Thyroid

[mcatelli]

I was very sick with every symptom of thyroid.  Cold hands, cold feet, even in the summer.  Severe body body pains.  Severe fatigue.  with colitis.  Dr. decided to treat my thyroid.  Even though my numbers were not horrible. I was on the low end of normal.  He said my thyroid needed improvement.  When we gradually worked up my thyroid medication up to 100 mcg it made me very mean feeling, grumpy. It made my insomnia worse.  My FT4 and T3 went high.  All of a sudden my TSH went 0.1.  So he dropped my medication back to 75 mcg.  It was still to much my heart was racing.  So I went back to 50mcg.  On 50 my FT4 and T3 are closer to normal, but my TSG is still 0.1.  I've never has a problem gaining so much weight.  Is it dangerous that my TSH went 0.1  I feel my best at 25 to 50 mcg.

[mcatelli]

how dangerous are these levels tsh 0.1 FT4 2.62 T3 10.4

[mcatelli]

Barb135.

barb sorry to hear you have been through so much.  I hope your family member gets well soon.  You sound like such a sweet person.  It's ok to cry.  Sometimes we need to.  I quite a blatter myself.  Ha Ha.  My problems are not as much as yours.  Life is better for me than it was for the last 23 years. Ha Ha! I think if I didn't survive the hell I lived maybe I wouldn't know how to care about others.  So this being sick is mild compared to.  I'm 44 and cant wait to reach 50.  I cant believe I've lived this long.  Aint life great.  I pray a lot.  LOL.

[Barb135]

Can you tell me what the reference range is for the FT4?  Labs often use different ranges, based on the method of analyzing the sample.  If your range is anywhere near the one my lab uses, your FT4 is good.  

Please be aware that it takes several weeks for a dosage change to take full effect.  How long had you been on the 50 mcg when those labs were done?  

I am happy to hear that you are feeling well today -- that's always a good sign and if you continue on a steady dosage, hopefully, you will continue to get better and there will be more good days than bad.  

I know someone from another forum who is being treated for lyme disease and I think I have a pretty good idea of what you are going through.  I'm not sure of the treatment you are on, but you might want to do a search to see if it's possible that the med for your lyme disease might be reacting with your thyroid med or keeping your thyroid med from absorbing properly.  I know that vitamins, particularly calcium, magnesium, etc prevent proper absorption of thyroid med and should not be taken within 4 hours of each other.  Please check your other med to see if that might be the case with it too?

I also know that lyme disease comes with feeling horrible, which causes stress to no end -- could that have something to do with your emotions, more so than the thyroid issues?  Sometimes, we have to look beyond the thyroid to find what's wrong with us.  I've had to do that recently myself......but don't forget that stress in itself can affect your thyroid levels and of course, it will affect your emotions. I've been going through a very stressful time with an elderly family member who fell and fractured 3 vertebrae -- stress is taking its toll and I find myself very often on the brink of tears (or even IN tears), when I'm not a "crier".  I'm just thankful that I have recovered from my recent "crash", so am able to deal better with the stress - still wanna cry a lot though.   LOL

I can be patient -- will be here whenever you get the FT3 results or have other questions.

[mcatelli]

barb135,

that all made sense to me.  I am usually a very sweet kind person.  So I am told it is not my nature to be mean.  I am back down to 50 and feel like my old self today.  

My FT4 is 1.49 and my TSH is 0.1 on 50 mcg.

I will have to get my doctor to give me my FT3.

Please understand I was also diagnosed with a severe case of lyme disease at the same time.  Though my emotions were fluctating on 75 and 100 this is the best I have felt in 4-5 years.  I am getting a lot pain back again from the lyme and have to go back on treatment.  Please be patient I will try to get my FT3 levels.  Thank you for trying to help.  Talk to you soon. Thanks.

[Barb135]

I do understand what you are saying, but it would be most helpful if you could post the actual FT3 and FT4 results and the lab's reference ranges - just saying they are "mid range" does not tell us enough since we don't know the ranges used.  

Are you basing your dosages only on your emotions? Maybe there are other things going on that could cause emotional instability.  

Sometimes, jumping for one dose to another too quickly can cause problems (such as going from 50 straight to 100).  Most often it's best to go slowly -- such as going from 50 mcg to like 62.5, then to 75 - giving each dosage a chance to stabilize before moving on the next higher dose.  Or alternating 50 and 75 for a steady dosage of 62.5.  Constantly jumping around from one dose to another is not helping your situation; in fact is most likely hindering your progress.  You need to get on a dosage and stay there for several weeks, then retest to see where your levels are.  

Again, please post your FT3 and FT4 results, along with the lab's reference ranges.  

[mcatelli]

My FT4 and FT3 levels are mid range when I am taking 50mcg.  When I am taking 100 they are way sky high.  I cant handle the 100 mcg my heart races and I fell mean.  At 75, I still feel super emotional.  At 50 mcg I am fine with my emotions.  But thy reason I was put on thyroid med is sever fatigue, insomnia, severe pain in my bones. I didn't concentrate well.  freezing cold hands and feet.  Could not tolerate cold at all.  And lots of colitis.  When on the higher dose 100, my bowels work perfectly, my hands and feet are warm, my weight will start to even out, my heart and my emotions are unstable.  75 is still to much for my emotions everyday.  I didn't know I could fluctuate the mcg's.  somtimes if I take 75 for a couple of days, I need to lower it to 50 and I feel better.  Whenever I go down I feel like I have to go back up.  Sorry to sound so confusing, but I think you get what I am saying.

[stella5349]

I think you are being evaluated on a Total T3 and the Free T4. It is so important to make sure that little F is in front of that T3 lab.

Can you recheck that please?

[Barb135]

My TSH stays at 0.01 all the time.  My FT levels are both about mid range or slightly above and although I still have a few symptoms, I feel better than I did for years.  So I totally agree that suppressed TSH is not usually a big deal, unless your Free levels are too high or you have symptoms of being hyper.  

If you feel better between 25 and 50 mcg, ask your doctor for something like 37 or try alternating.  I did that for a while: alternated, one day 75 and the next 88.  Worked good until I needed a complete increase then I just went to 88 daily.  

What are your actual Free T4 and Free T3 levels, along with the lab's reference ranges.

[gimel]

It would be very useful to know any identified cause for your hypothyroidism.  Lacking that I'll just say that TSH levels are frequently suppressed when on medication.  That does not mean you are  hyper, unless it is accompanied by hyper symptoms caused by excessive meds.  
Since TSH levels are affected by FT3 and FT4 levels, you cannot adjust both as though they are independent variables.  If you adjust FT3 and FT4 levels, that gives you some resultant TSH level.  If you try to increase TSH, it may reduce your active thyroid hormone (FT3 and FT4) levels too much and you become hypo again.  

Since TSH is a pituitary hormone and it does not affect metabolism and many other body functions directly, how can a low level of this hormone be of concern, unless it is associated with excessive FT3 and FT4,  in which case you would be showing hyper symptoms.