Low TSH

[fiddlebear]

I am on Natural Thyroid Hormone - a few months ago, I told my doc that i felt under-medicated (an on-going problem) even though my TSH was 1.9.  He agreed to an increase in meds - my TSH is now .002, which has caused him great concrern.  The problem is, I feel really good at this level.  He has decreased my meds again - and I don't feel as good.  I had absolutely NO hyperthyroid symptoms at .002.  Is this a dangerous level for my TSH?  It is the first time in five years that I have felt like myself!  I don't want to be kept in a state of feeling sluggish and unwell because the numbers say something,  I want to feel well - and I felt really well at .002.

[thelma201]

So true! I'm having a hell of a time myself. I was hospitalized last week for diverticulitis, and while there a staff doc noticed ( in my file) that I have hypothyroid. She said lets have a look at it. So I asked that the T3 free be checked, she tried to tell me it wasn't needed, but I asked her to humor me!!!! Next day she comes back to tell me "you don't have enough thyroid hormone" and your t3 is low! I wasn't feeling too much like asking the right questions at the time, as I was in a great deal of pain, so I'm not sure if she was talking about the free or not. She raised my T4 to 150mcg, from the 137mcg that I was on......I'm starting to think this T4, isn't doing the job. It's been over 3 years , and they just keep throwing T4 at me. I can't get a copy of the labs from the hospital sent to me, so I don't know where my #'s are with the free's....These doctors have become more concerned about themselves than us....fiddlebear, if your doc was truly interested in keeping you feeling well , he wouldn't be so pigheaded about this. I for one, am sick and tired of the whole stinking mess.and REALLY sick of the medical community in general, whoops..wasn't intending to rant...I hope you find a caring , understanding doc to truly listen and do the best thing for YOU, I think they're hard to find anymore.

[HypoAbbie]

Well said!! I feel the exact same way!

[gimel]

It's a real puzzle to me why doctors get hung up on TSH so much.  As I said, how can the absence of a pituitary hormone that is only a signal to the thyroid glands, be an over-riding  concern?   Here you are feeling very well, which should be the objective, and the doctor insists that you should change your dosage.  

By the way, if you haven't been tested for FT3 and FT4 then that would be a good idea for the future.

[fiddlebear]

My doc and I have had quite the discussion about it - and he wants no part of helping me maintain that level.  He told me to go to an endo - which in my opinion is usually going to the third ring of  doctor hell!  But I've searched out one that gets good reviews and is wiling to treat with natural thyroid hormone, so I may give it a try.  I am not willing to be sick with hypo symptoms just because someone make up and arbitrary range some years ago, and now doctors think they must adhere to it, regardless of the patient's symptoms (or lack there of!)

[HypoAbbie]

"Third ring of hell" Hahah!! Yes!!! Loved this! So true!

[thelma201]

gimel is right!! you should tell your doctor the same thing you posted here! good luck

[gimel]

Your doctor is following the general practice of deciding that if the TSH is below the reference range you must be hyper, and meds should be reduced.  Yet you feel good and have no hyper symptoms.  In my opinion you are not hyper unless you also have hyper symptoms.  Symptoms should be all important.  Where is the logic to saying that the absence of a pituitary hormone (TSH) may cause you to be hyper.  It is the levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones (FT3 and FT4) that cause you to be hypo, euthyroid, or hyper.

So it is far better to monitor and adjust FT3 and FT4 levels enough to get you to the Euthyroid state, than to react to a low TSH.  TSH is frequently suppressed below the ref. range when on medication,  without adverse effects.  For example my TSH was less than .05 for more than 20 years without any hyper symptoms.  In fact I continued to have lingering hypo symptoms because I recently found out that my FT3 was low in the range, while FT4 was on the very high end.