Aa
HELP! I'm FRUSTRATED with my thyroid tests
I am at my wits end with my tests and my doc at this point and i could really use some input from someone else who may have been dealing with something similar. 5 years ago I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, I had a large goiter and had surgery 4 years ago to remove it. i kept half of my thyroid and was never put on any medication. 2 years ago they found another large goiter but said they wouldn't do anything about it. i gave up for a while on trying to get treatment because i was so frustrated and then I got pregnant with my third child. well my baby was born in dec 06 and in Jan my TSH was 5.9 which they said was normal (according to AACE normal is 0.3-2.5) last week i called and demanded another test because my hair is falling out by the handfulls and i'm exhausted all the time. my TSH is 0.05 and my FT4 is 0.8 and my FT3 is 4.0 my doc is telling me that they are not really that normal but they will just wait and see what happens and maybe check them again in 6 weeks! They have not done any antibodies tests and I'm not sure if I should request them. Can anyone give me any insight on this? I'm looking into a second opinion but my insurance will not cover it so I want to make sure it will be worth the excessive out of pocket cost. somebody please help! I CAN'T take much more of this!
Thanks for your feedback. I searched for the links you posted regarding autoimmune but didn't have any luck finding them. To answer your question, my first two kids are boys and my third is a girl. I just got my 6 weeks retest results back today. according to the labs my FT4 is 1.0 (normal is 0.6-1.7) FT3 is 5.4 (normal is 2.1-4.1) and TSH is 0.05 (normal is 0.35-4.5) According to these recent results I am Hyperthyroid but according to my medical records I was already diagnosed with Hoshimoto's Disease, which I thought made you eventually hypo... I am so confussed! Still loosing tons of hair and my fatigue has become overwhelming and in addition to it I have a horrible time remebering anything! I have to go back in and see my endocronologist in a few weeks. I still don't understand why they didn't bother to follow up on the nodule that grew in place of where the left lobe of the thyroid was removed. Do you know if this is normal? I just assumed that if something in your body is growing where it's not supposed to be, that it might need to be checked out. As you can tell I have little faith in the doctor I currently see, but my hands have been tied by my insurance carrier. Thanks for any imput you can provide!
Hi
The TSH of 5.9 may have been slightly hypothyroid (low levels of thyroid hormone) BUT as you'll read sometimes (often actually) it is really hard at that level to get a doctor to treat your symptoms - the longstanding recommendations don't indicate treatment until TSH reaches 10.0 and most doc's are still using the old methods for diagnosis and treatment.
Did the laboratory where you had your blood tests done use the new AACE reference range? I'd be surprised if they did. The doc's actually using this new reference range seem to be in the minority.
Anyway - your current situation...
The word goiter refers simply to the enlargement of the thyroid gland.
TSH of 0.05 clearly demonstrates hyperhyroidism (too high thyroid hormone) and the symptoms you are experiencing will likey be related,
Unfortunately lots of women have thyroid problems rearing their ugly heads after dramatic hormonal changes as seen in pregnancy or menopause.
Have a look at this information brochure on Postpartum Thyroiditis from the American Thyroid Association
http://www.thyroid.org/patients/patient_brochures/postpartum.html
Although this may seem little solace at the moment;
"Most women will have return of their thyroid function to normal within 12-18 months of the onset of symptoms." [taken from the above website]
If you don't mind me asking - was your third child male? How many of your 3 children were male? If you read the links about autoimmune stuff that I gave in a post to bubblytoes you'll understand why I'm asking.
If there is a family history of thyroid disorders or you have other autoimmune disorders such as Rheumatoid arthritis or pernicious anaemia (there are too many to list everyone single one) then a antibody test might be interesting. BUT considering your history of goitre it would be interesting anyway. The problem is - antibody tests are more interesting than they are useful. You can't treat antibodies and there is no course of action to follow if you do have positive antibodies. All it tells us is an indication of the future course of progression your thyroid is likely to take *IF* indeed you are positive to antibodies - and then some people never progress.
