Aa
just diagnosed Hyperthyroidisim and scared
Okay,just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and am a bit shook up. I have an appointment with an Endrocrinologist tomorrow and on June 3rd an appointment to have a radioactive tracer for an uptake on my thyroid. So my question is...What should I know to ask....I see there are many seasoned people here that have experience with thyroid disorders...please advise me......Thank you.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Did you not get copies of your lab report? That's a must and your doctor is required, by law, to provide a copy upon request. I keep all of my lab and other test reports, as well as visit summaries in a large notebook and they have become the running record of my disease and I can compare them, so I know when I feel the best or look back and see when things began to go awry. I've learned a lot about why I've felt the way I have over the past years, once I learned to read/interpret my labs!! Doctors actually kept me ill for years when I didn't have to be.
On your lab sheet there will be your result and usually right beside it, in parenthesis will be a reference range. Anything inside that range is considered "normal". Those ranges are what I was referring to, as differing from lab to lab.
You symptoms do sound hyper... most likely the endo will give you a beta blocker to help with the heart issue and possibly an anti-thyroid medication to stop hormone production. You will probably also be asked to have a scan that will tell you whether or not your hyperthyroidism is caused by a toxic nodule, which can produce hormones independently of the thyroid, or if it's from autoimmune activity.
You should request the 3 antibody tests I mentioned above to determine whether you have Graves Disease or early Hashimoto's.
On your lab sheet there will be your result and usually right beside it, in parenthesis will be a reference range. Anything inside that range is considered "normal". Those ranges are what I was referring to, as differing from lab to lab.
You symptoms do sound hyper... most likely the endo will give you a beta blocker to help with the heart issue and possibly an anti-thyroid medication to stop hormone production. You will probably also be asked to have a scan that will tell you whether or not your hyperthyroidism is caused by a toxic nodule, which can produce hormones independently of the thyroid, or if it's from autoimmune activity.
You should request the 3 antibody tests I mentioned above to determine whether you have Graves Disease or early Hashimoto's.
So very nice of you to give food for thought. I have had labs done as I went to my DR. and told him I thought i had hyperthyroidism and wanted to have blood work done.I was right. I have lost 20 lbs over the course of 10 months......heart races and pounds on occasion. Last November my hands started to shake and the past couple of months I have had tremors and shaking inside as well as out, I feel more tolerant to cold and that's unusual to me. i have been getting winded and tired very easily and wondered why. I don't know much about lab readings from one lab to the other but I did discuss them with my DR. I know that he said my TSH isn't even showing up.My T3 and T4 ...one is 24.something and the other is 6.4. My doctor said that they are about 5 times higher than they should be.I go to see an endocrinologist tomorrow and a bit leary of this.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Well, I like to work into the whole issue a little slower, so we can take each issue as it comes up, but you don't have a lot of time.
The first thing I'd ask is for you is what symptoms you have.
The second thing I'd ask you to do is post current thyroid hormone labs with reference ranges, so we can see just where your levels are, in relation to the reference ranges. Ranges vary lab to lab and have to come from you own report.
Have you had antibody testing to confirm, either Graves Disease or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? Graves Disease is always associated with hyperthyroidism. Hashimoto's is, typically, associated with hypothyroidism, but early stages can be characterized by periods of hyperthyroidism, so it's important that all the antibody tests be done. Rarely, one can have, both, Graves and Hashimoto's.
The definitive antibody test for Graves Disease is Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulins (TSI).
Antibody tests for Hashimoto's are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb). You need both of those, because some of us have one or the other, others have them both.
It's important to note, also, that TPOab can also be present in small amounts with Graves Disease, so some people are misdiagnosed on that basis... just remember if you aren't positive for TSI you don't have Graves Disease..
There are other conditions, such as toxic nodules that produce thyroid hormones, independently of the thyroid.
I guess I didn't really give you a lot of questions to ask, but hopefully, some things to look for.
The main thing I will stress is to be sure that you get a copy of all lab work, and any testing/imaging results to keep for your records... yeah, the doctors keep them, but they don't always interpret them correctly, so it's nice to have them for your records, to look back at. I have Hashimoto's and my labs have become a running record of my disease.
Once you've got labs to post, along with imaging results, we can help you interpret them and be better prepared to help guide you through your treatment.
The first thing I'd ask is for you is what symptoms you have.
The second thing I'd ask you to do is post current thyroid hormone labs with reference ranges, so we can see just where your levels are, in relation to the reference ranges. Ranges vary lab to lab and have to come from you own report.
Have you had antibody testing to confirm, either Graves Disease or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? Graves Disease is always associated with hyperthyroidism. Hashimoto's is, typically, associated with hypothyroidism, but early stages can be characterized by periods of hyperthyroidism, so it's important that all the antibody tests be done. Rarely, one can have, both, Graves and Hashimoto's.
The definitive antibody test for Graves Disease is Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulins (TSI).
Antibody tests for Hashimoto's are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb). You need both of those, because some of us have one or the other, others have them both.
It's important to note, also, that TPOab can also be present in small amounts with Graves Disease, so some people are misdiagnosed on that basis... just remember if you aren't positive for TSI you don't have Graves Disease..
There are other conditions, such as toxic nodules that produce thyroid hormones, independently of the thyroid.
I guess I didn't really give you a lot of questions to ask, but hopefully, some things to look for.
The main thing I will stress is to be sure that you get a copy of all lab work, and any testing/imaging results to keep for your records... yeah, the doctors keep them, but they don't always interpret them correctly, so it's nice to have them for your records, to look back at. I have Hashimoto's and my labs have become a running record of my disease.
Once you've got labs to post, along with imaging results, we can help you interpret them and be better prepared to help guide you through your treatment.
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