Frustrated with tests! Does anyone know why my numbers are changing weekly?

[thebms]

I first noticed my hyperthyroid symptoms after a ruptured ovarian cycst.  My TSH test came back at .07.  Got referred to Endo Doc.  Had  more blood taken for another TSH, T4 and T3.  TSH came back at 1.something and T3&4 around normal levels.  Had 3rd blood test done a week later cause I wasn't feeling any different and those results came back at TSH 3.something and normal T3&4 levels.  The antithyroid goblyn antibody (okay I probably butchered this name) came back at 42 which I was told is slightly high.  Does anyone know what this all means?  I am feeling much better this week, but boy did those .07 levels throw me for a loop.  Will this keep happening?  I meet with the Endo Doc again the first week of June with another round of blood just before the appointment.  I'm just trying to figure out what is going on and have all my questions for the doc in order.  Is there any additional tests I should be having done?  I was all set up for the radioactive Iodine uptake stuff, but when the jump in TSH happened, that got put on hold.  I believe I am still waiting for another autoimmune test to come back that supposedly takes 6 weeks or so to get the results.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  This rollercoaster is so frustrating!

Thanks
thebms

[thebms]

Thank You for all the insight.  I'm currently on my second thyroid book and spent countless hours on the WWW.  I've learned alot.  I've requested my thyroid test results from years back to see if I could find some sort of baseline, but that hasn't helped.  I've only found more jumps in TSH since 1995.  From a high of 7.1 in 95 to .24 two months later, to1.88 a yr later to the most recent tsh test of .07, 1.12, 3.34, to the current 7.04. during the last 6 weeks with no meds.  So it seems like I might have a history here that I've been putting up with and not even aware.  I do have a family history of hypo (mother and grandmother)  Mother was only diagnosed within the last 2 years-she's one of those people who just don't really believe in the healthcare system and tries to self diagnose and treat.  Grandma on the other hand has been taking meds for hypo since her 30's.  That's age right now.  I've got two children and have never had a regular menstrual cycle.  Flows always different and never followed a calendar.  My mother finished menopause early at age 42.  Could all this be related?  I'm still questioning the ovarian cyst that ruptured that seemed to put me in this thyroid rollercoaster.  I'm meeting with the Endo Doc on 6/2 so I guess we'll see where it takes me.  In the mean time I continue to suffer from fatigue, but not the muscle weakness/aches that I experienced when I was hyper.  I seem to be getting a lot of headaches that seem to be putting pressure on my eyes as well as a lot of inner ear aches.  Don't know if these are related to hypo, but they have been reoccuring on symptoms chart.  Fortunately the heart palp. have slowed down.  Only experience this once in a while.  I guess I'll need to wait for an uptake scan to see what is causing the thyroiditis.  Is it Graves or Hashimoto? or nothing.  Any more info you might have would be great to hear.  This site is a great one.  I only wish I could post for one of the docs, but they are already full by the time I get to log on in the morning.  Oh well.

Thanks Again
thebms

[Smilerdeb]

Tsh can change at any given time if you are not well, stressed out or have other issues going on.
I totally agree with Stellas posting.
I was on anti-thyroid meds for a year before RAI was scheduled and I wouldnt have done it any differently as this gave me the time to research all I could about Graves and Hyperthyroidism and antibodies.
My tsh shot UP when I had the flu...went back down within 2 weeks then back up again due to work stress (and I mean overload ! lol)
Permanent treatment is just that...permanent.

Some think that if they have RAI, their problems are gone and all you have to do is pop a pill everyday. If only it was so easy, we wouldnt all be here lol.

You still have to tweak your meds to get the levels right.
Only and if only you desperately need RAI would I even recommend it and even so, buy yourself some time by going on ATDS if you can.
Knowledge is wealth.
Without knowledge you have a long road ahead after RAI.
I researched all I could before I finally had to have RAI & TT.
I am doing good 11 months later but only because of this site, the knowledge and advice here and knowing what I am doing in regards to tweaking meds.

Being hyper then having to learn the 'other side of the fence' so to speak...is not easy.
it takes a lot of hard work.
Research and buy yourself time.

As for the antibodies tests...mine came back within a day.
Ask your Doc why yours is so long.

[stella5349]

I think your main focus is to understand the thyroid is a hormonal gland. Our bodies are not designed to focus on a lab test to ensure we are "within range" of a reference range to classify us as "normal".  Tracking labs and symptoms and seeing where YOUR numbers are best for YOU have to be taken seriously with this condition.

Nutrients - moods - stress- weight- period cycles- meds can all play a role in changing those lab numbers that your doctor is looking at. Most people never test out exactly on the same number ever with this type of disease even after RAI ablation. Thyroid does not work alone. It takes all the endocrine hormones to balance us out. So lets stay, if you were under some stress the day of the tests, your adrenals could have been pumping out more cortisol, so that could alter the thyroid test too. This is only one senerio to the mix, there are millions of reasons why your tests could be different each time.

If your doctor was going to ablate your gland ( RAI) after one test that showed .07 - that is very alarming to me. Maybe I am not focusing on the details above or you may have left some out, but how I read that above is very wrong.

On your thyroglobulin test, take a look at this link:

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroglobulin/test.html

This will explain what the test is designed for and give you a gereral understanding of what may be happening with those tests. Focus on the part with Graves disease. I think that is where your doctor was heading with ordering that test.

Was there any talk about monitoring you - prior to RAI - with meds for the possible Graves? What do you mean by "but boy did those .07 levels throw me for a loop?" Was it the "number" or how you were feeling at that level?

In my opinion - after reading your post, I feel your doctor is in express mode with a permanent ablation. If you are not in danger of heart failure ( thyroid storm) or anything that could hurt you health wise, sometimes things can alter back to "normal" themselves with medication or simply time. It's a small chance, but after going through the process myself - I wish I would have had that option to see if I was a candidate for that miracle.

It is a fact you have antibodies, which I think may have been based off TSI antibody testing for the possibility of Graves autoimmune thyroid. But again, has the endo or your doctor thought to try meds first before ordering RAI? I can't see how they are basing anything on 3 blood labs. Was an I-123 scan done on the actual thyroid bed to see how bad Graves may be? By chance did this doctor explain the process to you ( after RAI) that you would simply take one pill for the rest of your life? - and made it sound simple?? Trust me - if that was the impression you got, it's not that easy for so many of us.

Again this to me, basing everything on a TSH lab is not right. The TSH is a pitutiary function telling the thyroid to pump hormones, and if you are up and down on that test, then prior to permanent ablation of your thyroid, your endo should take a look at pitutiary function through MRI testing and other things to see if - by chance - the pitutiary is having issues. Just as precaution in my opinion, but better safe the sorry in my thoughts prior to removing complete function of this major important thyroid that balances your life.

Could be liver issues too due to conversion of thyroid hormones within there? Were labs done on your liver?

There is so many things that "could" be going on and could straighten back out if things are looked at more constructively instead of rushing into something that with is not totally understood. (unknowns).