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Am I hypothyroid--heres my lab results and story
I am a 21 year old male, 6'3, 215lbs, husky, especially thighs and midsection..Anyway....
On 8/14/07
my GP did some blood work becuase I was depressed, exhausted and I mean very fatigued but couldnt sleep, hair falling out, blurry vision, memory block, loss of motivation, extreme concentration issues. He did a CBC and checked my thyroid (only TSH--which was 1.66) He sent me to a psychiatrist because he felt that I was in crisis and needed some specialized attention. Soon after meeting with the shrink, I was quickly diagnosed with depression/anxiety/adult ADD and put on:
In the morning:
-187.5mg EffexorXR
-10mg Lexapro
-10mg Adderal
To sleep:
-100mg Trazadone
-50mg Seroquel
After nearly 6 weeks of nothing more than side effects that seemed to be making me more depressed/anxious, i began to become more skeptical of my recent dx's. I researched and learned that my issues could be thyroid related. Soooo i met with an endo and he ran the following tests:
On 9/26/07
Thyroxine(t4)- 7.38 (5.1-14.1)ug/dl
T-Uptake- .996 (.8-1.3)TBI
Free thyroxine index- 7.4 (4.8-12.7)ug/dl
TSH- 2.53 (.4-4.9)uIU/ml
T4,free- 1.33 (.73-1.7)ng/dl
Cortisol- 20.56 (6.2-19.4)ug/dl
LH- 4.88 (1.7-8.6) mIU/ml
Testosterone, Total- 5.77 (2.8-8) ng/ml
DHEA- 288 (110-510) mcg/dl
Thyroglobulin AB- <20 (<20)iu/ml
Thyroid Peroxidase AB- <10 (<or=35)iu/ml
This doctor ignored all of my symptoms and told me that I was perfectly healthy based upon my tests and that my issues were not related to the field of endocrinology. I was not satisifed so i began to research more. I was still convinced that i had hypothyroid symptoms so i had some additional tests run.
On 10/3/07
By this time, I had already began weaning myself off of the medication that I was on because I felt that it wasn't doing me any good. Here are my test results:
TSH- 2.87(.4-5)mIU/l
free t4- 1.3 (.8-1.8) ng/dl
free t3- 396 (230-420) pg/dl
ferritin- 225 (20-345) ng/ml
prolactin- 8.6 (2-18) ng/ml
cortisol,total, serum- 18.3 (4-22) ug/dl
cortisol,free,24hr urine- 43.3 (5-50) ug/24hr
ACTH- 28 (7-50) pg/ml
Then about a week went by...I am completely off of the adderal and down to:
-75mg Effexor
-10 mg Lexapro
-1mg clonopin
-50mg seroquel
I had my GP run a thyroid panel plus free t3 and here are my test results:
on 10/9/07 (most recent)
TSH- 1.34 (.4-5) mIU/l
Total T4- 6.9 (4.5-12) ug/dl
t3 uptake- 33.1% (22%-35%)
t4, free, calculated- 2.28 (1.53-3.85)
t3, total- 97 (60-181) ng/dl
free t3- 283 (230-420) pg/dl
I am still weaning myself off the anti depressants and am hoping to be put on Armour thyroid becasue of my low free t3 level. I am still not sure if these tests assume hypothyroidism. My last endo wont help me and my GP bases his diagnoses primarily on TSH levels which seem to be VERY normal. I am searching for another endo or any doctor that will listen to me and hear my symptoms and not jsut look at my labs and treat me like another file in the cabinet. Any response will be greatly appreciated. I am desperate and hope that someone can give me a clearer picture as to what is happening to me. Thanks
On 8/14/07
my GP did some blood work becuase I was depressed, exhausted and I mean very fatigued but couldnt sleep, hair falling out, blurry vision, memory block, loss of motivation, extreme concentration issues. He did a CBC and checked my thyroid (only TSH--which was 1.66) He sent me to a psychiatrist because he felt that I was in crisis and needed some specialized attention. Soon after meeting with the shrink, I was quickly diagnosed with depression/anxiety/adult ADD and put on:
In the morning:
-187.5mg EffexorXR
-10mg Lexapro
-10mg Adderal
To sleep:
-100mg Trazadone
-50mg Seroquel
After nearly 6 weeks of nothing more than side effects that seemed to be making me more depressed/anxious, i began to become more skeptical of my recent dx's. I researched and learned that my issues could be thyroid related. Soooo i met with an endo and he ran the following tests:
On 9/26/07
Thyroxine(t4)- 7.38 (5.1-14.1)ug/dl
T-Uptake- .996 (.8-1.3)TBI
Free thyroxine index- 7.4 (4.8-12.7)ug/dl
TSH- 2.53 (.4-4.9)uIU/ml
T4,free- 1.33 (.73-1.7)ng/dl
Cortisol- 20.56 (6.2-19.4)ug/dl
LH- 4.88 (1.7-8.6) mIU/ml
Testosterone, Total- 5.77 (2.8-8) ng/ml
DHEA- 288 (110-510) mcg/dl
Thyroglobulin AB- <20 (<20)iu/ml
Thyroid Peroxidase AB- <10 (<or=35)iu/ml
This doctor ignored all of my symptoms and told me that I was perfectly healthy based upon my tests and that my issues were not related to the field of endocrinology. I was not satisifed so i began to research more. I was still convinced that i had hypothyroid symptoms so i had some additional tests run.
