Why do doctors treat reference ranges and not patients?

[KB1205]

I have had mild hypothyroidism which started as a child with cyclical hyper phases. Have a family history of endocrine disorders on both sides of the family. My first TSH test was 4.15 (tested at age 23), my 2nd test was october 2008 (28) TSH 4.45, since december last year I have had my hands swell, developed rhinitis to an extent that I cannot wear my contact lenses, I developed aching and pain in my lower back, for the last two months have not been able to sleep through the night. These are all new things which made me want to retest my TSH and check my adrenal function.
My GP sent me for tests two weeks ago, my ACTH is 7.3 PG/ML which is low but in the normal reference range, my TSH has changed from 4.45 to 2.76 which is now in the normal range, FT4 is 17 also normal and lastly thyroid antimicrosomal Ab is 214.96 which is way out of normal (0-5). I am tired of being tired, tired of not being able to lose weight unless I am hyper, my memory is terrible, my resistance to infection is low, my skin keeps breaking out in pimples and becomes very oily, I have horrible IBS and acid reflux and to top it all off I am always cold, sweat alot when its cold hardly any when its warm.What other tests should I get so that the damn doctor will treat me, this can't be healthy my cholesterol has increased by 1.2 in one week and I have mitral valve prolapse.
NB. I think I may be going into a hyper phase since my heart palpitations are bad and I am hot.

[PlateletGal]

I have CFS and what many Endocrinologists are seeing in CFS patients is a low (but within normal range) ACTH level and thyroid problems (although the thyroid labs are normal).

Has your Endo spoken to you about doing the ACTH stimulation test ? If not, I would highly recommend. I failed that test.

Also.... there are thyroid tests that are detecting a low thyroid in CFS and fibro patients... here is info on that. I would also consider checking out the thyroid forum's health page on iodine.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Thyroid-Disorders/Information-on-Reverse-T3-Lab-Test/show/623?cid=62

[Jules77733]

I would have all of your pituitary hormones tested, especially a female hormone panel (which includes some adrenal hormones, too)--have your FSH, LH, testosterone, free testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone checked. It sounds like you could have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is the most common female endocrine disorder and one of the top ten most commonly undiagnosed diseases. They've also discovered that a connection exists between PCOS and hypothyroidism, though they aren't sure what exactly it is.

The "sweating a lot" sounds like you have excess testosterone in your system, and the pimples/oily skin is also a huge PCOS sign. I have a lot of the same symptoms you have, and I have both hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's, which it sounds like you have, too) and PCOS. It wouldn't hurt to have this checked out, as a gynecologist--if you see one regularly--might recommend this given some of your symptoms.

[LazyMoose]

I found a cure for the acid reflux. Not the purple pill either - what a joke that was. Here it is - Heartburn MD (HeartburnMDHealth.com). Wallmart of all places now carries it! About $5 for more than a month. The natural engredients of orange peel extract stopped the night time horror for me. Also helps you "go" at the same time every morning. It costs way more on the internet. I take it before bed.