Recently done Thyroid tests, are they normal?

[mandarj]

Hi..
I have been suffering from depression for last 10 years. Currently I am on Arip MT (Aripiprazole) 15 mg, 2 tablets per day.
My symptoms are "zero motivation", "sleepiness", "dullness", constant burnoout feeling.

Today I got my Thyroid tested. The results are as follows:

1. T3 (Total), serum by MEIA/CMIA    0.86 (Normal values: 0.86 to 1.87 ng/ml)
2. T4 (Total), serum by MEIA/CLIA     4.76 (Normal values; 4.5 to 12.5 microg/dl)
3. TSH (ultrasensitive), serum by CMIA/MEIA   2.54  (Normal values: 0.4 to 4.00 mIU/ml)

Is the report normal? If yes why do I still see symptoms of depression despite on regular medication?

Thanks
mandar

[AR-10]

The tests indicate you may be very, very slightly hypothyroid. Sub-clinical hypothyroid. Sub-clinical means your levels are not great, but you get no treatment.

Further testing is apropriate, and you should ask for more tests.

The Total T4 and Total T3 tests are old and not very acurate.

Your TSH is about a point higher than it should be, which can give you symptoms, but not treatment. Each of us has a different "perfect" TSH, but the average is 1.5 or so. TSH can also vary a little throughout the day, and it is hard to say whether your blood was drawn while your TSH was at a natural high point for the day, or a low point, or somewhere in between.

Add that information to the fact that your "average" or "perfect" TSH can be anywhere from 0.8 to 2.3, and you can see why further testing needs to be done to get a better picture of what is going on.

The following tests would help;

Another TSH
Free T4
Free T3
antibody testing;
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies
Thyroglobulin antibodies

[mandarj]

Are these blood tests again? that you have suggested?

[dai3symae]

I had very similar numbers and was being treated for depression.  When the dr finally tested me for antibodies I tested positive for TPO and he started me on 25mg of
L-thyroxine.  The depression/anxiety symptoms are almost gone and I'm not taking antidepressants for the first time in years.  I never knew until I found this sight that depression and anxiety are often symptoms of hypo.

AR-10 is right.  Ask your dr for the additional tests.

[mandarj]

Hey.
That is helpful. Thanks for the info.
Just one more question, are those additional tests referred by AR-10, blood tests?
I am not very keen on any surgical tests.

Thanks

[AR-10]

They are blood tests.

Any General Physician can order them for you.
You may have to be specific when you ask for the tests, or you'll get the older style tests again.

Free T4 and Free T3 tests have only been around for about ten years, and some doctors don't know much about them. They are more acurate than the Total T4 and T3.

[AR-10]

Dai3symae is right about depression and anxiety.

It is often one of the first symptoms of thyroid disease, and a lot of times a person ends up on anti-depressants for years before the thyroid problem becomes so obvious that it is finally treated.

My first doctor urged me to take anti-depressants for a year before he decided to test my thyroid. I was afraid to take them so I just kept going back complaining about other things, because I didn't want to discuss depression or take the pills.

One day he finally put all the complaints together and decided maybe my thyroid was the problem, and he ran tests that came back showing I was in need of thyroid hormone replacement.

It has been a long fight to get my levels correct because of the high antibodies I have, but as my levels get better, my depression is much better and one day will not bother me anymore.

Another thing that is common to thyroid problems and depression is low vitamin D. I was tested for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and found lacking in several. I was advised to start taking Vitamin D3 to bring my D3 level back into proper range, and that had a tremendous affect on my depression within about a month.

Iodine, selenium, amd magnesium are a few things that help your body make thyroid hormones and convert them so the body can use them properly. These are some other things you may want to have tested.  

[mandarj]

Thanks for the information.

I am going to take this matter with my physician now.

Thanks a lot again

Mandar

[estrelinha]

I got a little confused when I read the expert forum , about anxiety symptoms and hipo, this anxiety can give a rapid hurt rate? sinosal taquicardia?
I think when people are between "normal" TSH range, there is some mixed symptoms, is this right?

[AR-10]

There are some syptoms (symptoms) that can be experienced with either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. There some that are identical, and there are some that seem the same, even though they are slightly different.

Depression and anxiety can occur with either condition. They seem to worsen during hormone shifts, or as the shift is occurring.

Heart symptoms are a common complaint with both conditions, but the causes and specific maladies are different.

Tachacardia is usually only experienced when hyper, although too much levothyroxine or a reaction to the drug might cause a person with hypothyroism to experience it.

Palpitations, which could be considered a mild form of tachacardia, are common to both.

Skipped beats are common to both.

Anxiety puts a strain on the heart, which is not healthy, and probably contributes to periods of palpitations or rapid heart rate.

But anxiety or hypothyroidism should not cause a sustained increased heart rate.

Hypothyroidism can cause muscles and joints to ache or hurt.

Hyperthyroidism causes muscle pain, because the damage that naturally occurs cannot be repaired fast enough.

Hypo fatigue is similar to hyper fatigue, but it is more extreme when hyper, and the causes are different.

Even weight loss or gain is shared and the rules on this seem to be broken a lot. The general consensus is that hyper people lose weight and hypo people gain weight, but it can be just the opposite.

I hope that helps a little. I'm not very well versed on the heart. I know what the various "uh-oh"s feel like, but I am not up on the terminology at all. Tachacardia I know very well, because it sent me to the ER and it required IV drugs to stop it. I'm still on Toprol XL because of that little adventure.

[dai3symae]

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner...I'm glad you got an answer to your question.