On 10/3/07
By this time, I had already began weaning myself off of the medication that I was on because I felt that it wasn't doing me any good. Here are my test results:
TSH- 2.87(.4-5)mIU/l
free t4- 1.3 (.8-1.8) ng/dl
free t3- 396 (230-420) pg/dl
ferritin- 225 (20-345) ng/ml
prolactin- 8.6 (2-18) ng/ml
cortisol,total, serum- 18.3 (4-22) ug/dl
cortisol,free,24hr urine- 43.3 (5-50) ug/24hr
ACTH- 28 (7-50) pg/ml
Then about a week went by...I am completely off of the adderal and down to:
-75mg Effexor
-10 mg Lexapro
-1mg clonopin
-50mg seroquel
I had my GP run a thyroid panel plus free t3 and here are my test results:
on 10/9/07 (most recent)
TSH- 1.34 (.4-5) mIU/l
Total T4- 6.9 (4.5-12) ug/dl
t3 uptake- 33.1% (22%-35%)
t4, free, calculated- 2.28 (1.53-3.85)
t3, total- 97 (60-181) ng/dl
free t3- 283 (230-420) pg/dl
I am still weaning myself off the anti depressants and am hoping to be put on Armour thyroid becasue of my low free t3 level. I am still not sure if these tests assume hypothyroidism. My last endo wont help me and my GP bases his diagnoses primarily on TSH levels which seem to be VERY normal. I am searching for another endo or any doctor that will listen to me and hear my symptoms and not jsut look at my labs and treat me like another file in the cabinet. Any response will be greatly appreciated. I am desperate and hope that someone can give me a clearer picture as to what is happening to me. Thanks
Thyroid symptoms are so non-specific. In other words, a lot of other health conditions have the same symptoms as thyroid, it is very difficult to distinguish where the symptoms are coming from or which health conditions are the cause. They would have to be eliminated through their appropriate test. This is a long a tedious process by will worth it in the end when you find out the causes and get properly treated.
Non of the thyroid hormone medications or drugs are a 100 percent cure-all for symptoms. You might have to treat each symptom separately from each other.
My T-3 is in the upper range and it has not helped with mental issues with it being there.
It would be dangerous to add armour with such a good TSH as yours.
Mental Health You might go to the doctor forum and ask Roger L. Gould, M.D. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/MentalHealth/wwwboard.html
Good luck in your endeavors
October is breast cancer awareness month
Non of the thyroid hormone medications or drugs are a 100 percent cure-all for symptoms. You might have to treat each symptom separately from each other.
My T-3 is in the upper range and it has not helped with mental issues with it being there.
It would be dangerous to add armour with such a good TSH as yours.
Mental Health You might go to the doctor forum and ask Roger L. Gould, M.D. http://www.medhelp.org/forums/MentalHealth/wwwboard.html
Good luck in your endeavors
October is breast cancer awareness month
Your post above is correct only if you are already diagnosed with underactive thyroid and in thyroid medication therapy already.
I don't recommend starting thyroid medication unless your TSH is over 10.
Let's evaluate your tests, other than thyroid. Your Cortisol, DHEA and ACTH look good. Ferritin is in good range.
So, you should research B12 defficiency and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Here is a link that may help:
http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/cfssymptomsHCP.htm
Good luck,
Rick
Let's evaluate your tests, other than thyroid. Your Cortisol, DHEA and ACTH look good. Ferritin is in good range.
So, you should research B12 defficiency and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Here is a link that may help:
http://www.cdc.gov/cfs/cfssymptomsHCP.htm
Good luck,
Rick
According to many sources that I have found, especially the family practice notebook, a normal free t3 range is between 240-619. Currently, with my free t3 at 283, i would consider that fairly low. The reason why I am interested in thyroid replacement hormone is becasue I have learned that when your free t3 level is near the upper limit of the scale, many of the psysical and mental issues subside. does anyone agree?
Your T3 level does not look low compared to the lab ranges you posted. Low is when it is belwo the range posted. Yours is well above that. Your thyroid appears fine and you don't even have antibodies. There's no reason shown here for you to be taking any type of thyroid replacement hormone. There's nothing wrong with your thyroid.
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