Aa
What do I do now?
Here are the reference ranges from the lab that you requested. Please keep in mind this was the second test performed. The first test results are on the previous posting that you responded to. They both were done at the same lab. On 2/18/2010 had repeat blood work and it showed TSH III was 1.69 reference range 0.27 - 4.20, T3 was 1.07 reference range 0.80 - 2.10, T-Uptake was 29.0 reference range 20.0 - 36.0, T4-2 was 8.5 refernce range 4.0 - 10.9, FTI was 2.5 refrence range 1.2 - 4.9, there was no TPO included in this test. Do you think I need to be medicated now or wait? What do you think is going on could it be my adrenal gland causing some of my problems or what? Thank you.
I agree - the word bio-identical is too loose and really if I had to define it - I would lean more towards Synthroid and Cytomel being - bio identical - even though synthetic form more so than dessicated thyroid.
Desiccated thyroid is natural thyroid hormone derived from pig thyroid. Pig thyroid is not the same ratios as human thryoid. Many find using desiccated - as I do - had to adjust to the ratios of T1 - T2 - T3 - T4 porcine thyroid.
some just can't handle the higher components of dessicated porcine and need synthetic thyroid replacement.
Don't let the word "natural " fool you. It may not be natural for you.
The benefits of dessicated for many that do well can also be connected with getting more other thyroid hormones that are really not understood fully. The T0-1 and 2 are never talked about and synthetics do not carry these hormones.
as for the brand name Armour... all I can say is its junk now. I found out personally - and others are miserable too.
As said - do your research - we all here - can help you understand too.
Desiccated thyroid is natural thyroid hormone derived from pig thyroid. Pig thyroid is not the same ratios as human thryoid. Many find using desiccated - as I do - had to adjust to the ratios of T1 - T2 - T3 - T4 porcine thyroid.
some just can't handle the higher components of dessicated porcine and need synthetic thyroid replacement.
Don't let the word "natural " fool you. It may not be natural for you.
The benefits of dessicated for many that do well can also be connected with getting more other thyroid hormones that are really not understood fully. The T0-1 and 2 are never talked about and synthetics do not carry these hormones.
as for the brand name Armour... all I can say is its junk now. I found out personally - and others are miserable too.
As said - do your research - we all here - can help you understand too.
Once again, the elevated TPOab indicates Hashi's. The TPO antibodies are destroying your thyroid function, and your thyroid is less and less able all the time to produce thyroid hormones. Hair loss is another hypo symptom...you may improve it somewhat with special care products, but it will only get worse if your body is starved for thyroid hormones.
I suspect that what you mean by bio-identical is dessicated porcine thyroid, often called "natural" thyroid. This is made from pig thyroid. All other options are synthetic.
Research this subject. You will find many discussions in the archives of one versus the other. The first therapy tried for hypo is often T4-only meds (like Synthroid, Levoxyl, generic levothyroxine, etc.). This is arguably the easiest to use and control IF it works for you. It does for many of us. You can also take a combination of synthetic T3 meds (Cytomel) and T4 meds. And there is dessicated. All have advantages and disadvantages.
Recently, Armour thyroid, the major U.S. supplier of dessicated, reformulated its product. Many people who had been on Armour for years with excellent results found the reformulation just didn't work for them anymore. This sent them scurrying to find a replacement and created a nationwide shortage of other manufacturers' products People just couldn't get ahold of dessicated.
After that, one of the people I know who is on dessicated (it's the only thing that works for him) said that he'd switch to synthetics in a heartbeat IF they worked for him. He spent most of last year switching meds, which destabilized his condition significantly.
So, do your research. Be sure to read opinions on both sides of the issue. There are many articles out there by people who are either "synthetics only" people or "dessicated or die" types. What works for one of us won't necessarily work for the other. If anyone says that ONLY one or the other works, it's probably time to put the article aside as incredibly biased.
Good luck with the endo on Thursday...with the weight gain and hair loss already an issue, don't let this go for too long. It will only get worse.
