[Ski]

#1062519

Hi Frankie,

We’re not qualified to evaluate your lab results, but I’m glad you’re getting some treatment for your hyperthyroidism! Not every hyperthyroid patient has Graves’ (though it’s true that MOST of them do), so there’s a chance that’s not what you’re dealing with. Still, right this minute, for you, that’s almost a matter of semantics ~ you want to feel better, and methimazole should help normalize your thyroid hormone levels.

Right now I can’t devote much time to answering, but I wanted to approve your post and make sure it appeared for others to respond. Let us know how you’re doing!

[frankiek]

#1018068

Hi everyone!
I am so relieved to find this board and hope that I can get some guidance. Feeling like I’m losing my mind. Diagnosed two weeks ago with Graves and just completed an RAI uptake and scan. Here are the specifics:
TSH 0.006
Antithyroglobulin AB 20
Reverse T3 446
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) 8
Thyroid Stim Immunoglobulin 466
Thyroxine (T4) Free 1.41
Feeling crazy, can’t sleep, angry and weepy, exhausted, and confused. RAI scan and uptake came back normal – 8.7% at 2 hours and 23% at 24 hours. Endo was surprised by the results of the uptake – said he expected it to come back abnormal. I told him how crazy I feel so now he has given me a prescription for Methamizole 10mg daily – he said this was temporary until we could figure things out. Have been taking Propranolol 120 mg daily for the past 5 days with just a small change in calmness (and the hand tremors have subsided). Had more labs done today to check the T3s (i think) and hope to have these results back by Monday.
Am I missing anything? Anything I should be doing or looking for? Any advice is welcome.
Thank you,
Frankie
p.s. I’m a 45 yo female who used to be relatively healthy and fit – now I’m miserable and 20 pounds overweight and exhausted.

[Kimberly]

#1062520

Hello – As Ski mentioned, Graves’ Disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism, but it is not the only cause. Hyperthyroidism can also be caused by an overactive thyroid nodule or by a condition called thyroiditis, which can either be viral or autoimmune in nature.

The TSI test is a measure of how much stimulation the thyroid gland is receiving from our immune system’s attack on our thyroids. A result above the “normal” range indicates that there is enough antibody activity going on to make us hypERthyroid. We can’t make a specific diagnosis on this site, but that is usually a key antibody test that is ordered when Graves’ is suspected.

Overactive nodules would have shown up on your RAIU uptake & scan. You might ask your doctor if the results were “diffuse” – meaning the uptake was even throughout the thyroid – or if there were “hot” spots that gobbled up extra iodine, which indicates nodules.

The hallmark of thyroiditis is usually a *low* uptake scan. With thyroiditis, the gland becomes inflamed and starts pouring out stored thyroid hormone – so it doesn’t need any iodine to make *new* thyroid hormone.

One thing I would suggest is getting hard copies of all your labs, and getting familiar with the “normal” ranges that your lab uses. As you have follow up testing done, make a note of whether levels are rising or falling – and whether they are inside or outside the “normal” range.

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