Lab Results

[ashleybedgood]

I finally got my lab results my TSH is 142.72. My Thyroxine Total is 2.1 and my Thyroid Peroxidase Ab is 368. What does all that mean my doctors arent that great they just told me I have hypothyroid to go see an endocrinologist which I have an appt with on the 29th of this month. Please give me more information. Thank you

[ashleybedgood]

Thank you for all of the information it was very helpful.

[gimel]

Looks like from that info that you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.  Hashi's occurs when your autoimmune system decides somehow that your thyroid glands are foreign, and produces antibodies that start attacking the glands until they are finally destroyed.   When the loss of natural thyroid hormone is sufficient then you will start to notice hypo symptoms and will need thyroid meds to relieve symptoms.    Some doctors prefer to wait until symptoms are very evident before starting meds.  Others have a different philosophy and start meds earlier.  In either case, as your production of natural thyroid hormone goes down, you will then need to offset with increasing meds.   Here is a link that might be helpful to you.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/hypothyroidismhashimotos/a/preventative.htm

The very most important thing for successfully getting through Hashi's with minimum discomfort, is to find a good thyroid doctor.  By that I mean one that will treat you clinically, by testing and adjusting levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, which are free T3 and free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms. ( Note that these are not the same tests as total T3 and total T4, which are somewhat outdated and not nearly as revealing as FT3 and FT4.)   Symptom relief should be all important to you and your doctor, not test results.  The main value of the thyroid testing is for diagnostic purposes and also to track progress as meds are increased toward symptom relief.

So you are going to need to find a good thyroid doctor that will treat you clinically as I described.  An Endo is not necessarily a good thyroid doctor.  Many specialize in diabetes, not thyroid.  Others have the "Immaculate TSH Belief" and only want to use TSH as their diagnostic and for dosing a patient.  This does not work, because TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so any variables that it does not correlate adequately with either symptoms, or with FT3 or FT4.  Scientific studies have shown that FT3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while FT4 and TSH did not correlate.  Further many doctors believe that FT3 and FT4 test results that fall anywhere within the reference range is adequate.  That is also incorrect.  Many of our members report that symptom relief for them required that FT3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 adjusted to at least midpoint of its range.

Unless the Endo you are to see was recommended by someone as a good thyroid doctor, you might reconsider and try to find out the doctors approach to treating a hypo patient.  I have found that I can get a good idea about the doctor by calling and asking to speak to a nurse, before making an appointment.  Then I ask if the doctor is willing to treat a patient clinically by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  I also ask if the doctor is willing to prescribe meds other than T4 types.  If either answer is no, then you may as well keep on looking for a good thyroid doctor.