Don't worry if you don't have an antibody test just yet - but oneday it would be good. I haven't mentioned (but you probably know) that the two main autoimmune thyroid problems are Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) and Hashimoto's (which may progress into hypothyroidism). If interested you could look them up.
In future when posting labs could you try to include the normal ranges given for all tests, including TSH, FT4 and FT3? Otherwise they have little meaning.
It is a good idea to ask for a copy of your test results (after all, I just can't remember what the doc said?) All labs vary in their testing methods and the different machines they use. Even if they use the same method and machines they will be calibrated differently so will have slightly different reference ranges for normal too. Because this is an international board you see quite a lot of variance in the reference ranges given too.
I'm sorry this problem has found you - try not to put yourself under any extra stress or pressure while not feeling 100% (physical or psychological).
Best wishes,
~Jen
The TSH of 5.9 may have been slightly hypothyroid (low levels of thyroid hormone) BUT as you'll read sometimes (often actually) it is really hard at that level to get a doctor to treat your symptoms - the longstanding recommendations don't indicate treatment until TSH reaches 10.0 and most doc's are still using the old methods for diagnosis and treatment.
Did the laboratory where you had your blood tests done use the new AACE reference range? I'd be surprised if they did. The doc's actually using this new reference range seem to be in the minority.
Anyway - your current situation...
The word goiter refers simply to the enlargement of the thyroid gland.
TSH of 0.05 clearly demonstrates hyperhyroidism (too high thyroid hormone) and the symptoms you are experiencing will likey be related,
Unfortunately lots of women have thyroid problems rearing their ugly heads after dramatic hormonal changes as seen in pregnancy or menopause.
Have a look at this information brochure on Postpartum Thyroiditis from the American Thyroid Association
http://www.thyroid.org/patients/patient_brochures/postpartum.html
Although this may seem little solace at the moment;
"Most women will have return of their thyroid function to normal within 12-18 months of the onset of symptoms." [taken from the above website]
If you don't mind me asking - was your third child male? How many of your 3 children were male? If you read the links about autoimmune stuff that I gave in a post to bubblytoes you'll understand why I'm asking.
If there is a family history of thyroid disorders or you have other autoimmune disorders such as Rheumatoid arthritis or pernicious anaemia (there are too many to list everyone single one) then a antibody test might be interesting. BUT considering your history of goitre it would be interesting anyway. The problem is - antibody tests are more interesting than they are useful. You can't treat antibodies and there is no course of action to follow if you do have positive antibodies. All it tells us is an indication of the future course of progression your thyroid is likely to take *IF* indeed you are positive to antibodies - and then some people never progress.
Don't worry if you don't have an antibody test just yet - but oneday it would be good. I haven't mentioned (but you probably know) that the two main autoimmune thyroid problems are Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) and Hashimoto's (which may progress into hypothyroidism). If interested you could look them up.
In future when posting labs could you try to include the normal ranges given for all tests, including TSH, FT4 and FT3? Otherwise they have little meaning.
It is a good idea to ask for a copy of your test results (after all, I just can't remember what the doc said?) All labs vary in their testing methods and the different machines they use. Even if they use the same method and machines they will be calibrated differently so will have slightly different reference ranges for normal too. Because this is an international board you see quite a lot of variance in the reference ranges given too.
I'm sorry this problem has found you - try not to put yourself under any extra stress or pressure while not feeling 100% (physical or psychological).
Best wishes,
~Jen
I can't interpret labs... I'm still getting a handle on what they mean and how they relate to each other, but one thing I can say is that you are 6 months post partum, so there is a good chance your hair loss is related to that. It's very common for hairloss to happen 1-6 months post partum, 3 months being "average." I lost loads of hair at exactly 4 months post partum with both of my kids.
I'm sure you'll get great input here from others who know more about levels and such.
Sorry you're having a rough time. I hope you get to the bottom of it and feel better soon!
I'm sure you'll get great input here from others who know more about levels and such.
Sorry you're having a rough time. I hope you get to the bottom of it and feel better soon!
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
