newly diagnosed hypo

I was diagnosed this Spring as hypo.  Readings were 8.3 and the biggest symptom was tired and not as sharp as normal.  After more testing, dr. put me on synthroid 50 mcg.  I took it for a month and was retested.  Results were .003 so they had me take 1/2 tablet each day. All this seemed reasonable to me as I had read that getting the meds right was the hardest part of all this. When I was retested, my TSH was 100....they couldn't believe it and neither could I.  I take my med at the same time (before breakfast) and am very faithful about it. They moved me back to a full tablet and now my reading was 88. I am now taking 2 tablets of the 50 mcg of synthroid.  Of course, I am gaining weight like crazy and cranky as can be. I just feel terrible (and much worse than when I originally went to the dr.). Anyone know why I would have gone so incredibly low and then so very high??? Could there be something else going on.  It scares me and should I ask my dr. to refer me to an endo...at what point should I do that??  Thanks for any help you can give me!!

[AR-10]

It sounds like you need to be tested for deficiencies in iodine, selenium, zinc, copper, magnesium, and vitamin D, among other things.

But I'm getting the cart before the horse.

Are you getting Free T4 and Free T3 tests done as well each time? Are your hormone levels shifting enough to warrant the med changes?

Either your thyroid has almost quit functioning for some reason or your pituitary is over producing TSH or you have thyroid receptor antibodies or...

What is your Free T4 and Free T3 looking like?

All of those minerals and stuff up at the top are needed to provide the T3 hormone. It might not hurt to get them tested.

Have you had several antibody tests?

[sandi321]

I haven't had any of that done to my knowledge. They always report my TSH back to me and nothing else. I haven't been given a T3 or a T4 reading. I really appreciate any light you all can shed. I am just tired of feeling bad and gaining weight.

Are these tests that an endo would do or would my regular dr. do them. I am to have more blood work next week and if it is high again, I thought I might ask to see an endo although I don't want to offend her. I just need to get back to normal.

Also, what are the antibody tests??  Several of them??? I am assuming they flucuate and you need to do it more than once to get an accurate read..is that right?

Thank you so much!!

[AR-10]

There are five or six antibodies related to thyroid diseases.

Usually the doctor checks for one. Then another. Then another. Checking the most common four would be the best way, but they seem to think one at a time is cheaper or something. "No sense in running tests we don't need."

But if a person has thyroid problems, several antibody tests should be run. TPOab, TGab, TSI, and TRab.

You should be getting a Free T4 run every time your TSH is run. You cannot be treated properly with just TSH testing.

With only a TSH test to go on, it is impossible to know what your thyroid hormone levels are. Your Free T4 and Free T3 are the important information required to adjust your medication.

TSH is produced in your pituitary. It is a hormone and it's job is to regulate hormone production in the thyroid. T3 and T4 are thyroid hormones.

If your thyroid hormones get low, your TSH rises to stimulate the thyroid.

If you have TRab(thyroid receptor antibodies), that can make your TSH rise even if your thyroid hormones are fine.

Sometimes your pituitary will mess up and start pumping out too much TSH, even if your thyroid hormones are good.

Sometimes the lab screws up the TSH test, and having a Free T4 test to compare it to is a good way to catch the error.

You need Free T4 testing with every TSH test, and Free T3 testing once in a while as well.

A GP can run all those tests, and a GOOD GP can probably treat you just as well as an Endo for most problems. The fact that you are only getting TSH testing makes me think you either need to ask for more testing or a referral to an Endo.

As fast as things changed on you, an Endo may be a good idea. Try to keep in mind that Endo's are people too, and there are good ones and mediocre ones.

[sandi321]

That is helpful!  Thank you. I am very curious to ask my doc about the thyroid antibodies test. It is obvious that there is so much to learn about all this. I was actually pleased that it was my thyroid when I was first diagnosed.  It explained so much that could have been a much worse problem.  I have never had any health problems before this....now I have high cholesterol, mood swings, tired as can be, sometimes panicky feeling....just really overwhelmed. Everything I read initially sounded like it wouldn't be a big deal but it has been a huge deal and I feel worse now than I did when I first went to the doctor...obviously the meds are making it worse on some level because I was a 8.3 to begin with and now I'm at 88 after pinging all over the place. I just want to get better. I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge with me. It really makes me feel better to just read the posts and know others have struggled with it and survived.