Aa
Thyroid
My TSH on Jan,2012 was 0.01 ulU/ml. I was told to reduce my Synthroid from 1.5 MCG TO 1.125MCG which I did.
A blood test in JUNE 2012 revealed the following.
T3 Uptake 31 (22-35%)
T4 TOTAL 8.5 (4.5-12 mcg/dL)
FREE T4 INDEX (T7) 2.6 (1.4-3.8)
However no TSH was reoported.
Question: is it possible to calculate and apporx value of TSH from the above ( 1/T4 ????)
If yes how do i calculate.
If No then from the above values did my reducing the Snhtroid from 1.5 to 1.25 do anything ?
A blood test in JUNE 2012 revealed the following.
T3 Uptake 31 (22-35%)
T4 TOTAL 8.5 (4.5-12 mcg/dL)
FREE T4 INDEX (T7) 2.6 (1.4-3.8)
However no TSH was reoported.
Question: is it possible to calculate and apporx value of TSH from the above ( 1/T4 ????)
If yes how do i calculate.
If No then from the above values did my reducing the Snhtroid from 1.5 to 1.25 do anything ?
I believe the reduction to 125 was in January.
You really should have another round of blood work, and this time, ask your doctor to test FT3, FT4 and TSH. The tests you posted in your initial post are really obsolete tests. Was it your usual doctor who ordered those? It would be a good idea to see what's really going on. In fact after the doctor changed your dose from 150 to 125, you should have had follow up blood work 6 WEEKS after.
I'm glad to hear that you felt fine both before and after the change. However, if you don't monitor changes like that a little closer, you may find your doctor trying to adjust your meds too frequently with some not as pleasant results. If I were you, I'd get tested again so you know where your levels are on the 125 mcg.
You really should have another round of blood work, and this time, ask your doctor to test FT3, FT4 and TSH. The tests you posted in your initial post are really obsolete tests. Was it your usual doctor who ordered those? It would be a good idea to see what's really going on. In fact after the doctor changed your dose from 150 to 125, you should have had follow up blood work 6 WEEKS after.
I'm glad to hear that you felt fine both before and after the change. However, if you don't monitor changes like that a little closer, you may find your doctor trying to adjust your meds too frequently with some not as pleasant results. If I were you, I'd get tested again so you know where your levels are on the 125 mcg.
COMMUNITY LEADER
It takes approximately 6 weeks for a dosage change to take full effect. Has it been that long since you decreased yours?
TSH is a hormone that your pituitary makes. It's sole function is to tell your thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones. TSH causes NO symptoms and and doesn't make your organs work any harder.
If your body is working properly, when TSH is low, it means that FT3 and FT4 are usually high, and when TSH is high, FT3 and FT4 are low. It's the low or high levels of FT3 and FT4 that cause the symptoms. So, it's very important to test them directly. When you TSH was low, your FT3 and FT4 were probably high (did you feel hyper then?), and that speeds up your metabolism and can be hard on your organs.
However, many of us find that once on meds, TSH goes down to close to zero and never moves. TSH becomes an unreliable indicator of FT3 and FT4 levels. So, if TSH is very low, but you don't have hyper symptoms, then your meds do not need to be adjusted.
You didn't see any difference at all in how you felt when you lowered from 150 mcg to 125 mcg?
If your body is working properly, when TSH is low, it means that FT3 and FT4 are usually high, and when TSH is high, FT3 and FT4 are low. It's the low or high levels of FT3 and FT4 that cause the symptoms. So, it's very important to test them directly. When you TSH was low, your FT3 and FT4 were probably high (did you feel hyper then?), and that speeds up your metabolism and can be hard on your organs.
However, many of us find that once on meds, TSH goes down to close to zero and never moves. TSH becomes an unreliable indicator of FT3 and FT4 levels. So, if TSH is very low, but you don't have hyper symptoms, then your meds do not need to be adjusted.
You didn't see any difference at all in how you felt when you lowered from 150 mcg to 125 mcg?
Thanx for you answers. I felt excellent before the dosage change and after the dosage change.
Many years ago my TSH was -0.25 . Yes minus 0,25. I was told that I should condsider radioactive iodine treatment which brings the TSH way up and I have to take T4 ie Synthroid. So i got the treatment and I took somewhre between 100 and 150 micrograms. Other than that i don't have any symptoms except that I always feel hot and can handle infinite amount of cold.hinTOO LOW MAKES THE ORGANSdight do you think I should not have taken radioactive iodine treatment and let the TSH remain at low levels. I am told by letting TSH remain low i am making my organs work harder and therefore reducing their life so to speak. I am a diabetic with everyything unber control .
Many years ago my TSH was -0.25 . Yes minus 0,25. I was told that I should condsider radioactive iodine treatment which brings the TSH way up and I have to take T4 ie Synthroid. So i got the treatment and I took somewhre between 100 and 150 micrograms. Other than that i don't have any symptoms except that I always feel hot and can handle infinite amount of cold.hinTOO LOW MAKES THE ORGANSdight do you think I should not have taken radioactive iodine treatment and let the TSH remain at low levels. I am told by letting TSH remain low i am making my organs work harder and therefore reducing their life so to speak. I am a diabetic with everyything unber control .
I agree that the more important question is how you feel now. Also, how did you feel before your dose was reduced? Were you having hypER symptoms?
It's not possible to calculate TSH from the tests that were run. T3 uptake, total T4 and FTI are all considered obsolete tests and pretty much a waste of money.
Dose changes should be based on FREE T3 and FREE T4 levels, not just TSH. TSH is a pituitary hormone and is an indirect measure of thyroid status. FT3 and FT4 measure the actual thyroid hormones directly.
