Could you look at my lab results?

[famv5]

I was diagnosed as hypothyroid back in June.  I was put on 50mcg of Levothyroxine.  I just had blood drawn yesterday to see what my numbers are now but haven't heard back yet.

Here is what my June lab results were:

Thyroid II Profile (T3U, T4, T7, TSH)

T3 Uptake  31.5    Range (20.0 - 38.5)
T4 (Thyroxine)  6.9   Range (4.4 - 12.4)
Calculated T7(FTI)  2.17    Range (1.05 - 4.50)
TSH   8.6    Range (0.5 - 4.7)

What can you make of those?  

I've noticed since I've been on the Levothyroxine 50mcg that I've had some weird muscle pains like sore and tender as if I've worked out.  My GP said she's hurt of joint pain but not muscle pains.  So, now I have no idea what would cause that.

What numbers should I expect to be considered back in the "normal" range?  How quickly should they drop?

I just had my blood checked yesterday.  Is it possible to go from hypo to hyper within a month's time?

Thanks for looking at these for me.  

[famv5]

Thank you so much for your information.  

You certainly know a lot about it.  I'll post back when I hear my blood results from yesterday.  

[goolarra]

Your TSH is pretty high.  It's not off the charts.  Just to give you some perspective, mine was 60+ on diagnosis, and I was just reading a thread yesterday from someone with a TSH of 800.  So, 8.6 isn't horrible, but it would be enough for many of us to feel pretty bad.  TSH is so variable and subject to so many influence other than thyroid hormone levels that I'm never confident working with just TSH.

TSH is basically a screening test to be used for people who are symptom free.  When TSH is off, it's time to test the actual thyroid hormones, FT3 and FT4, to be sure they support the TSH result.  I tend to think that your doctors are not ordering the right tests for an accurate diagnosis.

Should you have further blood work, antibody testing would be appropriate, also.  By far, the cause of most hypo is autoimmune thyroid disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (hypo) and Graves' (hyper).  The antibody markers for Hashi's are TPOab (thyroid peroxidase antibody) and TGab (thyroglobulin antibody).  These are simple blood tests and will give you a lot of information about what to expect from your thyroid as the years progress.    

What were your symptoms before starting meds?

  

[famv5]

My cardiologist actually ordered the first set of blood work to check my thyroid.  My GP ordered the one from yesterday.

I have a feeling she may have copied exactly what was taken the first time because she was reading from it.  Great.

So does that mean that I may not have thyroid issues or just that I'm not being accurately diagnosed?

Thank you for helping me with all of this.

[goolarra]

Both joint and muscle pain can be associated with both hypo and hyper.

That's a terrible array of tests your doctor ordered...all of them (except TSH) considered obsolete and of little value.  Total T4 tells the total amount of T4 in your blood, but much of that is chemically bound by protein and useless.  FREE T4 tells what's available for use.

T3 Uptake, despite its name, is an indirect measure of T4.  It's considered a waste of money.  FREE T3 should replace this one.

FTI is a calculated index based on TT4, so suffers the same problems as its component.

TSH should never be used alone to diagnose and treat thyroid issues.  Many years ago, AACE recommended that TSH reference range be 0.3-3.0.  So, that's "normal".  However, each of us is not going to feel well anywhere in that 0.3-3.0 range.  Some of us have to be at 0.3, or even lower, some of us are fine at 3.0, or higher.  How long it takes depends on a ton of variables, so it's impossible to predict.  Some of us get the right dose the first time out, others take months to find the perfect spot.

Yes, it is possible to go from hypo to hyper in a month's time, or less.  

I hope your doctor didn't order the same tests this time around.