I have a suddenly high TSH level

[earthchild1981]

I am 29 years old and a female. I have had my thyroid tested very often due to it being included on routine lab work which I have done pretty often. My thyroid level has always been normal. About 6 months ago the level came back at 7, it was retested about a week later and was just under 4 again. Then i recieved results from my lab work I had done today. ANd while 6 months ago I was back to normal from my elevated thyroid level, today the result was 203. My docotr started me on medication today, but it was a squeeze in appointment. I will not get to talk to her better until a week from now. Is this usual to go from always normal and then in 6 months time go from normal to 203? I know 203 is high, but how "high" of a concern is this level? What can cause that? During the same time time period my always normal cholesterol also went from normal to 302. ANy thoughts/information would be appreciated. Thanx.

[earthchild1981]

Hello again...thank you for all the info,-I appreciate it. Yes < 0.3 is the result. The range is 0.89-1.76 (sorry about that!

[goolarra]

Many of those symptoms do sound like hypo, except the 64 hours without sleep...usually that's more like about six when hypo.  LOL  Make sure to check the drug interactions between the levo and your other meds (especially bi-polar meds) as I know some of them are not compatable.

Levothyroxine sodium is the generic name for Synthroid.  Another brand is Lexoxyl.  They all contain the same hormone.  Levo provides you with replacement T4, which is one of the two main hormones that your thyroid produces.  The other is T3.  Some T3 is produced by the thyroid, but most T3 is made when your liver, etc. convert T4 to T3.

Thyroxine-Free is free T4 (FT4).  Is your result < 0.3?  Next to that should be a range (probably in parentheses), something like (0.8-1.8).  What's your labs range (ranges vary from lab to lab, so you have to tell us your range along with your result).  

[earthchild1981]

actually it is weird. I was not having any syptoms, I was reall tired a lot, but I also had been having trouble sleeping...the other day I fell asleep after a 64 hour stretch of no sleep. And was ready to go after 7 hours again, I have been missing alot of sleep recently. Which led me just to think I was hypomanic. (I have Bi-Polar, anxiety issues, asthma, and am recovering from an eating disorder as well, so I kinda did not know anything was wrong. LOTS of swelling in legs and feet though. And if people thought I was a b**** before, they know it now. lol, no second guessing. Very irritable. This all was found out only because of a blood sugar test I had done was low level and then my other doc wanted to retest, but through a whole bunch of other tests as well. So that is how I found out about the TSH levels and the cholesterol too. Plus I have a few test results that were off in my cbc, mainly to do with Red Blood count.  I think and 1 or 2 others in there......good news is my blood sugar was back up to normal lol--go figure. :)

[earthchild1981]

I was started on a med called levothyoxine sodium tablets dose is 100 MCG. I took the first pill this morning. I do not know if this is the free t 4 or the t free 3, but it says on my lab sheet "Thyroxine-Free and the level is < 0.3  But I do not know what that means.

[goolarra]

I agree that you should have antibody tests (TPOab and TGab) to see if you have Hashi's, an autoimmune disease and the most prevalent cause of hypo in the developed world.

203 is a high level, and it's really good that your doctor has "fit you in" to get you started on meds right away.  I also agree that you want to make sure that your doctor is testing FT3 and FT4.  These are the actual thyroid hormones and much more important than TSH in determining thyroid status.

High cholesterol is s symptom of hypo.  Your cholesterol should start to go down as your FT3 and FT4 go back to normal.

When thyroids start to fail, they, unfortunately, do not do it on a nice, orderly downward slope.  The thyroid often works in fits and starts, and you can have big declines in function, followed by "plateauing".  Also, some people's disease takes years or even decades to completely destroy the thyroid, other times it goes like gangbusters and can take just weeks or months.

How are you feeling?  Are your hypo symptoms just awful?  

[laura1967]

I forgot to add.....make sure you have at least a Free T4 run with your next TSH. Preferably with a free t3 too, but if you at least have a free t4 and tsh you can get an idea of what is going on.
TSH is a pituitary function test. Free T4 and Free T3 are the actual active thyroid hormones in the body....thus is the most critical to run.