It's not possible to calculate TSH from the tests that were run. T3 uptake, total T4 and FTI are all considered obsolete tests and pretty much a waste of money.
Dose changes should be based on FREE T3 and FREE T4 levels, not just TSH. TSH is a pituitary hormone and is an indirect measure of thyroid status. FT3 and FT4 measure the actual thyroid hormones directly.
The question is how do you feel?
A good article is by Dr Rind "Thyroid Scale Overview". This is on the lab tests...
"* TSH: Reflects the blood level of thyroid stimulating hormone.
* Total T4: Reflects the total amount of T4 present in the blood, i.e., the protein bound (unavailable) T4 and the Free T4. Note that high levels of estrogens (birth control pills, non-bio-identical hormone replacement, or pregnancy) or estrogen dominance can increase the amount of the protein that binds T4. This will produce misleading elevated Total T4 values which can look like ‘hyperthyroidism’ when it is not.
* Total T3: Reflects the total amount of T3 present in the blood, i.e., the protein bound (unavailable) T3 as well as the Free T3. Again, estrogen dominance creates the same effect as mentioned in relationship to T4 above.
* Free T4: Reflects the biologically active (free) form of T4. This T4 can be converted to T3 or RT3. This value is relatively stable and not influenced by estrogen dominance.
* Free T3: Reflects the biologically active (free) form of T3 that can generate production of energy (in the form of ATP). This value is relatively stable and not influenced by estrogen dominance.
* RT3: Reflects the level of Reverse T3. I used to measure this often but found little need for it once I realized the approximate value can be estimated from knowing T4 and T3 values since we know that T4 will become either T3 or RT3. For example, if the T4 is elevated and the T3 is low, we know that RT3 (what the rest of the T4 becomes) will be relatively elevated.
* T3 Uptake: This test is mentioned only as a warning not to use it. In fact, it does not measure T3 levels at all – the name is misleading. It is an old test designed with a purpose of indirectly measuring T4! It was developed before we were able to accurately measure T4 levels. The assumption was that if the patient had a high T4 level, the blood proteins would be saturated with it. Therefore when mixed with T3 (which is easier to measure), the blood proteins would take up very little T3. Thus a low T3 uptake implies elevated T4 levels and vice versa. Thus the T3 Uptake test is actually an antiquated, inaccurate way to measure T4 levels.
* Free Thyroxine Index: This test uses T3 Uptake as one of its factors and therefore is as useless as the T3 Uptake. Again, I list it here only as a warning to not throw your money away on this and save it for a meaningful test.
* Antibodies: Autoimmune thyroid disease falls into two main categories: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Grave’s Disease. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is typically identified by checking antibodies that attach the thyroid tissue. We find Antithyroglobulin Antibody (ATA) in 70% of the cases and Antimicrosomal Antibodies or Thyroid PerOxidase (TPO) antibodies are found in 95% of the cases. Grave’s Disease is typically diagnosed using Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulin (TSI), Long Acting Thyroid Stimulator (LATS) and TSH-Binding Inhibiting Immunoglobulin (TBII). These are different names for the same test."
A good article is by Dr Rind "Thyroid Scale Overview". This is on the lab tests...
"* TSH: Reflects the blood level of thyroid stimulating hormone.
* Total T4: Reflects the total amount of T4 present in the blood, i.e., the protein bound (unavailable) T4 and the Free T4. Note that high levels of estrogens (birth control pills, non-bio-identical hormone replacement, or pregnancy) or estrogen dominance can increase the amount of the protein that binds T4. This will produce misleading elevated Total T4 values which can look like ‘hyperthyroidism’ when it is not.
* Total T3: Reflects the total amount of T3 present in the blood, i.e., the protein bound (unavailable) T3 as well as the Free T3. Again, estrogen dominance creates the same effect as mentioned in relationship to T4 above.
* Free T4: Reflects the biologically active (free) form of T4. This T4 can be converted to T3 or RT3. This value is relatively stable and not influenced by estrogen dominance.
* Free T3: Reflects the biologically active (free) form of T3 that can generate production of energy (in the form of ATP). This value is relatively stable and not influenced by estrogen dominance.
* RT3: Reflects the level of Reverse T3. I used to measure this often but found little need for it once I realized the approximate value can be estimated from knowing T4 and T3 values since we know that T4 will become either T3 or RT3. For example, if the T4 is elevated and the T3 is low, we know that RT3 (what the rest of the T4 becomes) will be relatively elevated.
* T3 Uptake: This test is mentioned only as a warning not to use it. In fact, it does not measure T3 levels at all – the name is misleading. It is an old test designed with a purpose of indirectly measuring T4! It was developed before we were able to accurately measure T4 levels. The assumption was that if the patient had a high T4 level, the blood proteins would be saturated with it. Therefore when mixed with T3 (which is easier to measure), the blood proteins would take up very little T3. Thus a low T3 uptake implies elevated T4 levels and vice versa. Thus the T3 Uptake test is actually an antiquated, inaccurate way to measure T4 levels.
* Free Thyroxine Index: This test uses T3 Uptake as one of its factors and therefore is as useless as the T3 Uptake. Again, I list it here only as a warning to not throw your money away on this and save it for a meaningful test.
* Antibodies: Autoimmune thyroid disease falls into two main categories: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Grave’s Disease. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is typically identified by checking antibodies that attach the thyroid tissue. We find Antithyroglobulin Antibody (ATA) in 70% of the cases and Antimicrosomal Antibodies or Thyroid PerOxidase (TPO) antibodies are found in 95% of the cases. Grave’s Disease is typically diagnosed using Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulin (TSI), Long Acting Thyroid Stimulator (LATS) and TSH-Binding Inhibiting Immunoglobulin (TBII). These are different names for the same test."
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
