Subclinical hypothyroidism

[Ezkg]

Hi. I'm new to this forum. I would love your help And advice to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

I had a baby 11 months ago. When bub was 9 months had a blood test to make sure sleep deprivation was only cause of tiredness. Theyfound I had subclincal hypothyroidism. I was told to retest in 8 weeks.

Well I just had a call from my gp, apparently my thyroid function is normal but my thyroid antibody level is high. He said the figures are currently not at a level to treat, but that I should have this tested every 6 months as he believes at some point I willbecome hypo t and need supliments.

It was such a rushed call that I didn't ask for the exact levels or get a feel for what this means.

I have always been very tired at one point this was blamed on being b12 deficient (had injections of b12 for years). I'm still tired (to be expected with a bub, but I think more than that). Dr said current levels should not be making me tired, but said  perhaps I have sleep apnea and my husband should watch me sleep as a first
test?  

A bit confused right now. I'd love your thoughts on the above as well as any advice on what to expect with potentially impending hypo thyroidism? Can I do anything to stop it coming on? What do I face ahead? Is it hereditary?

Thank you! And sorry for the long post...

[gimel]

There seems to be two schools of thought on treating Hashimoto's.  One is to do nothing until hypo symptoms become overt.  By the time meds are started, this frequently results in the patient being uncomfortable until meds kick in and get adjusted adequately.  Personally I don't understand this approach.  I expect it is the reluctance to treat a patient when test results are still within their reference ranges.  Of course they don't realize that the reference ranges are too broad and that having FT3 and FT4 results that are just within the low limit is frequently inadequate for the patient.

The second approach is to be more proactive and start on meds earlier.  You can read about this approach in this link.  

http://thyroid.about.com/od/hypothyroidismhashimotos/a/preventative.htm

[Ezkg]

Thanks. Dr said no meds necessary right now. He said to have my thyroid levels tested every 6 months and start treatment when they get worse... I'm not putting on weight, but still tired and a bit flat (mood).

If it's just pregnancy related how long til it goes back to normal? And does it indicate that I'm likely to have thyroid issues later in life? I'm only 30.

[florida2001]

Sometimes pregnancy messed out with thyroid and it takes a while for body to get back. But if you feel still tired, lethargic, gaining weight, I would ask for medication.Has your doctor put you on medication? Maybe low dosage of thyroid medication would solve your problem.

[Ezkg]

Oops clicked post- usually put on weight? Although I have a great aunt who dad thinks was hypo and she was a bean pole.

Should I be worried about my 11 month old and future pregnancies?

Thank you again!

[Ezkg]

Hi

Thanks so much for your response. I felt my numbers were odd!

The dr mentioned something about the indication of an autoimmune disease. I think I need to go see him and get this all clarified. Given what other people have said on this forum I'm worried about how much they actually know...

It was thought that I had pernicious anemia (via blood test). After years of injections my levels became "normal" again and a gastroscopy confirmed I didn't have it. I no longer take b12. Blood tests earlier this year showed my b12 still as normal.

What sort of dr should I be asking to see?

Do these levels explain a bit of a "flat" mood, tiredness and constant hunger? I've lost quite a bit of weight since having bub (put on 20kg when preg!). I thought hypos

[Barb135]

It looks like "you've already got it" - nothing you did or could have done to prevent it

I don't know which antibody test they did, but the levels are high (I'm guessing TPOab), which indicates that you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease that attacks and eventually destroys the thyroid so it no longer produces hormones.  

Your TSH is higher than we like to see it, plus your FT4 and FT3 are  both lower in the ranges than what most members normally feel best.

I'm not sure what levels your doctor was talking about "not at a level to treat" - is there any way you can get clarification on that?  

In my opinion, you should be started on a dose of thyroid medication, but then you said you "HAD been on B12 shots for years", which indicates you aren't now, so please clarify that, as well.  Are you still on them?  If so, how frequently and what are your levels?  If not, why?  

I have hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto's and I also have pernicious anemia (B12 deficient) so have to take daily thyroid med and inject B12 on a weekly basis; these are lifelong treatments to keep alive and well.

[Ezkg]

Hi. Thanks so much for your advice. I really appreciate it. You have prompted me to take some control and ring my dr.

My levels are:
Free t4 - 15 (range 9-25) - so this seems ok?
Free t3- 4.5 (range 3.5-6.5) - is this ok too?
TSH - 2.35
Antibodies - 326 (range less than 60)

Should I be seeing a specialist? Is there something I should be doing to stop the onset? Have I already got it?

Thanks again

[flyingfool]

We really need the lab numbers. Manyu Dr's won't treat people because TSH is not at a certain point or their other thyroid numbers are "within the normal range".

That is TOTALLY and 100% insufficient.  TSH is almost completely useless but that is what a vast majority of Dr's use as the sole factor in determining Thyroid health and whether to medicate or not.  The ranges for Free T4 and Free T3 as well as TSH are FAR too broad, and besides many labs do not use the most current recommended so called "normal" ranges anyhow which makes matters worse.

The "normal" range is NOT where people feel "normal" or well.  Rather it is a statistical mathematical curve where 95% of the people fall into it.  That would be like taking a survey of people's legs.  And they drop out 2.5 % of the bottom of the population because they have lost a leg, and they dropped out the top 2.5% because they had super legs.  But people with broken legs would fall within the remaining 95%.  Does that mean that people with broken legs are "normal"?  I don't think so.  Same is true with regard to Thyroid "normal" ranges.  They throw out the obvious extremes but in reality many more people are having symptoms and are sick and feeling crappy but their numbers are "within normal range".  So they call you normal.

Most people seem to get symptom relief with their Free T4 is about MID RANGE, and their Free T3 are in the UPPER 1/3 of the range.  Not simply within range.  If you are on the bottom end of the range, there is very decent likelihood that you are in fact Hypo and would greatly benefit from medications.

Insist if you have not gotten both the Free T3 and Free T4 tests to get them done.  If they will not do it, go out of pocket to an online source to get it done.  My wife just had to do this as her Dr absolutely refuses to get the Free T3 test done.

The term "free" is used to denote that the thyroid hormone is not attached to a protein.  Once the hormone is attached to the protein it is useless and the body can not use it.  Furthermore, the body ONLY used the Free T3 hormone.  The T4 hormone is a 'storage" hormone that remains in the blood until the body needs more Thyroid and the body mostly in the liver converts the stored T4 in the blood into T3 that is actually used by your body's cells.