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Should take medicine for Thyroid with TSH Level 4.530
My TSH is 4.530 , T4 - 8.5 and T3- 111.2. Doctor prescribed me Thyroid 25mg medicine. Should i take the medicine ? i am kind of confused.
i understand i need to do more test to determine thyroid. This was 1st time i did my physical is it possible that my TSH level would always been at 4.53 and may be its normal for my body.
The possibilities are endless.
Not converting T4 to T3 very well is common. Getting a Free T4 and Free T3 test is more 'bang for your buck' if your doc wont do a full thyroid panel, the most useful tests there are- and explains a lot more than just T4.
Keep it simple if you have limited choices.
Not converting T4 to T3 very well is common. Getting a Free T4 and Free T3 test is more 'bang for your buck' if your doc wont do a full thyroid panel, the most useful tests there are- and explains a lot more than just T4.
Keep it simple if you have limited choices.
There's nothing wrong with just a T4 test, or any one single test, but they'll never give you the complete picture of your endocrine health. To use any one single test result, you MUST know the context of that test to interpret it correctly.
TSH - measures Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels. It is produced by your pituitary gland, in response to a TRH signal from your hypothalamus, which in turn is stimulated by nerves with T4/T3 receptors. Everything is a feedback loop. NORMALLY TSH goes high when your body needs more T4/T3 (needs to signal the Thyroid to work harder), and goes low when your body has enough T4/T3 (Thyroid needs to relax and stop working awhile). If you have an abnormal TSH lab, it does not necessarily define what the rest of your body is doing. It is only 1 piece of the puzzle.
T4 - levothyroxine, the normal thyroid hormone produced mostly in the Thyroid. It raises your metabolism to "nominal" level. Too much = hyperthyroidism. Too little = hypothyroidism. Period.
T3 - triiodothyronine, produced in very small amounts in the Thyroid. Mostly it comes from your muscles, organs, skin, fat. Your body turns T4 into T3 by taking off 1 iodine atom. T3 is more potent than T4, but also has a shorter half-life. That means it doesn't last very long. T3 is the usual culprit for your side effects, like heart racing, but also makes you feel good and alert "instantly" - hence the popularity of dessicated thyroid and Cytomel.
TBG - Thyroid Binding Globulin - a special protein produced in the Thyroid to ferrry T4/T3 around the body. Albumin and other blood proteins also bind T4/T3 to ferry them around but not nearly as well. NORMALLY, too much TBG means all your hormone is "sequestered" onto the protein, and can never get into your body parts to boost metabolism.. artificial hypothyroidism. Too little TBG means a normal T4/T3 level actually appears to your body as being "very high" T4/T3 and boosts your metabolism too much - shakes, heart racing, diarrhea, etc. Artificial hyperthyroidism.
Free T4 - the unbound fraction of T4 in your blood. Most T4 is bound up on TBG in your blood. Only a small amount is floating freely, and can thus dissolve across into each cell of your body. TBG can't go inside cells. It is "big". It stays stuck in your blood. FreeT4 is tiny and can get in your cells. At any time there is a constant back & forth, ebb and flow, a dynamic cycle of T4 molecules on & off the TBG carrier, and in/out of your cells. When Free T4 is too low, even if T4 is "normal", your body can't see any T4 nor raise its metabolism. When Free T4 is too high, even if T4 is "normal", your body raises its metabolism too much and gets hyperactive.
FreeT3 - similar to above, only T3 that is not bound up to TBG can have any metabolic effect on your body. After your body parts convert T4 to T3 and boost their metabolism up a little, T3 dissolves back into your blood. Most of it binds up to TBG again (and often displaces a little T4, making more T4 available again). There are only a limited number of "sites" or holes on a TBG for T4 or T3 to bind on and get carried around.
