hypo diagnosed one year after mc

[hypo82]

I'm 27... had my miscarriage and dnc 1 year ago from my first pregnancy...trying to get pregnant since but no avail...period was getting longer so the doc took tests and found Free T3 and T4 in the normal range and TSH was 9. One doctor just told me to exercise and eat healthy food while another doctor told me to start taking thryoxine. I want to know if i NEED to take the medication or can i do without it? Can my situation self correct over time? My weight has been increasing and i'm feeling cold + my sister has thyroid problem.
I dont want to get stuck to a medicine for life if i can avoid it somehow. Please suggest.  

[gimel]

I'm assuming that the unit of measure for both the FT3 AND FT4 tests were p mol/L, correct?  If this is correct, then  free T3  is below the midpoint of the range, and free T4 is in the lower third of its range.  With the symptoms you have described, both of these results together are consistent with hypothyroidism and you should be started on meds.  I thought you might benefit from reading this excerpt from an article written by a doctor.

"Conventional endocrinologists deny that there is such a thing as hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction without gross disease on an MRI scan, and they deny that free T4 and free T3 levels in the low end of the range can also cause hypothyroid symptoms and poor health. They are mistaken. While many do know enough to check a free T4 level with the TSH, they refuse to check the free T3 level, even though  T3 is the active thyroid hormone!  T4 is just a prohormone and must be converted into T3 to become active. Indeed, hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction with reduced TSH secretion is universal among aging adults (Carlé 2007). The fact is that"central" thyroid insufficiency with low thyroid hormone levels within the reference ranges
is common and is a frequent contributor to  depression, obesity, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. These problems should all be considered as due to thyroid insufficiency until proven otherwise. A doctor must always look at the free T4 and free T3 thyroid hormone levels. He should consider them significant when both are below the mid-point of their reference ranges in a symptomatic patient, and they certainly represent hypothyroidism when both in the lower third of their population ranges, regardless of the TSH."

This is the link to the full arrticle.   http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

In your case the TSH is consistent with the hypo symptoms and the low FT3 and FT4 levels.  In fact it is somewhat higher than I would expect; however, TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables and does not correlate very well at all with hypo symptoms.  Free T3 is the most active thyroid hormone.  It is four times as potent as free T4 and it correlates best with hypo symptoms.

Hopefully your doctor will treat your symptoms by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 levels with med as required to alleviate those symptoms.

[hypo82]

Thanks for your replies.

To be exact, my prolactin was 614.6 while the normal range is 102-496.
Free T3: 4.57 while normal range is 2.8-7.1
Free T4: 14.31 while normal range is 12-22
TSH: 9.1 while normal range is 0.27-4.2

[Super_sally888]

With TSH of 9 you need thyroid meds.  These will probably be long term.  You also need to get your TSH down to about 1.0 and the FT3 and FT4 high normal range to increase your chances of a successful pregnancy.  During pregnancy thyroid med levels need to be monitored and generally dosage needs to increase by 30 - 50%.

Thyroid problem could also be a possible explanation for the miscarriage.

Chances are low that it will self correct.  Your symptoms sound typical for hypothyroid.  You need thyroid meds, I think.

Go with the doctor that's prescribing meds.   The one telling you to exercise is fobbing you off and doesn't appear to be knowledgeable about thyroid conditions.

[gimel]

The symptoms you mentioned are consistent with hypothyroidism.  As well, a TSH of 9 is an further indicator of hypothyroidism.  It would be helpful for us to see the actual results from your free T3 and T4 tests, along with reference ranges.  Just because the results were "in the normal range", does not mean that everything is okay.  The ranges are pretty broad and just being in the low end of the range (I assume) does not work for everyone.  As to whether your situation can self correct over time, the chances are low, but your doctor will need to determine what is causing your hypo condition in order to assess that possibility, or if you need to start on meds.