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TSH 45, 33. What do these labs indicate?
I would appreciate this community's response to my recent labs.
I originally posted at the end of an old thread called "Those of us on Armour-#2," and Barb135 suggested I start with a new question.
Briefly, I am a 50-yr.-old female. My regular 120/70 blood pressure was twice detected as occasionally reading @ 145/85; my heart sometimes felt under pressure lately, too. Concerned, I had a physical with blood testing in October. The main abnormality was a TSH of 45 (reference range 0.27-5.5 mcIU/ml).
Doc prescribed 75 mcg levothyroxine, but I haven't yet gotten it filled. I have never taken long-term meds besides vitamins, and want to know what could be expected on thyroid medication. That is how I found this online community. I have read much of what was posted here and at other sites and feel I need to learn more.
(Note: I am also hesitant to start meds bc my mother has a long history of numerous prescriptions and health problems including fibromyalgia. As a young child I took one of her meds and thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest--scary.)
To confirm the TSH and get more info on my current thyroid condition, I ordered a thyroid panel through Healthcheckusa.com. These are the results from a blood draw done 4 days ago:
Test Description Result Range Units
TSH 32.94 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL (12 lower. still high)
Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum 2.4 2.0-4.4 pg/mL (free T3)
T4,Free(Direct) 0.79 0.82-1.77 ng/dL
What do these labs indicate is going on with my thyroid?
Do you think the prescribed 75 mcg levothyroxine is appropriate to my labs?
Thanks for any help you can give.
I originally posted at the end of an old thread called "Those of us on Armour-#2," and Barb135 suggested I start with a new question.
Briefly, I am a 50-yr.-old female. My regular 120/70 blood pressure was twice detected as occasionally reading @ 145/85; my heart sometimes felt under pressure lately, too. Concerned, I had a physical with blood testing in October. The main abnormality was a TSH of 45 (reference range 0.27-5.5 mcIU/ml).
Doc prescribed 75 mcg levothyroxine, but I haven't yet gotten it filled. I have never taken long-term meds besides vitamins, and want to know what could be expected on thyroid medication. That is how I found this online community. I have read much of what was posted here and at other sites and feel I need to learn more.
(Note: I am also hesitant to start meds bc my mother has a long history of numerous prescriptions and health problems including fibromyalgia. As a young child I took one of her meds and thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest--scary.)
To confirm the TSH and get more info on my current thyroid condition, I ordered a thyroid panel through Healthcheckusa.com. These are the results from a blood draw done 4 days ago:
Test Description Result Range Units
TSH 32.94 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL (12 lower. still high)
Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum 2.4 2.0-4.4 pg/mL (free T3)
T4,Free(Direct) 0.79 0.82-1.77 ng/dL
What do these labs indicate is going on with my thyroid?
Do you think the prescribed 75 mcg levothyroxine is appropriate to my labs?
Thanks for any help you can give.
Thank you both for your comments.
"No" on the heart condition: the heart pressure I described is just a weird feeling I sometimes get.
If not for this community I never would have known it best to start with split/decreased dosages and work my way up . . . and I never would have thought to start at anything less than a third the recommended dose.
THANKS!!!
I don't really have any symptoms, besides the occasionally high blood pressure readings. In fact, I feel so healthy that I am afraid to "mess things up" by starting on medication. So many people have noted how rotten they feel taking one form of thyroid medication or the other. It's a concern.
"No" on the heart condition: the heart pressure I described is just a weird feeling I sometimes get.
If not for this community I never would have known it best to start with split/decreased dosages and work my way up . . . and I never would have thought to start at anything less than a third the recommended dose.
THANKS!!!
I don't really have any symptoms, besides the occasionally high blood pressure readings. In fact, I feel so healthy that I am afraid to "mess things up" by starting on medication. So many people have noted how rotten they feel taking one form of thyroid medication or the other. It's a concern.
I agree with Barb and share her concern about your starting dose. One thing that worries me is your statement, "...my heart sometimes felt under pressure lately...". Do you have a diagnosed heart condition?
If you read the dosing instructiond for Synthroid (they're on the Abbott Labs website), you'll find that if you are over 50, or if you've been hypo for more than a few months, or if you have a history of heart arrhythmia, starting dose should be 12.5-25 mcg, increasing as tolerated. I fit all three categories, and when my PCP started my on 88 mcg, my heart symptoms got drastically worse. You might point out those dosing instructions to your doctor.
