need to understand whats going on here

[orangepens]

i am hypothyroid and my dr.s office called and said my recent tsh level was to high that they had to lower my meds i have just started to loose wt. my tsh is now0.035 it was at last test 4.200 then before that o.270  isn't 0.035 more normal or what i don't understand this it has taken my dr. 3 yrs to get my thyroid on the right meds please help me

[gimel]

  



       Duplicate thread.  See other thread for more replies.

[gimel]

Many doctors are not aware that when taking thyroid meds, TSH is often suppressed below the reference range.  This does not mean that you are automatically hyperthyroid, unless you also have hyper symptoms due to excessive levels of Free T3 and Free T4.   For example my TSH has been about .05 for well over 25 years without ever having hyper symptoms.  In fact I continued to have hypo symptoms until learning about the importance of Free T3 here on the Forum.  I got my Free T3 tested and confirmed as low in the range.  After a switch to a combo T4/T3 med, and some tweaking of dosage, I now feel best ever.  

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.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.    You can get some good info from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients he sometimes consults with from a distance.  The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

Among lots of good info in the above link, you will find this.

" The diagnosis of thyroid insufficiency, and the determination of replacement dosing, must be based upon the patient’s symptoms first, and on the free T4 and free T3 levels second. The TSH test helps only
to determine the cause."

There are many related references, and this is one from the British Medical Journal.

http://sz0102.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/FraserNoTesting.pdf?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=135523&part=3

In the information in this link you will see this.

'We consider that biochemical tests of thyroid function are of
little, if any, value clinically in patients receiving thyroxine
replacement. Most patients are rendered euthyroid by a daily dose
of 100 or 150 ,mcg of thyroxine. Further adjustments to the dose
should be made according to the patient's clinical response."

I think you are going to have to give copies of this information to your doctor and tell him you want to be treated clinically, rather than by TSH.  If he is not willing to treat you clinically, then you will have to find a good thyroid doctor that will do so.