Hypothyroid

[silky85]

i am just 26 years and receently i have been diagnosed as hypothyroid patient. I am gainig weight,have paiful menses and hair fall and i get deprssed very easily. My Tsh is 8. Will these symptoms vanish once my medication starts? I have heard that people become ugly in this disease and start looking old??? If i attain normal TSH will my medicine be stopped?help pls

[gimel]

Not clear on what you mean by anti peroxidase permease count.  If you mean the TPO ab test result, there is nothing that will positively control thyroid antibodies.  Some members have reported that taking selenium helps lower the count; however, too much selenium can be a problem, so you can't go overboard with that.  The main effect of the antibodies is to attack and destroy your thyroid glands, over an extended period.  So the best approach is to make sure to get your Free T3 and Free T4 tests done and get medicated enough to raise those levels as necessary to relieve symptoms.  Also make sure to get the other tests I mentioned and and adjust those levels as necessary.  

[silky85]

thnxs a lot bt how cn i cntrl my anti thyroid peroxidase permease count. mine is 297.

[gimel]

TSH is a pituitary hormone that is totally inadequate as the sole diagnostic by which to medicate a hypo patient.  At best TSH is an indicator, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, and also the levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4.  Of these Free T3 is the most important because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions.  Scientific studies have also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.

A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just lab results.  Many of our members report that symptom relief for them required that Free T3 was adjusted into the upper third of its range and Free T4 adjusted to around the midpoint of its range.

So the first thing I suggest is that you should go back and request testing for Free T3 and Free T4.  If the doctor resists and gives you excuses as to why it is not necessary, just insist on it and don't take no for an answer.  If the cause for your hypothyroidism has never been determined, you should also request testing for the thyroid antibodies, which are TPO ab and TG ab.  These tests will determine if Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is the cause.  

If Hashi's is the cause then over an extended period of time, the antibodies will gradually destroy your thyroid glands, requiring gradual increases in your meds.  Symptoms will go away only when your levels of Free T3 and free T4 are adequate.  It is unlikely that you will stop having to take thyroid meds, since the incidence of temporary thyroiditis is very low.  

the next thing you should do is find out if your doctor is going to be willing to treat you clinically, for symptoms, by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms.   Also find out if the doctor is willing to prescribe T3 type meds such as Armour, or Nature-Throid, or Cytomel.  If the answer to either of these questions is no, then you need to find a good thyroid doctor that will do so.

If you want to read about clinical treatment, then this is a link to a letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he consults with from a distance.  The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

while you are at the doctor you should also request testing for Vitamin D, B12, iron/ferritin, and RBC magnesium.  When test results are available then please get a copy and post results and their reference ranges and members will be glad to help interpret and advise further.