episode. This reaked a lot of havoc on my heart...it seemed as though my heart took the brunt of it and I had to take beta-blockers (even when my thyroid levels returned to normal) as my heart never really reset. I think the constant destruction of my thyroid by my antibodies put it in a constant state of imbalance/fluctuation. Also, I write "normal" b/c I question the normal range. I wish doc's listened to our symptoms and not just the range. When my blood levels returned to normal, they were always on the high end of normal and for whatever reason, my uptake scans were high.....which would normally mean hyperthyroid. I was in a state of constant confusion. Finally, to stop the fluctuations, my cardiologist requested that my endo ablate my thyroid with RAI. Within a couple of weeks, I went even more hyper than before (T4 51, TSH <0.01) and stayed elevated for 4 months after ablation...again, not "normal". Once I finally turned hypo (with a TSH of 115), I felt better than I've felt in 5 years being hyper-t. My heart was relaxed, I was able to sleep/rest, and my digestion improved over-night. Of course, I now have to take synthroid. My endo started me on 50 mcg 8 days ago, which I feel is a high starting dose for someone who was only recently hyperthyroid and had such a difficult time with the heart disturbance. I'm starting to feel reved up and the heart palps, digestion problems, and diarrhea are creeping back.
My question to all of you is around your starting dose and whether or not you guys were ever hyperthyroid before starting the meds. What dose did you start at, how did you feel on the meds when you started or increased your dose?
Wow i have never heard of TSH levels that high. Mine was 49.5 and i thought that was high!! I felt dreadful, like I was going to die!It took me nearly 1 and a half years to feel better and took about 6months before there was a decrease in my TSH.
I have hashimotos and this makes you feel worse,
depression was the prominent feature - i have suffered with depression most of my life.
now with a normal to borderline TSH i still feel lousy.
I also suffer with infertility.
Sorry to read of your high TSH levels.
I have hashimotos and this makes you feel worse,
depression was the prominent feature - i have suffered with depression most of my life.
now with a normal to borderline TSH i still feel lousy.
I also suffer with infertility.
Sorry to read of your high TSH levels.
I have been hypothroid for over 5 yrs now & use Armour Thyroid 180. For teh last 7-9 months I have felt really bad & when I got back to teh states (I live in a foreign country for 6-7 months) I had a new blood test- my TSH level came back at 880! It has been as high as 390 in past years when first diagnosed. Has anyone ever ehard of a level so high? Know any risks with that kind of level?
wow....148, I never heard of one that high..and here I was worried that mine went up after 6 weeks of thyroid meds...go figure on that one, have no clue what's going on but glad that mine isn't even close to that reading!!!
Just an offside question but I've read that TSH can be normal, while the other (T3 or T4) be abnormal. Is this correct?
If so, I wonder how many people might have a thyroid problem but are told they don't...based on TSH levels alone (as I understand this may be the only test ordered.)
If so, I wonder how many people might have a thyroid problem but are told they don't...based on TSH levels alone (as I understand this may be the only test ordered.)
Hi -
I'm in the same boat as you. Depression hit me for the first time in my life the same time I was diagnosed hypo. You could try taking St. John's Wort. It's really inexpensive and did the trick for me. Started feeling significant improvement after 3-4 days. My doctor says it can take up to 6 or 8 weeks though. Good luck!
I'm in the same boat as you. Depression hit me for the first time in my life the same time I was diagnosed hypo. You could try taking St. John's Wort. It's really inexpensive and did the trick for me. Started feeling significant improvement after 3-4 days. My doctor says it can take up to 6 or 8 weeks though. Good luck!
Hey busybee,
I can sympathize...my TSH was very high years back when i was diagnosed. I read your statement about the depression as well. Being too hypo can cause depression itself - and when you add in the stress of feeling bad, it can cause depression too! I so relate to you about learning to live this way - I have Fibromyalgia as well as being hypo and it is just a process of learning what/how I am going to feel and finding some way to keep going. Kind of hard sometimes when you are single mom to pre-teen boy.....whew! Anyway, I certainly hope that you feel better soon. It is so hard for us to be patient and let our bodies heal - we know that it takes time - but just the thoughts that you may feel so much better and have some energy - well, it's hard to wait. I agree with GravesLady - it will come, just have to give it time. Good luck to you!
I can sympathize...my TSH was very high years back when i was diagnosed. I read your statement about the depression as well. Being too hypo can cause depression itself - and when you add in the stress of feeling bad, it can cause depression too! I so relate to you about learning to live this way - I have Fibromyalgia as well as being hypo and it is just a process of learning what/how I am going to feel and finding some way to keep going. Kind of hard sometimes when you are single mom to pre-teen boy.....whew! Anyway, I certainly hope that you feel better soon. It is so hard for us to be patient and let our bodies heal - we know that it takes time - but just the thoughts that you may feel so much better and have some energy - well, it's hard to wait. I agree with GravesLady - it will come, just have to give it time. Good luck to you!
