Interpreting results

[Merry12]

I am a 30 year old female who began having symptoms of hyperthyroidism. I had a miscarriage at 6 weeks about 2 weeks before the symptoms began. I went to my primary MD with complaints of anxiety, weight loss, sweating, and heart racing. I was also treated for a sinus infection. My lab values were TSH .23, T4-9.1, free T3-440, thyroid ultrasound normal but size upper limits of normal. RAIU test was low at 6.7 % normal for our area 15-35%. During the time hyperthyroid symptoms I had something stuck throat and lower aspect of throat was sore to touch. All of these symptoms have now gone away. I have been referred to see an endocronologist but appt. is not for 2 months. Please help with interpreting!

[Eloquin]

I hope everything works out with your future tests and it is all cleared up. Yes it could have been all caused by the hormone dumping however you should read the reports of how hyperthyroid affects pregnancy. You said you started feeling bad 2 weeks before you had the miscarriage. You could have miscarried BECAUSE of being hyperthyroid.

I have almost identical labs to yours and I have miscarried twice in a row. The only way to know for sure is through continues testing to see if you level out or not. There is no way to know if you were already hyperthyroid before your pregnancy but if you are truly hyperthyroid it won't just fix itself. The levels may fluctuate but they won't all go normal unless you have done something to make them go more normal like changing your diet or through medication. So if your tests come back from the Endo in 2 months and they are all better you did probably experience the fluctuation because of the hormone dumping during the miscarriage. However if your labs are still off then you may want to consider there may have been a thyroid related reason for your miscarriage in the first place so you can ask about precautions and possible treatments to protect your future pregnancies.

[stella5349]

That's good... Glad to hear you are taking the right steps as you should be. My feelings here do really lean on the female hormone dump you most likely experienced during those two weeks and you tested right at the peek of alot things going on.

Since your going to the doctor - it may be wise to ask them to run the complete female hormone panels of FSH - LH - Progesterone - testosterone - estrogen and estrodiol - along with some Vit B - just to see where you are at with those. It's unfortunate those tests were not done at the exact time you did those thyroid tests - but it still can show the levels and a good doctor will be able to make a strong assumption on where you would be after that miscarriage.

Keep us in the loop after you see this GP.  I am sure you are just fine... :)

Sending you the best wishes.. - stella

[Merry12]

Thanks so much for the info. The upper limits on the free T3 was 420 so mine in actually not that high above normal. All of this lab work was drawn 2 weeks following my miscarriage. In doing some online reading, it seems to me that this is more of a thyroiditis. I am going to go see a family pracitioner in 2 days and present all of my lab results and test results since it will be a while before I see an endo.

[stella5349]

Elequin - NO - you can't say she is super high on that FREE T3 - not at all. YOU do not know - not has she posted the reference ranges for her labs with the lab that is doing the test.

This is not correct at all. and based off the AACE thyroid scale for the TSH YOU put down - which is accurate as of today - her lab TSH of .23 - IS NOT very low at all. It is just hoovering slightly below the normal low of a being labeled as LOW/ normal thyroid.

She is far from any danger with these labs. I HAD stormed twice in my Graves episodes years ago prior to ablation so please stop this tirant of inforamtion.

Elequin - respectfully - please research more on the Graves disease foundation - thyroid info.com site - the ATA - the AACE - and others that can help you understand more on reading the US guidelines for labs on thyroid disease. I am sorry to say but this information - while credible IF a thyroid storm is an issue - it does not pertain here as clear information to the poster asking for information.

Merry - although your TSH lab "may" indicate a low normal thyroid disorder, you say your had some trama with a miscarriage 6 weeks ago. When did you do the thyroid lab test in correlation with the miscarriage. Was the test done really close to when you had that happen.

Estrogen and progesterone play a huge role with thyroid hormones. It sounds like - when a miscarriage happens a dump in progesterone will happen. With that is kinda throws all the other female hormones off and when become "confused" some other issues can arise.

With any "dump" of hormone - symptoms can appear as you state when you went to your doctor and expressed signs of hyperthyroidism like sweats - anxiety - weight loss etc. He/She as your doctor would run thyroid tests with those symptoms but probably - if they were working with you with this miscarriage - is not basing this actual test as concrete evidence YOU have actual "permanent" thyroid disease.

Hat's off to them for running the ultra sound and uptake too. That is good - most likely because you told them about the "feeling" of swelling in your neck. Nice to see your doctor looking at it all. Many are not as fortunate as you.

Your doctor has ran good tests and feels an endo may be good to look at these things. Also in your favor, not seeing this endo for another 2 mths is good too.

Do some thorough reading on STRESS with thyroid. You can't deny the fact you had major bodily stress and probably a bit mental stress while all this was happening with the miscarriage. This stress in all aspects can alter your thyroid and its potential to make permanent damage to the gland is something to consider. I hope your healing both with your body and mind are going on after this loss. This would be a good thing for you to get in check prior to that endo visit.

Another good reading while you wait for this endo appt is doing some major reading on female hormone dumps after pregnancy whether miscarriage or live birth.

This WILL definately make sense on how and why your thyroid may be slightly off right now.

Personally - I think things will be fine for you - and this most likely is only a temporary situation. The swelling could be classified as a bit of thyroiditis. Stress and hormones will cause this too. You said in your post the hyperthyroidism symptoms are somewhat gone since you ran the tests. SO that is a good thing. It sounds this is all going to be fine.

