Aa
My Thyroid is high
i've got a high thyroid TSH 17.09 i'm on .75 of genertic Synthroid how long will it take to get it back in control and can it affect your vision. and can it also cause your cholesterol to be high.
The free T4 test shows a pretty low in range result of 20.8% of the range.
many people report that are Hypo (low thyroid) symptomatic that their symptoms did not get alleviated until BOTH of the following were met:
1) Free T4 in the middle of the range (50%) or even slightly higher
AND (that means in addition to)
2) Free T3 in the UPPER 1/3 (67%) of the range.
You really need to get your Free T3 tested.
But with a high TSH and a low in range Free T4 it is would suggest you are hypothyroid and need medication to help add hormone.
If you go get tested again be sure to INSIST on getting BOTH the Free T4 and also free T3. Make sure it is not "total" T3 but Free T3 for the reasons Barb pointed out above.
You may also want to have these additional things tested as well as people who are low thyroid tend also to commonly be low on one or more of the following.
Vitamin D
Vitamin B-12
Iron
Ferritin
It would also make sense to determine if you may have Hashimoto's disease which is an auto immune disease where your immune system "sees" your thyroid as a foreign invader and like a good immune system it goes about attacking and slowly reducing your thyroid gland to produce hormone. Hashi's is the most common cause for low thyroid in the developed world.
Hash's is checked by testing two different anti-bodies
TPOab and TGab.
many people report that are Hypo (low thyroid) symptomatic that their symptoms did not get alleviated until BOTH of the following were met:
1) Free T4 in the middle of the range (50%) or even slightly higher
AND (that means in addition to)
2) Free T3 in the UPPER 1/3 (67%) of the range.
You really need to get your Free T3 tested.
But with a high TSH and a low in range Free T4 it is would suggest you are hypothyroid and need medication to help add hormone.
If you go get tested again be sure to INSIST on getting BOTH the Free T4 and also free T3. Make sure it is not "total" T3 but Free T3 for the reasons Barb pointed out above.
You may also want to have these additional things tested as well as people who are low thyroid tend also to commonly be low on one or more of the following.
Vitamin D
Vitamin B-12
Iron
Ferritin
It would also make sense to determine if you may have Hashimoto's disease which is an auto immune disease where your immune system "sees" your thyroid as a foreign invader and like a good immune system it goes about attacking and slowly reducing your thyroid gland to produce hormone. Hashi's is the most common cause for low thyroid in the developed world.
Hash's is checked by testing two different anti-bodies
TPOab and TGab.
here is the report i got from my doctor...
TEST RESULTS REF RANGE UNIT
TSH H 17.09 0.34-5..60 mIU/Mi
TEST RESULTS REF RANGE UNIT
FREE T4 0.80 0.58-1.64 ng/dl
here is what the report saids.... ty for the help........ Patti
TEST RESULTS REF RANGE UNIT
TSH H 17.09 0.34-5..60 mIU/Mi
TEST RESULTS REF RANGE UNIT
FREE T4 0.80 0.58-1.64 ng/dl
here is what the report saids.... ty for the help........ Patti
COMMUNITY LEADER
I agree that TSH is a pituitary hormone and that in a perfect world, it stimulates the thyroid to produce T4; the thyroid also produces some T3.
The thyroid produces T4, but of the amount produced, much of it will be bound by protein and unusable; therefore, you need to measure Free T4. Free T4 is considered a "storage hormone", which can't be used, directly, by the individual cells; therefore, it must be converted to T3. Of the T3, either produced by the thyroid or converted (mostly by the liver) from FT4, some of that, too, will be bound by protein and unusable. So again, you need to make sure the Free T3 gets measured, because that's how much is actually available for the cells to use. It's usually only a small portion of the total T3. Free T3 levels correlates with symptoms, while TSH and FT4 do not.
If you've just started the 75 mcg levo, it probably hasn't had a chance to take effect yet, since it takes 5-6 weeks for it to build to full potential in your system, then it often takes months to alleviate all symptoms, but they should start improving slowly. If you've been on it for a while, you may need an increase or you aren't adequately converting FT4 to FT3. Many of us don't, and have to add a source of T3, either in the form of a T3-only med, such as cytomel, or a desiccated T3/T4 combo.