Best of luck...just take it slow and steady.
If you read the dosing instructiond for Synthroid (they're on the Abbott Labs website), you'll find that if you are over 50, or if you've been hypo for more than a few months, or if you have a history of heart arrhythmia, starting dose should be 12.5-25 mcg, increasing as tolerated. I fit all three categories, and when my PCP started my on 88 mcg, my heart symptoms got drastically worse. You might point out those dosing instructions to your doctor.
Best of luck...just take it slow and steady.
COMMUNITY LEADER
H rasty. I'm glad you decided to post here; I think our members can help put you on the right track for treatment.
Both your labs and symptoms indicate that you should get that script filled and get started on your thyroid medication.
Free T3 and Free T4 are the actual thyroid hormones, with Free T3 being the most important because it's the biologically active hormone, while FT4 must be converted to FT3 prior to use.
Your FT4 is actually below the range, indicating that your thyroid is not functioning properly. In addition, your FT3 is barely in range. This could be because your FT4 is so low, there is nothing to convert for use by the cells.
There's very little difference between taking a daily medication, that will, ultimately, keep you alive vs taking daily vitamins...
As to what you could expect on thyroid medication -- we would hope that you could expect to get well, though this does sometimes take a while to accomplish. It also requires a doctor who is very knowledgeable about thyroid issues and/or is willing to learn. Your doctor must be willing to treat you in such a way as to alleviate symptoms, not just get you "in range".
One thing I'd like to note, though, is that I feel that 75 mcg levo might be too high a dose to start on. It's usually recommended that patients start at a lower dose and work up slowly, in order to prevent adverse effects. It's not unusual when starting thyroid medication, for symptoms to worsen for a while as your body adjusts to hormones it's been deprived of. I might suggest that you either talk to your doctor about getting a script for a lower dose to be on for a few weeks, then test again and see what your levels are like, along with symptoms. Then you can raise your dosage. OR you can simply split the 75 mcg pills in 1/2, so you'd have 37.5 mcg/day.
It does take about 5-6 weeks for the med to reach full potential in the body, so you should test every 6 weeks until your levels are stable and your symptoms are gone.
Increasing your dosage slowly over time, takes longer for levels to get high enough to alleviate symptoms, but the journey should be easier.
Also, please be aware that fibromyalgia is a set of symptoms with no specific explanation. Those symptoms are often related to thyroid issues and once thyroid hormone levels are stabilized, those symptoms are alleviated.
Both your labs and symptoms indicate that you should get that script filled and get started on your thyroid medication.
Free T3 and Free T4 are the actual thyroid hormones, with Free T3 being the most important because it's the biologically active hormone, while FT4 must be converted to FT3 prior to use.
Your FT4 is actually below the range, indicating that your thyroid is not functioning properly. In addition, your FT3 is barely in range. This could be because your FT4 is so low, there is nothing to convert for use by the cells.
There's very little difference between taking a daily medication, that will, ultimately, keep you alive vs taking daily vitamins...
As to what you could expect on thyroid medication -- we would hope that you could expect to get well, though this does sometimes take a while to accomplish. It also requires a doctor who is very knowledgeable about thyroid issues and/or is willing to learn. Your doctor must be willing to treat you in such a way as to alleviate symptoms, not just get you "in range".
One thing I'd like to note, though, is that I feel that 75 mcg levo might be too high a dose to start on. It's usually recommended that patients start at a lower dose and work up slowly, in order to prevent adverse effects. It's not unusual when starting thyroid medication, for symptoms to worsen for a while as your body adjusts to hormones it's been deprived of. I might suggest that you either talk to your doctor about getting a script for a lower dose to be on for a few weeks, then test again and see what your levels are like, along with symptoms. Then you can raise your dosage. OR you can simply split the 75 mcg pills in 1/2, so you'd have 37.5 mcg/day.
It does take about 5-6 weeks for the med to reach full potential in the body, so you should test every 6 weeks until your levels are stable and your symptoms are gone.
Increasing your dosage slowly over time, takes longer for levels to get high enough to alleviate symptoms, but the journey should be easier.
Also, please be aware that fibromyalgia is a set of symptoms with no specific explanation. Those symptoms are often related to thyroid issues and once thyroid hormone levels are stabilized, those symptoms are alleviated.
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