Thyroid

[jenjen01]

I have 14 out of 15 symptoms associated with underactive thyroid. My THS was 1.6 (I have no health insurance, so they just ran the cheapy test since I was paying out of pocket).. so of course that comes up normal. Every woman in my family has thyroid issues, my SON has them at 12.. is it possible even with this reading? I am at my wits end! Tired, ALL THE TIME.. regardless of how much I sleep, cold, weight gain (despite good diet/exercise), thinning hair, super dry skin, you name it.. I gots it!  :)  What advice can you offer? Has anyone else been successfully treated with a reading of 1.6??  Help!

[thomthod]

I can tell you that Atherotech out of Birmingham alabama has incredible pricing for testing!  beats quest by a half or more!!!!

[Barb135]

Unfortunately, TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone, so it's not the best for diagnosing a thyroid condition, even though that's what doctors, typically go by.  

Unfortunately, your symptoms can be caused by other things as well as thyroid, so you really need more "in depth" testing, as I doubt any doctor would treat you with thyroid hormones with a TSH reading of 1.6.

Bottom line:  It's very possible to have a thyroid condition with a TSH of 1.6, but you'd have to have thyroid hormones tested, as well to determine that.

There are websites from which you can order a thyroid panel that includes the thyroid hormones Free T3 and Free T4, along with TSH for less than $150.  

Because of the fatigue I'd also recommend that you get vitamin B-12 tested.  B-12 deficiency can cause the most horrible fatigue imaginable and no amount of sleep can counteract it.