TSH Ranges?

[crystal9239]

Whats the "normal" ranges for TSH?
Mine is 0.22 my dr said its low is it low or normal? Iam so confused still waiting to see an endocrinologist I have my first appt. on the 18th.My main symptom is excessive hair loss,fatigue,muscle weakness,heart palps,fast heart rate but am on asthma meds that can cause that to and on bc pills.

[goolarra]

Seven or eight years ago, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended that TSH range be changed to 0.3-3.0.  However, as you can see, labs and doctors have been very reluctant to make this change.  According to this "new" range, your TSH of 3.8 is hypo.  However, FT3 and FT4 are much more important than TSH since they are the actual thyroid hormones.  TSH is a pituitary hormone.  You should follow up with a repeat TSH, free T3 and free T4.  If either of the "frees" is below midrange, hypo is suspected.

However, your symptoms really say it all.  Doctors like to see numbers, though,

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TGab), if elevated, will confirm the cause of your hypo as Hashi's.

[armywife92]

To both posters get your antibodies checked.

TSI(GRAVES MARKER)
TPO(inflammation marker, usually in the thousands with hashi)
ATG(mainly hashi indicator if elevated)

Hashimotos and graves is an autoimmune thyroid disorder, and the main cause for hypo or hyper.

[giant365]

can anybody awnswer my question i have had a a tsh test done and my level is 3.8  i have all the symtoms of under active thyroid hypothyroid but the lab states that i dont have any thyroid problems what are the the normal tsh ranges cause my lab goes by .4 to 5.0 can any body tell me whats up if im infact having thyroid problems i have hairloss puffy face, weight gain constiaption slow heart rate and many more symtoms

[goolarra]

Normal range for TSH is now considered to be 0.3 to 3.0.  So, at 0.22, your TSH is considered a bit low and could indicate hyperthyroidism.  

TSH is a pituitary hormone.  It is the messenger chemical your pituitary puts out to tell your thyroid to produce more T3 and T4.  T3 and T4 are the actual thyroid hormones.  There are any number of conditions that can get in the way, making the TSH test irrelevant.  TSH also correlates very badly with symptoms.  FT3 is best, followed by FT4 at a distant second.

In my opinion, if your doctor refuses to do FT3 and FT4 and is diagnosing and treating on TSH alone, I'd seriously consider finding another doctor.  Since your TSH is low, and hyper is suspected, doing FT3 is especially important.  I'm glad to hear that you are seeing an endo soon.  He'll most likely be more cooperative about FT3 and FT4.

[crystal9239]

My family doc keeps tellin me Iam HYPERthyroidism because of the hair loss and my t4 was elevated (but I read bc pills can cause elevation) and it was only slightly elevated.My FTI was also high.Iam not so sure its my thyroid causing the hair loss but my dr wont give me the free t3 and t4 tests BECAUSE HE SAYS ITS NOT NEEDED.So Iam confused and scared I would love to know whats going on with my body.