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High TSH
I recently had blood tests performed for screening for a study testing the diet drug Remonabant (sp?).I was disqualified due to my High TSH results. My blood test came back with a reading of 13.8 for my TSH and 1.3 for my free T4. I do take 100 mcg of Levothroid, but I can't see that it does anything for me. I have been back to my doctor twice since I started taking the Levothroid about 18 months ago and he said nothing needed to be adjusted. I belong to a health plan that offers only Kaiser (California resident) and it seems to be the pits as far as health insurance. I am grossly overweight, I feel horrible. I last lost weight by walking two hours a day everyday and staying on the Atkins induction diet for about two years. (seriously). However, I hurt my knees and had to stop walking for about a year. Then I gained back the weight. I have fasted for two weeks straight (drinking water and broth and V8 juice) and I lost absolutely no weight...not even water weight. I have eaten under 900 calories regularly since I gain rapidly on a higher intake. I walk everyday- about an hour, I do step aerobics daily. I cannot budge the weight. My hair is very thin, I take 4 tablets of Vitamin A daily and that has stopped my hair loss. I have no nails to speak of, they just flake off. My skin is dry and rough. Any ideas, anyone?
I was diagnosed hypo in December of 2007. I didn't get the Hashi's diagnosis until a year ago last January when I started seeing my current endo. I had been hypo for at least a couple of years before the 2007 diagnosis (hindsight being 20/20!).
When I was first diagnosed, my TSH was 67.2...yikes! I had to go look that up. FT4 was 0.4 (0.6-2.0) and FT3 was 1.7 (1.8-4.2). So, I was below range on both FT3/4. Our ranges are different from yours. Your FT4 is too low, but it's still in range, so you're not so bad off! Any FT4 below range is pretty low, but I've seen them extremely low (less than mine was).
You might try taking magnesium for the leg pain. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water. Magnesium will also help with constipation if that's an issue.
If you can get in to see your doctor sooner, that would be great, but don't panic...your numbers aren't all that bad, and you've caught this early, so you won't be having symptoms for a couple of years like I did.
When I was first diagnosed, my TSH was 67.2...yikes! I had to go look that up. FT4 was 0.4 (0.6-2.0) and FT3 was 1.7 (1.8-4.2). So, I was below range on both FT3/4. Our ranges are different from yours. Your FT4 is too low, but it's still in range, so you're not so bad off! Any FT4 below range is pretty low, but I've seen them extremely low (less than mine was).
You might try taking magnesium for the leg pain. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water. Magnesium will also help with constipation if that's an issue.
If you can get in to see your doctor sooner, that would be great, but don't panic...your numbers aren't all that bad, and you've caught this early, so you won't be having symptoms for a couple of years like I did.
sorry more questions for you - i really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, it really helps speaking to someone who is going through it/been through ithow long have you had this for then? what were your original blood results? what is classed as a really low T4? or severe hypothyroidism? this evening these terrible pains have started occuring in my legs to the point where my dad had to drive me back to my flat as could not drive is this another sign? everything seems to be happening in the last week or so and my next doctor appointment is not for another two weeks i might have to try and see him sooner, cause i think he could possibly have been wrong saying my symptoms were period related!
The fluey feeling could very well be a hypo symptom...the problem is that that fluey feeling can be sooo many things, including the flu! However, if it's lasted too long to be the flu, I wouldn't be a bit surprised with your numbers that it's hypo.
I share your doctor's frustration with TSH. Wow, if he understands that TSH isn't all that important, you got really lucky in finding him. So many of them still think that TSH is the be-all and end-all.
Usually, the people you hear from most are the ones dissatisfied with what's going on. So, we hear from the people on levo who should be on other meds or who's doctor just doesn't know enough to adjust their dose properly. Lots of us do fine on it...me included. We seldom "write in" when we think everything is fine!
Don't stop googling...informed patients are more "difficult" for doctors to deal with, but you just have to learn all you can and be your own advocate. There are too many ill-informed doctors out there. But it sounds like you go a good one! Keep googling!
I share your doctor's frustration with TSH. Wow, if he understands that TSH isn't all that important, you got really lucky in finding him. So many of them still think that TSH is the be-all and end-all.
Usually, the people you hear from most are the ones dissatisfied with what's going on. So, we hear from the people on levo who should be on other meds or who's doctor just doesn't know enough to adjust their dose properly. Lots of us do fine on it...me included. We seldom "write in" when we think everything is fine!
Don't stop googling...informed patients are more "difficult" for doctors to deal with, but you just have to learn all you can and be your own advocate. There are too many ill-informed doctors out there. But it sounds like you go a good one! Keep googling!
thank you, my doctor was quite frustrated with me when i kept mentioning TSH and begs me constantly to stop googling!! I did read about levothyroixine and couldn't understand why all these people that were talking about it were saying how awful they felt until i realised that most of them sounded hyper! I was wondering if I could ask you one more question, I am probably driving you crazy so sorry, but its nice to talk to someone who understands, I keep feeling fluey and because i have had a bad month of actually having the flu amongst other things - I don't know if this is a symptom of PMT to which I get really bad now or if this is how you feel with hypothyroidism, i dont' feel achey just generally not right - my doctor put it down to pmt but i am not so sure.
The TSH thing is confusing...sorry to rant on...it's just so frustrating at times trying to get people to realize how often it's totally unreliable. There are any number of things besides thyroid hormone levels that can make TSH virtually useless...pituitary issues are one (that's my problem), and meds, especially meds with T3 in them is another. Also, TSH is up and down, even intraday, so doctors who base treatment on it end up adjusting dosages often when they shouldn't. Then the TSH swings the other way, they adjust again, and the whole thing might have been avoided if the more stable FT3 and FT4 had been tested.
But, yes, you understand the gist of it. If they just look at TSH, they only see a very small piece of the puzzle, so they often prescribe inappropriate doses.
Keep us updated on what your find out...
But, yes, you understand the gist of it. If they just look at TSH, they only see a very small piece of the puzzle, so they often prescribe inappropriate doses.
Keep us updated on what your find out...
p.s not entirely sure about the scan actually he didn't really go into details i should have asked....
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