I suspect that what you mean by bio-identical is dessicated porcine thyroid, often called "natural" thyroid. This is made from pig thyroid. All other options are synthetic.
Research this subject. You will find many discussions in the archives of one versus the other. The first therapy tried for hypo is often T4-only meds (like Synthroid, Levoxyl, generic levothyroxine, etc.). This is arguably the easiest to use and control IF it works for you. It does for many of us. You can also take a combination of synthetic T3 meds (Cytomel) and T4 meds. And there is dessicated. All have advantages and disadvantages.
Recently, Armour thyroid, the major U.S. supplier of dessicated, reformulated its product. Many people who had been on Armour for years with excellent results found the reformulation just didn't work for them anymore. This sent them scurrying to find a replacement and created a nationwide shortage of other manufacturers' products People just couldn't get ahold of dessicated.
After that, one of the people I know who is on dessicated (it's the only thing that works for him) said that he'd switch to synthetics in a heartbeat IF they worked for him. He spent most of last year switching meds, which destabilized his condition significantly.
So, do your research. Be sure to read opinions on both sides of the issue. There are many articles out there by people who are either "synthetics only" people or "dessicated or die" types. What works for one of us won't necessarily work for the other. If anyone says that ONLY one or the other works, it's probably time to put the article aside as incredibly biased.
Good luck with the endo on Thursday...with the weight gain and hair loss already an issue, don't let this go for too long. It will only get worse.
I have not started taking the Synthyroid yet and I'm not interested in taking it all either. I have no clue about the blood test other than when I went to take the test I was sick with a cold and not feeling well so they decided to run the a complete blood panel on me and this is what they came up with. I will be seeing the endocrinologist on Thursday so I hope to find out more then. My hair is shedding really badly but I've starting using coconut oil which is working out a great deal better. If I have to start medication for my thyroid I would like to use bio-identical meds not synthetics. Do anyone have any feedback for me on this?
I agree the tests need further qualification.
By TSH III, I'm assuming you mean "TSH 3rd generation"?
If the T3 test doesn't say "free" or FT3, then it's a total T3? Is this total?
I agree, uptake isn't worth talking about, nor is FTI.
I also don't understand T4-2. Once again, does it say "free" or FT4? Looks like a total to me.
Your elevated TPOab is indicating an autoimmune thyroid disease, probably Hashi's.
When to start treating patients with Hashi's is a somewhat controversial topic. Some feel that it's best to wait until labs go out of range and/or the patient is symptomatic, while other believe that early treatment with low doses of hormones may help to forestall some of the problems that we with Hashi's suffer and keep us from ever becoming symptomatic. There's lots of material online about this, and you could also post a new question asking members for opinions on when to start treating.
The weight gain could very well be your first symptom.
It can take years or even decades for the antibodies to destroy enough of your thyroid function to make your numbers go out of range and for you to become symptomatic. However, especially in the early stages, symptoms can be very subtle and "creep up" on you. Suddenly, you realize you've gained a bunch of weight or you've been tired since last September...
I didn't have the luxury of being diagnosed with Hashi's early, so I can't give you personal experience of early medication. Most people tolerate thyroid meds (once they find the right one for them) well. If your FT3 and FT4 levels are properly adjusted, it will be easier to control weight gain. Do you have any other specific medical conditions that are worrying you regarding taking thyroid meds?
By TSH III, I'm assuming you mean "TSH 3rd generation"?
If the T3 test doesn't say "free" or FT3, then it's a total T3? Is this total?
I agree, uptake isn't worth talking about, nor is FTI.
I also don't understand T4-2. Once again, does it say "free" or FT4? Looks like a total to me.
Your elevated TPOab is indicating an autoimmune thyroid disease, probably Hashi's.
When to start treating patients with Hashi's is a somewhat controversial topic. Some feel that it's best to wait until labs go out of range and/or the patient is symptomatic, while other believe that early treatment with low doses of hormones may help to forestall some of the problems that we with Hashi's suffer and keep us from ever becoming symptomatic. There's lots of material online about this, and you could also post a new question asking members for opinions on when to start treating.
