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TSH 247.7. New here with Questions
Hi everyone,
In June I finally went to the doctor, 6 months after giving birth to my second child. During that pregnancy, I gained 70 lbs even though I was eating healthy and being active. After delivery, I lost 40 lbs and even with nursing, I starting gaining, I gained 20 lbs for no reason. I started having intolerance to heat, I had to wear a tank top even in the winter, I started to drop things, forget things, stumble over the words I was trying to say and forgetting what I was saying as I was talking, losing things, depression and bloating. I was unable to lose an ounce no matter how hard I tried. I asked for a thyroid test and it came back at 247.7. The lab checked it twice to confirm. The dr asked me how I was even standing. The thing is, I was never tired.
Anyway, I was put on 125mcg Levothryoxine and within 2 weeks I was down to TSH 31.90. 2 weeks later I was tested again and it was down to TSH 8.9. I was referred to an endo and my appt is not until later this month.
I still have not lost an ounce, I am pretty sure I am at normal TSH since my last blood draw was 3 weeks ago and if I went from 247 to 8.9 so fast in a month, I should be normal now I hope. I have noticed I am incredibly tired and I am still hot all the time. I realize most hypo's feel cold but for me, I cannot handle temps above 60. I feel like an oven inside of me burning all day. I stopped breastfeeding 4 months ago and I am still mildly lactating which was not the case when I weaned my first child, I dried up in 2 weeks.
I am scared and have no idea what is going on with my body. I am 40 lbs overweight, I have never had weight issues in my life. I asked to have my T3 tested but it was within normal range. Why am I not able to lose weight? Should I ask my endo to put me on Armour? My question to all of you is if you took Levothryoxine were you able to lose weight, and do you think Armour is better? I also wonder if I have Hashi's but my doc was not informed enough about thryoid disorders to answer any questions.
In June I finally went to the doctor, 6 months after giving birth to my second child. During that pregnancy, I gained 70 lbs even though I was eating healthy and being active. After delivery, I lost 40 lbs and even with nursing, I starting gaining, I gained 20 lbs for no reason. I started having intolerance to heat, I had to wear a tank top even in the winter, I started to drop things, forget things, stumble over the words I was trying to say and forgetting what I was saying as I was talking, losing things, depression and bloating. I was unable to lose an ounce no matter how hard I tried. I asked for a thyroid test and it came back at 247.7. The lab checked it twice to confirm. The dr asked me how I was even standing. The thing is, I was never tired.
Anyway, I was put on 125mcg Levothryoxine and within 2 weeks I was down to TSH 31.90. 2 weeks later I was tested again and it was down to TSH 8.9. I was referred to an endo and my appt is not until later this month.
I still have not lost an ounce, I am pretty sure I am at normal TSH since my last blood draw was 3 weeks ago and if I went from 247 to 8.9 so fast in a month, I should be normal now I hope. I have noticed I am incredibly tired and I am still hot all the time. I realize most hypo's feel cold but for me, I cannot handle temps above 60. I feel like an oven inside of me burning all day. I stopped breastfeeding 4 months ago and I am still mildly lactating which was not the case when I weaned my first child, I dried up in 2 weeks.
I am scared and have no idea what is going on with my body. I am 40 lbs overweight, I have never had weight issues in my life. I asked to have my T3 tested but it was within normal range. Why am I not able to lose weight? Should I ask my endo to put me on Armour? My question to all of you is if you took Levothryoxine were you able to lose weight, and do you think Armour is better? I also wonder if I have Hashi's but my doc was not informed enough about thryoid disorders to answer any questions.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I never had a weight problem before I became hypo, either. I've been on medication and overall feel quite well; however, I've never been able to lose the "hypo hips". I've been on thyroid medication for over 5 years.
It's not true, that you will, automatically, lose the weight once you get on medication. That works for some, but not for all.
As has already been stated by gimel and flyingfool, you need the Free T3 and Free T4 tests. If you aren't feeling well on the levo, you could be having a conversion issue, which could be keep your FT3 levels too low.
You might want to ask your doctor to test your blood glucose levels to see if you might have some insulin resistance going on. That's what I've recently been diagnosed with... insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
It's not true, that you will, automatically, lose the weight once you get on medication. That works for some, but not for all.
As has already been stated by gimel and flyingfool, you need the Free T3 and Free T4 tests. If you aren't feeling well on the levo, you could be having a conversion issue, which could be keep your FT3 levels too low.
You might want to ask your doctor to test your blood glucose levels to see if you might have some insulin resistance going on. That's what I've recently been diagnosed with... insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Also my wife finds it nearly impossible to lose any weight. And many people find that until they are actually optimized it is impossible.
But eating the right diet and excersizing is always good to do and starting ASAP is always a good place to start no matter what.
But eating the right diet and excersizing is always good to do and starting ASAP is always a good place to start no matter what.
125 mcg of T4 med is a huge starter dose. many people would not have been able to tolerate it. But you apparently have.
T4 takes up to 6 weeks to stabilize in your blood.
