What do my levels indicate?

[E35a]

I am a 35 year old female with Graves Disease. I had been in remission for two years. Recently I went through a tradgec loss. I had been on anti- depression medicine- sertraline, for three months. I had my thyroid tested "just in case". It came back hyperactive again. I had been conscious of eating and sleeping because I didn't want to deal with my Graves at this time. I actually slept too much. Anyway, my levels were tsh .02 and free t4 was 3.0  I recently had my dosage of ptu increased to 4 pills 3 times a day. (50mg) . I had just been retested - my levels are now tsh .01 and my free t4 is 2.6    I am feeling better than I have been in a long time. I can go to sleep at a decent time and get up at a decent time and not feel tired. I do not have tremors and I haven't noticed any palpitations. My hair however is still coming out - but not as much. My nails are stronger than ever.  My question after all this is.... how far off are my levels? And what could they mean at this time? Am I taking too much ptu? And if so - why do I feel better?

Thank you!
E35a

[AR-10]

I was told that taking Methimazole (a PTU drug) for more than 9-12 months was not recommended because it can cause Liver damage if you take it too long.

Not sure if there are other side effects as well.

Four weeks is not enough time to let the meds build to full strength. You may need a little more time to see the full results.

[E35a]

Thank you for your comments. I have been searching the web trying to find out what the "normal" ranges are. I thought that I was getting close to "normal". I have been on my meds for 4 weeks now. What are the long term effects of PTU on the body? I took them for months two years back. I was so out of wack then and just listened to the doctor. He did get me stablized. I went into Hypothyroid for a while and had some pre-menapausal symptoms - such as night sweats (blah) and hot flashes ,and 3 periods- 7 days long -all really heavy, in one month. Are these the effects that you are talking about. Or are there other problems to look for?

E35a

[DLA]

Just be careful of taking the PTU's for very long as the long range side affects are very bad on your body.

[AR-10]

Your TSH should be above 0.3, and your Free T4 should be below 1.64 (according to the limits my lab uses), so it looks like you are still Hyper.

How long have you been on the new dosage of PTU meds?

"Better" is subjective. I feel better than I have in months, but I'm still sick. But I feel better. :)

Maybe you need to give the meds more time to work, or maybe you need a stronger dose. It depends on how much time has passed.