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Thyroid test interpertation
Hello,
I am 31 and female...diagnosed with Graves when I was 28 and had a thyroid storm..had radioactive iodine..killed a little more than half my thyroid. Ever since have never felt normal. Can't get meds to make me feel normal. Please help me to understand if these results are considered normal. I don't feel well and want to make sure that it isn't my thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary...so that I may look at other possibilities.
Free T3 was 3.34 based on a reference of 2.0 - 4.9
Free T4 was 1.22 based on a reference of 0.82 - 1.63
TSH was 0.13 based on a reference of 0.35 - 4.5
I take 10mcg of cytomel and .88 of levoxyl a day
Feel tired, poor digestion, constipation, swollen puffy eyes, lack of appetite in the morning then hungry after 12 sometimes not till 2. I am 5'2 and wieght 125 so maintaining normal wieght for the most part. Horrible premenstrual symptoms sometimes cold sweats at night before cycle, so tired at 9 p.m. at night. caffeine helps the fatigue, one thing positive is that I don't catch colds or illness. But that was true when I had Graves disease also.
I am 31 and female...diagnosed with Graves when I was 28 and had a thyroid storm..had radioactive iodine..killed a little more than half my thyroid. Ever since have never felt normal. Can't get meds to make me feel normal. Please help me to understand if these results are considered normal. I don't feel well and want to make sure that it isn't my thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary...so that I may look at other possibilities.
Free T3 was 3.34 based on a reference of 2.0 - 4.9
Free T4 was 1.22 based on a reference of 0.82 - 1.63
TSH was 0.13 based on a reference of 0.35 - 4.5
I take 10mcg of cytomel and .88 of levoxyl a day
Feel tired, poor digestion, constipation, swollen puffy eyes, lack of appetite in the morning then hungry after 12 sometimes not till 2. I am 5'2 and wieght 125 so maintaining normal wieght for the most part. Horrible premenstrual symptoms sometimes cold sweats at night before cycle, so tired at 9 p.m. at night. caffeine helps the fatigue, one thing positive is that I don't catch colds or illness. But that was true when I had Graves disease also.
Great! I am so glad that you responded to my post. Today I took 12.5 mcg of cytomel instead of 10 plus my .88 of levoxyl. I already felt a little difference since I feel the cytomel within 1 hr. I will be calling my doctor on Monday to talk about raising my T4 and the benefits of a slight increase. I think this is a positive approach and having talked to you seemed to lower the fears I had about the TSH and what it could mean for the other levels. Thanks again so much..you are appreciated.
Many doctors seem paranoid about low levels of TSH because of fear that you might become hyper from excessive levels of thyroid hormone. In my firm opinion there is no reason to be concerned about a TSH result that is suppressed below its reference range (especially when it results from thyroid medication), and when there are no attendant hyper symptoms, and FT3 and FT4 are within their reference ranges.
When you think about it, TSH does not directly create the biological activity that is so vital to us, like the actual thyroid hormones do. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is a hypothalamus/pituitary response to thyroid levels in the blood. It is affected by many variables and its function is to signal the thyroid glands to increase/decrease thyroid hormone output. The relative absence of TSH does nothing to you. The vital biological activity of your body is directly dependent upon FT3 and FT4 levels, not TSH. Your symptoms and your FT3 and FT4 levels what's important.
When you think about it, TSH does not directly create the biological activity that is so vital to us, like the actual thyroid hormones do. TSH is a pituitary hormone that is a hypothalamus/pituitary response to thyroid levels in the blood. It is affected by many variables and its function is to signal the thyroid glands to increase/decrease thyroid hormone output. The relative absence of TSH does nothing to you. The vital biological activity of your body is directly dependent upon FT3 and FT4 levels, not TSH. Your symptoms and your FT3 and FT4 levels what's important.
Thank you for your response. Much appreciated. I like the last response especially : ) With thought to my levels not being in the upper third I would agree that it is in how you feel and not your results. I am inclined to increase the meds but a little nervous about the tsh being so low. Is it true that the tsh does not matter since I don't have much of a thyroid anyway?
Regarding your comment about time flying. Long ago a friend talking about all that was happening in her life as a result of having three teenage girls, stopped and thought for a minute and then said, "when I think about it, the years are passing very fast, it's the days that sometimes seem like they are never going to end".
Thought you might enjoy that.
Thought you might enjoy that.
More important than whether those test results should be considered normal is the fact that those symptoms are not normal and you should not have to tolerate them. It's good that you have FT3 and FT4 test results. These are the active thyroid hormones that largely regulate metabolism and many other body functions. Note that your results are slightly below the midpoint of their range. Accordingly, here is some good info for you to consider.
The fact that all "normal" values are not ideal is evidenced by many different studies that have shown clear benefits to having free T4 and free T3 levels within the upper third of the reference ranges. These benefits include lower cholesterol levels, reduced weight, reduced tendency to form blood clots, reduced risk of atherosclerosis, and alleviation of depression. Adults with hypothyroid symptoms but "low normal" free hormone levels often respond very well to adequate thyroid supplementation (Skinner, 2000).
This info was taken from this link.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
Based on my own experience with lingering hypo symptoms due to just free T3 being in the low end of its range, I would talk to the doctor about a gradual increase in meds to move both FT3 and FT4 to a higher level within their normal ranges, as necessary to alleviate those symptoms. This is working for me.
The fact that all "normal" values are not ideal is evidenced by many different studies that have shown clear benefits to having free T4 and free T3 levels within the upper third of the reference ranges. These benefits include lower cholesterol levels, reduced weight, reduced tendency to form blood clots, reduced risk of atherosclerosis, and alleviation of depression. Adults with hypothyroid symptoms but "low normal" free hormone levels often respond very well to adequate thyroid supplementation (Skinner, 2000).
This info was taken from this link.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html
Based on my own experience with lingering hypo symptoms due to just free T3 being in the low end of its range, I would talk to the doctor about a gradual increase in meds to move both FT3 and FT4 to a higher level within their normal ranges, as necessary to alleviate those symptoms. This is working for me.
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