The weight gain could very well be your first symptom.
It can take years or even decades for the antibodies to destroy enough of your thyroid function to make your numbers go out of range and for you to become symptomatic. However, especially in the early stages, symptoms can be very subtle and "creep up" on you. Suddenly, you realize you've gained a bunch of weight or you've been tired since last September...
I didn't have the luxury of being diagnosed with Hashi's early, so I can't give you personal experience of early medication. Most people tolerate thyroid meds (once they find the right one for them) well. If your FT3 and FT4 levels are properly adjusted, it will be easier to control weight gain. Do you have any other specific medical conditions that are worrying you regarding taking thyroid meds?
When you went to the doctor you discussed feeling a certain way right? - What did you tell the doctor for him to run the thyroid labs he chose to run? What brought you to seeing this doctor back in January? and why were labs ordered less than one month later?
DId you start taking the .25mcg Synthroid after the January labs?
Lets not jump to the adrenal glands quite yet... Lets look at these thyroid labs first.
DId you start taking the .25mcg Synthroid after the January labs?
Lets not jump to the adrenal glands quite yet... Lets look at these thyroid labs first.
Here is your post from 2/26 added on here - I wanted to see everything together
Female, 42, Columbia - SC, member since Feb 2010
42 year old female recently had blood work on 1/22/2010 revealed my TSH III was 3.24 normal, T3 was 1.24, Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab was 333.4 was high, Antithyroglobulin Ab was 21.6 normal, T-Uptake/2 was 29.0 normal, T4-2 was 9.0 normal, FTI was 2.6 normal. My doctor wants ... [More] me to start taking Synthroid 25 MG a day. My girlfriend is a medical student and she informed me not to start the medicine now. She want me to observe it for every 6 months and to make an appointment with an endocrinologist, If you start Synthroid can you ever stop it? What should I do? I've gained a little weight and I'm very afraid even with the medicine that I will continue to gain weight and have other medical problems. Please help. On 2/18/2010 had repeat blood work and it showed TSH III was 1.69, T# was 1.07, T-Uptake was 29.0, T4-2 was 8.5, FTI was 2.5 there was no TPO included in this test. What do you think is going on could it be my adrenal gland causing some of my problems or what? Thank you.
Female, 42, Columbia - SC, member since Feb 2010
42 year old female recently had blood work on 1/22/2010 revealed my TSH III was 3.24 normal, T3 was 1.24, Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab was 333.4 was high, Antithyroglobulin Ab was 21.6 normal, T-Uptake/2 was 29.0 normal, T4-2 was 9.0 normal, FTI was 2.6 normal. My doctor wants ... [More] me to start taking Synthroid 25 MG a day. My girlfriend is a medical student and she informed me not to start the medicine now. She want me to observe it for every 6 months and to make an appointment with an endocrinologist, If you start Synthroid can you ever stop it? What should I do? I've gained a little weight and I'm very afraid even with the medicine that I will continue to gain weight and have other medical problems. Please help. On 2/18/2010 had repeat blood work and it showed TSH III was 1.69, T# was 1.07, T-Uptake was 29.0, T4-2 was 8.5, FTI was 2.5 there was no TPO included in this test. What do you think is going on could it be my adrenal gland causing some of my problems or what? Thank you.
TSH III ( What's the III???) 1.69 0.27-4.20
T3 ( was this free T3?) 1.07 0.80-2.10
T-Uptake ( junk test unless it was free??) 29.0 20.0- 36.0
T4-2 ( what's this too?) 8.5 4.0 - 10.9
FTI ( obsolete testing nothing good) 2.5 1.2 - 4.9
Oye-vey.... this is a pretty hard guess to make...
T3 ( was this free T3?) 1.07 0.80-2.10
T-Uptake ( junk test unless it was free??) 29.0 20.0- 36.0
T4-2 ( what's this too?) 8.5 4.0 - 10.9
FTI ( obsolete testing nothing good) 2.5 1.2 - 4.9
Oye-vey.... this is a pretty hard guess to make...
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