It's also important to know whether or not you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune thyroid condition. Please indicate whether or not you've been tested for that. If you have Hashimoto's, your thyroid function will continue to decline, until it no longer produces any hormones at all.
To my knowledge, hypothyroidism is not known to greatly affect vision, but anything is possible. Vision changes should always be thoroughly checked out. Hypothyroidism can CAUSE high cholesterol. My cholesterol levels run right with my thyroid levels -- thyroid levels go up, cholesterol goes down; thyroid levels go down, cholesterol goes up.
If you have current FT3 and FT4 results, please post them, so we can see where your levels are at and make further recommendations. Be sure to include reference ranges, since ranges vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
The thyroid produces T4, but of the amount produced, much of it will be bound by protein and unusable; therefore, you need to measure Free T4. Free T4 is considered a "storage hormone", which can't be used, directly, by the individual cells; therefore, it must be converted to T3. Of the T3, either produced by the thyroid or converted (mostly by the liver) from FT4, some of that, too, will be bound by protein and unusable. So again, you need to make sure the Free T3 gets measured, because that's how much is actually available for the cells to use. It's usually only a small portion of the total T3. Free T3 levels correlates with symptoms, while TSH and FT4 do not.
If you've just started the 75 mcg levo, it probably hasn't had a chance to take effect yet, since it takes 5-6 weeks for it to build to full potential in your system, then it often takes months to alleviate all symptoms, but they should start improving slowly. If you've been on it for a while, you may need an increase or you aren't adequately converting FT4 to FT3. Many of us don't, and have to add a source of T3, either in the form of a T3-only med, such as cytomel, or a desiccated T3/T4 combo.
It's also important to know whether or not you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune thyroid condition. Please indicate whether or not you've been tested for that. If you have Hashimoto's, your thyroid function will continue to decline, until it no longer produces any hormones at all.
To my knowledge, hypothyroidism is not known to greatly affect vision, but anything is possible. Vision changes should always be thoroughly checked out. Hypothyroidism can CAUSE high cholesterol. My cholesterol levels run right with my thyroid levels -- thyroid levels go up, cholesterol goes down; thyroid levels go down, cholesterol goes up.
If you have current FT3 and FT4 results, please post them, so we can see where your levels are at and make further recommendations. Be sure to include reference ranges, since ranges vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
TSH is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. It's job is to stimulate your thyroid to produce the thyroid hormone T4.
When your thyroid struggles to produce T4, and your T4 levels drop, your brain releases more TSH. So higher TSH levels indicate lower thyroid hormone levels...at least in primary hypothyroidism.
People with primary hyperthyroidism on the other hand, will have low TSH levels and high T4 levels because their brain is trying to shut down their over active thyroid, and failing at it.
So you have hypothyroidism. Your thyroid is struggling to produce T4 and your brain is trying to stimulate it to produce more.
Before I went on Synthroid, I wouldn't say the hypothyroidism affected my vision in that it made it blurry or anything, but I experienced what's called "visual crowding". Hypothyroidism can be associated with high cholesterol but not always.
it took about three months for me to notice an improvement in my symptoms. But for the first three weeks of being on the synthroid I experienced some transient strange side effects like flushing in one limb and I completely lost my taste for salty things and wanted to drink soda constantly....I RARELY drink soda.
When your thyroid struggles to produce T4, and your T4 levels drop, your brain releases more TSH. So higher TSH levels indicate lower thyroid hormone levels...at least in primary hypothyroidism.
People with primary hyperthyroidism on the other hand, will have low TSH levels and high T4 levels because their brain is trying to shut down their over active thyroid, and failing at it.
So you have hypothyroidism. Your thyroid is struggling to produce T4 and your brain is trying to stimulate it to produce more.
Before I went on Synthroid, I wouldn't say the hypothyroidism affected my vision in that it made it blurry or anything, but I experienced what's called "visual crowding". Hypothyroidism can be associated with high cholesterol but not always.
it took about three months for me to notice an improvement in my symptoms. But for the first three weeks of being on the synthroid I experienced some transient strange side effects like flushing in one limb and I completely lost my taste for salty things and wanted to drink soda constantly....I RARELY drink soda.
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