Antibody test - this usually looks for antibodies that your body is making against "receptors" on the thyroid gland. Nobody really knows why the body does this, yet, but the antibodies act as a false signal to turn on the thyroid. This is the ONLY way to definitively diagnose Grave's Disease.
Got it?
So, now let's say you go to visit your local idiot Endocrinologist. They measure only FreeT4. It comes back low. He ignores the way you feel, and puts you on Synthroid. 1 month later you're in the ER with a heart attack. They run a full array of tests and find out your TBG was high, your T4 is high, your TSH is high, your Free T4 is now normal, but Free T3 is very high. Turns out because you went on a diet recently, your body made less blood proteins, Free T4/T3 fraction went up + your supplemented T4 from Synthroid, and essentially overdosed you. Nevertheless, your Endo persists in his false illusions of grandeur in his field... he takes you off the Synthroid since you're now normal... he might even order a thyroid scan and put you on some methimazole or propylthiouracil to bring down your T4/T3 levels. You keep gaining weight, especially in your midsection. Your TSH is high, and T4/T3 is normal. Several months go by, you develop migraines. You finally go get a CT scan. Turns out, all along you had a pituitary tumor and it was autonomously producing TSH instead of responding appropriately to your body's hormone levels.
Case in point? The ONLY way to know exactly what is going on with your body is to have the FULL panel of tests run. It may be expensive, but it is worth it. Later on, if your case of hypo/hyperthyroidism is relatively normal, THEN you can pick 1 or 2 tests and go the cheaper route to rely on them to adjust your medication maintenance doses.
TSH - measures Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels. It is produced by your pituitary gland, in response to a TRH signal from your hypothalamus, which in turn is stimulated by nerves with T4/T3 receptors. Everything is a feedback loop. NORMALLY TSH goes high when your body needs more T4/T3 (needs to signal the Thyroid to work harder), and goes low when your body has enough T4/T3 (Thyroid needs to relax and stop working awhile). If you have an abnormal TSH lab, it does not necessarily define what the rest of your body is doing. It is only 1 piece of the puzzle.
T4 - levothyroxine, the normal thyroid hormone produced mostly in the Thyroid. It raises your metabolism to "nominal" level. Too much = hyperthyroidism. Too little = hypothyroidism. Period.
T3 - triiodothyronine, produced in very small amounts in the Thyroid. Mostly it comes from your muscles, organs, skin, fat. Your body turns T4 into T3 by taking off 1 iodine atom. T3 is more potent than T4, but also has a shorter half-life. That means it doesn't last very long. T3 is the usual culprit for your side effects, like heart racing, but also makes you feel good and alert "instantly" - hence the popularity of dessicated thyroid and Cytomel.
TBG - Thyroid Binding Globulin - a special protein produced in the Thyroid to ferrry T4/T3 around the body. Albumin and other blood proteins also bind T4/T3 to ferry them around but not nearly as well. NORMALLY, too much TBG means all your hormone is "sequestered" onto the protein, and can never get into your body parts to boost metabolism.. artificial hypothyroidism. Too little TBG means a normal T4/T3 level actually appears to your body as being "very high" T4/T3 and boosts your metabolism too much - shakes, heart racing, diarrhea, etc. Artificial hyperthyroidism.
Free T4 - the unbound fraction of T4 in your blood. Most T4 is bound up on TBG in your blood. Only a small amount is floating freely, and can thus dissolve across into each cell of your body. TBG can't go inside cells. It is "big". It stays stuck in your blood. FreeT4 is tiny and can get in your cells. At any time there is a constant back & forth, ebb and flow, a dynamic cycle of T4 molecules on & off the TBG carrier, and in/out of your cells. When Free T4 is too low, even if T4 is "normal", your body can't see any T4 nor raise its metabolism. When Free T4 is too high, even if T4 is "normal", your body raises its metabolism too much and gets hyperactive.
