high TSH

[skt92110]

I am 52, woman my recent lab test was on Aug.09
TSH  21.18                 Reference Range  >50 years : 0.17 - 8.9
T4     5.9                                                ug/dl ECL : 5.1 - 14.1
T3     1.1                                                ng/ml ECL: 0.6 -1.8
T.U Ptake(ECL)    l.16                             TBI          : 0.8 - 1.3
Free Thyroxine     5.09                            ug/dl        : 4.8 -12.7
I have all the hypothyroidism except I am not gaining weight& my cholesterol is normal.
I quit my medicine (levothyroxine 75mcg) on July 08 because I felt very bad (palpitation & dizziness ) even with 50mcg. I am taking calcium D.
Q
- With my situation what kind of thyroid disease I have is it subclinical hypothyroid or something else?
- Is iodine supplement & selenium & zinc good to take or any other herb medicine instead of prescription medicines that have lots of side effects(osteoporosis) .?
Is it possible to measure iodine level ,how?
Thank You so much  

[goolarra]

Is this a test?  To see if we're really paying attention?  I agree, you must be pulling our legs.

[gimel]

You must be joking.

[skt92110]

Thank you for your comment.
I also have heard that you can treat your thyroid disorders by leech therapy, what do you think .Instead of taking med for the rest of your life ,just do one time this therapy on your neck?

[goolarra]

I not only disagree with much of what's in that article, but know that there is a lot of misinformation in it.  If that's what family physicians are putting out on their website, it's no wonder so many people are left hypo and we are so often treated inadequately for our hypothyroidism.  Furthermore, the article was written in 1998.  Don't you think they ought to have more updated material on their website?

However, that aside for a moment, I believe you are referring to the following paragraph when you state that osteoporosis is a side effect of levothyroxine:

"A common error is the failure to decrease the levothyroxine dosage if the TSH level is suppressed below the normal range, which may occur without the free T4 level rising above normal. This state is considered to represent "subclinical hyperthyroidism," and although formerly it was thought to be harmless, it is now believed to be associated with undesired effects on bone density (osteoporosis) and cardiac function, and to be a possible cause of neuropsychologic symptoms and other mild manifestations of hyperthyroidism."

You are misinterpreting this paragraph.  It is hypERthyroidism that is associated with osteoporosis and the other conditions mentioned.  A therapeutic dose of levo does not cause osteoporosis, etc.  What they are saying is that often patients are OVERmedicated thus inducing a state of hyperthyroidism, which is associated with the side effects mentioned.  When treating hypo, the goal is to bring the patient to a euthyroid level (neither hypo nor hyper).  When that is achieved, levo has very few side effects for most people (after all, it is just replacing what your body should produce naturally if your thyroid weren't failing).

I'm sorry to say that the only treatment for hypo is T4 meds (like levo and the brand name levos), T3 meds (like Cytomel), and combinations of the two whether in synthetic or "natural" form.  Supplements may help you feel better if they improve your general health, but they will do absolutely nothing to increase your thyroid hormone levels.  Believe me, if there were other treatments available, they would be all over this forum in about 30 seconds.

You need to start treatment.  With your lab levels, you must feel awful.  As you said, you have almost all the symptoms of hypo, and your labs definitely support that.  

[gimel]

If you noticed the date on that article, it was 1998.  Much has happened since that time to render much of that info obsolete.  In particular the AACE recommended 6 years ago that the range for TSH needed to be revised.  It was necessitated by recognition that their data base included numerous patients who were suspect of being hypo and hyper.  When these patients were purged from the data base, the range was revised from.5-5.0 down to .3-3.0.  This was a huge change.  

Also the article did not directly state that osteoporosis is a side effect of Levothyroxin.  I'm sure if they actually stated that, they would be hit with a lawsuit.  What the article said was the excessive levothyroixin is "believed to be associated with undesired effects on bone density".
Taking thyroid meds and thereby increasing metabolism can have an impact on bone loss, but only if an osteoporosis condition already exists.  The proper way to treat this is to eliminate the conditions for osteoporosis, not to avoid thyroid meds.

[skt92110]

If you go tohttp://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/adlin.html
You see why I said one of the side effects of Levothyroxin is osteoporosis.

[goolarra]

Some people gain weight when hypo, others do not.  Some people actually gain weight when hypER.  None of us had all the symptoms of hypo (the list is as long as your arm!).  What symptoms do you have?

Just ask your doctor to test your iodine levels.

[skt92110]

If I have hypothyroidism , then why I am not gaining & my cholesterol is normal?  

[skt92110]

Can someone tell me how I can measure my iodine level?

[goolarra]

With your TSH of 21.18, you have overt hypothyroidism.  In addition, your free thyroxine (FT4) is very low in the range also indicating hypo.  You have been off meds for over two months, and you are feeling the effects of worsening hypo.  You need to get back on meds right away.

You might try a differesnt brand name levo or a brand rather than generic if that's what you've been on.  Many people find that the fillers in the various brands cause heart palps and see a tremendous difference after switching.  If that fails, you could ask your doctor for a beta blocker.  These do a lot toward eliminating the palps.

Have you ever had thyroid antibodies (TPOab and TGab) tested?  These would tell you if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  Hashi's is an autoimmune disease and the most prevalent cause of hypo in the U.S.

Some people with Hashi's feel that selenium helps quiet the effects of the antibodies.  However, this has never been proven or disproven in any large-scale study.

Iodine deficiency is almost non-existent in this country.  Unless you are a very "pure" eater...don't eat ou, don't eat any preprocessed foods, cook with uniodized salt, etc., you are probably getting enough iodine.  However, I'm sure there is a blood test that measures levels.

I don't know which prescription drugs you are referring that have osteoporosis as a side effect.

Next time you have bloodwork done, ask for free T3 instead of total T3.  FT3 is a far better indicator of thyroid status than TT3, which is considered an obsolete test and pretty much a waste of money.