High Blood Sugar and High TSH

[BananasRUs]

This is my first post, so I will give you some background on me. I am a male, age 42, 5'9", 180 lbs. About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with Chronic Thyroiditis (Hashimoto's). My TSH was over 200, ran it two more times, came back over 400 and over 900! ( I have never known if it was high for a long time, or if it was recent, as I never had any symptoms. Anyone care to shed some light on if my TSH number could have been this high for a long time? Just FYI.........I had not had my TSH checked for well over 10 years prior to this result.)

Needless to say, my primary doctor nearly paniced and she immediately started me on Synthroid, 100 mcg, and referred me to a endocrinologist. He kept raising my dosages of Synthoid until is was alternating between 125 and 137 mcg's, with a TSH between .8 and 1.9. (He wanted me below 2.0). All my other levels were normal, including T3 and T4.

This year, my heart doctor started me on Niaspan, since my Triglycerides were too high. Well, I just had my blood work done last week for my annual physical and I had some unexpected results. My Triglycerides came way done, but my fasting blood sugar was 116, and my TSH was WAY up to 10.8! That was the highest is had been since it was about 50, which was soon after I started on the Synthroid.

My primary has not seen me yet to talk about the results, as my appointment is a couple of weeks away. But, she did not run any other thyroid tests, including T3 and T4, because I was doing well, at least until now!

Any ideas as to what might be happening? I have never had a high blood sugar level before, so maybe my increased TSH played a role in that 116 number? Also, I have never had any of the regular symptoms associated with my thyroid disorder, so I really am confused! Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated!

[gimel]

When you go back to doctor for more testing, insist that they test for FT3 and FT4 (not total T3 and total T4), along with TSH.  TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, including the time of day when blood is drawn for the test.  Doctors rely on it as the standard for thyroid testing, but it is actually inadequate as a diagnostic and should not be used to determine medication dosage.   At best it is only an indicator, to be considered along with the more important indicators, which are symptoms, and the free T3 and free T4 levels.  FT3 and FT4 are the actual, biologically active thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism and many other body functions.  

In my opinion the very best way to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust FT3 and FT4 levels with meds, as required to alleviate symptoms.  Symptom relief is all important.  For many patients this requires that FT3 and FT4 have to be adjusted into the upper half of their very broad reference ranges.

Here is a good article on this subject.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

[skeeterknitwit]

I just googled Niaspan, since I didn't know what it is.  Look what I found under Important Safety Information!

•NIASPAN may cause an increase in blood sugar levels. If you have diabetes or higher than normal blood sugar levels, you should carefully check your blood sugar levels, especially during the first few months of NIASPAN and during any change in your dose. Report any changes in your blood sugar levels to your health care professional.

Hypothyroid (high TSH) has a huge effect on cholesterol levels.  When your TSH gets back to normal your triglicerides should improve also.  

You could also ask for an A1C blood test.  It can tell if your blood sugar has been high for the past 3-4 months by checking for sugar protiens bound to the red blood cells.