FreeT3 - similar to above, only T3 that is not bound up to TBG can have any metabolic effect on your body. After your body parts convert T4 to T3 and boost their metabolism up a little, T3 dissolves back into your blood. Most of it binds up to TBG again (and often displaces a little T4, making more T4 available again). There are only a limited number of "sites" or holes on a TBG for T4 or T3 to bind on and get carried around.
Antibody test - this usually looks for antibodies that your body is making against "receptors" on the thyroid gland. Nobody really knows why the body does this, yet, but the antibodies act as a false signal to turn on the thyroid. This is the ONLY way to definitively diagnose Grave's Disease.
Got it?
So, now let's say you go to visit your local idiot Endocrinologist. They measure only FreeT4. It comes back low. He ignores the way you feel, and puts you on Synthroid. 1 month later you're in the ER with a heart attack. They run a full array of tests and find out your TBG was high, your T4 is high, your TSH is high, your Free T4 is now normal, but Free T3 is very high. Turns out because you went on a diet recently, your body made less blood proteins, Free T4/T3 fraction went up + your supplemented T4 from Synthroid, and essentially overdosed you. Nevertheless, your Endo persists in his false illusions of grandeur in his field... he takes you off the Synthroid since you're now normal... he might even order a thyroid scan and put you on some methimazole or propylthiouracil to bring down your T4/T3 levels. You keep gaining weight, especially in your midsection. Your TSH is high, and T4/T3 is normal. Several months go by, you develop migraines. You finally go get a CT scan. Turns out, all along you had a pituitary tumor and it was autonomously producing TSH instead of responding appropriately to your body's hormone levels.
Case in point? The ONLY way to know exactly what is going on with your body is to have the FULL panel of tests run. It may be expensive, but it is worth it. Later on, if your case of hypo/hyperthyroidism is relatively normal, THEN you can pick 1 or 2 tests and go the cheaper route to rely on them to adjust your medication maintenance doses.
OK, call it Synthroid from now on.....because Thyroid is the generic Natural Dessicated Thyroid med from Canada available here in the US also.
Per lab tsh you are in the hypo range - if you also feel hypo, then you are.
Those other labs are not the best up to date tests available. In the future ask for what is called FreeT3 and Free T4.
Per lab tsh you are in the hypo range - if you also feel hypo, then you are.
Those other labs are not the best up to date tests available. In the future ask for what is called FreeT3 and Free T4.
I live in USA.Doctor prescribed me Synthroid 25 mg. I guess its the brand name, can i go for generic brand as its cheaper than brand name.
My lab T3 normal level is 80.0 - 204.0 and mine is 111.2
T2 is 3.5 - 5.2 and mine is 4.6
TSH is 0.350 - 4.500 and mine is 4.530
My lab T3 normal level is 80.0 - 204.0 and mine is 111.2
T2 is 3.5 - 5.2 and mine is 4.6
TSH is 0.350 - 4.500 and mine is 4.530
Oh. yes - you need the med, its really thyroid hormone replacement that you keep taking and adjust per symptoms and lab results.
Not a one time 'fix'., as it does not fix, just replaces what your thyroid is not doing.
Still, we would like to know the brand and country prescribed.
Not a one time 'fix'., as it does not fix, just replaces what your thyroid is not doing.
Still, we would like to know the brand and country prescribed.
1)Please post your lab ranges - they vary per lab.
2)Do the T4 and T3 say free T4 and free T3 ? -More accurate.
3)'My TSH is 4.530' - that is on the hypo side for most, why you were given meds. Google hypo thyroid symptoms to see what you are / were experiencing.
4)"Thyroid 25mg medicine" - sounds generic, is that what the label says? What country are you in?
2)Do the T4 and T3 say free T4 and free T3 ? -More accurate.
3)'My TSH is 4.530' - that is on the hypo side for most, why you were given meds. Google hypo thyroid symptoms to see what you are / were experiencing.
4)"Thyroid 25mg medicine" - sounds generic, is that what the label says? What country are you in?
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