I have read of TSH as high as 400 and 600. However 148 is high enough. Surprising that no one ended up in a coma.
You are not experiencing any thing different than a lot of us hypo/hypers go though. Right now your body is getting at least some of the thyroid hormone that it has been missing for probably a long time, so your body is trying to adjust accordingly in which you might be feeling as the effect of depression, loss of energy and exhaustion, etc. It does get better down the road with the right TSH level that makes you feel your best.
You might need to upped meds dose to reach a TSH of 1.0 where most feel best at. It is recommended that after each med dose change Labs be done no sooner than 6 to 8 weeks after the meds have been started. This is the length of time for the med. dose change to work in our system. If you change med doses sooner you might be going up and down with med dose changes, bouncing back and forth like a ping ball, and what a roller coaster ride that is. Give your meds plenty of time to work before change dose.
If you can take some time off it might help with the healing process. Stress is not good for autoimmune thyroid and the less we have the better our health. This is actually true for almost all health conditions - stress or even over load is not healthy.
Hang in there. You are still every early in this thyroid process and it does get better eventually.
Good Luck.
You are not experiencing any thing different than a lot of us hypo/hypers go though. Right now your body is getting at least some of the thyroid hormone that it has been missing for probably a long time, so your body is trying to adjust accordingly in which you might be feeling as the effect of depression, loss of energy and exhaustion, etc. It does get better down the road with the right TSH level that makes you feel your best.
You might need to upped meds dose to reach a TSH of 1.0 where most feel best at. It is recommended that after each med dose change Labs be done no sooner than 6 to 8 weeks after the meds have been started. This is the length of time for the med. dose change to work in our system. If you change med doses sooner you might be going up and down with med dose changes, bouncing back and forth like a ping ball, and what a roller coaster ride that is. Give your meds plenty of time to work before change dose.
If you can take some time off it might help with the healing process. Stress is not good for autoimmune thyroid and the less we have the better our health. This is actually true for almost all health conditions - stress or even over load is not healthy.
Hang in there. You are still every early in this thyroid process and it does get better eventually.
Good Luck.
Hi BB. I am also new to this game! I have been backwards and forwards to my doctor and i know full well that she thinks i'm some sort of hypochondriac! Basically, i lost both eyebrows and i was losing a lot of hair everytime i washed it but it kept getting blamed on the menopause. I complained that that i was tired all the time and the answer was perhaps i needed to change my job, do less hours etc., Also, last year i had some really nasty falls, one of which i nearly knocked myself out.
Well i decided i wasn't going to get any help from her about my hair loss, so i went to see a Trichologist (hair specialist) who confirmed that i had 40% dead hair roots! She told me to go to the doctor and ask for a blood test to show what my 'iron stores' were. The doctor really didn't want to send me for a test and after stating my case she finally agreed. The result came back with TSH level of 14.2 - proving there is something wrong, and promptly prescribed Levothyroxine 50mcg. I have only taken them for 10 days, the first 8 feeling more sluggish than ever but today, i have felt that i've got a lot more energy - even though we are in the middle of a heatwave here! The message is, only we know our own bodies and we must fight to get the right treatment. Over here the medication is free which i couldn't understand and it did make me wonder if doctors leave it until its absolutely necessary before prescribing these drugs. I hope you start to feel some benefit soon. Keep your chin up!
Well i decided i wasn't going to get any help from her about my hair loss, so i went to see a Trichologist (hair specialist) who confirmed that i had 40% dead hair roots! She told me to go to the doctor and ask for a blood test to show what my 'iron stores' were. The doctor really didn't want to send me for a test and after stating my case she finally agreed. The result came back with TSH level of 14.2 - proving there is something wrong, and promptly prescribed Levothyroxine 50mcg. I have only taken them for 10 days, the first 8 feeling more sluggish than ever but today, i have felt that i've got a lot more energy - even though we are in the middle of a heatwave here! The message is, only we know our own bodies and we must fight to get the right treatment. Over here the medication is free which i couldn't understand and it did make me wonder if doctors leave it until its absolutely necessary before prescribing these drugs. I hope you start to feel some benefit soon. Keep your chin up!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I have certainly seen levels this high -- and much higher. It will take 2-3 months of proper levothyroxine treatment for things to balance our. Most likely you have hashimotos -- the endocrinologist will confirm this with antibodies and ultrasound. Target TSH to maintain is around 1.0.
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