Keep a strong mind and your body healthy. Pay attention to stress levels and nip them before the overtake you.  A 30 year old person should look at diet differently then when you were younger to maintain wellness. Do that reading too.

Good Luck in everything. Let us know how you do with the endo.

{Hugs}

[Eloquin]

I am also 30, female and have hyperthyroid disorder. My levels currently are TSH= .27  T4= 9.1 and T3= 36
The normal range of TSH is 0.3 to 3.0 so your tsh is very low. That means your thyroid is over acting or hyperthyroid.
Normal T# is 23 to 40 so yours is SUPER high. This is dangerous. You need to look up on Google "Thyroid Storm" and see the link named "Chapter 12" print it out and CARRY IT WITH YOU EVERYWHERE. With T3 levels that high you are at risk of heart failure and for some reason ER doctors are just thyroid dissorder stupid and always diagnose heart palpitations and rapid heart beat with freaking anxiety dissorder. You DO NOT have panic attacks, you DO NOT need muscle relaxers or antidepressants. Make sure the first thing you do when you go to the ER next time, Tell the doctor you have a very hyperactive thyroid and are at risk for a thyroid storm. Carry the "Thyroid Storm" paper you printed out with you so you can show the doctor the treatment because trust me, they will not just know and they can accidentally kill you by thinking you are just having anxiety and send you home when you really should stay in the ER.
Next you need to cut out as much Iodine from your diet as possible. you will still get a little so don't worry about totally eliminating it but you should stop eating all foods that are known to be high in iodine. Iodine makes the hyperthyroid worse because it is the building block of the T4 and T3. translation: no iodine=lower T3
Foods that are high in iodine are but not limited to:
All seafood, Strawberries, Sea vegetables and kelp so no seawead! All name brand processed foods that are high in salt use iodized salt so if you want potatoe chips get them from the no iodine section of you local health food store, only buy normal salt not iodized salt, do not eat yogurt made with cows milk, do not drink cows milk or consume any products made from cows milk. Cows are fed a diet rich in iodine and it comes out in the meat and milk. Do not eat beef or pork they have a ton of iodine from their feed, Look at all package foods you buy if salt is high on the ingredient list it will have iodine unless you buy the same kind of food from the low iodine section of  a natural food store. erythrosine or "red 3"is a red coloring agent commonly used in foods and medications, also contains significant amounts of iodine and may also impact thyroid activity.
I know all that sounds terrible but trust me it is worth it. I didn't listen to my doctor and didn't change my diet in time and my hyperthyroid caused my body to stripmine everything. I have lost all my teeth at only 30 years old! I can't do anything very physical anymore because all my organs have been "thinned" by the hyperthyroid. It ***** and I am very slowly building back to a normal life as much as I can but I will never get over the damage that has already been done to my body.
You also should start eating cruciferous vegetables. Since thyroid hormones require the presence of iodine, some healthcare practitioners encourage consumption of goitrogenic foods that can interfere with our body's use of iodine as a means of lessening the impact of hyperthyroidism. Goitrogenic foods include cruciferous vegetables like Broccolie, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts; dark green leafy vegetables like kale; and root vegetables like turnips and rutabagas and radishes. All of these foods contain thioglucosides that can interfere with iodine metabolism. Other foods like casava, sorghum, and millet contain cyanogenic glucosides which can also block iodine availability. Soybean is another food that is typically considered goitrogenic. Although goitrogenic foods may be able to partly offset the effects of an overactive thyroid. Of those foods Broccolie is the highest worker and cauliflower is right behind it. A really important thing to know is it only works if the food is eaten RAW. cooking destroys the enzyme that blocks the T3 so eating cooked brocolie won't do you any good. you need to eat about 1 cup a day of raw veggies in this catagory and have your levels of T3 and T4 checked on a monthly basis. It will take a few weeks to see a difference.
Next you need to have your pituitary gland checked. your whole probelm might not even be in the thyroid. have your pituitary MRI'd and any other test your specialist doctor recomends to check for a pituitary problem. Next you should have your adrenal glands looked at. Hyperthyroid causes your adrenal glands to over work and get drained and can make them grow tiny seed tumors that make everything all wonky! This will also affect your heart and your emotions. Having the hyperthyroid can make you have anger problems you may have never had before. If you find yourself getting irritated a lot easier or snapping at your kids more then that is probably what is causing it. you may also find you cry eaier at movies or heart warming stories.
Ok so this next part is also scary but you need to know it. People with Hyperthyroid can BLEED TO DEATH during their period. If at any time during your cycle you have a heavy flow and you feel light headed that day or dizzy you should go to your doctor or the ER because you may need a blood transfusion. This has happened to me twice now and it is not fun. The first time they didn't know what was wrong and it took forever for them to realize I was low on blood! Felt great after the tranfusion though :)
The second time I was a t a different ER and I had to argue with them about what was wrong until the test came back that I was right and needed the darn transfusion. sigh.

So be prepared for battle with a lot of doctors that are very behind in their medical knowledge. Change what you eat to help normalize your thyroid. read everything you can about it and be very careful not to do any quack remedies that are not fully researched.  Good luck hun!