When initially starting to take Hormone many people report feeling worse for a while. This is because your body has to adjust to having Thyroid hormone again. It is quite a shock to go from so little thyroid to taking 125 mcg that it takes some time to get adjusted. Without thyroid your body tried to make other adjustments to try to make up for the lack of thyroid. So it was used to putting out other adrenals etc and now the feedback loop has to sort things out again. It is sort of like tossing a rock into a large bowl of calm water. The waves go out and reflect back off the walls and it takes a while for the water to become calm again. Same too with your body.
Do NOT expect that this initial dose is where you'll end up. Each person has to continue to be tested every 6 weeks or so making small adjustments to the dosage until you get optimized. That process is easy for some people and frustratingly long and persistent journey for others.
Finding a Dr who does NOT rely upon TSH and tests for Free T4 and Free T3 is key! Unfortunately THAT is easier said than done!!!
Also understand "normal" ranges are established incorrectly. And many people have to be well up into the range (as in middle or higher) of the range to feel well. So do NOT accept that once your lab results are somehwere in the bottom of the range that you are "fine". This is where symptoms and treating clinically as Gimel points out above is key!
Because it matters less about what your lab results say, then it does about how you feel. Getting to feel well is primary, using the lab results to confirm things and use as a benchmark when optimized is what they are valuable for.
T4 takes up to 6 weeks to stabilize in your blood.
When initially starting to take Hormone many people report feeling worse for a while. This is because your body has to adjust to having Thyroid hormone again. It is quite a shock to go from so little thyroid to taking 125 mcg that it takes some time to get adjusted. Without thyroid your body tried to make other adjustments to try to make up for the lack of thyroid. So it was used to putting out other adrenals etc and now the feedback loop has to sort things out again. It is sort of like tossing a rock into a large bowl of calm water. The waves go out and reflect back off the walls and it takes a while for the water to become calm again. Same too with your body.
Do NOT expect that this initial dose is where you'll end up. Each person has to continue to be tested every 6 weeks or so making small adjustments to the dosage until you get optimized. That process is easy for some people and frustratingly long and persistent journey for others.
Finding a Dr who does NOT rely upon TSH and tests for Free T4 and Free T3 is key! Unfortunately THAT is easier said than done!!!
Also understand "normal" ranges are established incorrectly. And many people have to be well up into the range (as in middle or higher) of the range to feel well. So do NOT accept that once your lab results are somehwere in the bottom of the range that you are "fine". This is where symptoms and treating clinically as Gimel points out above is key!
Because it matters less about what your lab results say, then it does about how you feel. Getting to feel well is primary, using the lab results to confirm things and use as a benchmark when optimized is what they are valuable for.
First thing to understand is that TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone. TSH is supposed to accurately reflect levels of the actual thyroid hormones, but TSH cannot be shown to correlate well with either of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 or Free T4, much less with symptoms, which are the most important consideration. Of the latter two tests, Free T3 is the most important, because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions. Scientific studies ahve also shown that Free T3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while Free T4 and TSH did not correlate at all.
So, as dgmootry suggested, you should ask the doctor to test for Free T3 and Free T4 each time you go in for tests. If the doctor resists, just insist and don't take no for an answer. Since hypo patients are frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, you should also get those done.
Keep in mind that 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. You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with after initial tests and evaluation. The letter is then sent to the participating doctor of the patient to help guide treatment. In the letter, please note the statement, "the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
So, when you next see the doctor, I suggest that in addition to the tests, you should ask if the doctor is willing to treat clinically, as described in the link. If not, then you will need to find a good thyroid doctor that will do so.
When test results are available, please post results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report and members will be glad to help interpret and advise further.
So, as dgmootry suggested, you should ask the doctor to test for Free T3 and Free T4 each time you go in for tests. If the doctor resists, just insist and don't take no for an answer. Since hypo patients are frequently too low in the ranges for Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin, you should also get those done.
Keep in mind that 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. You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with after initial tests and evaluation. The letter is then sent to the participating doctor of the patient to help guide treatment. In the letter, please note the statement, "the ultimate criterion for dose adjustment must always be the clinical response of the patient."
http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf
So, when you next see the doctor, I suggest that in addition to the tests, you should ask if the doctor is willing to treat clinically, as described in the link. If not, then you will need to find a good thyroid doctor that will do so.
When test results are available, please post results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report and members will be glad to help interpret and advise further.
Hey, I was on Levothryoxine for a short period of time, I had alot of water weight on this drug, plus my Doctor put me on way to high of dose, and I was like you, I could not handle the heat. I had a really hard time on this medication, I am on Armour, I still retain some water, but my weight has not increased, I kind of go up and down depending on if I'm retaining some water weight, I was just on an increase the first weeks in July, it takes awhile for it to fully absorb or balance my body, I will be going back for a blood test Aug 31 to see if I'm still low. When you go to have your blood drawn to test your levels, make sure you have them do a Free T3 and Free T4 it has to say Free . For me Armour has worked out great, Good Luck Debbie
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